—
"You're really testing your limits here, Jungkook."

Just woken up from a relaxing nap, the first thing Taehyung wanted to deal with really wasn't his battered and bruised best friend standing at his front door once again. Jungkook had been gone when he woke up, and though Taehyung did expect him to come back, he didn't think it was too much to want him back in one piece as well.

The right side of Jungkook's jaw was painted in various shade of blue and purple. It was definitely swollen, Taehyung squinting as he realized that Jungkook's face was almost lopsided now. His lip was nearly busted, blood caked around his piercing and making the older boy visually grimace. He finally sighed, stepping to the side to give Jungkook room to walk inside. "What did you do now?"

Jungkook made his way over to Taehyung's couch, throwing himself onto it and breathing out a deep sigh of relief. Never in his life had Taehyung's couch been more comfortable. He sniffled a few times, trying to ignore the blood that he knew has drying in his nostrils. "It's the same answer I had to give you last night, Hyung. You know I can't tell you that."

Taehyung narrowed his eyes, shutting his front door and crossing his arms over his chest as he slowly made his way over to Jungkook. He wore the same outfit as last night, obviously slept in, but now his fluffy peach coloured hair was tied up into a small ponytail.

The thin silver chain around his neck glinted in the overhead light as he crouched down next to where Jungkook was lying on the couch, making them at eye level.

"I don't like that answer." He spoke, gaze hard on the younger boy as Jungkook propped his head up on his hand to more comfortably look at Taehyung. "I don't want you to give me one of your bullshit retorts either. Talk to me, Jungkook. What the hell is going on?"

Jungkook sighed and looked down. He knew that this was a lot for Taehyung to deal with, let alone without any answers to why it was happening. What he also knew though, was that he absolutely could not tell Taehyung the whole truth. Especially not without asking Jimin beforehand. The fact that he was disposable had hung over his head since he met the older thief.

"It's really nothing, Hyung." Jungkook finally replied, and he wasn't quite sure what hurt more; the fact that he had lied, or the look on Taehyung's face when the older realized he did.

The frustration in Taehyung's eyes had morphed into a more pained expression. He opened and closed his mouth a few times as if he were about to say something, but Jungkook watched him give up and merely shake his head instead.

The older male stood up wordlessly. He grabbed a lighter and an already rolled joint off of his coffee table, stuffing them in the pockets of his sweatpants. Jungkook noticed that his hands were shaking. Taehyung being silent was something that seldom happened unless he accidentally got too high for his own liking.

Jungkook was aware that he was fucking up pretty badly.

"Hyung, wait." He brought his hand up to his head, a looming headache finally deciding to make itself more well known. "If I tell you what I'm currently going through right now, there's a really high change that you could get killed too." The brunette looked down, observing his swollen knuckles. "I don't even want to think about that happening."

"Too?" Taehyung spoke up, Jungkook meeting his distraught gaze. "I could get killed, too? Meaning that you're already on the verge of dying?"Jungkook hesitated, before nodding. "Why are you doing this?"

The older man walked over to the other side of the room when Jungkook gave him the silent treatment once more, reaching into his dresser drawer to pull out a carton of cigarettes. Jungkook knew that Taehyung had been trying to quit, that's why there was a nearly empty jar or suckers still sitting on the table.

He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in his chest as he watched his friend light one.

"I just really don't understand what's going on with you. I'm really trying not to lash out on you right now, but you're making it really difficult - to put it bluntly." Taehyung continued, walking back over to where Jungkook was seated and leaning against the closest wall to him. "Do you notice how I've never really asked where you go when you're not here?"

Jungkook nodded. "That's because I was under the assumption that you were smart enough not to get caught up in something like this!" Taehyung's voice was thick with smoke, the older man having to breathe it out before continuing. "I'd like to think I'm pretty lenient with the shit you get up to, so please forgive me if I draw the line at a bag of stolen cash and threats against your life!"

His words made Jungkook glance over to Taehyung's bed, where the cash was still hidden underneath. He frowned, realizing that he still had to give a large sum of it to his old friend Namjoon. He really didn't want to see him again.

