⑭It's All You Have, Anyway
Hoseok brought an extra chair for Taehyung and placed it next to him, so he ended up sitting right across from Jeongguk. It would be better to sit next to him so I wouldn't have to look at his stupid face at all. With this thought, he reclined, making sure to keep his gaze away from him.
"What did you do?" Inguk snickered as he stared at the boy, who was still trying to dry his pants as much as he could.
"It was an accident," Jeongguk hissed. He was already peeved by the scene he witnessed a moment ago, and having Inguk mocking him wasn't in the slightest what he needed then. "Do you have any clothes?"
"I do, but they're work clothes, you know, with the cafe's logo and stuff," Inguk said and let out another amused chuckle at the whole situation, managing to infuriate Jeongguk even more.
"Fine, forget it."
"Um." Taehyung cleared his throat as he risked a peek. "I have clothes."
Jeongguk eyed his timid expression, finding it rather nerve-soothing. "I doubt they will fit me. You're too skinny."
"All of my clothes are oversized."
Jeongguk resumed scanning him in silence for a little while longer. "Fine. We'll be back." He rose from his seat, waiting for Taehyung to lead the way.
They strolled towards the storage room, and once they were there, Taehyung reached for his bag and took his pants and sweater out. "Don't rip them," he mumbled as he handed him his clothes.
"Why would I rip them?"
"I don't know, I'm just saying," Taehyung trailed off as he whisked his gaze away.
Silence ticked on as Taehyung stared at the floor, twiddling with the hem of his shirt, and Jeongguk stood there, his eyes boring holes into his self-conscious, unexpectedly cute face. "Are you gonna stay here and watch me change? Not that I mind, but you know." A velvety chuckle jumped out of his mouth as he shrugged an impish shoulder.
Taehyung's jaw hung open with a soundless gasp as his brows cowered in a shocked frown. "Why would I want to see that?" He tittered as he felt small flushed circles blaze his cheeks at the thought.
"I don't know, I'm just saying," he uttered with mild teasing, copying his answer from before.
"Whatever," he mumbled and made his way out of the storage room in haste.
A sigh emitted from Jeongguk's mouth as he slipped out of his clothes. First, he put the pants on, and surprisingly, they fitted him. How are these pants fit him? They're so big, he thought as a frown crept over his features.
He picked up the sweater, ready to wear it, but a delicate floral scent infiltrated his senses and rendered him inebriated. He held it closer to his nose and dragged on the heady scent once more, letting it flow deeper into his system, his eyes fluttering closed for a few seconds.
"I can't wear this," he murmured to himself in a haze as he continued taking pulls of his scent. I'm gonna smell like him. He strode towards a shelf to leave the sweater but wavered. Whatever. He brushed it aside and finally put it on.
"Took you long enough," Yoongi stated as Jeongguk sank into his chair.
He stayed mute, as if he didn't hear him, his eyes unconsciously traveling across from him to a certain black-haired boy, who was talking with Hoseok.
"Food, finally!" Hoseok exclaimed as Ten appeared.
"Let me help you." Taehyung smiled, ready to stand up, but Ten shook his head.
"No, it's okay," Ten smilingly declined as he placed the first dish on the table.
"I don't mind."
"You're not working."
The frosty, austere voice caused the boy to stop abruptly and drew his gaze to the source that was no other than the young CEO. He glowered at him for a reason Taehyung couldn't understand, and he pouted hard as he withered on his chair again.
"Bring Taehyung whatever he wants to eat," Jeongguk said as he poured some soju into his glass.
"I'm not that hungry."
"You're skinny enough as it is. I'm surprised your clothes still fit you." Jeongguk's tone was once again intense, rough, something that didn't pass unnoticed by his hyungs.
"You know what, bring us two more portions of bulgogi and kimbap," Namjoon cut in with a smile, trying to lighten the mood, and Ten nodded before he headed towards the kitchen.
"You can eat whatever you want," Hoseok said as he tapped Taehyung's back.
