Bargain (Not Met) (JungHope)

Interlude - Trip to the Library

The frigid winter air bit at Hoseok's exposed skin despite his best efforts to fold his entire body into his two-sizes-too-small coat.

"Hyung, you're shaking like a leaf!" Jimin exclaimed upon minute twenty of their walk to the library.

"Yes. Thank you, Jimin, for pointing out the obvious," Hoseok muttered. He had to be careful to not reply outright to the angel since there were people who actually regularly got up at the ass crack of dawn and were currently trudging alongside him.

"I think he means that you should probably take shelter somewhere to warm up," Jungkook said.

Hoseok narrowed his eyes at the demon. "No. I don't wanna chance it and end up being late." He turned his gaze forward so that he didn't accidentally walk into someone while not paying attention. "Besides, there are only a few more blocks to go; I'll get there before I freeze to death."

"You're stubborn for the strangest reasons," Jungkook mumbled.

Hoseok had to stop himself from sneering at the demon, and, instead, focused on navigating his body so that it curved around the stray potted plant that had been placed in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Who would leave a plant out in the middle of winter?" Jimin said, tone a mixture of confusion and disappointment.

"People like me," Hoseok confessed. He continued upon Jimin's scandalized gasp. "I mean, people are spontaneous, yeah? And when they just have random thoughts floating around in their head, there's one particular one that ends up sticking, and then they act on it." He jabbed his thumb pointedly behind him; back to the potted plant they've long since passed. "And then they try to get rid of the evidence of it ever happening as soon as they're in their right mind."

A moment of silence passed between the stumbling group before Jungkook muttered, "Humans are weird."

Hoseok snorted, more amused than anything else, surprisingly. "You used to be one, too, Kook."

He glanced back at the demon, and a wide grin overtook his face upon seeing Jungkook's face scrunched up in what looked to be disgust, but also, oddly enough, wonder.

"You sure do still act like one sometimes, though," Hoseok continued with a snicker. "Especially like an immature one."

Jungkook gasped in outrage. "I am not immature!"

Hoseok tried his hardest to not laugh at the whine that escaped the demon near the end of his denial.

*~~*

The library invited Hoseok's shivering body by engulfing his entire body with that sweet, sweet heated air. He sighed into the cozy atmosphere and immediately shouldered off his coat, which had been constricting his breathing for the past half-hour.

"You think he's here yet?" he asked, voice barely above a breathy whisper since he didn't want the librarian at the front desk to hear him seemingly talking to himself.

He watched as Jungkook brought his bare wrist up to his eyesight and inspect his imaginary watch for a few seconds before the demon finally turned his gaze up to Hoseok's with a bright smile on his face. "He's running a little late, actually," he said. His voice was light and so matter-of-fact that Hoseok almost went along with it and continued on with his task of finding a spot to sit at.

Almost.

"Wait." He glanced over at the librarian that still stood at her post at the front desk before beckoning both Jimin and Jungkook to follow him to a more discrete area to continue their conversation.

It was a good thing that nobody but sleep-deprived college students (who probably spent the previous night in their current positions) went to the library so early since there were so many free spaces to choose from that were away from prying eyes and ears. An entire open area of desks that were scattered in the vast expanse that particular corner had to offer was barren of any life, and care, if the fine layer of dust along the surfaces of wood was anything to go by. There was also a closed-off aisle between bookshelves that offered just enough space for people to occupy if they wanted to have that much privacy.

Which was what exactly Hoseok needed if he didn't want to get caught seemingly talking to himself.

Hoseok squeezed himself in between the cramped space that separated the two Romance genre bookshelves and motioned for Jimin and Jungkook to join him on the floor.

"So," Jimin began after situating himself in front of Hoseok's hunched form, "why are we here? Taehyung won't be able to find you if you stay hidden like this."

"I'm not worried about him right now," Hoseok said. It was a bald-faced lie--he was plenty aware of that--but what he needed to do was not focus on Taehyung for one second of his life, and to actually get some clean-cut answers from either one of his companions.

"Then what are you worried about?" Jungkook questioned, tone innocent and honestly confused, as though he couldn't quite grasp the idea that he was the object of Hoseok's stress as of late.

"You," Hoseok answered pointedly. He didn't want to waste time beating around the bush since Taehyung was due to arrive any minute now, so time was of the essence.

Jungkook startled.

God, Hoseok hated when the demon showed his child-like naivety when it came to a life-or-death situation like their deal.

"Me?" Jungkook's eyes widened impossibly more upon Hoseok's fervent nodding. "What! Why?"

Now, this was the part Hoseok was gonna have a hard time explaining. He needed, absolutely had to get the urgency of his situation across to Jungkook in whatever amount of time he had left alone with him. Throughout the past couple of weeks, Hoseok had been exposed to more anxiety-inducing situations than he had in his entire life, and that was all thanks to mister Jeon Jungkook, dealer-demon extraordinaire.

He had to let Jungkook know that he was tired of his shit and that the deal shouldn't have to come with so many damned consequences and risks.

"Jungkook--"

"Oh, Hoseokie! There you are!"

Goddamnit.

A/N - mission: failed. we'll get 'em next time.