Every fragment of hostility dissolved from Jeongguk's face with Inguk's appearance. "Hyung."

"Hey," he greeted with a tiny smile. "Follow me." He trod towards the storage room, and Jeongguk trailed behind him without delay.

"What was that all about?" Baekhyun asked when the two boys disappeared.

"He's just a rich egoistic CEO who gets on my nerves."

"Sounds like you hate the guy."

"I do," Taehyung said under his breath.

Once the two boys arrived at the storage room, Jeongguk crushed him gently in his hug, rendering him dumbfounded. "Hyung, I'm sorry."

His tense muscles by his shock softened as he cracked a smile and ran a tender hand up and down his back. "I'm sorry too, Kook. I was harsh on you. Namjoon told me you were acting weird lately."

"I felt bad about everything. I let you down," he mumbled as he withdrew from the hug, keeping his gaze down.

"I thought it was about the money."

"It is. I still can't sleep for more than three hours while knowing that I still have it. But I missed you too."

His last remark caused his eyes to enlarge and filled them with surprise. "Really?" He received a faint nod from the boy. "You've never said that before."

"I know."

"You've gone soft." A warm smile tugged at his lips as he stroked his shoulder.

"I don't think that's a good thing though."

"It's okay to be soft sometimes. And it's okay to get attached to people. I mean, sometimes it just happens and you can't control it. But pushing us away won't make it hurt less if something happens to us, Kook." Inguk made sure to keep his voice soft, but the other visibly stiffened at his words.

"I know," he muttered, jaw clenched, face somber.

"Look, Kook, you have to tell Taehyung what you did and convince him yourself to take his money back."

"Hyung, I can't do that," Jeongguk said on the verge of panic. "He will never talk to me again."

"Exactly. Taehyung is a good kid. He's too precious. When you two talk, it always ends up with an argument. Your worlds are too different. It's better not to interact with him at all."

"But why do I have to tell him what I did?"

"So he can hate you."

"Doesn't he hate me already?"

"I don't know. He's been asking about you."

His eyes flitted up to his face then. "Was he really worried?"

"He was."

"He doesn't seem so worried now."

"Why? Because he's with Baekhyun?" he snickered, but when he discerned how Jeongguk's expression darkened, his smile faltered. "You act like you're jealous."

Jeongguk huffed, a frown sprawling over his traits, as he glanced away. "What? I'm not."

"Wait, you are," Inguk uttered in amusement as he continued observing his face.

"Hyung, I'm not!"

"Did Kim Taehyung break the curse and made you care about another human being other than your hyungs?"

Jeongguk stayed silent for a stretch. Taehyung had indeed managed to make him care about someone in a short period of time. He usually kept his distance from the people he met, but something about that black-haired boy made it hard for him to keep his distance this time.

"He's just a kid and I feel like I have to protect him."

"He's older than you!"

"Still... he seems innocent and fragile."

"He's not how he looks like. I don't know him that long, but now that I have him here working behind the bar, I've seen some things. He is indeed innocent because he's kindhearted. But he doesn't voice out his thoughts."

"He voices out his thoughts about me perfectly fine though."

"Yeah, I don't know why." He chuckled. "He never complains, he always works hard, and he's anything but fragile. He's sensitive, but he's not fragile. He's one of the strongest people I know."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"To show you that you don't actually know him. I don't even know him that well. I can never tell what he's really thinking or how he feels unless he tells me himself. How did that introverted boy manage to make you care for him when you don't even know him?"

Jeongguk dragged his head down as he couldn't find anything to say. He had thought about that before as well, and he couldn't find an answer.

"I really want to help you, Kook. Tell me what you want and I'll do it."

And Jeongguk remained mute once again. After what Inguk said to him, he had no idea about what to do anymore. "Let me think about it and I'll let you know before I leave."

Inguk nodded and cast him a soft smile before he exited the storage room in a hurry. His pager was going off for some time now, and he had to return to the kitchen right away.

Jeongguk stayed there for a little while longer, mooning over his conversation with his hyung. If Inguk does what I asked and Taehyung finds out, he'll be mad. If I tell him what I did, he'll be mad again. But if I keep the money, I'll go crazy. A long sigh tumbled out of him as he rubbed his face, frustrated.

He knew whatever he chose to do wouldn't have a good outcome. So he forced himself to stop thinking about it and plodded out of the storage room, only to face a sight that had his stomach twisting for some reason. Taehyung and that boy were giggling while drinking yet another beer. He checked the time, and Taehyung still had thirty minutes to finish his shift.

He went in front of the bar then and waited stony-faced until Taehyung noticed him. "I thought your job was to serve and not keep company to your customers."

Taehyung huffed at his words and looked askance at him. "Baekhyun is not just a customer."

