Panic would be an accurate word to describe what Taehyung felt the moment he saw what time he woke up the next day.

Another word would be dread as he knew what was awaiting him when he would appear in front of his hyung. The fact that he didn’t burst into his room to wake him up himself only meant harsher torture.

In two and a half hours, his shift would start, and he had just enough time to take a shower, eat something, and get ready.

But his plans came crashing down when he faced a sinisterly smirking Jongwon who was seated on the couch with his arms crossed and one ankle squared over his knee. “You finally decided to come out of your shithole?”

“Hyung. I’m s-sorry, I w-was really t-tired—“

“Shut your damn mouth!” he barked at him, his gaze menacing as he rose to his feet and pitched forward, nearing him with long-legged strides.

Taehyung quivered in horror and recoiled until his back was fully pressed against the wall. A cold-blooded slap clashed with his cheek, replacing its pale color with a bright red one.

A river of tears rushed down his face in a matter of seconds as Jongwon clawed at his forearm in a bone-crushing grip, his fingers gouging into the flesh.

“I don’t give a fuck about that, Tae.” Jongwon snatched his chin with his other hand, pressing him harder against the wall. “You didn’t do anything today and you know the rules, you worthless cunt.” He applied more pressure on his forearm, almost cutting his blood flow and making the crying boy whimper in pain.

“I’m s-s-sorry, but I have w-work. Please h-hyung, it hurts.” Taehyung sobbed desperately, not daring to open his eyes.

“You’re a waste, Tae. You’re only worth to be my maid, but you can’t even do that well.” The raging man tsked as he rammed his head against the wall and gave him another brutal smack that sent the tremoring boy to the ground.

A kick was planted in his stomach then, causing him to wail at the excruciating pain and fold in half. Jongwon crouched down and slapped him once more, feeling nothing but fury and disgust for his dongsaeng.

“Stop crying like a fucking pussy and cook something right now. I don’t give two shits about your work. You should have woken up earlier. It’s your fucking fault.” He kicked him with full force one last time and receded to his seat.

Taehyung could only bawl harder as he felt pangs of pain penetrate him in the abused parts of his body. The greatest pain was the one drilling his already shredded heart as he felt that he would never be able to escape this ordeal.

He strove to get back on his feet, small whines leaving his mouth and tears pouring from his eyes. He clutched his stomach the moment he stood up, his other hand hanging like a lifeless limb to his side as he hobbled his way to the kitchen.

With no other choice, he started cooking whatever they had in handy, praying he wouldn’t be late for work. But his beaten body only hindered his task and overwhelmed him with despair.

He observed through tearful eyes the purple tint on his forearm when he took a shower and the multiple bruises on his stomach. He could barely use his left arm as it ached every time he tried to grab something.

This would be an exhausting day to get through.

 
Despite his efforts, he arrived at work five minutes late while he had to be there thirty minutes earlier than his shift. He had his head ducked when he entered the cafe and scuttled downstairs to change his clothes, ignoring the shocks of pain that brought tears to his eyes.

Standing in front of the bar, he reached for the ordering device and a tray as usual.

“Hey—“

“Taehyung,” Chang Wook interrupted the cherry-haired boy’s words in a stern tone. “Why were you late?”

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Ji,” he said as he bowed, wincing visibly from the bruises on his stomach.

“Answer my question.”

“Hyung, not in front of everyone,” Dohwan whispered into his ear as he saw how uncomfortable Taehyung was.

“Follow me,” the boss ordered and headed to his office with the tearful server trailing behind him. “Explain.” He didn’t waste a second to inquire him the moment he closed the door.

“Mr. Ji, it’s really p-personal and I’m sorry, but I can’t—“

“You just got your job back, Taehyung. If you don’t want to lose it again, give me a damn good explanation about your delay.”

Taehyung felt his emotions smother him, and even though the last thing he wanted was to break down in front of his boss, he couldn’t rein them back anymore. “Can you p-promise that y-you won’t tell anyone, please? No one can know about this.” He breathed heavily as a few tears leaked out of his eyes.

Chang Wook stared at him, taken aback by his sudden outburst of tears. He placed a hesitant hand on his back and led him to the couch with gentle moves. “I won’t. Don’t worry.”

A few seconds of silence went by as Taehyung tried to find the strength to speak. With some deep pulls of air, the tremor of his form subsided and his rapid pulse mellowed. “I was tired and I slept until late. I had enough time to get ready and get to work on time, but—but my hyung made me cook for him as he does every day.”

“I don’t understand. Why do you have to do what your hyung says?”

Taehyung lifted his sleeve slowly and shut his eyes as he revealed his bruised forearm. “I don’t have a choice,” he whispered, feeling his cheeks drench with tears again.

