You find Taehyung in the kitchen, making breakfast.

"Ah, good morning, [Y/N]ie!" he greets upon noticing you, "I'm almost done here."

"What's for breakfast today, Taetae?" you ask, trying to peer at what he's making.

"Galbitang!" he answers, lifting the lid off of the pot with a flourish. The aroma of the soup wafts to your nose, and you feel yourself salivating at the delicious smell.

"Wow!" you exclaim, "You made galbitang all on your own?"

"Well, I had a little help from your recipe book," he says, "but don't expect too much!"

"I'm sure I'll like it anyway because Taetae made it!" you tell him, giggling as his cheeks redden. He waves his hand at you in a shooing motion.

"I'll serve it soon, so please take a seat!"

As you sit by your small table and wait for Taehyung, your mind chooses to busy itself by flashing back to the previous night's... almost-kiss. With impeccable timing, Taehyung arrives to set the table just as your face is heating up from the memory.

"[Y/N]ie, are you okay?" Taehyung asks, glancing up at you with concern.

"Y-yes! It's just the, uhh..." Your eyes fall on the galbitang. "...steam! It's the steam from the galbitang that's making my face red."

"I see..." Taehyung says, looking unconvinced. He seats himself on the other side of the table, across from you. There's a definite undercurrent of awkwardness as you both just sit there, staring at the steaming pot of soup between you, like you expect it to sprout wings and a tail, and breathe fire at any moment.

Taehyung clears his throat.

"Uhm... Shall we?" He raises the ladle to punctuate his question.

"Ah! Yes, of course!" you say, lifting your bowl in response, "Let's eat!"

Taehyung ladles soup into your bowl, and then into his, and you both proceed to eat your breakfast with the concentration of a surgeon performing open-heart surgery.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So,  [Y/N]ie... What would you like for dinner tonight?" Taehyung asks casually as he's loading dirty plates into the dishwasher. You're in the middle of blow-drying your hair, and turn off the hairdryer in order to better hear Taehyung's question.

"Sorry, what?"

"Dinner..." Taehyung says, "What do you want?"

"Dinner?" you parrot dumbly.

"Yes, dinner," Taehyung confirms patiently.

Of course. Dinner.

After you get home from work tonight, you and Taehyung will be eating dinner together, as you always do.

'Because Taehyung will be here when I come home, like always.'

Irrational tears start forming in your eyes. Taehyung notices, and his expression immediately turns melancholic, guilt lacing his features. He wipes his hands on the dishtowel and approaches you.

"[Y/N]ie..." he says, "I promise, you'll never have to come home to an empty house ever again." He bows his head, looking ashamed. "Last night was... That sort of thing will never happen again, I swear."

"I know, Tae. I know," you tell him, holding back tears.

"Do you really?" Taehyung asks, insistent, "Because it's important to me that you really, genuinely believe it." 

You nod, sniffling. Without warning, Taehyung extends his hand, pinky finger outstretched. You look at it in surprise.

"You will never be alone again," he says solemnly, "for as long as I am here. I promise."

Blinking away your tears, you reach out and intertwine your pinky with his. You smile.

"Promise."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

During your break, you check your phone and are surprised to find a text from Namjoon.

The agent's tone is unnecessarily formal, a fact that doesn't surprise you in the least.

You feel like a pattern is starting to emerge here.

'Could it be... all handsome guys are weirdos in some way???'

You text Taehyung.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Namjoon arrives at 7:00 pm sharp. Taehyung, true to form, greets him at the door.

"Welcome back, Agent-ssi!" he says, "I grilled some pork belly for dinner tonight. I hope you're hungry!"

"My name is Namjoon," Namjoon corrects Taehyung mildly, "I see you're in a good mood today. Or rather," he smiles, flashing a deep dimple on either cheek, "I see that you're Taehyung today, not V."

This takes you by surprise.

"Y-you know about that?"

"Of course, it's part of my research," Namjoon says matter-of-factly, "Hoseok-ssi told me all about it." He waves a hand towards the living room. "We had best get seated for what I need to discuss with you."

"I guess we can discuss over dinner," you say, leading him further into the room.

"I'll serve the food now," Taehyung says, rushing into the kitchen as you and Namjoon seat yourselves at the dining table.

