Taehyung opened his eyes and stared at the sight in front of him for a few seconds, the back of Jungkook's head; messy black hair, a few strands sticking up like antennas and making him very much want to flatten it. So he reached over with a hand and proceeded to press down on it, having to do so a few times just to keep it in place. The boy mumbled in his sleep and shifted slightly but didn't roll over or wake up from what he could see. Satisfied that no stray hairs were sticking up he rolled onto his back and turned his head to look at his other side. Hoseok was lying on his side facing him, one arm folded up in front of him and the other stretched out slightly in the space between them both. His hair wasn't messy at all but rather just across his brow. He considered trying to brush it back but he didn't want to disturb him right now. Instead he just rolled onto his side and studied him for a moment.

Hoseok looked very peaceful sleeping and he found it very hard to believe that it had been just over a day since he had collapsed. It was those stupid pills of course, he didn't need to be told by his friends that it was the case. He had watched the boy taking quite a few of them over the past few days, more than the allocated one, but he hadn't said anything to him because he had felt he was in the wrong for doing so. It would be rather hypocritical of him to talk about about addictions considering his own battling with alcohol of late, a problem he was aware of but didn't particularly care about. But since the boy had collapsed he felt that he had made a big mistake by not mentioning it, or perhaps telling one of the others and getting them to do it so it didn't seem so bad. Yet he hadn't, he had pussied out and he felt partly responsible for what had happened. If he caught sight of him taking any more of them he would be sure to monitor him, but he hadn't seen him anywhere near the bottle of pills. Maybe he would wait a few days first and then pop a few when they weren't aware, but he was hoping that it wasn't the case.

After a minute or two his friend stirred with a soft noise under his breath and then his eyelids flickered slightly. He peered at him through his hair and then sighed.

"I had the weirdest dream that I was being stared at..." Hoseok muttered and the jibe made Taehyung grin. "And look at that, talk about a premonition." He moved his legs so that he could straighten them out. "How long have you been doing that for?"

"Just a minute," he explained and this made the other boy laugh softly, no doubt pretending that he didn't believe him. "Honestly just a minute, that's all."

"I thought you could stare at me all day?"

"I could but you'd punch me," Taehyung replied and he gave him a wide smile so he reached over to brush his hair back off of his brow. It felt like silk against his fingertips and at least he could look at his face more fully, see his eyes and brows, his forehead which also looked soft to the touch. He got it in place and it took him great willpower to move his hand away again. "You OK?"

"Uh..." Hoseok sighed the word out. "I don't know, that's a tricky question." He asked him if he had a headache and he shook his head, knocking a few locks of hair back over his brow. He was thankful for it because it allowed him to brush it back again. "No headache but I don't feel great truthfully. I hope that I don't have a bad day..."

"Bad day?" Taehyung asked, running his fingers through his hair instead of moving his hand back. His friend didn't stop him and he took that as a good sign.

"A day without the pills is a bad day," Hoseok said after a moment of silence. "And I don't want that, travelling would be hell."

"Then I'll carry you," Taehyung said with a smile and it made him scoff but his expression showed that he amused by the idea. "Piggyback you, whatever, doesn't matter lover boy."

"When will you stop calling me that?"

"When I stop calling Jimin 'Dumbass'," he replied without missing a beat, "and that'll never happen." The boy seemed to think this over for a few seconds and then he rolled his eyes up to look at his hand as he was still stroking his hair slowly. Then he asked him how he was feeling. "Me? I'm feeling the same as always really."

"Drunk?" At this remark Taehyung snorted laughter and Hoseok reached up to grab his hand. He didn't move it away but instead took his hand within his own, loosely entwining their fingers and placing them down on the concrete floor. "You know what I mean, just saying something like that doesn't answer the question. Are you OK?"

"I'm still a little...well I'm getting better," Taehyung said after a moment of thought. "Hopefully we'll both avoid bad days, right?" He could see that he was thinking this over, possibly trying to figure out what he was talking about without having to ask. He doubted that he would get the right answer but he still needed to make sure that he didn't slip up and say something that might give him any ideas. "It's nothing serious, don't worry about me."

"It's hard to not worry when you haven't talked about it..."

"Don't need to talk about," he replied a little too brusquely, "'cos it's not important." Hoseok looked like he was going to argue against this but he decided not to and instead sat up, letting go of his hand and reaching up to cover a yawn. Taehyung studied his back and a moment later he got to his feet and walked across the warehouse.

After a few seconds he also sat up, having to do so slowly because there was still a horrible sensation in his lower back, like a pulled muscle that made him groan under his breath and reach down to press his hand against it. He could feel an aching in his inner thighs too and he wondered when his bruises would fade because he had to take great care to hide them from wandering eyes. Getting to his feet seemed like too much hard work and so he just reached over and fished for his boots so that he could slip into them, knotting the laces tightly. The shutter door sounded and he looked over just in time to see Hoseok disappearing under it, presumably going to find somewhere to use as a toilet because there wasn't one inside, probably the gutter. To his right he could see that Seokjin and Jimin and Namjoon were awake, rubbing at eyes roughly and rolling shoulders to loosen the muscles.

"How's your ass?" Taehyung asked as he looked at Jimin, grinning at him as he did.

"Still cold," the boy replied, in the midst of stretching and touching his toes. "Freezing cold actually."

"I'm sorry that your cute little butt had to suffer."

"...top talking about butts," Yoongi mumbled as he rolled onto his back with a groan, "this early in the...fucking morning."

"When exactly is the best time to talk about butts?" Namjoon asked as he lowered his shoulders and looked at him.

"Not now," the other man replied as he curled himself up in a ball, hugging his legs against his chest rather than sit up. "I don't wanna be thinking about butts when I'm asleep."

"Why not? That's pretty much all of my dreams," Taehyung said as he shifted to get onto his hands and knees. As he got upright there was a dull ache and he managed to not grimace at this. The shutter sounded again and a few seconds later Hoseok reappeared into the warehouse.

"So...there's been a change of plans," Jimin said as the clattering sound of the shutter falling woke Jungkook up, the youngest boy sitting bolt upright and forcing his eyes open.