Taehyung watched as Jungkook drifted off into thought again, nearly on the verge of tears as he realized that none of his words were seeming to strike a chord in the younger boy. "You either tell me what's going on, or you can't stay here anymore."

Now that caught Jungkook's attention.

"I don't even technically live here, I just stop by." He answered, not realizing that the nonchalant nature of his words were only hurting Taehyung more. "Why would you kick me out?"

"Why?" Taehyung asked incredulously, eyes nearly popping out of his skull at the absurdity of the younger boy's question. "Why? Because having you here, is making me scared for my own life. You bring a bag full of cash into my house at four in the morning with no explanation. You show up at my door today looking like someone kicked your shit in, and now you're telling me that you might get killed."

His hands were shaking, making it more difficult than usual to take a drag off of his cigarette. "You know I don't want you out on the streets. That's why I let you come here whenever. I expect a bit of honesty in return though."

God did Jungkook's heart ache at those words. He hated lying to Taehyung. He went to nibble at his piercing, wincing once he remembered that his lip was still swollen. Jungkook really didn't want to lose his only friend over this.

He looked around the room, closing his eyes once he realized all of Taehyung's windows were closed.

"I robbed a bank." He whispered.

The room after that, was dead silent. So silent that Jungkook heard the carpet sizzle after Taehyung's cigarette fell out of his hand. The older male had been stunned into silence, position frozen and eyes searching Jungkook's face for any clues that would give away that he was lying.

There weren't any though.

"Jungkook." Taehyung stomped out the cigarette that was still smoking on the carpet, cringing slightly at the stain and burn hole it left on the ground. "Don't fuck around with me."

"I'm not." Jungkook answered quickly, sitting up and wincing at the pain that his entire body was still enduring. Jimin didn't just know how to punch, he knew where - which made it far worse. "Kim Namjoon, you know him right?"

Taehyung nodded, his expression a mixture of confusion and fear. "I owe him so much money." Jungkook buried his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes. "Like a stupid amount. I used to help him sell stuff, and I'd steal some of his product as we were bagging it up, then I'd bring it home with me. It was going really well for awhile: free weed, still getting a cut out of the profits we made - I thought I was really off the hook for this one."

Taehyung nodded, motioning for Jungkook to go on.

"Namjoon found out, of course he did." Jungkook continued, bringing his head back up and meeting Taehyung's gaze. "And man was he pissed. I don't really blame him, I mean I was stealing at least a quarter off of every ounce we bought to sell. I don't know how he didn't realize before."

Jungkook sighed, picking at the callouses on his palms. "Long story short, he asked for money to pay him back for everything I stole, and of course I couldn't give him anything." He explained. "So, he told me he would wait, but charge interest for every week I didn't come give it to him."

Taehyung's eyes widened.

"Interest?" He sputtered, "Is he a fucking credit company?" Jungkook couldn't help but chuckle, and shook his head. "How long ago was this?"

"Just under two years ago." Jungkook answered softly, his voiced laced with stress and worry. "So I owe him just over three million won right now." He nodded his head in the direction of Taehyung's bed. "I've got over five mil' in that bag."

Once again, Taehyung was speechless. Jungkook had always been a big of an enigma to him. They met when Taehyung was in his second year of high school and Jungkook was just starting. All he really knew about the younger boy was that he had grown up with a single dad, and got kicked out when he was sixteen because of the type of lifestyle he had gotten involved in. Jungkook was just too closed off about his past to let him know anything more.

He knew that Jungkook didn't always make the wisest decisions, but robbing a bank to pay a debt? Really?

"Why do you even have to pay him back? If he's waited this long he might have forgotten." Taehyung suggested, Jungkook immediately shaking his head.

"Oh, I wish, but he hasn't. The whole reason I stole this shit is because he reminded me about it a few days prior." He answered, scanning his eyes across Taehyung's coffee table. The contents on it changed everyday. "He'll never forget."

Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows.

"So is that the reason you're scared of someone killing you?" He asked, his stomach dropping when the younger boy shook his head.

"'No, that's just why I have the money."

—
a/n
morning update because I have to work all day hehe
this is kind of edited?? I tried lol

- Charlie :)