Touch Of The Poor

⑨You're Asking For It

Taehyung tried to get up once more, and he succeeded by holding onto the door to balance himself on one leg. The dark brown-haired boy passed him his crutches then, and he reached for them hesitantly.

Jeongguk locked the car and trailed behind Taehyung, who had already started heading towards his studio apartment. "This neighborhood doesn't look so safe."

"It's not, but it's not like I can afford anything else."

"Is Inguk not paying you enough money?"

Taehyung paused to rest his hands and leg once they entered the building. "The money is good. I get a lot of tips, too. Not only from you," he added in a rush, earning a snort from him.

"I didn't say anything." A tiny smile stretched over his lips as Taehyung resumed his way.

Silence ticked on after that as they stood in front of the elevator. Taehyung's eyes roamed around as a surge of awkwardness sprawled through him. "Are you gonna come upstairs?"

Jeongguk's brows drew together at his question. Why was he even following him in the first place? "Um, no, why would I do that?" he mumbled with a rather nervous chuckle.

"I asked because you're following me."

"I was just waiting for an answer."

"About what?"

"If your payment is good and you get a lot of tips, why can't you rest for a week? Why can't you afford a new place?" His voice was mild, and maybe a drop softer than usual, something that caught Taehyung off guard.

He brushed it aside, settling on the thought that he was just imagining things, and he mused over his inquiry for a stretch. "I just have a lot of bills to pay. Plus the hospital bill now." He glanced at him thrice, not sure if he should say it or not, but the words rolled off his tongue eventually. "And a debt."

Jeongguk cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Why would a twenty-four-year-old guy have a debt?"

"It's not really my debt. It was my grandmother's debt, and I'm stuck with it now."

"What kind of debt?"

"Jeongguk," he blurted out as he shut his eyes, feeling a spark of annoyance sear his chest at his rapid-fire questions.

But the CEO's lips twitched in amusement. "What happened to Mr. Jeon?"

"You're not my customer anymore. And I'm older than you," Taehyung said with a shrug, although he surprised even himself when he called him by his name. "Anyway, I should head upstairs. I can't feel my left leg."

"I'm not surprised since you were hopping on your leg all day."

"You're right." He chuckled as he fixed his gaze on him. "Thank you for the ride, even though you didn't have to do that."

His last statement soured Jeongguk's slight smile and effaced it a second later. "Just say thank you and goodnight, why do you have to ruin the moment?"

"What moment?"

"You being nice."

"Says the one who hasn't been nice to me even once!"

"I just drove you home, isn't that being nice?"

"You were like an obnoxious Uber driver," Taehyung said with disdain.

"You can't afford an Uber driver," he snapped back in the same way.

Taehyung pouted deeply as a frustrated grunt spewed out of his mouth, and he pressed the elevator button on repeat.

"Have a good night," Jeongguk sing-songed with a jeering, sweetish smile.

"Oh bite me, you coconut head," he snarled, stirring the CEO to chuckle in delight as he continued his way out of the building.

Taehyung snapped his gaze at him once he heard his laugh. It was the second time he heard it and he would be lying if he said that it wasn't one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. Beautiful just like him.

 

⚜✳⚜