"What kinda change?" Jungkook asked with a yawn, his words slurred into nonsense.

"We're thinking of the coaches."

"Wait, I thought we weren't doing the coach thing?" Taehyung asked in confusion, eyes flitting between them all in turn.

"Well," Seokjin said after a moment, "I was thinking it over last night and Namjoon did raise a good point. We don't want to risk getting lost and getting even further away from Seoul, and the coaches would really help cut down on the time."

"It wasn't that hard to make the money," Jimin added, "and as soon as we have a good amount we can just jump on them. I mean, it could take less days, it could take the same or even more but what have we got to lose?"

"OK, but what's happening exactly? What's going on?" He didn't want to shift about but he couldn't help himself, moving from foot to foot. The thought of the cash in his boot was right at the front of his mind and he wondered what they would say if he were to pull it out right now and show them it.

"We're gonna go into the next city," Namjoon explained, "and we're gonna settle down for a few days in a hostel. Pay for a day or two in advance and just go out and make money. Except for Hoseok, he's resting."

"I told you that I don't need to," the boy practically sighed.

"You need the rest, how long do you think you can work if you get another headache, huh? Or you collapse again?" Hoseok dropped his eyes to his boots and didn't say a word at this. "That's the plan, hopefully we can stick to it." Taehyung asked about the jobs and he just shrugged. "We'll just have to search for some jobs, I guess."

Taehyung was thankful that there wasn't many miles between the warehouse and the next town that they arrived in because his muscles started protesting after just an hour of walking. It didn't start around his ankles and shins unlike his friends' loud complaints, but rather in his thighs and lower back. His stomach muscles still felt a little sore but they didn't hurt when he walked, rather just when bending over and trying to get back upright after sitting or lying down. Tying his shoelaces was sheer agony and they kept coming undone just to vex him, so worn from use that they were starting to fray. After several pathetic attempts of trying to do them the others seemed to realise that he grunts were of pain and not annoyance, and then Yoongi surprised him by actually dropping to his knees and knotting them for him when they had been waiting at a set of traffic lights. The young man did so without saying a single word, or even looking at him, and he just watched him hastily loop and knot and then re-loop the laces to secure them better and then muttered his thanks.

It took perhaps two and a half hours of walking to finally get close to the heart of Yesan County and then some more searching to locate a hostel of some kind. But upon entering it to check out the rates Seokjin rapidly pulled Namjoon back out onto the curb to leave again, claiming that the rate was just too high for two rooms. However after checking out four such hostels it became apparent that they were going to have to share a double room for the time being because they couldn't afford any better. That meant at least a few of them would need to sleep on the floor. A single bed could just hold a pair but nothing more, and no matter what positions they tried the settee in the hostel they settled for just wouldn't fit more than one person on it. So Namjoon volunteered for the floor until they could get another room and Jimin said he slept on it most nights anyway, shooting Taehyung a look as he did that made everyone laugh. He was telling the truth and he didn't think there was any point in trying to deny it.

There was a scrabble for the bathroom because everyone wanted to get cleaned up from the previous day and Taehyung just waited for them to all get washed because he didn't want to share the room with anyone that would see the bruises still on his body and ask about them; the bruises in the most awkward and obvious of places. So he just sat on the end of one of the beds and watched them all racing around the room. He must have drifted off into his thoughts because the next thing he knew he was being shaken by someone and he looked up sharply to see Seokjin leaning over him.

"Wuh..." Taehyung furrowed his brow and looked over the hostel room to see that they were the only ones in it, save for someone still in the bathroom: presumably Hoseok. "Where is everyone?"

"Out," Seokjin explained as he let go of his shoulder. "Looking for work."

"Why're you here?" he asked as he reached up to rub at his eyes roughly. So his friend quietly explained that he was keeping an eye on their friend, doing so as he looked at the closed over bathroom door and making it pretty obvious that he didn't want him to overhear. "You think he needs a babysitter?"

"I think that Hoseok can't be left alone for a few days," Seokjin said as he moved to sit on the other bed, "and I'm sure everyone else thinks it seen as they told me to stay here with him. Well, less told more demanded." Taehyung made a noise in agreement as he dropped his hands on the bed and leaned back on his wrists. "Are you OK?" At the question he dragged his eyes away from the bathroom door to look at his friend. Unreadable expression on his face but he knew he was very much trying to get an answer out of him. He nodded at the question. "Because you've seemed a little...off these past few days and-"

"I'm fine, really," Taehyung replied as he got to his feet and crossed the room, pushing the door open and stepping into the bathroom. Hoseok was standing in front of the sink in the process of patting his face dry with the towel around his shoulders, hair damp and brushed back off his face. At the sound of him entering he peered at him using the mirror over the sink; chipped and scratched with age.

"Ah yes, privacy," the other boy said with a soft smile. "Something I miss almost as much as hot food." Taehyung put the toilet seat down and sat down on it as if it was a chair, trying his hardest not to wince but knowing that he did so anyway. "All you need is a pipe and a newspaper and you're all set." Hoseok remarked as he looked over at him.

"I think you mean a shot of soju and a comic book." He corrected with a smirk.

"Close enough," his friend said with a soft shrug. Taehyung watched a bead of water run down the side of his face before soaking into the towel. "You're avoiding Seokjin, aren't you?"

"Nope, what gave you that idea, huh?"

"You're hiding in the bathroom, using a toilet like an armchair, and Seokjin is in the other room: I deducted it." Hoseok shifted to lean against the sink and he stared at him. "Am I right or am I right?"

"Maybe I just wanted to talk to you lover boy? In private?"

"Cut it with the lover boy shit. You're trying to make me change the subject." Taehyung sighed heavily at this and it made the other boy grin. He knew that he had him cornered. "Which just proves that I was right."

"Maybe I am, you'd know about avoiding people and subjects." Hoseok set his lips in a thin line and he refused to look away or back down even if his words had irritated his friend. "But right now I just wanna get cleaned up and go out."

