HYUN [ JJK ]

25

"Stay here, okay?"

Jeongguk said as he pulled the brake up, in which what he got in return was a slight nod from Jaehwa who's sitting in the passenger seat. He then looked at the baby sleeping in her embrace—Hyun's parted lips made Jeongguk break into a faint smile. Leaning over, he pressed another peck against Hyun's forehead, the proximity created between him and Jaehwa was no longer considered because seeing Jaehwa everyday meant a development in their friendship. Not that they stuck with each other all the time that Jeongguk did not think to be so close to her was wrong in some extent, but they had came to a stage where neither him nor Jaehwa would be startled by the proximity, words no longer came out as a string of stutters.

They're comfortable to be around each other now, and Jeongguk took this as the best progress of all relationship with a human that he ever had.

"I might be long, though." Jeongguk noticed the change of Jaehwa's demeanour when he told her that, saw how she tried to conceal it by pursing her lips into a thin line afterwards.

"How long?"

"Depends on my luck." Jeongguk shrugged his shoulders before he turned around, his muscular arm was stretched out to reach for his jacket from the back seat. "Well, you chose to tag along. Don't say I didn't try to stop you."

Slipping in the jacket, Jeongguk took a sharp inhale, his eyes scanning the front of the casino intently. Hoseok just called him few minutes ago, telling that the plan he had with his family was cancelled so he would come to the casino tonight if he felt like driving tonight. Presence of Hoseok, however, did not affect Jeongguk's performance in gambling at all but he did affect the amount of money Jeongguk would bet. Hoseok might seem like an outgoing person—he is for most of the time though—but when it comes to sanity, he would turn into a guy who never stopped questioning whatever Jeongguk did. From asking him why he wanted to gamble every night to why he bet such a big amount of money, Hoseok was the one who would keep Jeongguk sane. He was the one who would force Jeongguk to think of the consequences before anything else, in which of course, Jeongguk never gave a single fuck.

"You're okay, right? Or are you regretting your decision now?" Jeongguk teased, his hand already on the door handle yet he couldn't bring himself to pull it and open the door. It's his first time coming with someone other than Hoseok, but this someone wasn't just an acquaintance or anything along the line. She—that pronoun was enough to make everything sound crazy—is Hyun's babysitter, someone Jeongguk had trusted after they knew each other from a short pizza night together. Putting that aside, there's Hyun, and the boy's presence reminded him of the day he first laid his eyes on him, the moment when Jimin made his way towards him with a devilish smile plastered on his face.

"I'm not 5, Jeongguk." Jaehwa rolled her eyes. "Just go and make a lot of money."

"No good luck wish?" Jeongguk jutted out his lower lip teasingly, doe eyes blinking at her while Jaehwa only scoffed.

"You are so annoying." She hissed, her free hand pushing Jeongguk's shoulder hard as if she could shove him out of the car. "Good luck and don't drink if you win. Remember that your son is waiting for you outside."

"Copied that loud and clear."

_______

It's so unlikely for Jeongguk to grimace upon people swarming poker tables, the cash sound coming from the slot machines made his ears almost go deaf. Everything about the casino—the hollers of people for every single card placed on the poker table, the faint smell of alcoholic drinks mixed with the cigarettes forced Jeongguk to scrunch his nose out of his conscious. He didn't plan to play straightaway. He had planned to walk around first so that everyone who walked pass him would take a double take when they realised they just bumped into Jeon Jeongguk. The Golden Boy. The one who knew what he's doing and there's no way he would allow anyone to defeat him.