Chapter Text
I stole all the diamonds in the sky
Looks like Lucy is all alone tonight
I told her one day I'll make it right
DPR LIVE, DPR IAN, peace. - Diamonds + and Pearls
Taehyung’s large cat ears twitch nervously. His long, striped tail whips left and right with nerves. The tall, slender Bengal cat hybrid meekly follows the young man down the corridor through the front door. He is leaving the priming school that was his home with the stranger. He throws a glance at the building when he gets into the car, knowing he will never see this place again - or his friends.
Out of the corner of his eye, he looks curiously at the human who bought him. Kim Seokjung. The name of his new owner is etched into the chip of his slave collar. Taehyung and his friends had been anxious about who would buy them after graduation - in whose hands their fate would fall. The catboy is aware that his price was higher than average, because he was a rare male omega plus a rare exotic breed - more exotic than most domestic breeds used as pets. He was scared that some old fart would just add him to his collection of pets - but Kim Seokjung looks young. Much younger than he expected.
As he steals careful glances at him in the car, his mind races: not only he looks young, but he also looks decent and pleasant enough - not unkind. Must be from a rich family if he can afford such an expensive pet. Taehyung is aware he could have done worse, but he continues to feel tense from head to toe, because he does not know what his life as Kim Seokjung’s slave will look like. It could turn out to be heaven or hell or anything in between.
Eyes wide with careful curiosity, the young hybrid looks around the apartment as he follows his owner: living room, bedroom, bathroom, pet room. Neither big, nor small. Somewhere between modern and cozy. Average is the right word. Again, Taehyung thinks:
Fair enough. Things could have been worse.
“This is your room. You can put your stuff here.” Seokjung says.
Mutely, Taehyung nods and slowly places the duffle bag with his meager belongings on the floor of the tiny pet room: a narrow single bed, a wardrobe and a nightstand are the only furniture. There’s a door that must lead to his owner’s bedroom. Again: average.
What comes next is no big surprise either: Taehyung feels Seokjung’s gaze heavy on him. The young catboy is aware of his extraordinary prettiness with his large, expressive eyes, boxy smile and fluffy, wavy hair framing his slim face. The human’s voice dips low as he steps closer:
“Now let me look at you.”
Even though the young hybrid tries very hard not to, he still flinches a little when he feels the human’s hands on him. The hands that own him undress him and explore the smooth panes of his sinewy body.
“Hmmm... so pretty.” Seokjung hums approvingly.
Wearing nothing else than the thick, black slave collar, Taehyung blushes and squirms under the unfamiliar gaze. It makes him feel like a possession - but at least like an appreciated one. He’s the new toy that beckons to be tried out. Everything happens just like expected, so Taehyung just lets it happen and keeps his mind empty.
The human pushes on his shoulder and the hybrid falls to his knees easily. He draws from what they taught him at the priming school as he deftly frees his owner’s cock and sucks it skillfully, making the human moan and tug at his silky cat ears.
Then Taehyung gets fucked face first into the mattress. Seokjung does not last long. He finishes just as the quick, urgent thrusts start feeling good to Taehyung. When the human pulls out, Taehyung is left hard and feeling used - and very much owned.
“Lick me clean.” Seokjung’s command is still breathless from his orgasm.
Taehyung obeys, tasting himself as he feels the other’s cum trickle out from his ass, down his thigh.
“Good boy.” the elder applauds him.
“Sir? May I take a shower?” Taehyung dares to ask humbly, eyes downcast meekly as protocol demands.
“Sure. Feel at home.” Seokjung yawns and disappears into his own bedroom.
When Taehyung stands under the warm spray of water of the place he has to call home now, he stares at his expression in the mirror: he looks expressionless. He’s not sure whether he should feel the urge to cry or whether he should feel glad that his new owner seems OK (the expression average worms itself into his head once more). He just feels numb.