"To look for a job?" Taehyung confirmed this even though it wasn't the truth and the other boy thought it over for a few seconds. "...OK, but you can't avoid him forever, you know?"

"I know."

"Or me either."

"Wouldn't dream of it lover boy," Taehyung said with a wink, smiling at the expression on Hoseok's face.

It wasn't exactly a lie that he had told him, after all he had already done a job of his own just a few nights back and the cash was still inside his boot. Why, all he had to do was wander for a couple of hours and then come back to the room, slipping the rolled up cash out and showing them it. None of them would question it of course, they would happily accept it, so he just needed to stick to it and give them no reason to think otherwise. Taehyung got cleaned up quickly just to save either of his friends 'accidentally' stumbling inside the bathroom and when he was ready he left again, promising a score of cash just like always.

His broken watch told him that it was 11:25am and he thought that showing up back at the hostel around 6pm would be suitable enough so he set himself that as a goal and hastily crossed the lot to get to the street without looking back at the room. He was lucky that Hoseok that had ended up stuck with Seokjin and not Jimin because at least he wouldn't have anything to blurt out should the eldest start asking questions, which he would obviously do. Taehyung had dodged a real bullet with that one and he sighed in relief as he started walking down the street. Yesan County wasn't interesting at all and he quickly found himself bored of not only the dull sights but also his aching muscles. Maybe he could find somewhere to sit down for awhile, a subway line or park and-

He was so into his thoughts that when something slipped around his neck he let out a cry of surprise and then there was familiar weight on his back.

"Jesus Kookie, thanks for the heart attack."

"You're welcome," the boy said in a chipper tone as he wrapped his thighs up around his waist, locking himself in place so that he couldn't shrug him off so easily.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" he asked as he reached up and pulled his arms off from around his throat. The boy's boots hit the sidewalk with a loud thump and he turned to look back at him. The bruises had at least faded considerably from the fight and he silently wished that his would hurry up and go too. Jungkook fired the question back at him. "Already got some cash."

"Damn..." His friend scuffed his boot on the curb for a moment before glancing across the street at a kids playground. "Been out for three hours so far and nothing. Talk about bad luck, huh?" Three hours? The boy must have gotten cleaned up and ran off first, and here he was, barely an hour after leaving the hostel with a boot filled with cash and lies. "I need a break." Taehyung thought this over for a moment before snagging his wrist and pulling him across the road towards the playground. The boy let him drag him inside, through crowds of kids and past curious parents, right over to the swing set.

"You'll find something soon."

"I'm never gonna get a job," Jungkook sighed as he settled into the swing seat, legs folded out in front of him so that his boots were on the wood chip pile that served as flooring. Considering the rate of accidents that likely happened here it would be more fitting to have the padding used in sanatoriums but he supposed that that was a little impractical. There wasn't a free seat as a little girl was already on the other one, and she was looking at them both curiously, expression showing that she didn't truly believe that they were young enough to use this playground, but his friend's age wasn't that far off.

"Wanna push?" Taehyung asked her jokingly and after a few seconds she nodded and smiled at him, lips revealing a missing front tooth and pigtails bouncing from the movement. "I'll push you so high you can jump onto the moon and say hey to the aliens."

"Aliens don't live on the moon dummy," she said in a matter of fact tone, "they live on Mars, duh."

"Damn, you just got told by a kid," Jungkook said with a wide grin as he twisted to look over at them both.

"Keep making comments like that and you'll get no pushes," Taehyung intoned as he gave the little girl a soft push. "What's your name, huh?"

"Daena," she replied as the swing came back from its slight movement, back of her dress brushing against his hands as he pushed her again, this time a little harder.

"Well Princess Daena, you need to keep tight hold of the chains, 'kay?" She said that she would and then requested he push her higher. "If you wanna get off then just stick your heels down on the floor a few times and you'll slow down nice and easy, don't jump off 'cos even princesses can't fly."

"What about a bird princess? Or an angel princess?" Daena asked before letting out a giggle as he pushed her harder. The sound reminded him of Soobin and he felt a pang in his chest. He hoped that she was doing okay right now without him around to keep an eye on her.

"Good point, high enough yet?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Great, my arms are sore." Taehyung moved to go back over to his friend, leaning against the metal structure of the swing set and shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. "What'd you mean you're not gonna get a job, huh?"

"Went into several bars," the boy explained as he played with the swing chains, "and they turned me down. Too young, didn't even give me a minute to perform like the owner back in Gyeonggi did."

"...Shit."

"Yeah, took the words right outta my mouth." Jungkook let go of the chains and instead dropped his hands to his lap. He was sitting hunched forward slightly and he knew a dejected stance when he saw one. "Spent the last couple of hours searching for stupid jobs and I don't have any won to my name. Everyone else has done shit, not me."

"Not Hoseok or Seokjin either..."

"Yeah but they haven't left the hostel room, not a good comparison to make." The boy sighed before looking up at him. "How much have you made so far?"

"...100,000 or so," Taehyung said after a moment of thought, the lie slipping out with perfect ease. "It's barely anything I know but-"

"No that's a good amount, a real good amount," Jungkook argued and he dropped his own gaze to his shoes and wondered if he would say that if he knew how he had obtained it. "That should be enough for a three tickets maybe, not sure. Could be your fare covered already."

"Probably."

"I mean I could look for shitty jobs but they don't pay enough, not at all. I guess I'm being greedy by wanting it to be easy, right?" He laughed to himself wearily and then ran his eyes across the packed playground. "There's a mom at four o'clock glaring at us, think she wants a fight." Taehyung looked up to glance in the direction he had specified and sure enough he saw the woman standing quite a few feet away. She was playing with skip ropes with another mother, both of them turning them so that a group of boys and girls could happily jump up and down and race under it with happy giggles. She was only rather young, perhaps in her early thirties, but her severe frown aged her face somewhat; not flattering at all.

"Go fight her," he joked and Jungkook snorted laughter. Only after he did did they both realise that it looked like they were laughing at her and they both stopped dumbly. "Let's uh... go check out that thing." Taehyung pointed at the roundabout and his friend got off the swing and hastily jogged over to it. It was currently empty and there were no kids in the nearby vicinity so they might just get away with playing with it for a little while.

