value || jikook

five

when jungkook realized he was tailing after the card dealer guy like a lost puppy, tail tucked between his legs and eyes wide with adoration and all, he took a step to the side, and rolled his eyes.

the fact that he was being charmed in some way made him worry. he didn't want anybody to get too close to his hell of a world. the world hidden from his friends eyes.

at that thought, jungkook decided to ignore the growing frustration inside him and go to look for the people he had come here with. after all, it hadn't been more than thirty minutes but it was around that time that things started to go wrong for them.

jungkook looked around, keeping one eye peeled for the card dealer that seemed like he would pop out at any moment, and the other pinned wide for any sign of his hooker friends, and gambling hyung.

it hadn't been too long of a search when he found the cheeky boys near a bar, both of them chatting up a few skimpy dressed women with the words 'fake bitches' floating over their heads. but he'd heard from his friends that they were the easiest to play. the ones who wanted attention had no idea, he remembered taehyung saying.

when jungkook first found out they played people and their feelings, he was a bit resentful, wondering if they'd do that to a friend or a family member. so he got cautious for a day or two. but then they went on to explain that they only did it on specific people, ones who looked like they needed to be let down for once in their life. jungkook was still skeptical about it, but he let it go eventually. after all, what they chose to do in their fun time was not at all his business.

the younger strolled up to his friends, shooting impatient looks in their directions with a hope that they'd get the message. taehyung seemed to be the only confused one when hoseok left his seat to take his place on jungkooks side. he winked in the direction of his own target and she turned away with a giggle. jungkook scrunched up his nose in disgust.

"why do you guys do this again?" jungkook whispered to the other. hoseok chuckled lowly.

"because it's fun to see someone who thinks the world is about them cry when they don't get their way," hoseok replied with his smile plain. he was used to playing games, jungkook could tell. but he tensed up anyways, grumbling.

"you guys are sick." hoseok only laughed again.

taehyung approached them, short blonde-orange hair, blue tux, and all. he noticed hoseok laughing and shifting his eyes to the youngest.

"what's so funny?" taehyung asked. jungkook just shook his head. taehyung still looked a bit curious, but he didn't say anything else about it.

"where's jin-hyung?" jungkook asked them. hoseok shrugged and jungkook shifted his head to the side to look at taehyung. taehyung lifted a hand and pointed towards a large group of people crowded around a gambling pit. a meek sigh left jungkooks lips, "of course."

it didn't take too long, but jungkook stomped over, shoved through the excited mass, grabbed his hyung by the collar and dragged him outside with the others following behind him.

"wait! i was about to score!" jin complained, struggling in the youngers grip. his speech slurred together, syllables clashing together to make almost indecipherable words that jungkook wouldn't have been able to distinguish if not for the clarity of this being a man he'd known for a long time, thus being able to understand what he was saying no matter what state he was in. it was this way with all of his hyungs.

hoseok helped jungkook tug their hyung to the passenger seat and shove him inside, still completely wary of the spot that used to be nothing but a glob of gunk. it seemed like they would never get used to the idea of the seat being clean and usable now.

taehyung took the drivers seat just as the two slammed themselves in the back seat, exchanging brief glances of thanks.

that was when the car was enveloped in a peaceful silence, and yet jin continued to rant to himself. he was obviously under the influence of alcohol, jungkook being able to smell his breath from the back seat, and his speech continuously jumbling together to make combinations of one or more words, all invented by jins state of mind.

"i still can't get over why you guy—s..." jin slid his syllables together, "didn't let me fin..ish my game. i was sure....ly about to score a streak."

no one responded to him. they knew the drill. if anyone responded, trying to defend themselves from jin's criticism or something similar, he would go off on you. with each sentence, voice pitch raising until he was yelling at you with a squeaky yet juicy voice he wasn't aware of.

"gu...y~s..." jin whined. he had obviously noticed that no one was going to reply to him any time soon so he squirmed in his seat like a child.

after arriving back at jungkooks dump of an apartment, 'the hole' as jungkook sometimes liked to call it. the building was a standard one yet old, three residential apartments designed into it. two above, and one that was on the ground, also being the biggest of the three units.

jungkook's was the top left one, and what people would assume a haunted doorway. but that wasn't the case. it was just the building could be classified as 'termites holding hands'. jungkook was surprised the building hadn't collapsed in the past four months he'd been here, it was in such bad shape. but never minding the buildings condition, jungkook's room was fairly simple.

white walls and wooden flooring throughout the whole apartment besides the tiled bathroom. it was an okay living space for him. but the fact that it was just that, an okay living space, just made it seem like it was more expensive. he couldn't imagine what high class condos were like. no, he didn't want to think about how hard he'd have to work if he wanted things like that. he would just live his life as it went for now.

the four friends arrived back at jungkook's house from the casino in what seemed like five minutes. it was taehyung's turn to drag jin around this time, but it seemed to be just as much of a challenge to him as it was to hoseok and jungkook before.

jin's continuous writhing and whining drove taehyung up the wall, jungkook could tell. but he proceeded to bite his tongue and drag jin up the stairs into jungkooks apartment where he tossed jin's broad-shouldered body into a chair. jungkook watched taehyung plop down into a chair at jungkook's sorry excuse for a bar.

"one heck of a night..." he heard him mumble. jungkook assumed that it was a mix of jin, and the woman he flirted with back at the lounge that made him say that.

jungkook slid into the chair beside him and put his head in his arms, sighing loudly. there was clatters from his fridge, and jungkook peered out from under his arms. hoseok was searching for food. jungkook set his head back down, comfortably cradling it in his arms.

"wait jungkook, when you disappeared i never saw where you went earlier." hoseok suddenly spoke up, a ham sandwich in his hands as he left the fridge and walked over to them. "where were you?"

memories of ji–, the card dealer flashed before his eyes. a small blush painted his cheeks and he looked away from his hyung, suddenly feeling like he could read his thoughts or even see what he saw in his mind.

"nowhere really..." he murmured.

but he knew exactly what happened and where he was. he just didn't want to tell, because frankly for his pride, he was too embarrassed for himself to speak about anything of the sort.

//high school is an experience you guys