awaiting for spring | y.s ✓

CHAPTER FOUR.

Hoseok doesn't think he's ever felt so humiliated in his life. He had been working so desperately for money, losing sleep and clipping away at his own health to make enough money to keep himself fed and pay the minimum amount required by the hospital before they decide to just forcefully discharge her. The bills lying on the floor are more than what he'd be making in a week. No, a month. Yet they are lying abandoned as if they mean nothing, and something inside Hoseok breaks at the notion.

Yet, a great part of him just feels sad. Sad that anyone could become such a monster. There is an ache inside him as he realizes how twisted Yoongi's life must've been for him to think throwing money at something will make the problem go away, even if that problem was a living, breathing human being.

Hoseok bends down and begins picking up the bills one by one, making sure not to fold or damage any of them. He doesn't look up in fear of seeing the triumphant expression on Yoongi's face. Instead, he focuses on collecting them into a nice pile. Once he's finished, he stands back up, a forced smile straining his lips. He walks over to Yoongi, who only watches him silently, a cocktail of semi-concealed confusion and a hint of annoyance flashing across his delicate features.

Yoongi lets Hoseok pull the wallet out of his grasp. Hoseok opens in and puts the bills in, making sure they are tucked in neatly before handing it back to its owner.

"It's money you wanted, isn't it?" Yoongi asks, the barely visible narrowing of his eyes serving as an indication of his displeasure.

"Yeah. But a deal is a deal and I like to work for my money," Hoseok answers almost blithely, half-heartedly hoping to get on the other man's nerves. "So if you don't have any books, you can use mine. Where should we study?"

There is none of the angry outburst of cussing Hoseok sort of anticipated. Not even a humorless laugh or a cynical remark. Yoongi only stares at him for a few seconds before simply walking away from the windows and disappearing into one of the rooms. Hoseok waits patiently, setting his backpack down besides him. He wants to sit on the couch, but it looks too pristine and too clean for anyone to be sitting on it.

Yoongi is back out in the living, wearing a leather jacket and a pair of black jeans, which serve as sharp contrast to his almost ghost-like pale skin. He doesn't even shoot Hoseok a fleeting glance before making his way towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Hoseok asks, and he gets his answer when Yoongi picks up the helmet that had been resting on an endtable by the door. "You're just going to leave?" Hoseok asks again, grabbing his backpack and rushing towards the smaller man. However, the blonde says nothing as he slams the door shut behind him, leaving a baffled Hoseok standing abandoned in the living room.

Hoseok waits for a whole hour before he decides that Yoongi isn't coming back.

-

"So he just left?"

"...Yup."

Hoseok lets out a long, exaggerate sigh as he watches Jimin make a face and Taehyung purse his lips.

"What is his deal? Why would he even make you go over to his place if he's just going to walk right out?" Jimin asks, playing with the lollipop in his mouth. They are all gathered at the convenience store Hoseok works at after hours, listening to another episode of Young, Rich and Douchey ft. Min Yoongi.

"And wasn't he worried that you might steal all his shit?"

"Rude," Hoseok hisses playfully before tapping his fingers against the counter absent-mindedly. "Plus, I doubt he worries about losing valuables. It's not like he's going to have any trouble buying them again."

"Still. What if you were to steal a...I don't know, a family jewel or something."

"You know that's a euphemism for testicles, right?" Jimin says from besides Taehyung and laughs at the face his friend makes.

"Honestly, there was like...nothing around the house for me to steal anyway, even if I wanted to," Hoseok muses, remembering the interior, or more accurately, the lack of one. There was the almost unnervingly clean white couch. Then a coffee table that had been equally pale in color. And that was it for the entire living room. No TV, no fancy vase or even a painting. Not even a single piece of photograph or a speck of dust. The lack of color and objects in the overly spacious living room had almost given Hoseok the illusion of standing on a field of snow.

"Well, no one keeps shit around the living room. Did you check his bedroom?" Taehyung asks, leaning forward. As much as he hates his friend's misfortune, he can't help but be a bit curious about how the other half lives (foregoing the fact that he himself is a rich kid. Again.)

"Why would I go into his bedroom?"

"I dunno, cause I'd want to check if he keeps like...an endangered species or something in there."

"And why would I want to see that?"

"Why not!"

"....Anyway. I'm thinking of giving it another shot tomorrow. Maybe he'll get tired of having to go on a motorcycle ride every time I'm there and hopefully cave in," Hoseok continues with a sigh, staring at his one hand now flat on the counter in front of him.

"That's your plan?"

"What other options do I have?"

"Fair point."

"Ugh, and I'm supposed to make sure he takes all his classes too. I don't know how I'm going to do it. Maybe I can break his motorcycle or something."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that," Jimin points out, putting a finger up. "Remember what happened a couple months ago when someone accidentally knocked his motorcycle down and left a scratch on it?"

"Shit, you're right," Hoseok lets out quietly, remembering how Yoongi had trashed an entire classroom, shattering all the windows with a baseball bat and knocking all the desks over. By the time he was finished, nothing was left intact, and only then did he leave the campus and drive off on his motorcycle. By the next morning, the entire class was completely refurbished, thanks to an overly generous donation from Yoongi's father.

"As amusing as that was, I'd really rather not witness something like that again," Jimin adds. Watching Yoongi was like watching a wild animal that needed to be tranquilized and actually sent a shiver down his spine out of fear.

"Did he ever figure out who did it?"

"Nah, you think he'd left that person alone if he knew?" Taehyung quips, shoving another piece of chocolate into his mouth.

"True..."

"I still don't get it though. Why his dad would make you babysit him...I mean, it's not like he doesn't have the money to send him off to some fancy boarding school in England or something," Jimin muses, eliciting a nod from his friends.

"Maybe he tried and it didn't work out for whatever reason," Hoseok replies with a shrug.

"Yeah, but you? I mean no offense or anything, but it's not like you're even friends with him."

"Maybe his friends all have issues too."

"Who does he even hang out with anyway?"

Hoseok stills at the question, just as Jimin tries and fails to come up with an answer.

"....Yeah, who does he hang out with?" Jimin asks slowly. Everyone knows that Min Yoongi is popular, although in a sense that is different from that of Hoseok. The blond naturally attracted people with his money and power, so the entire student body was at least a little bit aware of people flocking towards him, but Hoseok realizes that he barely knows anything about the man given his notoriety.

"...Not sure," Hoseok answers softly, trying to remember all the times he's seen the blond in the hallway or out in the field with people surrounding him. Yet, all he can recall are images of Yoongi standing all by himself on the rooftop, a cigarette between his lips.