viridity. kth x jjk / vkook

nine

JJK | 1:27 a.m. | corner convenience store

"i hope tae's not mad at us," jungkook murmured. "he seemed upset last time when he rushed out."

hoseok nodded, taking a sip of the coffee they had managed to sneak out of the gas station while namjoon wasn't looking.

it technically wasn't illegal; they had left two dollars in front of the door, and the only reason they had had to sneak out the coffees in the first place was because seokjin would have scolded them for drinking coffee at one in the morning.

jungkook leaned against the counter, exhaustion seeping into his chest as he closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. he was so drained; days of graveyard shifts and assignments to finish for his professors were starting to take a toll on him. money, school, work, money, school, work, bills and rent and food... they had enough to survive, but it was hard to get that enough.

jungkook was nearly asleep when the chimes rang.

"taehyung?" hoseok's voice rang out in the store.

the exhaustion was drained out from jungkook and he sat up abruptly, eyes snapping open.

"hi," taehyung said, eyes tired. blood was dried next to his lips, as if he'd been coughing up blood hours ago, and he held his stomach tightly, wincing with every breath.

"are you alright?"

"yeah, i just need a place to stay for the night, and i thought the convenience store was my best option."

"what about yoongi and jimin?" jungkook asked.

the convenience store surely wasn't the best option, as there was nowhere to sit comfortably, let alone sleep.

"i didn't want to bother them," taehyung said. "i didn't want to bother you guys either, so i just came by here to sit at the tables. that way, no one needs to do anything." his eyes fell slightly. "wait, sorry, actually, maybe i should go. i didn't really think this through and-"

"it's fine," hoseok said. "just stay here. i'll go get you something to eat."

taehyung looked hesitant.

"i don't need to eat anything, i'm not hungry."

"bullshit," jungkook argued. he stepped out from the counter and pulled taehyung to a table. "we'll get you something quick to eat. how about a bag of chips?"

"i'm really-"

hoseok set down a bag of chips in front of him. "it's literally a dollar. i'd rather take you to the restaurant across the street for lunch later, but i know you wouldn't let me."

taehyung bit his lip and wrapped a hand around his stomach again.

"thank you."

the urge for jungkook to make sure taehyung wasn't hurt was too much, but he didn't want him to go running off again if he asked.

so jungkook didn't ask.

instead, he opened the bag of chips for taehyung and handed it to him, noticing how awfully tired he looked.

up close, his eyes were rimmed red and glossed over with moisture as if he'd been crying. his nose was dusted over with a light pink, and there was a faint redness to only one of his cheeks.