"I wonder how fast these things can go?" Jungkook asked and Taehyung climbed onto it and told him they should try a little experiment. The boy grinned at him and he barely had enough time to sit down before he grabbed onto the metal handle and shoved against it. The push was hard and it started spinning at a decent speed and he began laughing as the view started to zoom past him. His friend waited for the handle and when it passed him he shoved on it again, making it speed up even more.

"Not fast enough!" Taehyung laughed and so the boy waited for the handle once more and when it got close he grabbed onto it and started running as fast as he could, pushing his weight against it as he did. Suddenly the roundabout was going so fast that he felt his ass sliding along the metal surface and he had to grab onto a little fixture at the centre for the kids to use when climbing on it just so he didn't roll right off.

"How about now!?" Jungkook shouted back. Taehyung could only laugh in response because the roundabout was going so fast that the air seemed to hit him in the face and make it hard to catch his breath, as if he had stuck his head out of the window of a moving car. After a few seconds of running the boy tripped up and let go of the handle but it didn't matter because it couldn't have possibly have went any faster.

"God, I'm gonna fucking puke!" Taehyung hollered and he heard Jungkook laughing breathlessly from the ground beside the playground ride. "Mayday! Mayday I'm-"

He didn't have time to finish this sentence because the roundabout stopped so suddenly that his words were cut off as he jerked forward, teeth snapping together and luckily not trapping his tongue between them. He lost his grip on the fixture as he flew forward but he managed to throw his hands out and save himself before he smacked his face on the metallic flooring, the impact jarring all the way up to his shoulders. He looked at his friend dumbly before seeing that he was looking over his shoulder and so he twisted to look back and see a man standing a few feet away. Perhaps in his forties, hair starting to grey a little here and there and some light facial hair, he was looking at them both with a stern expression. Taehyung dropped his eyes to see that he had one loafered foot placed on the roundabout and then he slowly lowered it as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm afraid that I need to ask you to leave," the man said in a low voice. He was suddenly aware that everyone was looking at them, not just the few parents but even the stupid kids too.

"It's a public playground," Jungkook replied, shifting so that he was no longer sprawled out on the floor like a baby.

"It is, for children. You're not children, you're delinquents that would be skipping class if it wasn't a break right now." Taehyung made a noise in agreement at this but the man didn't smile. "You're intimidating the children, you're loud and your language is upsetting them too. Please."

"Technically my friend is a child," he said as he sat down and dusted his hands off. "He's tall for his age but he's a kid. He's actually eleven and-"

"Fuck you Kim Taehyung," Jungkook declared with a grin and he heard one of the mothers across the playground gasping at this. "Eleven my ass."

"If you don't leave I will need to call the police," the man said sternly and at the mention of cops Taehyung sighed and got to his feet.

"C'mon, this place sucked anyway, let's go get drunk or something." He jumped off the roundabout and leaned forward to offer his friend his hand and the boy accepted it and let him drag him to his feet. "Bye bye Princess Daena!"

"Bye bye dummy!" she called back, still happily swinging away. Taehyung led his friend across the playground and out the main gates without looking back once, not caring if they were getting stared at because he was already familiar with the sensation.

"You shouldn't be spending your cash on booze," Jungkook said as they stepped out onto the street.

"Who said anything about spending cash?" he retorted as he let go of his wrist and started walking down the sidewalk. After a few seconds he turned on his heel to look back at him with a wide grin and the boy returned it knowingly.

Several minutes later they were sitting in a nearly empty park which luckily contained no parents and kids but rather just a few people walking through and a couple looking to be sharing a picnic. No beer on show there but food that was probably a lot more appetising than the cheap street shit they had forked a couple of hundred won on. The beers however, like he had promised, were entirely free but they weren't part of a six-pack like usual but rather just a few spare cans he had managed to grab from a little store before disappearing back out of it moments later. It wasn't the best tasting but it was cold, and it was beer, so he didn't particularly care.

"You know," Jungkook said as he lowered his skewer of chicken. "I think we could've totally broken the sound barrier if that dick hadn't stopped us."

"More like broke my fucking neck 'cos it was so fast."

"Were you really gonna puke?" His friend asked him and he nodded with a fervent expression on his face. "Usually you only puke after two whole bottles of soju."

"Seriously Kookie, that's not right at all. You mean three." The boy grinned at him before taking another bite of the fried chicken and Taehyung lifted his can to swallow a deep mouthful of beer. "Imagine doing that with Dumbass, how fast before he started crying, huh?"

"Probably three seconds," Jungkook said around his food and he smiled as he put the can back down on the grass and settled back on his wrists with a sigh. "Then Yoongi would show and stop us."

"He'd fly to us just to stop it. I swear he'd grow fucking wings." His friend snorted loudly and he ran his eyes along the park for a moment. "He's too much sometimes..."

"Yeah, but so are you so it's a fitting match."

"No thanks, match me with someone else."

"What, like with lover boy?" Jungkook raised an eyebrow at this, expression showing that he was in a playful teasing mood.

"Yeah, match me up with lover boy," Taehyung replied as he glanced over at the couple across the park. "That'd be fucking awesome."

"I'll bet..."

"Who can I match you up with, hmmm?"

"No thanks, I go solo I don't need any matches." Jungkook shifted to fold his legs in front of him and carried on eating his skewer. Taehyung's own one was already discarded on the grass beside his first empty can of beer. He turned his head to study his friend and his expression was hard to read and that was when a master plan hatched in his mind.

"Oh? But I've got such a great match in my head right now. Fantastic body, real cute face..." Jungkook looked at him curiously. "I'm talking ten outta ten, would bang y'know?" He paused for a moment before finishing. "I should totally set you up with Dumbass."

The reaction was everything he had expected and more. For a second or two Jungkook just stared at him with that same confused expression and then it hit him and he saw his face changing. His brow furrowed severely as his mouth dropped open, making his eyes narrow before they shot back up again in comic disbelief. His mouth opened and closed a few times and nothing but guttural noises came out before he managed to turn them into words.