Although Taehyung felt uneasy to the core by everything that happened, he forced a smile on his lips. He decided to reach for some bulgogi and rice and placed an almost tiny amount on his plate.
Jeongguk lifted a scornful brow upon seeing the amount of food he took and made a tsk sound but kept his mouth shut.
"So Taehyung," Yoongi said, taking him by surprise, as it was the first time since he met him that he talked to him first. "Now that you're walking again, will you go back to delivering?"
"Um, I don't know. We haven't discussed anything with Inguk hyung. I only took the cast off today."
"What do you like more?" asked Hoseok.
"I don't mind. I like doing both. But I guess delivery is better."
"How come?" Namjoon asked this time.
"When I do deliveries, I can avoid whoever I don't like by asking Ten to do them. But here, I'm trapped." Everyone chuckled at his remark except one, who had his gaze strictly on his food.
"Any customer who is really an ass and you can't stand at all?" Hoseok asked with a chuckle.
"There is one particular customer."
"How are they?
"He's exactly as you said. An ass. A rich egoistic CEO who doesn't care about what others think. He only cares about getting what he wants. You know, he has never greeted me like an actual human being."
"Wow, sounds like a real dickhead," Hoseok said as he continued laughing.
"Oh, you have no idea," he said with a taunting smile as he glanced across from him, only to find Jeongguk already glaring at him. His gaze was penetrating, as if it challenged him to continue. And so he did.
"He yelled at me for being late without even letting me explain. He yelled at me and called me names because I walked in without permission, although I thought I had heard him say come in. He even told me to shut up."
"Okay, who the hell is he? I will make him apologize for treating you like this," Hoseok spat out, annoyed.
"Not worth it." He sighed as his eyes dropped to his food, and he poked it with his chopsticks, feeling any ounce of hunger dissipate.
"At least it can't get worse than that," Namjoon said with a faint snort.
Taehyung stopped his movements then and threw him a glance. "You think." His voice was filled with irony, something that visibly triggered Namjoon's curiosity as he raised his brows, waiting for him to continue. "He actually paid for my hospital bill. And then told me that I'm just a charity case to his eyes. That's why he did it." He gazed at the CEO dead in the eye, his expression solemn.
"I don't understand," Yoongi chimed in, confused. "Why would he pay for your hospital bill?"
"Because he pities me."
This entire time Jeongguk was on edge, just listening with a wooden face, and endeavored to constrain his raging impulsion to smash up the whole place by his wrath.
"That's just pathetic," said Hoseok. "Tell me who he is. Just give me a name and I'll make his company go bankrupt."
Taehyung chortled in amusement as he shook his head. "You wouldn't want your own company to go bankrupt, now would you?"
As these words flew off his mouth, Jeongguk's blood glaciated in his veins. He truly didn't think Taehyung would tell them he was talking about him. But he did, and everyone at that table gaped at him moon-eyed.
"Jeongguk," Namjoon breathed out, shocked by what he just heard.
"Apologize. Now," Hoseok demanded.
"I'm not apologizing," Jeongguk scoffed.
"What?"
"That's who I am anyway, right?" A bitter snicker followed his remark. "I'm exactly what he said. Why would I apologize then? He can believe whatever the fuck he wants."
"Jeongguk, this is not okay," Yoongi commented in a calm tone, but that only seemed to infuriate the CEO more.
"And what he just did is okay? He fucking exposed me and humiliated me in front of you guys. He didn't care about how I would feel, so how does that make him any better than me? You're just as egoistic and an asshole as I am."
"I'm not fucking egoistic!" Taehyung growled before anyone could say anything else. "And definitely not as much as you. You're the biggest egoistic damn shithead I've ever met!"
"At least I'm aware of that! You pretend to be all nice and stuff and now look at you, humiliating me in front of fucking everyone."
"If you're ashamed of what you did, you shouldn't have done it in the first place."
"I'm ashamed because I still have your goddamn money!" Jeongguk slammed his fist against the table as he burst out of his seat.