"So, what did you want to tell us?" you ask Namjoon as Taehyung rushes about, setting the table and getting the food ready.

"Okay, I'll go straight to the point," Namjoon says, "I found Taehyung's hometown."

Taehyung nearly drops the plate of pork belly he's carrying.

"M-my hometown?" he cries, "What do you mean, Agent-ssi?"

"I mean exactly what I said," Namjoon says simply, like he hasn't just broken life-changing news to Taehyung, "I found the town where you spent your childhood with your biological family."

"Why are you telling us this?" you ask, frowning in puzzlement.

"Well, I was hoping you and Taehyung would be willing to visit it with me."

You look at Taehyung. The Hybrid's eyes are wide and bright, shining with excitement. You, however, are more wary.

"Why?" you ask Namjoon, "To what point?"

"I told you about HRA's mission, right?" Namjoon responds with solemnity, "[Y/N], please believe me when I say that I am trying to do whatever I can to help Taehyung. I've also already discussed this with Hoseok-ssi at length, and we both believe that going back to his hometown might help unlock some of Taehyung's memories." Then, he smiles, somewhat sheepishly. "In fact, Hoseok-ssi is coming with us. That is, if you agree to the trip."

"Well, ultimately, it's not up to us." You turn to Taehyung. "Taetae, what do you think?"

"I want to go!" Taehyung answers enthusiastically, without even the slightest hesitation, "Definitely!" He turns to Namjoon. "I'll do anything... Anything to retrieve my memories." Then, he turns back to you, his hand coming up to rest on his chest, over where his heart is. "Anything to make me whole again."

 "Good," Namjoon nods, a satisfied look on his face, those dimples flashing, "It's settled, then. We leave tomorrow morning at 7:00 am. Just the three of us, and Hoseok-ssi."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Remind me again," Namjoon mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose, "how this happened."

You all stand outside of your apartment building, Namjoon's car parked by the sidewalk nearby.

And by 'all', you mean you, Namjoon, Taehyung, and Hobi... along with Jimin, Jungkook, and even, much to your astonishment, Seokjin.

"I'm sorry," Hobi says, his expression a mix of guilt and bafflement, "I kind of accidentally let it slip to Jiminie that we're going to Tae's hometown..."

"And I kind of accidentally told Jungkookie," Jimin added, looking like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar but not really worried at all about being caught since he always gets away just with his sheer cuteness, "when we were having our tutoring session last night..."

"I thought we weren't telling anyone about that!" Jungkook angrily whispers at Jimin, so loud that everyone heard anyway.

Namjoon turns to Seokjin, waiting for his explanation. Seokjin throws his hands up.

"Hey, don't look at me!" Seokjin says, eyes wide. "I'm just as much of a victim here as you are."

"Well, Agent-ssi," Jungkook says, hands on hips and a wide smile on his face, "you know what they say: strength in numbers!" He pumps a fist. "Lezzgetit!"

"My name is Namjoon," Namjoon tells the maknae. He sighs, the long-suffering sigh of someone being unjustly punished by the Universe. "I invited Hoseok-ssi to come for a purpose... but everyone else is just... extra baggage?"

"Yah, Agent-ssi!" Jimin barks, cutting into Namjoon's soliloquy, "I'm not letting my best friend go on this journey to uncovering his past and finding the lost parts of himself without me! I need to be there to support him!"

"Again, my name isn't 'Agent-ssi', it's Namj---"

"Yeah!" Jungkook chimes in, "I won't let my best friend ---because I'm hyungie's real best friend, as you know, Agent-ssi, not this short wannabe ---go to his hometown without me! He needs all the support he can get!"

"As Taehyungie's official best friend," Jimin adds, not to be outdone, "I wholeheartedly concur!"

For some reason, Jimin then looks expectantly at Seokjin, as if it's his turn to make a heartfelt speech. Seokjin glares at Jimin, who just keeps staring at him. He throws you a resigned look.

"I'm just here because I decided to pay [Y/N] a surprise visit," Seokjin says in a monotone, "only to find myself unexpectedly pulled into this odd entourage."

Namjoon looks at all the boys surrounding him, takes off his glasses, cleans the lenses with the tail end of his shirt, then puts them back on with an air of finality.

