VHope: The OneShot Collection

VHope: Priceless

prompt: wallet

Bad times.

Hobi sighs, as his stomach rumbles again. He clutches it, trying to make the pain go away, and to swallow the acid rising to his throat. He hasn't eaten anything since yesterday's measly dinner of 2 biscuits.

He straightens up, and gets back to the task at hand. This was the last dish to be washed, but Hobi's hands felt like jelly and his legs were going to give away any moment now. He had to use extra strength to grip the plate rightly. He was feeling dizzy and was leaning his hips on the counter to stop himself from falling.

He and Taehyung were struggling to make ends meet. Ever since the factory they worked in shut down, everything was a mess. They were trying their level best to get jobs (they were educational well qualified) but the recession was making everything difficult and now everything seemed hopeless.

Hobi dried the plate, and put it on the nearby stand, and swept his forehead from the sweat, and gripped it. It was paining, the dizziness wasn't stopping and he was feeling like he was going to throw up soon.

"Here son, have some water," the kind sweeper lady handed him a glass, and Hobi thanked her. It was necessary to keep his stomach filled with water, because food right now seemed out of reach.

He took off his apron, and walked to the manager's door. The manager was busy chattering on the phone, his beer belly a stark contrast to Hobi's loosely hanging extra small shirt. He was munching away chips carelessly, most of them falling to the ground. Hobi's stomach growled, his eyes watered at the sheer unfairness that this was. He was so hungry he could lick the chip bits on the floor.

The manager looked at him, and he bowed. He grunted, and threw him a couple of loose bills, his daily wage.

Hobi grabs them, bows and thanks him and goes out. He sighed. Most of the money will have to go into savings to pay the rent and other bills. Whatever would be left would be able to afford maybe a small packet of ramen, or biscuits. His stomach growled again.

Tears fell from his eyes, but he braved a smile. He and Taehyung refused to give up, no matter what the situation was. He knew Taehyung must be tired too, working from morning to afternoon in the supermarket and then at the kids' amusement park (he had to walk all the way and at night he silently cried at his swollen feet) while Hobi here doubled as a waiter and dish washer.

But right now Hobi felt so weak and lost, he sat on the pavement, and cried for a bit. It didn't make him feel better, reduced his energy to walk home seven blocks away and the ribs poking out of his chest pressed to his leg.

He wiped away the tears, and took out his old, worn out wallet. He opened it, put the bills inside carefully, and was about to close it when the photo kept in it caught his eye.

It was of happier times, Hobi and Taehyung in the amusement park, giving their biggest grins (the rectangular grin Hobi hadn't seen in six months). They were holding hands and a stuffed toy was tucked in Taehyung's arm and a cotton candy in his hand. Happiness was literally radiating out the tiny phtograph- Hobi couldn't hold back his smile.

He was so thankful to have Taehyung in his life. He wasn't suffering alone. Taehyung was there, ruffling his hair after a long day, making cabbage soup when there was absolutely nothing, singing him a lullaby when his chest hurt and he couldn't sleep and always up and awake to earn a living (most would just slack off).

All thanks to Taehyung and his savings they weren't homeless, without water or electricity yet. Of course, there was hunger, there was less use of electricity (they hardly stayed at home anyway, but the nights were cold and a heater was required), there were loose torn clothes and broken sandals and pains all over the body (medicines were too expensive).

But he had the one. The one he knew was with him during his bad times, the one who would be with him forever.

The photograph reminded Hobi he had someone waiting at home, someone who was more priceless than these crumpled bills and stomach aches and rough shoes and tears of failure.

His wallet was empty of money, but filled with a priceless treasure.

Him and Taehyung.

-X-X-X-

Good times.

Taehyung was sitting with his and Hobi's business partners, as they laughed and joked and drank on a Friday night. He was smiling politely, not very interested in their conversation of various girls or guys they'll like to bang, while all of them had someone back home they should be loyal to.

"Mr V," one starts off, clearly wasted. "Don't you want someone here---,"

"No thanks," he rolled his eyes. "I'm a one man person."

"Of course!," they boisterously laughed. "You and your husband, you take care of finances so tightly," the same one mumbled. "You don't buy cars or bars or hotels or penthouses or, or, I don't know, something to show off? Why are you both always into charities and into creating more job opportunities? I mean, even we donate to show the world, but you guys are just too much!,"

Taehyung just calmly sips his drink. "We believe in using money for good purposes. We're kind of used to savings."

"So money is huge to you, right?," another one challenges him. Taehyung raises his elegant eyebrow at him.

"How about--," he slurs," You give us your wallet? It'll be so hard for you to part with it!,"

Everyone laughed, a few whispers of miser and stupid businessman could be heard. But Taehyung was unfazed. He took out his simple but elegant black wallet.

The others stared as he opened it. It was stocked with bills, credit cards, platinum cards- just tingling with money. The others expected him to take out the money and hand him the wallet.

But Taehyung simply took out the photo from the centre, and threw, literally threw the filled wallet at the centre of the table.

The others spat out their drink.

"D-did you just throw your wallet? Filled with money? You didn't even take out a single bill!"

Taehyung shrugged. "Of course I didn't."

"What's with the photograph?," a curious one asked.

Taehyung held up the photo to his face, and smiled at it.

"It's the most priceless thing I own, and cannot give to you," he simply replied.

-X-X-X-

This sucks argh.