Things really go OK for a while: Taehyung settles into his new routine as Seokjung’s pet. He cleans, he tidies up, he does the shopping and the cooking. He gets all the chores done during the day, so he has time to shower and preen himself before his owner comes home in the evening.
As pet etiquette demands, he waits for his master kneeling behind the door. At first, the submissive pose of the pretty feline was enough for Seokjung to make Taehyung suck him off right then and there. He was like a child with his new toy, so in the first few months they had plenty of excited sex on every surface of the apartment - often even long enough for Taehyung to reach climax, too.
Excitement hums under Seokjung’s skin every time he shows the Bengal cat off to a friend or acquaintance - and his family. Taehyung doesn’t fail to notice how it strokes the human’s ego every time they compliment him for his pet being pretty and well behaved. And that’s exactly where the trouble starts: Taehyung is no obedient lapdog or tame domesticated cat - his kind of breed is half-wild.
The first time Seokjung punishes him is on a Sunday. They are over at his family’s house for lunch and he introduces Taehyung to his father, mother and younger brother Seokjin.
“This is Taehyung. He’s 18 and a Bengal cat omega.” his owner’s voice is boastful as he introduces the hybrid: “Taehyung-ah, say hello.”
A hybrid is not allowed to speak to humans first, so Taehyung had to wait for his owner’s permission. His voice is mellow and honey-sweet as he lilts with a polite bow:
“I’m Kim Taehyung. Nice to meet you. Thank you for taking good care of Seokjung-ssi, eomonim and abeonim.”
Taehyung is itching to look at his new owner’s family - but slave rules don’t allow him the privilege of looking humans square in the face. He is forced to keep his gaze low and demure, so he only sees feet and legs.
“And I don’t get a greeting even though I suffered the most under Seokjungie-hyung?” an amused voice says.
Taehyung’s head whips up in curiosity before he can stop it. His eyes land on a young man with a handsome, delicate face and full lips that are twisted into a mischievous, yet attractive smirk. His surprising handsomeness causes the omega to hold eye contact a few quick heartbeats longer before he manages to avert his eyes again.
The omega begins to stutter: “I-I’m sorry, hyung-nim, I... ah!”
A jolt of pain zings through him. His hands claw at the slave collar around his neck that released the electric shock. With tears in his eyes and tail curling between his legs in defense he looks at Seokjung. There’s anger and embarrassment written all over his owner’s face.
“Manners!” he hisses at Taehyung, then apologizes to his family: “Those half-wild breeds can be quite a handful, I’m afraid. I still need to teach him a thing or two.”
“He’s still so young, so that’s only natural.” his mother agrees and Taehyung is thankful for her kind tone: “Taehyung-ah, go help our Jjangu in the kitchen.”
As he helps the Kim family’s elderly Maltese dog hybrid with preparing and serving the meal, Taehyung’s hands tremble. While he felt like he didn’t feel enough in the past days, suddenly he feels too much: anger, powerlessness and shame at disappointing his owner. He feels young and stupid and hates himself for his mistake - yet, he hates Seokjung more.
It happens more often from here on. Taehyung thinks it’s his fault: with time, he gets comfortable around Seokjung and loses his shyness - that means his goofy, mischievous, attention-demanding, wild side comes out more and more. The young catboy is plenty cute when he mirthfully challenges his owner, so Seokjung sometimes lets it slide when he speaks out of turn or looks him in the eye with a challenging gleam. Other times - especially in public - he punishes Taehyung with electric shocks.
Although the hybrid went to a good school that taught him well, all the teaching was just colorless theory. In real life, there’s so many colors and nuances that oftentimes Taehyung is left confused after Seokjung punished him - because one time he lets it slide when Taehyung playfully claws at his chest while looking him straight in the eye, but the next time he shocks him and chides him.
