¤~¤~~¤~¤

Yoongi gave Hoseok a reassuring pat on the knee―making the man flinch―and told him to hang in there. "My apartment complex is just right up here," he said.

The  passenger nodded slowly, exhaling shakily. The bickering in his mind had ceased, but the cranky Voice has been scolding Hoseok harshly ever since the woman went away. The cranky Voice was relentless and got onto Hoseok for everything under the sun: everything from engaging with Yoongi to breathing too loud.

The driver pulled into a parking spot next to tge handicapped in front of his complex. Yoongi took his keys out of the ignition and hopped out of the SUV, made a mad dash around the front, and then opened his customer's door.

"I don' wan-na d-die yet," Hoseok whimpered, his glistening eyes looking into Yoongi's. The fear in Hoseok's tone was scaring the candy man. "I... d-don' hur-hurt me..."

Yoongi frowned and hopped up on the silver tread side step and leaned over Hoseok to unbuckle his seatbelt for him. He paused his action and held himself up on the middle console. "Hoseok..." Yoongi turned his head to look at the perspirating man. Their faces were only an inch apart. "I would never hurt you," he said as he got down and held his hand out for the latter, "Now let's go."

Hoseok nodded hesitantly and got out of the SUV with Yoongi's help. After locking the vehicle, Yoongi led the man up four flights of metal stairs to his apartment. "Welcome to my, uh... trash heap," Yoongi said awkwardly as he opened the door to reveal a dark living room.

The couch was black. The coffee table was black. The TV stand was black. The rug was black. The drapes over the window were black. The walls were painted a dark red (even though he wasn't supposed to paint them). Shattered glass that Yoongi never got around to cleaning littered the place. To the left was a tiny ordinary kitchen, and across from it were two doors: one leading to the bathroom and the other leading to a medium-sized bedroom.

Yoongi saw glass on the couch and inwardly groaned. He couldn't remember the last time he bothered to clean and now that someone else could see his mess, he felt mildly embarrassed. So, Yoongi dragged the guest to his bedroom―the only clean room in the flat (because he doesn't like sleeping in dirty places).

"Here, just sit on my bed. Let me go get you medicine for your head," Yoongi instructed. Hoseok stared at the bare, light blue mattress. The only thing between the mattress and the ebony hardwood flooring was a boxspring. He eventually took a seat and hugged his knees, shaking his head at something the cranky Voice said. Yoongi returned not a minute later with a bottle of water and two pain relief pills.

Hoseok downed them and the entire water bottle before saying thank you and laying down.

And now you're in a stranger's bed. Disgusting. Sleezy people like you should be punished.

"He's not a s-stranger," Hoseok muttered before looking over at the owner of the bed. "Yoong-gi?" The other male hummed in response. "W-will yuh s-stay with, with m-me? He-he's scarin' m-me."

Yoongi crawled onto the light blue mattress, the cheap boxspring groaning under his weight, and laid on his back next to Hoseok. Hoseok rolled onto his back as well and, once again, surprised Yoongi with his actions. Hoseok took one of Yoongi's big hands and held it against his chest.

Absentmindedly rubbing Yoongi's palm with his thumb, Hoseok asked, "'S-is it safe to, uh, to s-sleep?"

"Yes."

And just like that, Hoseok was out like an open flame struck by a wind gust. Yoongi displayed a small smile and walked to his closet to grab a fleece blanket to drape over Hoseok.

The older male closed the door to his room and made his way to the kitchen to get some strong liquor. It wasn't until after the first swig that Yoongi realized what he was doing. Drinking when he was stressed was just another one of those habits, a habit that doesn't need to be done while he has a guest (well, a second or sixth swig won't hurt anyone).

The last thing Yoongi wanted to do was sit around and think, so he located cleaning supplies and got busy.

¤~¤~~¤~¤

Hoseok awoke in a room that wasn't his and immediately panicked and flung the fleece blanket as far from himself as possible, scrambled off of the creaky bed, and made a beeline for the door. He swung it open and revealed the candy store employee.

Yoongi's hand was frozen in place where the brass doorknob used to be, as it got yanked out of his hand before he could open the door himself.

"Oh, I was just about to check on you. How do you feel?" Yoongi's question was so nonchalant and his deep voice was so calming that Hoseok felt his previous panic dissipating.

"Uh..." Hoseok's eyebrows pulled together. "D-dun-no... s-s-scared?"

Yoongi chuckled. "Well don't be. It's just me after all." Yoongi's sealed-lipped smile did little to help Hoseok's worries; he wouldn't even look the shorter male in the eye, choosing to stare at the chipped paint of the door trim instead. It wasn't until Yoongi's warm hands cupped each of Hoseok's cheeks that some reassurance settled in.

Yoongi gently pulled Hoseok's face down directly in front of his own and asked Hoseok to look at him. When the male refused, Min Yoongi jerked Hoseok's head forward and his tone turned cold as he repeated himself, harshly demanding that he listen. When the latter refused to respond, Yoongi jerked Hoseok's head forward with a tightened grip, which succeeded in gaining Hoseok's compliance. Lower lip quivering, Hoseok looked Yoongi in the eye.

