< CW: Discussions of murder and genocide. >

You're surprised to find Taehyung still asleep when you step out.

'He must be absolutely exhausted.'

Your fingers itch to brush away the hair spilling over his forehead, but you're afraid your touch might wake him up. With a small sigh, you turn away and trudge over to the fridge.

'Second morning in a row eating cereal for breakfast, then.'

Even though Taehyung's cooking is far from great (probably not even good if you're being honest), breakfast with him has been the highlight of your mornings since that fateful day two weeks ago when you brought him home from the orphanage.

'Perhaps I've gotten spoiled without realizing it...'

All of a sudden, it's like you no longer know a life without Taehyung in it, almost as if your life is now divided into two parts: before Taehyung, and since.

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You can't help but worry about Taehyung all morning at work once more. He hasn't texted you all morning, but you're reluctant to be the first to message him. Lunch time rolls around and you anxiously check your phone again. You find a message from Jungkook instead.

'A random visitor, huh?'

Immediately, the image of a tall stranger with a ball cap pulled low over half his face flashed in your mind.

'Could it be that guy? Should I warn Taehyung?'

Your fingers hover over your phone screen.

'Why am I hesitating?'

You know Taehyung doesn't know about the guy seemingly following you around when you went out with V, but you can explain it to him. You shake your head.

'This is stupid. I shouldn't be so nervous. I'm just texting Taehyung.'

You wince at how formal your tone sounds all of a sudden, but it's too late now.

'Pull yourself together, [Y/N].'

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"Taetae, I'm home!"

Your greeting is met with silence. Taehyung isn't waiting by the door like he usually does whenever you arrive home. You sigh, taking off your shoes.

As you approach the couch, you see Taehyung emerging from the kitchen. You immediately perk up.

"Taetae!" you cry, "How are you feeling? I missed you!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but 'Taetae' isn't here."

You gasp.

"V???"

"Are you really surprised that I'm the one in control right now?" V scoffs, "After everything Taehyung went through yesterday?"

"You have a point," you concede, guilt creeping up once again. Then, you tilt your head, commenting, "You sure have been popping up a lot more frequently these days."

"Ouch!" V clutches at his chest, pretending to be in pain. "No need to sound so disappointed about it."

You hear the hurt buried underneath the snark, so you rush to comfort him.

"I'm not! I'm just really worried about Taehyung, okay?"

"I am too," V retorts, "But there's---"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by knocks on your door. You both freeze at the sound.

"D-do you think it's---" you begin, but trail off, uncertain.

V sniffs the air.

"It's him," he says, "the guy in the ball cap. The one who kept following us."

"Are you sure?" you ask, to which V nods.

"Every person's scent signature is unique," he explains, "He got close enough at the rice cake shop for Taehyung, and me by default, to get a whiff of his."

The knocks sound again. Three evenly-spaced raps, just like the first set.

"I'll deal with him," V says, already heading towards the door. You follow close behind him.

As V wraps a hand around the door knob, you sense the tension in his frame. You know that, whatever happens when that door opens, V will be ready for it, ready to spring with muscles already tightly coiled. You scurry close behind him, peeking over his shoulder as he opens the door. The man standing in the hallway is not wearing a ball cap, but you know it's the very same man who has been following you.

'I'd recognize those dimples anywhere!'

But now that you've gotten a closer look, and without the cap obstructing half his face, you realize that this man doesn't look like a villain at all. In fact, he looks more like an academic, with his wire-rimmed glasses and beige blazer. And he's unexpectedly handsome.

'But handsome people can be villains too!' you hastily remind yourself.

"Good evening," the man says, "My name is Kim Namjoon. I'm here as an agent of the Hybrid Rights Association."

He flashes his badge, and you move forward from behind V in order to inspect it. It definitely looks like a legitimate HRA badge, but you know there are good forgeries these days.

"Kim Taehyung, right?" Namjoon asks, "And [Y/N]?" He flashes a dimpled smile. "May I come in? I have a few thigs you might be interested in learning about."

To your surprise, V steps aside to let Namjoon in. You know he wouldn't have done so if he had perceived any threat or danger, so you say nothing and just lead Namjoon to your small table in the middle of the living room. You trust V's judgment.

"So, what do you want from us?" you ask Namjoon once you're both sat across from each other. V, for some reason, has chosen to stand off to the side, observing silently. Namjoon doesn't show any surprise or confusion at this. You wonder if it's because he's used to this kind of behavior from other Hybrids he's visited.

"It's not so much a matter of what I can get from you," Namjoon says, "as what I can give you."

"Which is?" you ask with a mix of curiosity and skepticism.

"Information," Namjoon answers, "and assistance."

"You were following us last weekend, weren't you?" you demand, "Why?"

Namjoon has the grace to look sheepish.

"I always gather intel on my assignees before I approach them." There's a slight flush to his cheeks as he explains. "I guess I seemed pretty sketchy, huh? I don't blame you for thinking so."

It hits you then that Kim Namjoon, far from being a shady sort of individual, is just... awkward. There's a clumsy innocence to him that's endearing. You throw a helpless glance at V, who just shrugs in response.

"How much do you know about the Hybrid Revolts? And the Cleansing?"

Namjoon's question brings your attention sharply back to him. It's rare for people to even mention the Hybrid Revolts, much less the Cleansing, both considered to be taboo topics.

"Honestly? Close to nothing," you answer warily.

"Understandable," Namjoon nods, "since the government all but wiped any mention of them from the history books, and shut down any form of social media that would enable the retention and spread of related information."

"Social media?" you ask. You've never heard of that term before.