"Is he a special customer?" he questioned, sarcasm pouring off his words, something that stirred the black-haired boy to grunt in annoyance.

"What do you want?"

"A soju."

"Your hyungs already ordered drinks."

Jeongguk glanced back at his hyungs and spotted a variety of drinks on the table. "I don't see any soju there though," he said with a faint taunting smile.

"A soju person I see," Taehyung sneered as he grabbed a bottle of soju and set it on the counter.

"Yes, nothing you could handle," the CEO responded in the same way, managing to piss Taehyung off more.

"I can handle my alcohol fine."

"But I wasn't talking about the alcohol." His voice dropped to a guttural whisper which contained a few innuendos, a smirk stretching over his lips with a hint of arrogance.

Taehyung stood there, confusion cloaking his entire face as the young CEO receded to his table.

"Why do you look so confused?" Baekhyun asked.

"You didn't hear what he said at the end?"

"No, apparently it was meant only for you to hear."

"He said he wasn't talking about the alcohol. What does that mean?"

"You're so innocent." Baekhyun ruffled his hair. "You said that he's a soju person and he said that it's nothing you could handle. And since he wasn't talking about the soju, that leaves us with only one possible answer. The person himself."

Taehyung puzzled over his words, but when the realization dawned on him, his face contorted in outrage. "Him? I couldn't handle him? Who does he think he is?"

Baekhyun chuckled once he saw the small pout that appeared on his lips. "Don't take it so seriously. I think he was just flirting."

Taehyung almost choked on his spit. "What? Why would he flirt with me?"

"Why wouldn't he? I flirt with you too." He wiggled his eyebrows at him, making the boy smile.

"But you're you, you like me, and he is..."

"He's what?"

Although he tried to ignore his thoughts, he couldn't. He's a rich CEO who would never give a second glance at a poor boy like me. The rich CEO who has everything would never flirt with someone like me. He smiled bitterly to himself as he knew he was right.

"Nothing," Taehyung said with a dismissing hand gesture.

"Do you wanna do something after your shift?"

"Um, the truth is I'm really tired. Sorry."

"No, it's okay. Do you want me at least to drive you home?"

"No, I don't want to be a bother. I can just take a bus."

"A bother? If you were a bother I wouldn't have offered to drive you home."

Taehyung smiled as he averted his gaze elsewhere for a moment, sheepish. "Okay then," he uttered, raising a beam from him.

"And then that piece of shit had the nerve to raise his voice and tell me that the deal was off," Yoongi said with a dry chuckle at the end.

"And what did you say?" Hoseok asked eagerly.

"I ripped the contract and threw it in his face while telling him that I'm not the one who needs his money. It's not my loss."

"I love savage Yoongi," Namjoon said, making everyone chuckle except one, who wasn't paying the slightest attention to what they were saying.

His mind was occupied by Taehyung and what he should do about the whole situation. Another deep laugh was heard from the bar, causing Jeongguk to clutch his now empty bottle of soju in vexation.

"Kook, are you listening?" Hoseok asked with wrinkled brows.

"Um, no, I wasn't."

"I asked if you want another soju."

Jeongguk lifted the bottle, and he was rather amazed when he saw it was empty. He didn't even realize he drank it so fast. "Uh, yes, I'll go get one."

"No need, I'll call Ten. We want more drinks too." Hoseok signaled for Ten to come to their table. Once they placed their order, Ten walked towards the bar, only to see Taehyung ready to leave.

"Hey, Tae, one last order, please."

Taehyung chuckled softly as he nodded, and he prepared the drinks for Ten to serve them to the group.

"You ready?" Baekhyun asked once he finished the last order.

"Yes. Inguk hyung, I'm leaving," he informed, and Inguk yelled a 'bye' before the two boys trudged towards the exit.

"Hey, Tae!" Hoseok called with a perky voice. He gestured him to come closer, and with a sigh, Taehyung did as Baekhyun followed him. "You haven't eaten yet. Come join us!"

"Um, I'm not that hungry and Baekhyun was about to drive me home so."

"If you want to stay, you can," Baekhyun whispered close to his ear as he caressed his back.

Jeongguk's eyeballs almost popped out of their place by the intense eye roll upon seeing the scene in front of him.

"But I already told you that you can drive me home."

"I don't mind. Who knows, maybe I'll come tomorrow too." A saucy smile surfaced on his face as he squeezed his side.

"Maybe you should." Taehyung matched his smile, but it vanished as fast as it appeared when a bang boomed across the cafe.

"Either sit down or leave," Jeongguk snarled as he continued wiping the soju he just spilled all over the table, his sweater, and pants.

Taehyung frowned deeply at his sharp remark and turned to Baekhyun. "I'll text you." He saw the boy nod with a hearty smile, and he waved at him as he bundled off.

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