"You and me are floating on a tidal wave together; you and me are drifting into outer space and singing"
x & y

chapter eighteen: i should've stayed in bed
taehyung's perspective
° ☆.☽*: ° ☆ ☪︎

"Oh shit," I cursed, eyes widening at the piece of paper I held in my hand. I blinked and rubbed my eyes but the sight didn't change. I turned to Jungkook, who was sat next to me on my couch, and passed the paper wordlessly. He read it quickly and soon turned to me, his eyes equally wide.

"Holy shit, Tae," Jungkook said.

"I have insurance, why does this still cost so much money?" I asked, taking the bill back and scanning it again in hopes of finding a little line that said, 'Haha, this is just a joke.' I found none.

"Jesus. You would think that it wouldn't cost that much but damn, they really did you dirty." Jungkook clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"How the hell am I supposed to pay for this?" I questioned. Who knew getting shot in the shoulder would cost me so much?

"I don't know, Tae. How much are the installments?"

"Nearly six hundred a month. That's almost as much as my rent itself! Fuck. I can't afford this, Kookie, what do I do?" I turned to Jungkook with pleading eyes, as if he held all of the answers in the universe.

"I don't know, Tae. I mean, you could take out a loan, I guess, but you'd have to pay that back plus interest. This is a horrible situation for someone who makes as little money as you do. No offense."

"None taken."

I gnawed on my lip, panic starting to seep into my skin. How could I pay for this along with all my other bills? Why the hell is the bill even this much money? Just... why? I thought quickly through my options, knowing full well that I couldn't afford this extra bill. I made exactly enough money to pay for my bills and necessities, nothing more. Even if I budgeted I still wouldn't make enough. A growl of frustration bubbles up in my throat and I tossed the piece of paper towards my coffee table, watching as it caught air and fluttered onto the floor.

"I'm so screwed." I whined, burying my face in my hands.

"It's going to be okay, Tae." Jungkook said in a comforting tone, his arm moving to lay across my shoulders and tug me closer in his embrace. I inhaled his scent and immediately the tension eased out and relief flooded me. Things would be okay. I would figure this out, somehow.

My phone buzzing had me groaning as I slipped out of Jungkook's warm
embrace and plucked it off of the counter, seeing that Seokjin was calling me. I instantly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, honey. I just got the really weird feeling that I should call you. Are you okay?" Jin asked, his voice seemed to be one of concern that I very much appreciated.

"Nothing much except I'm about to go bankrupt and be homeless." I bitterly replied, sighing heavily.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"My hospital bill."

"Oh," Jin paused a second. "How much is it? It should be in monthly payments, yeah?"

"Yeah. Six hundred a month."

"Holy shit."

I groaned in defeat. If Seokjin was cursing than I was well and truly fucked.

"I know. It's almost as much as my rent. I have no idea how I'm going to pay for it. Jungkook and I were just talking about what options I have. It's not looking too good, though," Another sigh escaped my lips and I frowned. An intense pressure made me feel like groaning. I so didn't need a headache right now. Jin hummed against the receiver and I swear I could almost feel his thoughts turning.

"Hm, I'll call you right back, Tae. I might have a solution to your problem."

"What?" I asked, but was met with no reply. I pulled my phone away and saw that he hung up on me. "Rude."

I returned to the couch, plopping down into Jungkook's welcoming arms. I could see his eyebrows raised in question.

"Seokjin called. I told him what was going on and then he said he might have a solution then hung up. Not really sure what it means." I snuggled into Jungkook's arms and reveled in how everything else seems to melt away. When I'm in his arms, there's no problems. There's no stress. Just me and him.

"Well, that sounds good." Jungkook said after a minute, resting his chin on my head.

We sat in a few minutes of silence before my phone started buzzing again. I slid to accept the call without looking.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey Tae-Baby." Seokjin said, his voice chipper.

"Did you find a magical solution?" I scoffed, shaking my head. As if such a thing existed.

"Something like that."

I sat up, Jungkook's arm falling behind me as my interests peaked.

"Yeah?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah. I just talked to Namjoon and, well, we figure that you could come live in that extra apartment that's next to ours. We've used it for storage, mainly, but we could just get a storage unit. I've been pestering him to let me fix it up anyways but this works out perfectly. I know your lease lets up soon, yeah?"

"Yes! Yeah, it does. Oh my god. Could I really? That would be perfect." I gushed, suddenly excited. If I could avoid paying rent then I would have the extra cash to pay the bill and then even some extra.

"Yeah, honey, of course. It's all yours. I mean honestly, I was going to mention it to you anyways because I know you need to make as much money as you can but this situation works. This way, you don't have to worry about that extra bill. Plus you'll live closer to your work so you can sleep in."

"Haha, yeah, you're right." I released an exhale of relief. So maybe I wouldn't end up homeless. "Thank you so much, Jin. Both you and Namjoon. You're really saving me."

"No problem, sweetie. You can start moving some of your stuff over. It's just a room and a bathroom, but, any extra furniture and stuff can just go in the storage unit with our stuff."

"Wow. This is literally the perfect solution to my problem. God, I love you both so much."

"And we love you too. Now, go spend some time with Jungkook and relax. Being stressed won't help your wound to heal."

"Okay, mom." I joked.

We both said goodbyes and then hung up. I twisted to see Jungkook and started squealing happily, clapping my hands before I threw my arms around his neck, much to the protest of my shoulder, but I ignored that as I squeezed him.

"I love them so much." I said. I could feel Jungkook chuckle beneath me.

"Yeah. I wish I would have thought of their solution sooner."

"What do you mean?" I titled my head slightly to the side as I questioned him.

"I mean, I wish I would have thought to have you move into my apartment before they thought to have you move in theirs."

"You would let me live with you?"

"Of course." Jungkook said with a scoff, rolling his eyes. "Silly."

"Maybe next time, then," I told him, smiling as I nuzzled into his chest. For the first time since I opened that bill I actually felt relieved. Thanks to Seokjin, Namjoon, and Jungkook, I would be alright. With my tight group of friends, I don't even know why I would think I would end up homeless. If Seokjin and Namjoon wouldn't have offered, Jungkook would have, or Jimin and Yoongi would have. I loved that I had such a supportive group that would take care of me when I can't do it myself.

lol i know this chapter is rly short but like i said i'm pretty busy but i felt bad so here we are. i hope you enjoyed it. here's a question;

do you have any favorite anime series and movie?

my favorite anime movie is definitely between Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. as far as series go, i adore Fruits Basket and Seven Deadly Sins (ofc i've watched lots of series and i can't list them all but those two have always remained in my top five)

this chapter is dedicated to arospec for their stupendous book Gay