"Before the Cleansing, there used to be places on the internet where people can, in a sense, virtually gather, creating and exchanging information with one another," Namjoon explains, "You can understand how the government would consider something like that dangerous, especially in the wake of the Revolts and the Cleansing, so they had them all shut down and erased from history as well."

You shift uncomfortably. You don't think Namjoon is making all this up, which is somehow worse, in a way.

"Are we... even allowed to talk about these things?"

"We in the HRA believe that it is important to shed light on this part of our history." Namjoon says this in a way that makes you think he has said it a hundred times before, in his many visits to other Hybrids and their... 'owners', but with his conviction just as strong every single time. "It is part of HRA's mission to educate everyone, especially humans who have adopted Hybrids, on these topics. I think I had better start from the beginning, so you can better understand why the HRA exists in the first place, and what it is exactly we're trying to do."

I look to V for confirmation, and he gives a single, sharp nod. I turn back to Namjoon.

"Okay, we're listening."

Namjoon looks genuinely delighted at your go signal.

"Great! Welcome to Hybrid History 101!" he says, and you can almost see him shift into 'professor mode'. "The field of genetic engineering has existed for centuries. Over decades of study, scientists managed to figure out how to splice human and animal genes. And after years upon years of trial and error, the first Hybrid was created."

You nod along. This part, you already know from your history lessons in school.

"However, roughly 25 years ago, the creation of new Hybrids was suddenly banned," Namjoon continues, "The government shut down the Hybrid labs and research centers, destroyed all the scientific records, and deemed any form of Hybrid engineering illegal. This led to the rise of 'Helix', an underground organization that performs tests on existing predator-type Hybrids, with the end-goal of weaponizing them."

'Predators... like sharks, lions, wolves... panthers.'

You can't help but glance at V, and Namjoon follows your gaze.

"Yes, like Taehyung," Namjoon says solemnly, then continues his tale, "A few years after Helix was formed, violent, aggressive Hybrids started cropping up all over what was then just Korea. They attacked humans, seemingly in random, and caused property damage. Because of this, the government starts seeing Hybrids as dangerous, and orders the capture of all adult Hybrids. I would like to say that this is because, at the time, the government didn't know about Helix and the experiments they were performing on Hybrids, and that they would have done differently if they had," Namjoon shakes his head, "but who knows? The military and police, under orders of the government, start arresting and imprisoning Hybrids, left and right. The Hybrids, of course, resist capture and oppression, giving rise to the Hybrid Revolts. The government then gives orders for all adult Hybrids to be killed on sight."

You're unable to hold back a horrified gasp at this. You can see the horror and sadness mirrored in Namjoon's expression, but he soldiers on.

"Hybrid children are spared, a small act of mercy in those dark times. They're collected by the government, with the intention of 'domesticating' the young Hybrids. Kind-hearted humans, though, adopt some of the Hybrid children that were orphaned, keeping them hidden from the government." Namjoon adjusts his glasses and takes a deep breath before continuing. "The Hybrids, massively outnumbered, lose the revolution, and the government implements one of the most atrocious acts ever committed by man, 'Project: Cleanse'." By this point, Namjoon's calm, collected demeanor is gone, his face twisted in a mixture of grief, anger and disgust. "The government murders every single adult Hybrid in captivity, and sets out to capture and kill all others that are in hiding all over the country. It lasts for seven years, only stopping once the government is confident that it has killed every single adult Hybrid in existence."

Namjoon takes a breather, and you both sit and ruminate in silence, the weight of everything he's just shared pressing heavily on both your minds. It was genocide, plain and simple.

'How could humans have allowed this to happen? How could we do such a deplorable thing?'

Your heart is hurting for all the innocent lives brutally taken. And if you're feeling this awful, as a human, you can only imagine what V is feeling, as a Hybrid himself. You sneak a glance at him, but his expression gives nothing away. You're amazed at how he can remain outwardly unfazed in the face of all this information.

Namjoon starts talking once more.

"A year later, the new government takes over. That's the current one. All Hybrid children formerly under the care of the old government are transferred to a newly established centralized orphanage system which, as you know, has been recently privatized due to lack of funding."

This clicks into place somewhere in your brain. You remember all the commercials and news articles you've seen about privately-funded Hybrid orphanages popping up in main cities.

"It's also around this time that the HRA is founded with the main purpose of protecting the rights and ensuring the welfare of all surviving Hybrids," Namjoon continues, "One branch in particular was formed for the purpose of taking Helix down. That's the branch I work under. Two years ago, we finally managed to dismantle Helix." At this, Namjoon allows himself a small smile. "Our focus is now on tying up loose ends and finding former victims to help them recover and go on to be happy, healthy individuals who are well-equipped to live normal lives."

Namjoon stops, and you realize he's waiting on a reaction or response from you and V.

"So you're saying..." you tell him, "you're here because Taehyung was one of Helix's victims?"

"Exactly," Namjoon confirms, "He was one of the test subjects that managed to escape the day the HRA raided the main Helix facility."

"How are you so sure?" you ask, still a little suspicious.

"Because of the records we were able to unearth," Namjoon responds, "And also, Helix had a... particular interest in Taehyung."

"Huh? Why?" you ask, intrigued.

"Well, for one, Taehyung's parents actually met in Helix."

Your breath catches in your throat at Namjoon's revelation. You immediately whip your head around to look at V and gauge his reaction to this news... but his face remains impassive.

"And of course, the main reason is that..." Namjoon adds, and you turn your attention back to him, eager for more information, "Taehyung is the only known case of being the offspring of a Hybrid... and a human."

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A/N: A lot of heavy stuff this chapter as well, but I promise next chapter will have a lot of sweet moments... and I mean A LOT.

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