Asides that, his life really isn’t that bad. It could have been worse. A small voice in the catboy’s head says: but it could have been better. The voice gets louder when Seokjung’s initial excitement about him starts to wane. The moments when the human looks at him like a wonder, like something precious and beautiful become sparse. The moments he gets annoyed with Taehyung increase:
“Can’t you leave me the fuck alone for five minutes?! Please?!” he yells with an uncomfortable, dangerous gleam in his eyes.
With a click, Taehyung snaps his mouth shut. He had been happy when his human finally came home after yet another day of boring loneliness, so he had been chatty and trying to make the other laugh over dinner - even now constantly interrupting the movie they were watching.
“Sorry.” he mumbles crestfallen.
He lies in his bed and stares at the ceiling, waiting for Seokjung to come to him and apologize. When that does not happen, but he hears him getting ready for bed next door, he quietly slips through the door to the master bedroom.
“Seokjung-ssi? W-would you like my company?” he timidly asks.
“No. Not tonight. Goodnight.”
The human doesn’t even look at him as he dismisses him. Taehyung feels stupid and helpless. He feels so flawed that he is not worthy of being loved. After staring at the ceiling without the blessing of sleep, the omega knows he has to do something. He flexes his hands, bringing out his claws.
It takes Seokjung a week to see the aftermath of that night: Taehyung had scratched the side of his bed to pieces. With a stale voice he chides:
“Bad kitty. No gym for you for a month.”
Taehyung’s heart sinks. Going to the gym had been the only pastime Seokjung allowed him. It was his only chance to leave the house aside from trips to the supermarket and his only chance to socialize with other hybrids in the saunas or the cafeteria. Anger spreads where his heart used to be.
It’s that lingering anger of being at his owner’s mercy that makes Taehyung roll his eyes and respond later with annoyance when Seokjung demands he do the dishes right after dinner. The omega focuses back on his videogame, but suddenly his head whips to the left. His cheek stings. With disbelief in his wide, watering eyes he stares at Seokjung, who looks almost as shocked as himself that he slapped his hybrid.
“Do the dishes, I said. No talking back.” he grumbles and leaves the omega alone in the living room.
Taehyung washes the dishes with vision blurry from tears. They are tears of anger. It’s that same anger he felt before. The same anger that makes his claws dig into the sofa instead of the bed this time.
“Taehyung!!!” the human shouts from the living room the next morning.
Reluctantly, the hybrid leaves the pet room and slowly, petulantly ambles towards his owner standing in front of the couch.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? This has to stop immediately, you hear me?”
His yelling makes the omega flinch. He knows his owner is not a morning person and is always in a hurry, so he curses internally for having to have this conversation now. Outwardly, he speaks softly and apologetically:
“I’m sorry, Master...”
He doesn’t get to finish his apology because Seokjung’s hand collides with his left cheek, then his right cheek.
“No gym for one more month on top. And I’m taking away all permits for your card except groceries. Hope that will be a lesson for you.”
Like all pets, Taehyung has a credit card in his owner’s name that he can use for the supermarket or pharmacy. Depending on the owner, the pet might also be able to buy clothes or a coffee or ice cream with a small allowance every now and then - but for Taehyung that is history now.
Even after Seokjung leaves, Taehyung stands in the middle of the living room for a long time. His head hangs low. As he feels the burn on his cheeks fading, he feels the anger bubble hotter and brighter. It’s a downward spiraling, vicious cycle - but he can’t help the urge of defying Seokjung even more. He wants to tickle the annoyance out of him - he wants the thrill in his boring life. He wants to be in control of at least something.
****************
Two years passed since Seokjung purchased Taehyung. The novelty has worn off, so the human seeks him out less and looks at him more often with annoyance than with awe. Taehyung looks more mature now - but also more unhappy. He turned 20 in winter and grew into his expressive features: large, slanted eyes deep enough to drown a man in their depth, long, straight nose and sensual lips that don’t break into a boxy smile often, but rather curve downward. His hair is straight and shorter, accentuating his cat ears more.