"Jesus-fucking-Christ Tae I mean, seriously? You think that shit's funny?"

"Keep denying, it just makes it more legit." Taehyung replied with a wide smirk and the boy grabbed the other skewer before lightly stabbing his arm with it. He shifted to get away from him, letting out a cry of surprise, and the mostly empty can of beer toppled over. A slosh of liquid pooled out on the grass and he righted it to stop all of the remains soaking into the soil. The scent of it wafted up in a strong wave, familiar and somewhat calming. Across the park the couple started laughing at something and he glanced up to see the woman clapping a hand over her mouth, head back slightly so that her hair rippled with each giggle. They were having a good time clearly, and yet here he was sitting in a park trying to get wasted with his friend because he didn't really know what else to do. What would the others think? The others were working hard or getting well-deserved rest but not him; he was just getting drunk like always.

"I told you I don't need a match, I'm not desperate enough to even look at any of you guys, my bar's a little higher, oh, and female."

"You sure?"

"Pretty damn sure," Jungkook tossed the skewer aside with a sigh and lifted his own can to drain what was left. The boy had had trouble getting work for looking too young and now he was likely going to get into a spot of trouble for stinking of booze too, ridding him of any other chances he might just have been able to secure. Well, he might just be able to scrub toilets but he doubted that the boy wanted to do that.

"Never say never..."

"How did you make that cash, huh?" His friend turned his head to look at him as he crushed the can between his hands and dropped it on the grass. Taehyung stared back at him blankly and tried to search his mind for something and yet he seemed to be completely blank, not even a shitty reply on the tip of his tongue.

"...What?" he managed to bumble after a few dumb seconds.

"How did you make the cash?" Jungkook repeated. "Stealing shit or actually working?" Taehyung dropped his eyes to look at the crushed can and he felt the most pressing urge to bite on his lip but he fought it, instead letting his fingers tug at the grass so that he pulled a chunk of blades free.

"Working."

"Oh yeah? Where, think you can get a good word in for me?" He knew that the boy was joking and so he forced a laugh out even though his skin felt a little cold. If Jungkook had any clue whatsoever then he wouldn't possibly say something like that.

"Not your field, stick to singing in bars Kookie."

"I smell like a bar right now..." the other boy muttered under his breath.

They left the park together not long after they finished sharing the last can of beer, which had been slightly warm but still as enjoyable as the cold ones. He really did hope that Jungkook managed to get something somehow, even a shitty few hours of backbreaking work just so he could show his face at the hostel and not feel stupid for failing to raise a single won in all of the hours he had been gone. Undoubtedly the others would have found a job or two, he knew that Yoongi would be able to sniff even the most horrible one out if given enough reason though he didn't think that he would go as low as he did for cash. He could be wrong but it wasn't something he was going to imagine for fear of slipping up. Jimin already knew, he didn't need the rest of the gang finding out too and he just hoped that his other friend wouldn't decide to press any further about the mystery job he had lied about. He would just hang around the streets until the evening and then head back, bills in his boot a lie but still legit as far as his friends would know, and no need to worry about that anymore.

The street outside the park was long and there was a wide road between both sidewalks. Despite the size of it it was surprisingly devoid of vehicles, just the occasional few rolling down it every now and again, but the sidewalks had quite a few people on them. It was probably because there was a few cafés and a bookstore facing them, all of them seemingly popular. A young woman was standing just outside the bookstore and she was in the act of sorting her handbag out, trying to make room to place her small shopping bag inside. Taehyung didn't really pay much attention to her as he turned to start walking down the street, seeing just another pedestrian like always because he was so used to seeing hundreds of strange and unrecognisable faces every day.

He was too preoccupied with his own musings that when a scream cut through the air he actually jumped in shock and whirled back around to look at his friend.

Jungkook stared back at him for perhaps a second before twisting his head to look across the street and he had only just copied this action when the boy made a surprised noise and then darted across the road. Taehyung's mouth dropped open and he looked at the spot he had been occupying before turning to watch him. His friend raced across the road so fast that he cleared it in a moment and that was when he realised what he was doing.

Someone had snatched the woman's purse whilst she had been sorting through her bag, grabbing it out of her hand and running off down the street, and Jungkook had taken it upon himself to chase him down.

Taehyung processed this all in the space of just a few seconds before also racing across the road. He heard a car horn blaring and felt something zooming past behind his back so closely that it felt a mere inch from hitting him. He got onto the sidewalk without tripping over the curb and chased after them both, yelling after his friend who was also yelling after the would-be thief. Taehyung briefly regretted the three beers as he felt his stomach sloshing with each step but it didn't seem to affect the other boy in the slightest. He just carried on chasing the man and he actually got close but then the block ended and turned into a road. The man just darted across it and of course his friend did so too, and Taehyung barely had enough time to hear the horn before the car came into view. He let out a shout but it was too late. Jungkook didn't see the vehicle because he was too busy with the thief and the blaring horn cut off with a loud bang.

Taehyung had never seen someone get hit by a car before. He had seen quite a few accidents with his friends but none of them had been stupid enough to get hit by a car, not even Jimin. No, in terms of injuries he had seen sprained ankles and wrists, bruised ribs and fractured noses and fingers, and the rare gash or two that required stitches.

But never a car.

He didn't know what to expect but he didn't think that it would be so...quick, over in the space of a blink. He had been a good distance away from the two of them and at the sight of the car he had dug his heels into the paving flags to stop himself but his friend hadn't done that. Jungkook had raced off the curb right into its path even with the blaring horn to warn him. One moment the boy was in front of him and then the car crashed into him and he was gone. There was a horrible banging sound as the grille of the car slammed into his thighs but it didn't knock him forward. Instead Jungkook rolled over the hood and onto the roof, legs flailing uselessly and elbows smacking into the metal body of the car hard enough to leave a few dents. As he rolled over the hood the car stopped with screeching brakes and he finished by landing in a crumpled heap right by the tailpipe. The driver was a woman, he saw that much, and she was sitting forward over the wheel with her hair hanging in her eyes.

