The Trials and Tribulations of Pathos - Jikook

Chapter 10

"Mind handing me that box over there?" Taehyung asks, pointing to the blonde box dye. Jungkook nods, reaching out to grab it and passing it into Tae's outstretched hand. "Thanks, Kook. Now come sit here on this stump while I do your hair."

The pair had continued wandering after their interaction at the convenience store with the two brutes, traveling a couple blocks down to a nearby park, where they're currently camped out on. They cleared a small area in the far corner of the park, their section surrounded by some thick bushes and covered by large, shade-providing trees. It's the perfect place to camp out for a while, nestled in a hard to reach area that makes them almost invisible to passersby.

The duffle bag filled with their miniscule belongings is placed in a corner of the area, some blankets they stole from Yong's cafe pulled out and folded neatly to resemble cushions. The two males had raided nearby Chinese take out dumpster bins, digging through and landing a nice dinner of thrown out noodles and orange chicken, which now sits on another tree stump in their cleared out space.

Thrown out Chinese take out might not be the most sanitary of meals, but in their case it was considered a luxurious breakfast. It filled their stomachs as best as possible, satisfying the majority of their hunger until they could get their hands on another meal.

The soft morning light filtered through the trees overhead as Taehyung opened the box of dye, mixing bottles together accordingly and pulling on the plastic gloves it came with. Now that the two escapees had settled down, at least for a couple days, it was finally safe to take care of less pressing matters.

Jungkook and Taehyung had made good progress so far, with the park being about 20 miles from where they started. They had walked day and night for the past few days, taking minimal breaks only to sleep for a couple hours or rummage through nearby restaurant dumpsters. The park is beautiful, and although they want to settle down here and stay in their sheltered haven for more than a week, both of them know that simply cannot happen.

They need to stay on the move and keep on high alert, the nagging instinct of fight or flight urging them forward and constantly biting at the back of their minds. Jungkook and Tae already know they don't stand a chance against the demons that are most likely chasing them, and are therefore plunging forward to try to outrun them.

Jungkook hates to admit it, but some deep gut feeling tells him they'll have to fight at some point. They can't keep fleeing, no matter how far they run. At some point, hopefully nowhere in the near future, he knows that they'll have to face their pasts and fears and either overcome them or get stabbed in the heart and left to bleed out in their history's dust.

The brunette shakes his head as if to rid himself of the thoughts, reminding himself that it does no good to fret about the future. He won't spoil his limited time in freedom with worries about things that can't be changed- he decidedly pushes the stress out of his mind, leaving his future and destiny up to the fates watching over him. They'll do what they think is right, and he can't, won't, mess with their decisions. Answers and explanations will come in due time, Jungkook thinks. It's time to live in the present.

Taehyung snaps the gloves onto his hands, wriggling his fingers in the black rubber as he straightens out the material and fixes it onto his skin. "You're gonna look great blonde, Kook- I can't wait! I've never really dyed anyone else's hair, just my own, but I'm sure it can't be that different. Yolo, let's get this started."

The raven-haired male squeezes the bottle holding the dye onto Jungkook's hair, massaging the color into his scalp as he lathers it into his locks. The hair coloring smells ghastly, Jungkook thinks, holding his nose to block out the stench of the dye. Taehyung sees this gesture and chuckles, seemingly unbothered by the smell.

"Suck it up, Jungkook- you'll get used to it. So what if it fries your nose hairs off? Who needs them anyway." "No wonder your nose is hair-free- I always thought you waxed it or something. Who knew it was the smell of the dye going through your nostrils and up to your brain to poison you," Jungkook snorts, immediately regretting it as he inhales a mouthful of hair dye fumes. Now not only can he smell it, but he can taste it too.

Tae laughs, running his fingers through Jungkook's hair to evenly distribute the color before announcing that it's finished. "Now you just have to wait for like- thirty minutes or something until we can wash it out."

Jungkook groans, reaching out for the box and confirming that they indeed have to wait for half an hour. He stands up before turning around to Taehyung and gesturing for him to sit on the tree stump in Jungkook's place. "In the meantime I'll do your hair," he suggests, grabbing the second box of blonde dye after receiving a nod of affirmation from the older male.

Jungkook follows Taehyung's directions, applying the color onto his friend's hair just as Tae did for him. Once done, Jungkook grins in pride at his work, wishing he had a reflective surface to show Taehyung his accomplishment and hear his friend's congratulations. Alas, they're in the middle of a deserted park surrounded by trees and bushes with no such surface.

The pair sit around, waiting for the thirty minutes to be up, keeping track of the time with an old watch they found while dumpster diving last night.

It's amazing the amount of useful things people throw out. Most of the stuff still functions, and just gets thrown away because of disinterest, age, or a few broken parts. The watch they're currently using only has two flaws, most likely thrown out because of its frayed leather wristband and scuffed up face. It still works perfectly well, showing an accurate time and not lagging or glitching. The pair also found some extra shirts and pants, still intact save for a couple discolored areas and tiny holes and rips here and there.

They took the clothes to a nearby laundromat a couple blocks away, getting their small bundle washed for only about one thousand won. They had found even more useful objects in their searches, even finding extra cash forgotten in the pockets of thrown out jeans and jackets.

All in all, trash bins are a handy place to look for hidden treasures, and the boys make good use of every slightly valuable object they come into contact with.

Jungkook glances down at the old watch in his hand, standing up as he sees that thirty minutes have passed. He gestures Taehyung over to him, and the pair walk as they chat, reaching a hose a little while away.

This small area makes the park even more attractive to the homeless pair- running water from this hose makes it easy to wash themselves and their clothes and blankets, and is convenient for rinsing dye out of their hair. Taehyung walks over to turn on the hose, motioning for Jungkook to bend over so he can rinse out the color in his locks. Jungkook shivers as the cold water hits the back of his head, hands coming up to rinse out the solution in his hair.

The cool water feels nice, grounding Jungkook and making him feel alive. Soon enough, Taehyung tells him he got all of it out, turning off the water, and gestures for him to stand up. "Damn, Jungkook! Blonde definitely suits you. Like- wow, we need to find a window or something so you can see yourself," Taehyung gushes, mouth open slightly and eyebrows raised. "Of course, it'll look even better once it's dry, but it looks awesome wet, too."

Jungkook grins as he switches places with Taehyung, rinsing out his hair as well and complimenting the blonde color on the older male. "Damn, we're twinning! You sure you wanna go red? I'm sure it'll be awesome, but maybe save it for later and stay blonde for a bit?" Jungkook asks. Taehyung agrees, telling the younger male that they'll head down the street and into the city to look for a mirror and then he'll decide if he wants to stay blonde.

As the two boys laugh with each other as they walk back to their secluded area and through the quiet park, Jungkook can't help but find bliss in living. It's such a sharp contrast to his usual mindset of 'if I died right now, I wouldn't have to go through this, I could just not exist' that the newly-turned-blonde gets whiplash. He hasn't been genuinely happy in a while, and as the steadily rising sun hits his face, a breeze brushing through his wet hair as he watches Taehyung talk about nothing and everything, Jungkook can't help but feel that small glimmer of hope squeeze back into his heart, finally feeling as if things are turning around for the better.