The more annoyed Seokjung is, the more Taehyung tries to annoy him. The more he punishes him, the more he provokes him. Long gone are the days he was allowed freedoms like going to the gym or buying a coffee on the way home from grocery shopping.
Seokjung, on the other hand, goes out more often. He starts not coming home some nights - and when he comes home, Taehyung smells women on him. One night, he brings a girl home. Taehyung wakes to the sound of them having sex on the other side of the wall. Conflicted feelings rage in his chest: he’s alleviated that it's not his turn to pleasure a drunken, stinky Seokjung tonight, but at the same time he’s jealous. He hates the intruder in his home. His bed. His human. He hates his human.
When they have sex it’s the clashing of two beings: Seokjung is rough, but Taehyung spurs him on by staring him into the eye with a mocking expression or digging his claws into his back hard enough to draw blood. It’s his revenge for the split lip after his owner slapped him particularly hard.
Life is still OK, but could definitely be better. He is lonely and bored and often hates his owner. Still, an ice-cold shiver of dread runs down Taehyung’s spine when Seokjung threatens:
“If you ever do that again, I’ll sell you. I’ll sell you to a whore house.”
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The prospect of the thousands of possible, unknown lives outside Seokjung’s apartment scares the young hybrid - because the probability of more misery is a hundred times higher than the prospect of more happiness.
He’s not that bad. Taehyung tells himself.
It’s my fault that he hits me for disobeying. Taehyung tells himself.
The omega is mellow and eager to please in the next few days. He tries to be good. He smiles sweetly when Seokjung comes home and sing-songs:
“Sir, you must be tired. Would you like me to draw you a bath? Massage your feet? Suck you off?”
He purses his lips that are accentuated by pink lipgloss, making kissy noises. Taehyung sways his hips and winks - and succeeds in making his owner laugh.
“You’re really something, Taehyung-ah.” the human chuckles: “You’ve been a good boy lately, so I have a reward for you: you’ll come to Jeju with me this weekend.”
“Jeju? Really? Thank you! Oh, thank you, Seokjung-ssi.” the omega hops on one foot and claps his hands in elation.
He rarely leaves the house and has seen countless images of the island’s beauty on TV, so to say the omega is excited is an understatement - he is buzzing with anticipation. He dresses pretty, but modestly for a pet for the trip: black slacks and an oversized, soft sweater with plunging v-neck, showing off his attractive collarbones.
At the airport, Taehyung is mildly surprised that it’s not just the two of them going on the trip: Seokjung’s same-age friends Hanhae, Taewoon and Minhyuk join them - and Minhyuk’s pet Minji, a Shi Tzu dog hybrid. There’s a small grain of disappointment in the catboy’s chest, but the excitement for the trip makes up for it.
Taehyung is all wide eyes, easy smiles and humming enthusiasm while they are on the plane and on the way from the airport to their apartment. The friends opted for self-catering rather than a hotel to save money. The hybrid doesn’t care and just drinks in the view of the ocean, the palm trees and the gentle slope of Hallasan in the distance.
Yet, when they arrive at the apartment, something strikes him as odd: there are two bedrooms with twin beds and one sofa in the living room... he is not sure how this works out in terms of sleeping arrangements for the six of them, because him and Seokjung don’t sleep in the same bed usually.
“Master...” he shyly, lowly speaks as he tugs on his owner’s sleeve: “Where should I sleep?”
“Hm? Not now, kitty. Hey, Taewoon, look at that view!” Seokjung is distracted.
Minhyuk addresses him instead: “Taehyung, go shopping with Minji... guys, what about Haemultang for dinner tonight?”
“I want grilled mackerel.” Hanhae chips in.
“I want black pork. We can grill on the terrace.” Seokjung joins.
“And abalone porridge. And sashimi, we need to have sashimi while we’re here, too.” Taewoon adds.
“Let’s go to the beach and have sashimi now.” Hanhae suggests.