For a few seconds Taehyung just stood there staring at the sight in front of him, frozen in place and unable to even breathe never mind move. Over the battered hood of the car he saw the thief still running down the street. The bastard hadn't even stopped to see what had happened, hadn't even slowed down. Then a hysterical scream cut through the air and he finally managed to come back to reality.

"Fuck!" he cursed as he ran the last of the block to get to the vehicle. As he got closer the driver-seat door swung open and he saw the woman climbing out. Through her tangled hair he saw a gash on her hairline, from where she had smacked her head on the steering wheel as she had hit the brakes.

"Oh god, oh god, I didn't...he ran out and I tried to stop but..." Taehyung raced around to the back of the car before dropping to his knees in front of his friend.

"Kookie?" He had landed on his stomach so he grabbed hold of his shoulder and shoved him onto his back. His chin and jaw must have hit the tarmac hard because the skin was grazed badly, great patches of skin torn up from the friction with the road. He could see no other visible head injuries but that wasn't what he was worried about right now; he was worried about his ribs because he had seen them slamming right into the hood of the car.

"Nnnngh..." The boy made a noise and his eyelids flickered but didn't stay fully open, instead half-lidded.

"Fuck fuck fuck," Taehyung repeated the word under his breath as he glanced around them stupidly, trying to figure out what to do. He felt the urge to pull on his hair and he had just started doing it when he saw the driver of the car with a phone slapped against the side of her head. She was calling an ambulance and that meant one thing. The police would show and want to know about the robbery. Taehyung moaned at the thought of cops showing, cops interviewing two runaways that stunk of booze that would very much see the inside of a cell if his friend turned out to be okay. That was the thought that spurred him on and before he could even register what he was doing he grabbed hold of the boy and forced him to sit up. Jungkook let out a series of pained noises at this and he just hunkered down in front of him.

"Get on my back, we gotta blow. Now."

"...hurts," the boy whined in a voice that made his stomach turn, the taste of cheap beer coming back up into his throat. Taehyung had to drag him onto his back forcibly and when he got back upright he felt the boy's head lolling against his, chin on his shoulder and arms dangling forward uselessly rather than locked around his neck.

"Wuh...what are you doing?" the driver asked as she stared at them both with wide eyes. "I just called an ambulance, you need to wait. You don't need to carry him there, they'll be here in a few-"

Taehyung ran past her without even listening and he heard her and several pedestrians exclaiming in surprise by this sudden event. If the accident had been the big entertainment then this was the twist that no one had seen coming. But he didn't let their calls stop him or slow him down and he just ran down the street in the direction of the hostel because he needed to get off the streets as fast as he could.

"Can you hear me?" he asked as he tightened his grip on the boy's thighs and leaned forward slightly to keep him on his back. Jungkook made a noise but didn't say any word in particular, not even a yes. "I'm taking you to the hostel, OK? Back to Hoseok and Seokjin and-and-and everything's gonna be alright."

"...fucking car came outta...nowhere."

"Uh-huh, fucking-A it did."

"We're gonna get in so much...trouble." Taehyung pulled his lips back in an unconscious grimace at this because the boy was completely right, even considering everything that had happened. He knew exactly what was going to happen. One of them would smell beer on them and argue that they had been fucking around, that they had probably thought it was funny to play a game of chicken until the boy had rolled over the hood of a car and found out it wasn't fun at all. Hell, maybe Yoongi would accuse him of pushing him for a joke, just like the Jimin bridge incident all over again. He told himself that he was being stupid for thinking it, that it was because he was so scared that he wasn't thinking straight at all but he knew that it would happen, it was only a matter of time.

It took him several minutes of running to get back to the hostel, perhaps as few as ten or as many as twenty. In that time he saw people stopping and staring at them with wide eyes and concerned expressions. He also raced across quite a few roads without looking at traffic too, despite the accident that had just occurred. He was running on a terrified burst of adrenaline but it only lasted a short time before fizzing out on him and leaving him breathless and shaking, legs barely able to support his own weight never mind the barely conscious boy's. But he didn't let this stop him because Jungkook only had him right now and he wasn't going to fuck up on him, not now, so he just dropped his head and forced himself to carry on until the sight of the familiar brick building came into view. Taehyung cut across the lot on a severe diagonal angle and scanned the doors before finding the right one and then he kicked the door hard with his foot. It didn't open and he lowered his foot and tried again, struggling to lift his leg up once more. He didn't even manage to cock his knee up when the door swung open and Seokjin's head popped out of the gap.

"Tae, what are you-" his friend stopped and moved his eyes to look at his shoulder, and the sight of Jungkook's dangling head. "Shit, what happened?"

"Jin?" He heard Hoseok's voice calling out from the inside and that was when Taehyung shoved past their eldest friend to get inside the hostel room. He didn't even stop and instead went over to the first bed before turning around and slowly lowering Jungkook onto the bed, the exact same one that the other boy was currently sitting on. Hoseok pulled his legs up in front of him and stared at their friend dumbly before looking up at him. His large eyes were so wide that his irises seemed to be floating in a sea of white and his mouth was also hanging open. The expression might have been cute if not for the absolute horror radiating from his eyes. "Holy shit Tae, what-"

"Car," Taehyung said, voice hitching as he tried to catch his breath, "a fucking car." He reached up to wipe sweat off his brow and he could feel his tee clinging to his skin: horrible cold terror sweat. "He got hit by a car." Hoseok shifted on the bed to lean over him, instinctively checking his throat for a pulse and pulling his fingers away a few seconds later. Then he checked his face over thoroughly, scanning his hair for any possible gashes or bumps. Taehyung watched him do this as he took gasping breaths to calm himself down. He didn't like the wobbly sensation in his legs or the way his hands just wouldn't stop shaking.

"How did he get hit by a car?" Seokjin asked in a quiet voice, still standing by the open doorway because he seemed stuck in place like a statue.