"You're making a scene and I'm not having it," Inguk scolded them. "Go out and talk it out or simply get out of my cafe."
"Fuck this." Jeongguk surged towards the storage room to change his clothes.
Taehyung strove to grasp what he meant with his previous remark. What about my money? That was his only thought as he jumped to his feet and charged behind him, paying no mind to the stinging pain in his ankle.
"Get the fuck out," Jeongguk barked at him the moment he barged into the room.
"What about my money?" Taehyung rammed the door shut and didn't waste a second to scowl at him.
"I said get the fuck out."
"And I said what about my money?"
Jeongguk grunted in stark exasperation as he spun around and ripped off the sweater.
"What are you doing!?" Taehyung questioned in shock, his eyes now double their size.
"I told you to get out," he muttered as he wore his dirty sweater and then took off his pants.
For a moment, Taehyung forgot why he was in that storage room with Jeongguk upon seeing his toned, well-shaped body. Even if he could only see his back. "Just answer my question."
Fully dressed now with his own dirty clothes, Jeongguk neared him with decisive strides, but to his surprise, he just walked past him and stormed out of the room. The boy spilled a few profanities as he rolled his eyes at his inflammatory behavior and marched behind him.
The young CEO didn't stop even when his hyungs called out his name — he flung the door open and took off. Just a second later, Taehyung bobbed into their vision, but he vanished as fast as he appeared.
"Can you stop?" Taehyung asked, all out enraged, as he caught up with him.
"Can you fuck off?" he snapped back as he reached his car. He barely managed to open the door when Taehyung banged his hand against it to close it. "What the fuck do you want?" he exclaimed in a blaze of aggression.
"Can you stop cursing? Do you know how many times you said fuck in just two minutes?"
"Fuck—" Jeongguk shut his eyes for a moment as a shaky sigh passed through his lips. "Go away," he said in a calmer tone as he attempted to open the door.
"Just answer my question and I'll leave you alone," Taehyung whispered as he closed the door again, something that drove Jeongguk to a wild frenzy.
"Do you know what I did? I paid off your hospital bill and then helped with Inguk's clientele. You know why? Because I knew you wouldn't want me to pay off your bill and you would give me the money back. When that happened, I told Inguk to give you your money back and tell you that it's a bonus. And you would believe him since you have a lot more customers now." Jeongguk could hear his heart roaring in his ears, his whole body rigid with anxiety mixed with fury, his fists so tightly clenched his knuckles turned white.
Taehyung's face was shrouded by a fog heart-twisting sadness at his words as he stood there frozen, gaping at him in complete disbelief. "You played us like we're a fucking toy to you."
"I didn't actually do it because Inguk said no. But yes, I wanted to."
"Why?" Taehyung tore his gaze away when he sensed a sob crawl up his throat.
"Why else?" Jeongguk snickered, trying his best to ignore his devastated expression. "Because I have money, and if I want something, I will do anything to get it."
"Get what? What can you possibly get from helping me?"
"A whole different reaction than the one you gave me. Okay, I knew you would get mad, but I didn't think you would act like that. After the yelling, I was expecting to see you on your knees, thanking me over and over again." He cocked his head to the side as a low chuckle seeped through his mouth. "It's my favorite scene to see."
His laugh piped down in an instant when Taehyung's hand collided with his cheek in a fierce slap. "How can you call yourself a human being?" he asked, tears threatening to escape his eyes.
"I told you, you can't handle me." Jeongguk touched his burning cheek with the back of his hand but maintained his derisive smile.
"No one wants to," Taehyung murmured as he pivoted on his heel. "You don't deserve anyone caring about you. I hope you live a happy life, you and your money. It's all you have, anyway." He sounded throughout exhausted while he talked, his tears finally gushing out of his eyes uncontrollably.
Once he said all he had to say, he slouched off, defeated, leaving Jeongguk there with a deadpan expression on his face and his heart steeped in frustration.
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