The stern expression on the older man's face was replaced with a gentler one. "Welcome to Wonhae Manhi Candy where the employee is sweeter than the sweets," Yoongi said, a grin on his face. "It's just me, the sweetest employee you'll ever."

"M'kay," mumbled Hoseok who was too intimidated to argue.

Yoongi nodded once. "Good." He dropped his hands to his sides. "Are you hungry?" Hoseok shook his head. "Thirsty?" He shook hid head again

Although the Voices were quiet for the time being, Hoseok was so accustomed to obeying the cranky Voice by denying food that it came automatically.

"Why not? You slept nine hours..." Hoseok showed no reaction, instead choosing to avoid eye contact.

Yoongi narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you," he stated. "You're going to eat."

"M'kay," Hoseok mumbled, looking to the side and rubbing his arm awkwardly.

"Good," Yoongi said, smiling again. He ruffled Hoseok's greasy hair and started towards his kitchen.

Hoseok touched his head where Yoongi's hand had been and smiled to himself. Jimin does that, he thought.

Jimin...

Jimin...

Jimin...

Tears brimmed Hoseok's eyes. He clenched his jaw in a successful attempt to hold back a choked sob. Hoseok pulled on his hair and dropped to his knees.

Jimin...

Ji―

"Hoseok-ssi," Yoongi called out as he rummaged through his cabinets for food. "What do you eat other than candy?"

"Um... I-I dunno," Hoseok replied, harshly rubbing his eyes on his black sleeves and sniffing. "I don't, um, I don't eat m-much."

At that, Yoongi frowned at his small selection of food. He had a bag of probably-stale rice crackers, a woven sack of uncooked rice, a few packages of Ramyeon, and a near-empty box of cereal. He moved to the fridge which contained mostly soju, some moldy cheese that he should probably throw out, and a jug of 2% milk. The freezer, he already knew, was packed with bottles of imported liquor.

Truth is, Yoongi doesn't each very much, either. "How about I just order pizza?"

"M'kay." Yoongi jumped and whipped his head around to find Jung Hoseok standing less than a foot away from him. "S-Sorry. Didn't mean to, uh, s-scare yuh," Hoseok said sheepishly.

"No no, you're fine. I just, uh, just―" Yoongi stuttered, his breath hitching, as the other male leaned forward while eying Yoongi's lips. His chest gradually tightened the closer their proximity got. "What are you doing," Yoongi asked as he tried to lean away.

Hoseok's body followed the other male, clearly forgetting that personal space was a thing. Hoseok leaned over the smaller man's body, nose almost touching his lips. Hoseok stared at Yoongi's mouth for a moment before stating "you drink" and stepping back. "Pepperoni please."

Yoongi's eyes followed Hoseok out of the kitchen. Once the man was seated on the couch with his phone out, Yoongi pressed his palm to his forehead and put his other hand over his chest. "What the hell was that," he asked himself. He hasn't had that kind of a reaction to anyone since Jungkook... "I need a drink."

Yoongi pulled out his cell phone and called the pizza place and began placing his order as he unscrewed the cap off a bottle of Jack left on the counter from earlier. He took a large swig before announcing that the pizza should be delivered in twenty to thirty minutes.

"M'kay," Hoseok said. "D'yuh wanna, um, watch somethin'?"

"Yeah... Yeah, of course," Yoongi said, trying to sound enthusiastic. He quickly downed the rest of the bottle even though he knew he shouldn't before joining Hoseok on the couch.

Yoongi wasn't even paying attention to what Hoseok had pulled up. It was impossible to focus on the show because his mind was preoccupied with semi-drunken thoughts on what a screw up he is.

"Why-why d'yuh drink," asked Hoseok out of the blue.

"Dunno," Yoongi lied, mumbling.

Turning his head to look at Yoongi, Hoseok pursed his lips. "Yes yuh d-do."

Yoongi shifted his entire body to face Hoseok before bursting out, "Sh-shut, shut up! You don't know me!"

Hoseok flinched at Yoongi's volume, but pressed on anyway. "I'm t-trying t-tuh know yuh!"

"Shaddup," Yoongi snapped, right hand forming a fist. He was getting defensive because he felt bad, but he wasn't about to let Hoseok know that.

"But―"

The drunken male grabbed the front of Hoseok's shirt and yanked him forward, causing their foreheads to collide painfully. Yoongi showed no sign of it hurting. "What did I say," Yoongi growled, piercing Hoseok's eyes with his own. The lingering liquor on his breath smelled significantly stronger than before.

"'M s-sorry," Hoseok stammered before gulping rather loudly due to a dry throat.

The man sounded so pitiful and innocent that his voice almost dragged Yoongi out of his little fit. "Good," he quipped before pushing Hoseok's chest.

Hoseok pulled his legs up onto the couch and hugged them to his chest. "I'on' like alcohol," the man quietly declared to nobody in particular. He rested his chin on his knees and bit his quivering lip.

Yoongi gently placed his hand on Hoseok's shoulder, making the younger male look over at him. Min Yoongi's eyes were trained on the television screen, but Hoseok understood the gesture as an attempt to comfort him despite the fact that Yoongi yelled.

And it worked.