Unlawfully His

Chapter 4 - Debt

No one's POV:

Ever since leaving the pharmacy, Taehyung had been in an extremely grouchy mood, but it was more than justified.

Soo-Yun had tried her best to comfort Taehyung but she too felt horrible for entirely different reasons- she couldn't provide for her son and it tore her apart.

Feeling weak and utterly powerless left Soo-Yun dejected but she tried not to show it. Worrying Taehyung even more wouldn't help so to calm both of their nerves, she chatted about random nonsense- from work drama to this new, really bad reality TV show.

Taehyung listened, realising his mother was trying to distract him and for the most part- it did work. Soo-Yun knew her son well and Taehyung was thankful that she had given him a little breathing time before they discussed finances any further.

Humming along to Soo-Yun's calming voice, Taehyung twisted the knob on the radio so that a different station was broadcasting. A ballad quietly played in the background as Taehyung laughed at the way his mum talked about a particular co-worker.

Soo-Yun struggled to keep the conversation PG and eventually she failed when she called her co-worker a Walmart barbie doll with more plastic in her face than skin. According to Soo-Yun, her moral fiber was lower than her sagging breasts.

Taehyung nearly died of laughter and immediately reprimanded his mother for her crude words. It was difficult though, they were good insults and although he mentally took notes, Taehyung lightly punched her arm in jest.

Soon enough, the pair reached the outside of Taehyung's apartment and both of them clambered out of the car. Taehyung led the way to the stairs that ascended to his apartment door.

A disheartened look made its way onto Taehyung's face when he saw the letter stuck with sellotape on the white door.

"Taehyung what is this?" Soo-Yun said as she pushed past Taehyung and pulled off the letter from the door. A look of slight disbelief and guilt made its way onto her face. The bold letters of 'Failure to pay rent notice' were very hard to miss and Soo-Yun wanted to help desperately.

"Mum don't look at that," Taehyung said as he fished out his keys from his bag and walked over to the door. Inserting the key into the hole, Taehyung was able to push the stiff door open with a loud creak.

"How can you live like this?" Soo-Yun said matter-of-factly as she followed Taehyung into his little apartment.

"You can't just not pay your rent Taehyung," Soo-Yun started again when Taehyung ignored her.

"Yeah well, I'm paying. I'm just paying late," Taehyung replied as he placed his bag onto the small table just outside of the kitchen.

"I'm even giving free painting lessons to the landlord's wife. They won't just throw me out onto the street," Taehyung explained.

"Why don't you just move back in with me? We can share my bedroom," Taehyung's mother tried again as she tried to think of some kind of solution.

"It can be just like when you were a little ch-" Soo-Yun started but didn't get to finish once Taehyung swiftly cut her off.

"I'm not twelve, I can't just go backwards. I don't want to," Taehyung argued back, raising his voice slightly.

"Well there must be some places where you can cut down on your budget and save money," Soo-Yun answered as she rubbed her forehead with her hand.

"Yes, but diabetes wasn't really in the budget okay," Taehyung replied back, his voice cracking slightly with emotion once the gravity of this situation hit him.

"Taehyung you aren't taking this seriously enough, you could die at any moment." Soo-Yun started as she gestured with her hands to emphasise the importance of this situation.

"You think I don't know that! I have to deal with this. This is my life now and I'm fine. I'm doing everything right and there isn't just some simple solution that can fix everything," Taehyung replied as tears began to well in his eyes.

Soo-Yun noticed and felt her own tears rising but she took a deep breath to steady herself. Both of them getting worked up and overly emotional in this situation wouldn't help anything so she decided to try and calm down.

"I'm doing as much as I possibly can from bartending to delivering food and even giving away free painting lessons just so I can have a place to live in. Trust me, I'm doing all that I can and I'm constantly exhausted. I can't even sleep because I have this huge medical debt that just grows like some mold in a basement!" Taehyung said as he lost it slightly. Everything had hit him and although he knew Soo-Yun was only trying to help, it just brought back the flood of uncontrollable emotions related to Taehyung's financial situation.

The brunet sighed once he realised that he had just shouted to his mum about all of his problems. He instantly regretted his outburst once he saw the tears building up in her eyes and the way she sighed, pulling her cardigan up as if to leave.

Taehyung was slightly surprised when Soo-Yun pulled out the chair at the table and sat down. She too felt guilty- she couldn't protect her own son and she knew that Taehyung could tell she felt awful about it.

"I know baby. It's difficult I know," Soo-Yun comforted when Taehyung sat down opposite her and stretched his arms across the table, capturing his mum's hands in his own.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just dumped everything on you like that," Taehyung sighed.

"I should be able to provide for you," Soo-Yun said, her now frail, voice cracking as she let out her worst fears and doubts about herself.

"Mum I love you so much and I don't want you to worry," Taehyung comforted when Soo-Yun sniffled and rubbed her eyes with the ends of her cardigan.

"You have done so much for me mum and I'm sorry for making you worry," Taehyung said as he stood up and hugged his mum, placing his hand on the side of her face and putting his head into the crevice of her shoulder.

"No I'm sorry baby. I wish I could stop all of your problems but I- I just can't,"