"Chasing after some guy, a thief, tryna catch him or something I dunno I just..." Taehyung leaned forward to place his hands on his thighs because the room had started spinning. "Fuck, he got hit by a fucking car does it matter how the fuck it happened?"

"Why did you bring him back here?" Hoseok asked incredulously as he started bending the boy's wrists and elbows, no doubt checking to see if anything was broken.

"We can't..." He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, willing the spinning to just stop for a few seconds. "We can't-"

"We can't afford to go to a hospital," Seokjin finished for him, not exactly what he had been thinking but a good enough excuse. "Not now, not when we're fucking broke."

"And what if he's broke?" Hoseok gestured to Jungkook. "How the hell do we know he's OK? What if he's broken a couple of ribs or his hip or he gets concussion? What then? I'm not a fucking doctor, none of us are."

"...hurts but not broken," Jungkook mumbled, eyes fluttering under his lids as he did, "I don't...think."

"Don't think what's not broken?"

"Me...I'm unbreakable motherfuckers." The boy sounded as far from unbreakable as possible but at least he was conscious enough to talk to them.

"Not even a rib?" Seokjin asked as he moved from the door to get to the bed. Taehyung finally felt the horrible dizziness passing and he opened his eyes to stare at his boots for a few seconds, at the hideous carpet pile under them. The injured boy made a disgruntled noise as Seokjin started also checking him over, doing so gently to not disturb any possible injuries. "Tae, are you OK?"

"Huh, me?" He shifted to look at them and he saw concern on his friends' faces. Didn't they have something more important to worry about right now? "No, not fucking OK."

"Sit down before you collapse," Hoseok advised, climbing off the bed to come over to him. He felt the boy's fingers wrap around his wrist and he pulled away from him, a little rougher than he intended. "Tae-"

"I need to go," he muttered under his breath, "I need to...to leave and-"

"You're not leaving in that state Tae, come on, sit down and-" he shrugged Hoseok's hands off his shoulders and staggered across the room and the boy tried to grab onto him again, "Tae, stop fucking around and-"

"Let me go!" he shouted and he saw Hoseok jump in surprise, blinking rapidly as he dropped his hand away from his arm. Taehyung was just as shocked at the fact he had shouted and he stared at him dumbly for a few seconds, feeling a guilty sensation swirling in the pit of stomach. "I just...I need to go." And with that he whirled on his heel and left the hostel room, hearing Seokjin saying something about beer even with him still in earshot. His friend had probably wanted him to hear it but it had no effect on him whatsoever because he felt a little numb to everything.

But not numb enough.

He needed more booze for that, preferably vodka.

Taehyung didn't know how exactly he ended up in the subway tunnel but he supposed that it was via the escalators and not the stairs because he couldn't have possibly gotten down them in his current state. Just walking seemed incredibly hard to do and he felt himself reeling a little to the side as he did, arms bouncing off the wall of the system so he didn't fall over at least. If he did then he wouldn't even try and get up and instead just lie there and hopefully pass out. That might be hard because the evening commuters would probably stand on him rather than go around him and he wouldn't care that much. He doubted he would even feel it because everything seemed foggy. When he reached up to touch his face he found that he couldn't seem to feel it against his fingertips. Nose or cheek? Forehead or chin? His face was numb and he wasn't surprised. Three bottles of soju would make everything numb.

He knew that people were staring at him and yet just like the thoughts of being trampled he didn't care about that either. Let them stare, let them whisper and laugh at the wrecked kid stumbling around like a baby deer, wobbly legs and passive expression. They didn't know, they didn't understand, they didn't care. They probably had homes and normal lives to go home to but not him. They probably worked a retail shift all day long, or sat behind desk 9-5 with faux smiles on their faces. They hadn't woken up in an abandoned factory with an empty stomach and walked a dozen miles in the sweltering heat.

They hadn't seen their best friend get hit by a car today and they had no right to fucking stare but of course they would. Taehyung was used to it, used to being the walking zoo exhibition everywhere he went. At least now he was drunk enough to actually warrant the attention for once.

There was a bench in front of him and he could see an old man sitting on one end of it but the rest of it was free. It was metal and set against the wall and he thought that he could really sit down on it right now, maybe even lie down and pass out should the mood take him. Slow and steady wins the race, he thought as he dragged his feet over to the bench and slowly tried to lower himself onto it. It didn't work and he instead landed on his ass rather hard, hard enough to make his bruises ache for a few seconds before going numb again. Then he practically slumped back against the wall with a groan.

"I think you've had too much to drink." He turned his head slightly to look at the elderly man on the bench. Though his words seemed stern he saw a slight smile on his face.

"Y'think?" he asked back, voice so slurred that it was a miracle he could even understand him.

"I think, and I also think you shouldn't be travelling in such a state. Might miss your stop."

"I'm nuh travelling."

"Good, but...this is a subway, you know son?" The man laughed softly at this and he cocked his head as he looked at him because he could rest his chin on his shoulder rather than have to hold it up.

"I mean, I'm kinda travelling just nuh on a... train. There wuh-was a train, and a car, and something else too I forget but uh...wuh...what am I talking about again?"

"Travelling," the old man said without missing a beat.

"Ah, travelling...travelling...hmm," Taehyung furrowed his brow and made several noises under his breath that attracted even more passing stares. "An adventure. I'm on an adventure. An adventure with friends but it...it's gotten all fucked up."

"An adventure?" The man shifted on the bench and straightened a crease out on the knee of his slacks. "I used to go on adventures too, back when I was a kid. Lots of them, but then I got married and settled down and I never got to go on another." He studied the man silently and moved his tongue around his mouth, still tasting vodka on it. "There was fun, getting lost, getting into trouble, getting drunk." The man looked back up at him and he still had that smile on his face. "I don't think one can have an adventure without a little trouble son."

"This isn't little," Taehyung muttered, "this is...everything. Everyone. All fucking trouble, all of us. We cause it, we're made of it and-" Taehyung caught sight of a flash of a blue uniform shirt out of the corner of his eye and he knew it was subway security coming over to escort him off the premises, "and it keeps getting worst and there's no end in sight, it's just shit after shit and I dunno what to do."