“Taehyung...” he uttered in shock, his eyes wide open as he scanned his abused arm.

“I’m sorry I was late, Mr. Ji. I’ll try my best to not let that happen again.” He lowered his sleeve with his shaky hand and wiped his tears.

“Why... Why are you putting up with this?”

“I told you, I don’t have a choice. He will do worse things if I ask for help.”

“If he’s in jail, he won’t be able to do anything, Taehyung.”

“I tried... I tried talking to the police, but Jongwon has friends who are cops and they covered the matter without questioning anything.” He glanced at him, more tears falling from his eyes. “I can’t escape. Please don’t tell anyone. If he finds out I talked to someone about this, he’ll... he’ll kill me.”

Chang Wook never was the emotional type, but that boy’s words struck him with a wave of sadness. “Okay. I’m not telling you to go home because I’m sure you don’t want to be there, but you can sit here and not work if it’s too much for you.”

“No, I have to take my mind off somehow and work will help. Thank you, though. I’m really sorry I was late.”

“Don’t worry about that. And whenever you’re hungry, take a break. You don’t have to get my permission, okay?”

“Yes, Mr. Ji. Thank you.” Taehyung broke into a frail smile. He bowed his head and brushed his face with his sleeve as he exited the office. Chang Wook’s change of behavior was a surprise to him, to be honest. He thought he wouldn’t care since he knew how strict he was, but he seemed quite concerned about him.

“Taetae?” Inhyuk called with a wary smile as he set his hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay? Did you get in trouble?”

“No, hyung. Everything is fine.” Taehyung made a wan attempt to return the smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Okay, fighting!”

After Inhyuk stepped away, his expression stiffened at the sudden pain on his forearm when he reached for a tray.

“Why are you lying?” Jeongguk asked with a low voice, peering at him since the moment he appeared.

“About what?” He shook his discomfort away forcefully, turning his back to the younger when he finished what he was doing.

“Something is wrong.”

“No, I just didn’t sleep well.”

“I don’t like when people lie to me, Taehyung.”

“And I don’t like when people meddle where they shouldn't.”

His parents’ words infiltrated Jeongguk's mind then, and he shut his mouth that was ready to blurt out another question about his distressed state.

“Don’t force them to talk and don’t treat them like a hopeless, fragile person.”

Jeongguk pulled himself off the counter and stood straighter, plastering a smile on his lips. “You’re right. I’m sorry. If you need anything, you can tell me, though. I’ll be right here.”

Taehyung tensed up at his rather heart-warming remark, blinking repeatedly in a daze. He twisted his head to look at him, only to realize that Jeongguk wasn’t standing there anymore. What was that sudden change? First Mr. Ji, now him. Why does he care?

 
Jeongguk spent the next few hours eyeing a certain server who rarely smiled and seemed to be in pain at times. He didn’t want to ask him what was wrong again, and without knowing what else to do, he seized Dohwan’s hand and pulled him into the kitchen.

“You can use your words instead of dragging me, you know,” Dohwan sneered, but frowned when the younger didn’t respond to his joke as he usually did. “What’s the matter?”

“Do you know what Chang Wook and Taehyung talked about in his office?”

“No. Why?”

“It’s just... Taehyung seems a bit strange. Can you ask Chang Wook if he knows something?”

“I already asked him. You know me, I’m kinda nosy. He strictly stated to not ask him again and mind my business.”

That only sounded even more suspicious to Jeongguk since he knew the boss always shared everything with his right hand. “Okay, if you learn anything, will you tell me?”

“No.”

“Hyung!”

“Why do you care? Why did you help him get his job back and why do you care so much now?”

“Thank you for nothing, hyung.” Jeongguk ignored his question, and before Dohwan could say anything, he was gone.

“That brat.” He tsked and shook his head as he returned to his job.

🥀

By the end of his shift, Taehyung was barely able to stand on his feet anymore. He was drained from the demanding work and the pain he was still experiencing. He changed his clothes in the bathroom, not wanting the other employees to see his marked body, and when he stepped into the changing room again, he froze in his tracks upon seeing Jeongguk slip into a black sweater.

It would be a dick move if he asked him to drive him to the subway after the way he talked to him, right? Yes, it would, and Taehyung knew it.

So he draped his jacket over his shoulders, struggling to slip his left arm into the sleeve, and grabbed his bag. “Goodnight,” he murmured to the other employees in the room and dragged his feet towards the door.

“Wait outside.”

Taehyung surely wasn’t expecting that, and he didn’t know how to react. Deny his request? Jeongguk wouldn’t let him, and they would end up bickering in front of everyone.

He chose to stay silent and continue his way outside, feeling just a bit rueful for the way he talked to him before.

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