value || jikook

three

when jin pulled up to the casino, he didn't just slip into the parking lot like every normal person would. since jin was known for being a pretty reckless driver, it just made so much sense for him to drive over the curb. jungkook rolled his eyes.

the heavy bumps jostled their bodies together, sending hoseok and taehyung across the seat and ramming into jungkooks side.

"jin be careful for fucks sake!" hoseok yelled, "you might kill us eventually if you keep driving this way!" jin didn't pay the younger any mind and turned the now obnoxious music down a notch. jungkook almost smiled at the relief his ears felt the moment that happened.

jin hit the gas and zoomed through the lot, zigzagging around other cars and lampposts only to barrel straight into a spot close to the building entrance. jungkook and the two beside him lurched forward with the sudden stop, the high-pitched shriek of the brake ringing like a siren in their ears. they sighed loudly, taking in the stillness around them and recovered from jins ride.

the oldest turned around and grinned back at them, "ready to go inside?"

none of them responded immediately,
but taehyung quickly shoved open the car door and began to take in deep gulps of air once outside. hoseok soon followed suit, setting his hands on his hips and heaving loudly. jin chuckled at this and exited the car as well, followed by jungkook who stood normally.

"im never gonna get used to your driving hyung..." taehyung breathed, taking in one last breath of air before sending an annoyed glare in his direction. jin chuckled, making jungkook grin at his hyungs cheeky window-wiper laugh as per usual.

"sorry not sorry." he replied. the four of them then went inside.

jungkook looked around, eyes sparkling with interest at all the different games to play and hopefully get a bit of cash. but it wasn't like he was going to play. he was merely along for the ride. or just because, admittedly, he wanted to be with his friends for a bit.

"im gonna just..." jin suddenly spoke. he inched away from them, eyes focused intently on a group of people crowded around a gambling pit. "go over here..." and he was gone, just like that. skipping happily in the pits direction with cash ready to waste on his supposed luck. taehyung and hoseok chuckled together at the elders behavior, and shifted over to jungkook.

"jungkook, we're gonna go off and try our own hand at luck. you wanna come with us or are you fine on your own?" hoseok asked him. jungkook couldn't help but smile with amusement.

"that's okay. you guys go find your next hook up without me. im completely fine staying out of the... games, you two play. just go without me," jungkook pushed them away playfully and they did just that. running off with cheeky laughs and vanishing into the crowds of people, they were gone, leaving jungkook standing alone.

jungkook's mischievous smile vanished from his face as he watched them go. he looked around, surroundings flashing into his eyes and memory.

strangers strolled down the carpeted areas with either friends or they were obviously drunk with a drink in hand. waiters and waitresses maneuvered through the crowds of people with a tray balanced atop a single hand, also careful to avoid the ones who were huddled together around the one person in the center for fear of knocking the tray over.

or even groups of women who were throwing themselves with no shame whatsoever at a possible sugar daddy in the middle of the giggling females. loners off at the arcade games scavenging for tickets, or rich to the brim assholes who were throwing fifties or higher at the game keeper and hoping on at least one lucky streak. jungkook sighed.

no one really around for him to just hang around with. no one that was his type of person anyway. no one like him or even similar.

he shoved his hands in his pockets and trudged on towards the back of the building near the dark corners that would provide him solitude. there he could quietly sit undisturbed and focus on observing the countless things that happened around him out of amusement. it made it easy to read people.

he flipped his hair off to the side, humming faintly to himself and avoided contact with anyone he moved past. however, something caught his attention as he leaned up against a thick wall near the gambling area.

there was a group of typical gamblers huddled around a dealer and his table. their bodies trembled with excitement and they had awestruck smiles on their faces. gleeful cheers and laughs erupted from their mouths suddenly and jungkook raised a curious brow. no one could be that happy for someone else's lucky break. from his experience, it was anything but worth laughing over and sometimes turned violent for others.

he moved to the side, and sat down on a wooden bench near a large green neon sign on the wall that read 'restroomies'. it cast a green shadow against the wall above him yet it wasn't large enough to cast any simple touch or even a caress of its shine on him.

jungkook peered in between two heads that belonged to a few of the crowds occupants. his eyes searching for what these people were so intrigued by, he leaned back and got comfortable.

two nimble hands moved gracefully in the air, shuffling cards by moving them between the fingers and clacking them back together. index finger and thumb swiftly brushed against each other in a snap and the cards were shuffled once more in a skillful way. time seemed to slow down as these cards moved smoothly in these hands. it seemed to aid with the movements, as if time was guiding the cards along with a gentle tick of the clock. perhaps they were floating, but that was unreasonable right?

the cards clacked together one last time and there was a bit of silence. then loud cheers erupted from the gamblers who now seemed eager to place their bets.

jungkook hadn't realized until now that his mouth had fallen open, his previous facial expression of blankness was now an obvious display of amazement. his eyes flicked up with a quickness in them, hoping to see who this skilled card master was and also attempting to hide the awestruck face he had just pulled by collecting his senses back into metaphoric arms, and dumping them back into a bottle where they would stay. he never liked showing his admiration. for that was a show of vulnerability right?

he expected this card dealer to be of some sort, he dare say it, mysterious looking. he expected a cape and maybe even some type of hat. gloves and fancy black slacks that went with some pointy black fancy shoes. a man with possibly sharp eyes, a shady smirk, a whimsical mustache. a typical magician type of guy really.

but, what he didn't expect, was a giggling man around his age that looked nothing like a magician, really not at all. for the second time today, jungkook was surprised. but it was also a little bit of a mixture — between surprise, and awe once more.

the dealer wore a striped sleeveless vest type of shirt, showing off his bugling biceps. ripped black jeans that tugged his legs tightly, and black converse assisting his dark bottom half. his hair was dyed strawberry red, and he wore makeup in a more stand out sort of way with two large rubies on the corner of his eyes, supposedly adding a glint to them that said 'different', but maybe not. either way, it was unique.

jungkook wasn't judging him at all really. he just couldn't get rid of the surprise that this guy was a man around his age, and the awe at how... bright he seemed from even jungkook's place farther away. not to mention his impeccable card skills. he wondered how he looked up close as well as how he got so good.

the man looked up from his deck of cards and they caught each others eyes. a spark of acknowledgment was exchanged and jungkook's breath hitched. the other giggled, flashing him a happy smile and eyes curving up into two half moons. though it seemed a bit victorious, jungkook felt his cheeks heat up. only a little bit however.

jungkook stood to his feet and paced in the bathrooms direction. this feeling... it tugged at his insides and made him grit his teeth. it was just too much. what did people call it? anxiety? worry? fear? nervousness? maybe an adrenaline rush? the most fitting one for his state seemed to be an anxious feeling.

the cool metal of the door was a bit of a mental relief as the small creep of cold eased into his sweaty palms and made him feel instantly like some stress was gone.

as he pushed into the bathroom however, door swinging wide open with his desperate shove, jungkook was unaware of the two eyes that followed him, another giggle escaping the owners mouth.

//i feel....  both enlightened and sad what is this????