"So long as you have friends, you'll figure something out son." The man reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it for a second before letting go.

"I'm...I'm scared I'm gonna lose 'em."

"Sometimes we have to lose things only to replace them with something more important, more special." The male worker was talking to a handful of people and looking right at him and Taehyung risked only a quick glance before dropping his gaze again.

"Ain't nobody on this earth more special than my friends."

"Then...you don't need to worry about losing them." He stared at his hands clasped in his lap and a few seconds later he felt a shadow fall over him.

"Excuse me, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Taehyung didn't look up at the voice because he knew it belonged to the security worker. Instead he just attempted to get off the bench but he suddenly found it a rather hard task. After a momentary struggle the worker reached down to lightly grab his upper arm and assist him.

"What if I'm the trouble?" Taehyung asked as he twisted his head to look back at the old man. "What if it's all my fault, huh?"

"I-"

"Come on, stop harassing your elders," the worker said as he started pulling him away from the bench, back in the direction of the exit.

"What?" he called back, twisting in his grip even when he found his feet getting all tangled up.

"Real friends will help you," the old man replied and he didn't have time to even process this before he was being escorted along the subway system by the worker. More stares at this, more pointing fingers and moving lips. He kept his eyes straight ahead and just waited for the sight of the exit to appear, riding the escalators with the man because there was no way he could get up the stairs. He had only just been dragged onto the street when he heard a familiar voice echoing on the air and he felt himself jumping in surprise.

"Hey, hey Tae what's going on?" Namjoon called and he heard his footsteps approaching as he turned his head to look at him.

"You know this boy?" the worker asked as his friend jogged over and stopped right in front of him. He confirmed that he did and then the man let go of him. "Try and stop him from harassing people please, otherwise the police will get called next time."

"Uh...yes sir," Namjoon said with a slight bow as he watched him disappearing out of sight back down the escalator. Then he turned his attention back to him. "Tae, what the fuck?"

"I uh...I'm drunk," Taehyung replied as he reached up to run at his eyes with a groan. "I'm so fucking drunk and I-"

"I can see that," his friend retorted as he looked him up and down slowly.

"The hostel, I had to leave the hostel 'cos-"

"Well, we're going right back there," Namjoon said as he reached over to take his arm just like the worker from a few moments ago. "The hell are you doing out here, huh? Do the others know?"

"No, yeah, no I mean kinda. Ju-Jin," he hiccuped and let out another groan, "and lover boy and- oh shit Nammie, oh shit Kookie." His friend asked him what was wrong and he reeled back so hard that he felt his legs buckling. Namjoon managed to stop him from collapsing but as a result they both ended up hunkering down rather than walking. Taehyung didn't think his legs were stable enough for that and after a few seconds they wobbled and spilled him onto his ass. "There wuh-was an accident, shit, a big accident."

"What accident? Did something happen to Kookie?" He had closed his eyes upon falling and though he couldn't see his expression he could hear the panic in Namjoon's voice.

"We were out, at a park or something. He couldn't find work, we were having a break and...and something happened and he ran across the road and- a thief! Some dick stole this woman's purse and he chased after him but a car, a car came outta nowhere and bang!" Taehyung smacked a rolled up fist against his palm for effect. "Slammed right into him! Knocked him flying and I had to carry him back to the hostel."

"Kookie got hit by a car?" Namjoon asked in a quiet voice, as if he wasn't really sure of what he was hearing.

"Got fucking hit alright," he muttered before reaching up to bury his face in his hands. It wasn't numb anymore but rather aching and he didn't like the sensation at all. "I had to leave, I couldn't stay it was...was too much I-"

"I understand Tae, I understand," his friend said as he put his hand on his shoulder. "But is he OK? Do you know if he's OK?"

"I think so? I dunno I just..." Taehyung took a shuddering breath as he lowered his hands again. "What's happening?" Namjoon studied his face for a second as if he was uncertain by what he meant by this question. "What's going on with us? Why does shit keep happening?"

"...I dunno."

"Are we cursed or something I swear it's just...one fuck up after another and I dunno what's gonna happen next but I'm scared." Taehyung sniffed and felt his eyelids burning. "I'm scared that we're falling apart at the fucking seams."

"Hey, we're not falling apart, alright? We're not," Namjoon said as he grabbed both his shoulders and twisted him so that he could look at his face fully. "We're just...having a hard time right now. This has been hard on everyone, yeah?"

"Yuh...yeah," Taehyung said as he blinked tears back.

"But it's not gonna keep fucking us over 'cos the bad will stop soon, right? Bad things always hit at the same time but then we get over them and the good happens again. Bad things come in groups of three or whatever that stupid fucking saying is, OK?" He nodded even though he didn't really understand what he was talking about: he was way too drunk for philosophical thoughts. "So what we're gonna do is go back to the hostel and check up on him, check up on Kookie and find out if he's OK."

"What if he's not OK?" Taehyung asked as his friend dragged him back to his feet. Namjoon slung an arm around him to support him so he placed his own arm around his shoulders.

"We're talking about Kookie Tae, that kid could jump out a plane without a parachute and land without a scratch. He's gonna be OK."

"The power of positive thinking," he muttered and it made his friend smile.

"Wouldn't think any other way Tae."

"Nammie?" he asked as the young man more or less pulled him along the street, legs more steady now that he had the support. "Do you think this is all happening 'cos of me?"

"The fuck did you get that idea from?" Namjoon asked, genuine confusion in his tone that didn't sound forced at all. Taehyung didn't reply and after a few seconds he continued talking. "What's happening is happening. Nobody is causing it, except maybe God if you believe in that kinda thing. Bad shit happens, it doesn't mean there's a reason for it, or a cause."

"You really think that?"

"I do," Namjoon confirmed with a nod, "and I don't think you're responsible for it so don't think shit like that."

"Thank you," Taehyung said after a moment of silence. His friend asked him what for and he added. "For being a friend, a real friend."

"What other kinda friend is there?" Namjoon asked with a smile.