And just like that, the four men noisily make their exit, leaving the two hybrids alone to write shopping lists for the weekend.
“They took the car.” Minji observes: “The supermarket is a 20 minute walk away... I guess we’ll have to make 2 trips to carry everything.”
Taehyung hums in agreement. They don’t talk much, because the older female omega is quiet and closed. Still, it’s pleasant to have company as they start preparing the seafood for dinner. Later on, Taehyung will wonder if she was that quiet, because she already knew what was coming.
When the four humans come back in the late afternoon, they already had a couple of beers and crack open another round as soon as they spill into the apartment. But Minhyuk calls them over:
“Minji, Taehyung, come here.”
The catboy is uncomfortable taking orders and being close to the unfamiliar human. He flinches away when the man comes closer with a medicine capsule in his hand.
“Stay. Sit.”
He orders him around like a dog, making the hair on Taehyung’s neck stand up in irritation and his tail whip left and right in warning. A light electric shock from his collar makes him twitch. Across the room, his owner watches him and warns:
“Be good, you hear me? Whatever one of us orders, you’ll do it. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Taehyung holds still as Minhyuk comes too close for comfort and docks the capsule into the slot in his slave collar. The fine needle injects the drug into his bloodstream. He whispers to Minji:
“What was that?”
“Not sure. I hope just fake-heat, because that wears off after 3-4 hours... real heat inducers would be worse.”
Taehyung is no stranger to the convenience of fake-heat pills - Seokjung liked to make him take some on weekend nights to make sex more exciting. The drug makes his body react as if he was in heat: he got incredibly horny to the point of desperately begging for his owner’s cock. Fake-heat made him leak slick like a slut, but most importantly: it made his heat slit open up. Normally, this tiny, fleshy opening between his balls and his asshole was so tight not even a pinky finger would fit. But in heat - or fake-heat - it became the reason male omegas were such highly desired pets. Hot, wet and tight, they were the perfect sex toys.
As this kind of drug is nothing new in his routine with Seokjung, the coin drops only once Hanhae asks after dinner:
“Seok-ah... would you mind?”
He nods to Taehyung. Taehyung wipes the sweat starting to bead on his forehead as he stares at Hanhae’s feet. He does not dare to look up further, knowing that Seokjung is quick with his punishments in front of others.
“Of course not.” his owner chuckles: “That’s what we agreed, right? No need to ask. Have fun with Taehyung-ie.”
The catboy feels hot and cold at the same time. He does not dare to lift his eyes from the floor as Hanhae leads him to one of the bedrooms. He does not dare to disobey even though he is anxious when the elder orders:
“Clothes off.”
With his mind hazy from the fake-heat drugs, Taehyung is slow and flustered and shy when he feels foreign hands on his naked body. This human’s smell is also foreign, making him miss the familiarity of Seokjung. But Seokjung lent him to his friend - like lending a pair of sunglasses or a book. Nothing more than one of his possessions - but not prized enough anymore that he would want to keep it exclusively to himself.
Hanhae kisses him after lowering him to one of the beds. It hurts. Not the kiss: it hurts that Seokjung gives him away so easily. It feels like betrayal. Taehyung suddenly feels stupid for having been so excited about the trip - when the only reason why his owner brought him along was to save money. Saving money by eating in - both figuratively and literally.
“So fucking gorgeous. Seok-ie is lucky to have you.” his voice has a hint of the same awe that Seokjung’s voice had right after he bought the hybrid.
It makes a gush of slick trickle from his heat slit, the heady fragrance adding to the fog in his mind. When Hanhae pushes into him, he moans softly and wraps his arms and legs around the other. His thrusts appease the beast of heat simmering in his stomach, so he shuts his brain down and just abandons himself to the world of feeling.
When he is done, Hanhae leaves the room. Taehyung is about to drift off to sleep when Minhyuk comes in.
“Not the time to sleep, kitten. I know someone wants to be a good boy and suck my cock.”
