Try-Hard, Sin Harder

4. A Mother's Touch

"What the hell is this?!"

 I jerked awake, barely registering that I'd fallen asleep in the first place. "An idiot yelling at two people trying to sleep, dumbass," growled a voice next to me. 

 I turned to see V splayed across an armchair that had been drawn up beside me, a large sweater draped over his body like a makeshift blanket. He shifted upright, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "What do you want, Jin?" 

 The man hovering in the doorway took a step inside, his brows narrowing slightly. "I came to grab those dishes you never returned last night. Who's this?" 

 "That girl I told you about, the one from the convenience store," V replied. 

 The man - Jin, looked to me, and leaned against the wall. "You're the one who bought those things for him?" 

 I nodded. "So, what are you doing in his apartment? Getting repaid?" he asked, while one eyebrow cocked upward and his lips formed a small smirk. 

 "Yes," V answered for me. "But not in that way. She's hurt, Jin. I brought her here because it was close."

 "What do you mean she's hurt?" Jin's smirk faded at his words, and he pressed off of the wall. 

 Silently, I shifted out from under the mound of blankets, revealing my damp, mud-stained clothing and bandaged leg. A ripple of burning pain shot up my leg as I placed my feet under me, and stood up, leaning on the opposite leg to keep myself from toppling over. Whether Jin didn't want to watch me struggle to walk over to him, or was simply growing impatient, I wasn't sure. He came around the couch before I could move towards him, but stopped mid-step as his gaze lingered on my leg. His eyes trailed up my body, scanning for any other detriments before finally meeting my own. "How and what did you do?" 

 "I went out for a run last night," I replied. "Lost my balance and rolled my ankle." 

 Jin looked over to V. "And how do you play into this?" 

 "I-," V began, before I cut him off. 

 "V was walking through the park and saw me fall. He carried me here and wound up my leg," I said.

 V gave me a questioning look, but said nothing. Jin didn't seem to notice, as his attention had turned back to my leg. Clicking his tongue, he reached down and fiddled with the edge of the loose fabric. The clip holding the top folds together popped off as he gave it a small tug. "It's too loose. There's no way this thing is properly supporting your ankle. It's more like your leg got tangled in a blanket while you were sleeping." Jin tipped his chin up to V. "You did this, didn't you?" 

 V nodded. Jin let out a soft sigh. "You should have come to me. You have no experience with injuries, what were you thinking?" 

 V scowled, annoyed at being scolded like a little kid. "I did what I could with what I had." 

 "What you had was someone next door with a proper first aid kit and training," Jin stated. Without so much as glancing in my direction, he grabbed me by my elbow, and pulled me to his side. "I'm taking her to my apartment to properly wind the splint. We'll be back shortly." 

 Before V or I could protest, Jin began leading me out the open doorway. As the crisp morning air brushed up against me, I heard footsteps trail us from behind. Jin halted, and glaring over his shoulder he said, "Stay here, and clean up the mess you've made of your apartment. You've done enough." 

 "Jin, if you-" 

 "Don't take that tone with me, you know how far that will get you. Someone should really teach you to respect your elders, that tongue of yours is going to get you into some serious trouble one of these days. Don't make me angry, Taehyung," Jin warned.