Jaebum's shift ended as usual, bringing on another evening stroll back to his house. The only difference was that today was payday, so he had a brand new paycheck in his pocket. Not that he'd use it for anything other than necessities, but it still felt nice to have more money than he did just earlier that morning.
He stopped for some dinner, grabbing takeout to eat when he got home since cooking wasn't really something he felt like doing after working in a cafe all day. He took his time getting home, taking in the night sky and bright lights of the storefronts around him, eventually coming up on that alleyway that he sort of wanted to avoid passing by. There was no way around it though, and before he walked past, he silently prayed that the homeless guy had found a place to go or at least a different alleyway to stay in.
To Jaebum's disappointment, he saw a pair of legs dressed in white cloth pants, and as he fully stood in front of the alleyway, he came across the guy still on the ground, though he was up and awake this time. He looked exhausted, though that was a surprise; sleeping on the clement isn't exactly the best accommodations. Jaebum slowed down his pace, staring at the guy until they accidentally made eye contact. Jaebum had planned on just looking and continuing on with his business, but something in him told him that he couldn't.
He sighed at his good heart, annoyed at the fact that he felt the need to check up on the homeless guy. "Hey, you okay dude?"
The man looked up at him, rolling his eyes. "Do I look okay?"
"No, you look like shit." Jaebum stated, and he meant it. The white cloth he was wearing had turned grey by this point, the guy's hair was damp and messy, and he just looked overall bad. It was honestly hard for Jaebum to look at.
"Thanks for that compliment." The man groaned, slumping his head back down.
Jaebum observed the state he was in. Dirty, wet, dressed lightly in cold weather, tired; he just looked like he's been through it all in one day. He must be hungry too, considering that Jaebum hadn't seen him move from where he was sitting since this morning. Jaebum cursed himself for feeling bad for the guy, yet he couldn't stand just ignoring him and letting him suffer.
Jaebum sighed, stepping a bit closer to the man. "Look, I can buy you a hot meal or something if you need it. Maybe lend you some money for a hotel room for the night? I just got paid."
The stranger turned away, waving off Jaebum's offer. "Don't spend your mortal money on me. I don't need it."
Jaebum huffed. Why this guy had such a poor attitude, he couldn't figure out, nor was it his duty to. He tried being nice, that was enough effort. "Well fine. Usually people like you are grateful when someone tries to help, but I don't mind saving money."
Jaebum spun around to turn away, only to hear the man behind him shuffling to stand up.
"'People?' I'm not 'people'. I have a name, y'know." He called, stopping Jaebum in his tracks.
Was he really gonna turn around and entertain this guy any longer? Obviously due to the fact that he hadn't even made it a few feet away without stopping, Jaebum wasn't exactly good at walking away from situations. He slowly turned back around, letting out a heavy sigh. "Fine, what is it?"
"Jinyoung." The guy replied.
Jaebum nodded, shoving his hands in his pocket. "Fine, Jinyoung, you're allowed to stay here on the street and refuse my help since I must be a waste of time to you."
Jinyoung folded his arms over his chest, exasperatedly sighing. "You're so sensitive. I didn't mean it like that."
"I'm not sensitive!" Jaebum retorted. He had no idea where that adjective came from, but he for sure wasn't 'sensitive'.
