"h-hand over y-your m-money, or i'll k-kill you." shrouded in shadows, the short man whose face was partially covered by a black face mask weakly threatened, hands trembling as it held what seemed to be a kitchen knife.

taehyung cocked his head to the side doubtfully, licking his lips.

"kill me then."

"w-what?" the robber stuttered, blinking in confusion.

"didn't you say you would kill me if i don't hand over my money? i'm not giving you my money, so kill me."

the robber's eyes widened in desperation, and he looked like he was about to cry.

"i-i won't hesitate to s-stab you with this k-knife." he tried once again, lips quivering as he inched the knife closer to taehyung.

"well, i'm waiting." taehyung raised an eyebrow, not at all afraid as it was pretty obvious the cowardly robber wouldn't dare to do it.

"g-give me your money...please." the man whispered so quietly taehyung could barely hear him, voice cracking pathetically at the last word.

"um, hey, are you okay?" taehyung asked, even though he found it ridiculous that he was showing concern to someone who was holding a knife right in front of his face.

"no..." the man unexpectedly admitted, letting his hands drop to his side and releasing his tight grip on the knife. he looked at his feet silently, and taehyung could make out some muffled sniffles.

he awkwardly placed his hands on the man's shoulders as an attempt to comfort him, cringing at how weird the situation was.

"it's okay?" he mumbled unsurely, as the man's shoulders started to shake uncontrollably. loud sobs were escaping from his mouth, and it seemed like he had been holding them back for a really long time.

honestly, taehyung had no idea what to do, but he knew he couldn't just do nothing. he hated seeing people cry. he wanted to comfort the man somehow. however, before he could do anything, the stranger spoke.

"i-i'm sorry i-i tried to steal y-your money. i m-mean, y-you must have w-worked hard to e-earn it and it's n-not fair if i j-just take it l-like that and-" hicupping, the man rambled guiltily, but was cut off by taehyung.

"er, it's okay really, you didn't take my money after all." taehyung assured, wondering how on earth someone with that much conscience could be a robber, or at least had tried to be a robber. he definitely had to be desperate.

"look, how about i lend you some money?" retracting his hand, taehyung sighed, unable to believe the words that were coming out from his mouth.

"r-really?" the man lifted up his head in surprise, and taehyung thought he looked like an innocent little kid even though he was muscular.

"yeah. i said lend though, not give, so you have to return the money to me." taehyung emphasised, already regretting his decision as he thought of his unpaid rent.

but then again, it would be his first time not paying his rent on time, so he was sure his landlord would give him an extension. this guy, however, seemed like he wouldn't be getting any extension for whatever it was he needed the money for.

"i-okay, i will b-but i don't know w-when i will be able t-to do so..." he murmured, eyebrows furrowed.

"take your time. as long as you return the money before er...before i turn 25, i guess?"

"25?"

"yeah...it's the age i'm planning to get married." taehyung explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"oh. how old are you now?"

"23. 2 years should be enough, hm?"

"y-yes." the man had stopped crying, but somehow was still stuttering. taehyung assumed he was just shy by nature.

"how much do you need?"

the man mumbled a reply, and taehyung nodded his head thoughtfully. it wasn't a small amount, but luckily, it wasn't that much that it would make taehyung broke either.

as he had just withdrew money from the atm, he took out the straight, smooth notes from his wallet and passed it to the man.

"t-thank you so much!" he said with a deep bow, eyes seeming to water again as he tucked the notes safely in his pocket.

"no prob. what's your name, by the way?"

"j-jimin..." jimin shyly introduced, fumbling with his other pocket.

"that's a nice name." taehyung complimented sincerely as jimin took out a piece of paper and a pen.

he held those out to taehyung, who looked at him with a questioning glance.

"y-your number."

"are you hitting on me?" taehyung teased playfully, scribbling his number down.

"w-what? n-no! it's so i can return you the money in the future!" flustered, jimin clarified with exaggerated hand motions.

"you're cute." taehyung smiled, handing the paper scribbled with messy numbers back to jimin.

even though most of his face was covered, taehyung thought he could see the top of his cheeks flushing red.

"i-i'll call you when i can return the money. t-thank you so so much." he gratefully bowed once again.

"sure. i'll be looking forward to your call, jiminie."

taehyung didn't know how it could be possible, but jimin's cheeks seemed to turn even redder at the nickname.

jimin stared at his saviour for a few seconds, before mumbling something about being in a rush. bowing once again, he ran off, not before accidentally stumbling and earning a chuckle from taehyung though.

even though taehyung still didn't really know what had just happened, he felt good knowing that he had helped someone.

spotting the knife that was still lying on the floor from the corner of his eyes, he squatted down and picked it up, glancing at the disappearing silhouette one last time.

"i'll see you again soon, jimin."