Sleepily, Taehyung blinks up at him. He doesn’t get much time until the human grabs a handful of his hair and pulls him down on his erection. He doesn’t get much time to breath in between gagging and sputtering on the length being rammed down his throat. The elder fucks his face as rough as his grip on his hair is. It matches the almost-anger in his voice when he says:
“Fucking Kim Seokjung... always talked about you as if you were something better than my Minji. Just because you’re a male omega. And because you’re an exotic wild breed. But you’re just a hole ready to be used. Nothing special.”
Taewoon is next. From the door, he calls:
“Taehyung-kitten. Time to shower. I’m not crazy about sloppy seconds. Come on, up, up you go.”
As the catboy showers and tries to clean the cum out of him, Taewoon watches him stroking his cock lazily. Then he joins Taehyung in the shower. Maybe it’s because he stopped caring, maybe it’s the fake-heat: the way Taewoon fucks him against the wall in deep, strong thrusts feels good. The spray of water quenches the heated thirst of his skin while the human’s hand around his cock makes his insides knot up in pleasure until he cums with a hoarse cry all over the tiles.
He feels floaty and wobbly on unsteady legs as he walks back into the deserted living room. Taewoon ruffles his hair and gives him a small kiss on the forehead before disappearing into one of the bedrooms. Unsure, but also uncaring where to sleep, Taehyung plops down on the sofa and succumbs to deep, exhausted slumber without turning the lights off.
Taehyung is glad to return to Seoul. He feels dirty and used - worth less than when he left for Jeju. But the disinterested way Seokjung looks at him makes him realize: he has already been worth less in his owner’s eyes before. That he allowed his friends to use his pet did not change anything in the way he looks at Taehyung. It makes blind fury bubble in the omega’s tummy. But an icy shudder runs down his spine when he overhears Seokjung and Minhyuk talk as they bid their goodbyes:
“Seok-ah, this was fun. What do you say: we swap pets for a night every now and then? I really enjoyed Taehyung and I’m sure you’ll enjoy a girl once in a while, too, hm?”
“Sure, hyung. Let’s definitely do that.”
Taehyung’s ears flatten to his head and he has to urge to hiss at the two disgusting men - but the nauseating disgust curls tightly around his neck, cutting off his breathing. He loathes Minhyuk. And he loathes Seokjung.
But before the two men can carry out their plan, two things happen that retrospectively will mark the beginning of a turn in Taehyung’s life.
The first is: Seokjung sees one of the girls he went out with again. And again. And again. Suddenly, he and Kim Ahreum are dating officially. Taehyung is glad Seokjung spends most of his time at his girlfriend’s house - even though his days get even more lonely than they already are.
The second thing to happen is: one night, suddenly Seokjung’s younger brother Seokjin stands in front of their door. His eyes are red from crying and he sullenly drags a heavy suitcase in with him. His voice wavers when he announces:
“Youngjae is an asshole.”
“Seokjin, what happened?” his brother is quick to ask with alarm in his voice.
He leads the younger to the couch. Taehyung slips in from the hallway with insecure, wide eyes, wanting to make himself useful, but unsure as to how. The two humans pay him no mind, so they don’t catch him staring at the handsome face that looks so fragile and vulnerable today.
“We broke up.” Seokjin sighs deep and desperate: “Hyung, can I stay with you for a few days?”
“Of course. As long as you want.” the elder is quick to assure.
“Ahm...” Taehyung clears his throat carefully: “Can I get you anything? Would you like something to drink?”
“A drink sounds just about right. Whatever you have - as long as it’s strong.”
Seokjin looks at Taehyung with a sad smile playing on his lips, but fierce, determined eyes. And then he fucking winks at the catboy. It takes a few bats of his long lashes to recover before Taehyung turns on his heels to fetch some whiskey. He does not even notice he broke the rule about not looking a human in the eye until much later when those pretty, round doe eyes haunt his memory as he lies in bed.