breathe me in.

for what it's worth

jungkook was sat in his hospital bed, locked inside of a torture dungeon with no way out unless he somehow came up with less than a quarter million dollars. there was no t.v., no computer, no phones, no anything, just a bed, a side dresser, and a window. he couldn't walk without assistance and the bathroom was too far away for him to lock himself inside and threaten his livelihood to escape. he was stuck, like really stuck.

maybe he should've taken that man's advice, he should've thrown up on someone's shoes, someone much poorer than him. but when he thought about it, that bastard could've just driven him to the hospital or called an ambulance. if he had to call in a medical team then he wasn't a medical professional and had no obligation to help or save him.

the thoughts he's having honestly seem condescending but being truthful to himself was the only way he was going to survive in this place. he thought that he'd at least be able to make friends with whoever came in here to tend to him but he had nobody. they most likely came in here when he was sleeping, per that man's orders, and avoided him. which jungkook should probably confront him about later, or whenever he gets here.

and almost as if his prayers were answered, the douche of the year steps inside through the door that creaked horribly when he opened it. it was a habit for jungkook to look him over now, see what he was wearing and how he looked because he was his only form of human interaction. to his pleasure, he's wearing a simple shirt and some sweats again which means they must be doing something today. there's a couple of rings on his fingers too but he ignores them for the time being.

he watches him sigh and pull out his phone, and he waits for a few minutes until he finishes doing whatever it is before he turns around and faces him.

"we're gonna go find a way for you to pay me back today, how does that sound?" his voice is airy as he talks as if he blew out a breath that he was holding in. it gave him a passive-aggressive tone and if jungkook hadn't known any better he'd have probably thought that it was directed towards him.

"It sounds like a horrible idea," jungkook starts, "maybe if you were a decent human being you wouldn't hold a debt over my head and you'd let me leave."

"was my saving your life not decent enough?" taehyung replied, raising his eyebrows in question.

"you could've just called an ambulance if you wanted to save my life."

"you were going to choke to death on your fucking vomit if i had waited for an ambulance to come and get you."

"it would've been better than staying here with you."

"wow, well i haven't even thought of that, let me go find a time machine so we can both experience that outcome," taehyung proceeds to walk to stand on the side of jungkook's bed, "now if you didn't hear me the first time, we're gonna go find you a way to pay me back, and no you don't have a say in it. so wrap your arms around my neck so i can pick you up."

"i'd rather crawl on the floor," jungkook replies, only sinking further into the bed, trying to get as much space from taehyung as possible.

"then crawl, i could care less, but the longer this takes the longer you'll be here with me, and though i'm not a patient man, we can play this game for years if you'd like." taehyung voices all too calmly while he stares jungkook in the eye, "so either you wrap your arms around my neck so i can get you in a wheelchair or you sit here and waste away in this bed."

"i'll take the second option," he answers, proceeding to roll over on his side, in the direction where taehyung wasn't present.

"if you keep being difficult, we're gonna have an outcome you won't like." taehyung speaks through grit teeth, never in his life has he met someone with such little self-preservation and as disobedient as jungkook. it was starting to frustrate him. jungkook never listened, when it was time for him to bathe he'd have to force him out of bed, when it was time to eat he had to convince him, even when it was time to sleep he had to argue with him.

"it's not like i was going to get a choice anyway." jungkook argues, "you treat me like shit, i have to disassociate for the majority of the day because you won't even let me watch fucking t.v., let alone have one. what was the point of saving my life if you were just gonna torture me in the end? what if people were looking for me? what about my friends? they're probably worried-"

"me and you both know that nobody is looking for you and even if they were, their chances of succeeding are low." taehyung cuts him off, "i'm all that you have right now whether you like it or not."

he bends over just a little until he's cast a shadow over jungkook with his body and clothes. although he's not looking him in the eye, he makes an effort to assert his authority over him.

"i don't want this to be any more difficult than it has to be jungkook. me and you both know that, so why don't you cooperate with me, okay? i know you wanna get out of here, just as much as i want you out." taehyung murmurs, almost pleading.

It's silent for a moment after he speaks, but jungkook doesn't budge, he doesn't want to go anywhere with taehyung. he quite literally despises the ground he walks on, he only cooperates when he needs to. as long as he's alive he doesn't really care about what taehyung wants.

noticing his lack of movement or willingness, taehyung tries again, taking the initiative to grab jungkook's chin and turn his head so he's at least looking at him.

"there's only so much i can do, you have to be willing to get yourself out of this situation. i know you don't wanna be stuck here, i know that you want to go back to wherever you were, but i need my money."

"i'm not stupid", jungkook's voice comes out a bit muffled from taehyung's fingers still gripping his chin, "there's not only so much you can do, you put me in this situation so you can just let me leave. i'm not falling for your manipulation tactics, i've been around too much to do that."

"well you already know i'm not letting you go, i already told you that i seriously need my money, if it wasn't that important i would've let you go already. so like i said before, there's only so much i can do. i'm not manipulating you, but suit yourself if you don't want to put in the effort then don't. it's your decision." taehyung sighs, letting go of jungkook's chin.

he leans back up, and shoves his hands in his pockets, glancing at jungkook before leaving out the door.

jungkook finally let out the breath he was holding in. it was shaky and he couldn't help but place a hand on his chest to try and calm himself down. sure this man couldn't manipulate him, but god was he good-looking, and being that up close and personal was overwhelming for someone like jungkook who preferred his space.

yet he smiles for himself afterward, happy that he's been left alone for what it's worth. 

a/n: this is pretty short, next chapter might be a bit longer whenever i decide to write it.