"I see I'm very much outnumbered..." He heaves a deep, deep sigh, then starts heading towards his car. "I guess it can't be helped, then." He unlocks the doors. "Squeeze yourselves in!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thankfully, Namjoon's car is an eight-seater. Hobi calls shotgun, while the maknaes commandeer the back row, which leaves the middle row for you and Seokjin.

"I brought snacks, everyone!" Jungkook announces, unzipping his backpack and taking out bags of chips, bars of chocolate, and a variety of candies.

"Hey!" Namjoon cries, "No eating inside the car!"

"What kind of road trip is this if we can't have snacks?" Jungkook retorts, pouting.

"Road trip?" Namjoon goggles, "This isn't---"

"Since I'm riding shotgun, does it mean I get to control the music?" Hobi asks excitedly, already fiddling with the radio dials. "Every road trip needs a great soundtrack! Get ready to have your minds blown!"

"Again," Namjoon says, exasperated, "We're not on a road tr---"

"Taehyungie, you don't mind if I accidentally sleep on your shoulder, right?" Jimin asks Taehyung, grinning mischievously.

"I guess I'll accidentally sleep on hyungie's shoulder too," Jungkook tells Jimin, pouting again.

"[Y/N]ie, are you comfortable there?" Taehyung asks, peering at you over the backrests of the middle row.

"Yes!" you tell him, craning your neck around to look at him, "We actually have a lot more space here than you have back there."

"Speak for yourself," Seokjin grumbles, "My legs are far too long to be comfortable here."

"You can shift sideways, Seokjin-ah," you tell him, moving closer to the window on your side. Seokjin shifts his knees towards you, giving his legs more space to stretch out.

"Oh, you're right, this is pretty comfy," he remarks, "I think I'll take a nap. Just wake me up when we get there."

"H-hey, Seokjin-hyung," Taehyung says somewhat timidly, "D-don't sleep on [Y/N]ie's lap, okay? Because, uhm... It might get sprained! Y-yeah, that's right... That's the reason."

Seokjin looks perplexed.

"Is that a thing?" he asks, then shrugs. "Anyway, even if I wanted to, there's not enough space."

"I think I sprained my lap lifting some heavy boxes at the store one time..." Jimin muses, munching on gummy worms.

"Yeah, that's definitely a thing," Jungkook agrees through a mouthful of chips, "Got a sprained lap for a while, when I was still doing muay thai. Good times, though."

From the driver's seat, you hear Namjoon sigh and mutter to himself.

"Why do I suddenly feel like a father taking his kids on a chaotic family trip..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After a few hours of driving, in which Hobi switched between radio stations at least a hundred times, the maknaes ate their snacks despite Namjoon's feeble protests, Seokjin dozed off on not-your-lap, and Namjoon gave himself a continual pep talk, you finally reach your destination.

"Finally," Jungkook exclaims, jumping out of the car, "we can stretch our legs!" His stomach gives an audible growl. "Ah, I'm hungry."

"Eh? Weren't you eating all the way here?" Hobi asks him, nonplussed.

You look around at all your companions, stretching their limbs and breathing in the fresh air.

'We've arrived!'

You walk to Taehyung.

"How does it feel like, being here?" you ask, "Does anything seem familiar?"

Taehyung shakes his head.

"Not really... But we've just arrived, so maybe once I see more things... things will slowly start to come back?"

You nod in agreement and give him an encouraging smile.

"So now that we're here," Seokjin says, turning towards Namjoon, "what's the next step, Namjoon-ssi?"

"We start asking around," Namjoon answers.

"Wait, that's your grand plan?" Seokjin asks, looking dumbfounded.

"I've got to admit," Jimin says, shaking his head and giving Namjoon a pitying look, "I'm a bit disappointed, Agent-ssi."

"For the last time, my name is Namj---" Namjoon cuts himself off and shakes his head, "Why do I even bother?" He waves an arm in the general direction of the rest of the town. "Someone's bound to recognize Taehyung, or at least know about his relatives."

As if on cue...

"Taehyung-ah?"

Almost as one, you all turn towards the source of the deep, raspy voice.

You're unable to hold back the gasp that escapes your lips.

Before you stands a cat Hybrid with mismatched eyes... staring at Taehyung as if he's just seen a ghost.

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A/N: Soooo... Who is this cat Hybrid? (As if it isn't already obvious LOL)

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