THE KNOCK THAT CHANGE EVERYTHING [ HEEJAKE FF]

chapter 6

Heeseung only nodded against his skin.

Because Jake didn’t know it yet.

But he’d already been claimed.

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Time skip:

Night:

The door creaked open with a familiar click, the sound echoing gently through the quiet apartment.

Jake sighed as he stepped inside, exhausted. His shirt clung to his skin slightly from the humidity outside, and his fingers fumbled to remove his shoes. The soft glow of the evening sun spilled in through the blinds, casting the living room in a warm golden hue.

He expected Heeseung to run up to him like always bare feet tapping against the floor, arms wide open, tail wagging excitedly.

But tonight was different.

“Papa… welcome back home,” a soft, tired voice whispered from across the room.

Jake looked up immediately.

And froze.

Heeseung stood there—barefoot in his oversized lion pajamas, hair messy from tossing and turning, his golden eyes dull with fatigue. His little arms hung by his sides, and his tail barely moved.

Jake’s heart dropped.

“Hee… are you okay?” he asked, stepping closer.

Heeseung didn’t answer right away.

“Hee… are you okay?” he asked, stepping closer.

Heeseung didn’t answer right away.

He just looked at Jake really looked at him.

Then he took a small step back.

Jake crouched down quickly, now face-to-face with the little boy. He reached out, brushing Heeseung’s bangs away from his forehead, only to find the skin warm. Too warm.

Heeseung was burning up.

Jake held him close, one hand pressed against the back of the little hybrid's head as he rushed out the door, barely remembering to grab his keys. Heeseung’s body was trembling his lion tail limp, his skin flushed, breath shaky.

Jake had never seen him like this.

His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he slipped into the taxi, cradling the boy like something precious and breakable.

"Please," Jake whispered under his breath, brushing sweat off Heeseung’s brow. “Please be okay.”

The boy stirred slightly, his gold eyes half-lidded and glossy with heat.

"Papa…" he whispered faintly.

Jake bent closer. “I’m right here. I’ve got you. You’re gonna be okay, baby.”

Heeseung tried to nuzzle into Jake’s neck, his little fingers clutching tighter at Jake’s shirt.

“You smell… different again…”

Jake’s throat tightened. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. We’ll talk later, okay? Just hang on.”

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Hybrid Medical Center : Emergency Wing

The white lights stung Jake’s eyes. The sterile smell made his stomach churn.

A nurse rushed them in the moment they saw the hybrid tag on Heeseung’s ID bracelet. Jake was directed to a special wing one he’d never stepped foot in before. Rooms with reinforced windows and scent-blocking curtains.

“Put him here,” the nurse instructed calmly.

Jake gently placed Heeseung on the padded bed, still trying to soothe him as the boy whined softly, rolling over and curling into himself. His lion ears twitched weakly, tail wrapping around his thigh.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jake asked, voice tight. “He was fine this morning and then suddenly he got feverish and he’s not eating, he’s just… clinging to me. Like something’s hurting him but I don’t know what.”

The nurse gave him a knowing look, then quickly left.

Minutes later, a doctor entered.

She was a tall woman with hybrid experience her eyes calm, her expression serious.

“Mr. Sim Jake?”

“Yes,” Jake replied, standing quickly.

“I’m Dr. Han. I’ve read the initial vitals and your hybrid son's reaction patterns… I believe what you're seeing is the onset of early heat.”

Jake blinked. “H-Heat?”

She nodded, walking over to check Heeseung’s chart. “Yes. Hybrid heat. It’s common in lion-type hybrids, though it usually doesn’t trigger this young unless their bond instincts are particularly strong.”

“I don’t… I don’t understand,” Jake admitted, helplessly watching Heeseung whimper and turn over on the bed. “He’s just a kid. He’s only five. Isn’t heat… something… adult?”

“Not always,” the doctor replied gently. “In hybrids, heat isn’t always sexual. It’s instinctual. Emotional. Territorial. For lion hybrids, it can be triggered by scent shifts, stress, or perceived threats to their bond.”

Jake stiffened. “He… he told me I smelled different. That I smelled like someone else.”

The doctor gave him a sympathetic smile. “That would explain it. If he’s bonded to you, your scent is his comfort, his security. A different scent can cause anxiety. Confusion. And sometimes, even heat symptoms if the hybrid feels the bond is weakening.”

Jake looked at Heeseung again his heart twisting. “He was scared. He didn’t understand what was happening.”

She nodded. “It’ll pass. We’ll give him a safe suppressant to nothing that interferes with growth, just enough to calm the sensory overload. He just needs rest. And you.”

Jake sat beside the bed and gently took Heeseung’s small hand in his.

Heeseung’s eyes fluttered open just a little.

“…Jake,” he whispered. “Don’t leave.”

Jake bent down, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“I won’t. I promise.”

And for the first time that night…

Heeseung smiled, just a little.