Thief

11

Jaebum was on the couch watching T.V. when he saw a groggy Jinyoung shuffle into the room. His eyes immediately glued to the younger, checking to see if he was okay. He seemed fine, just tired from his nap. His hair was messy and he rubbed his eyes cutely, almost like a little kid. He was wearing Jaebum's clothes since he didn't have any, and his slightly smaller frame made him look as if he were drowing in the baggy fabric. Jaebum suddenly wanted to ruffle his hair again.

"Hey." Jinyoung greeted as he walked further into the room, approaching the couch.

"Hey sleepy head, finally up." Jaebum commented, making Jinyoung chuckle.

"I'm sorry... I was exhausted from last night I feel asleep while unpacking..." Jinyoung stated as he sat down on the couch next to Jaebum, but still keeping a safe distance between them as if he weren't fully comfortable with being too close yet.

"Yeah I noticed." Jaebum said, remembering seeing Jinyoung's slumped over body on the floor earlier that day.

"You were the one that put me in the bed, weren't you?" Jinyoung asked.

Jaebum shrugged. "I didn't think the floor was a comfortable place to sleep. I didn't want you to wake up with cramps or anything."

Jinyoung shook his head. "You're way too thoughtful. Seriously. Why do you think of everything for me? Am I just dumb?"

Jaebum couldn't help but laught at that, though he wasn't fully sure if Jinyoung actually was asking him the question seriously or not. "I mean, we're all dumb to some extent. Some of us just need that extra person to think for them sometimes."

"I guess you're my person then, you seem to think for me all the time." Jinyoung stated.

Even though the statement wasn't really all that meaningful, Jaebum still felt his heart warm from it. It just made him feel like Jinyoung needed him more, and he liked feeling needed for some reason.

"Yeah I guess that's true." Jaebum said with a chuckle. Though something else he was curious about was hanging in his mind, something that he spoke about with Mark not long ago. "Hey, Jinyoung..."

"Hmm?" Jinyoung hummed, turning his attention towards Jaebum.

"Can I ask... about... you?" Jaebum asked a bit awkwardly.

"Me? Uh... sure, I guess?" Jinyoung responded, not sure what Jaebum was really getting at.

"I mean like, where you're from and stuff. You never really told me about yourself. I'd like to know." Jaebum stated.

Jinyoung was quiet for a moment, his eyes gazing to the floor. He eventually just shrugged his shoulders. "There's... not much to tell you about me."

"Well um... where do you live? Like, where do you really live?" Jaebum asked.

Jinyoung shook his head. "I told you already."

"You told me that you lived an hour away from my place. That's not telling me specifically where. I want to make sure that you have a good place to go back to, Jinyoung. I can't just take you away from whoever cared about you." Jaebum stated.

"Jaebum, no one-" Jinyoung hesitated, cutting off own sentence off and rethinking it before continuing. "I don't come from a place where people care. I lived with a bunch of people who... I don't think it would be a good idea to even go back to. You wanted me to do better right? If I go back after running away, they'll..."

"They'll what?" Jaebum asked, now worried about Jinyoung.

Jinyoung shook his head, ridding himself of whatever thoughts he was having. "They just... won't be happy."

Jaebum didn't fully understand. What type of people did he live with? Why did he seem so afraid of them? And he considered living at Mark's place 'running away' but, who else could he be running from besides the police? Jaebum had a dreaded thought that maybe Jinyoung was in some sort of danger, but he couldn't be sure. And he was sure that if he tried to question it anymore that Jinyoung would just avoid answering.

"Okay... then, what about a family or something? Brothers? Sisters? Parents?" Jaebum asked.

Jinyoung again shook his head. "I had siblings but... they stopped talking to me when they found out that I started... y'know, stealing from people. And parents.... they're not in my life either..."

Jaebum didn't know what to say. He felt incredibly bad that so many people just gave up on Jinyoung so easily. Did they not see the person that he truly was? Did they even try to understand his situation? How can they be his family when they can't even support him in his time of need? Jinyoung looked so dejected just talking about it, as if all he wanted was some help and guidance from the people who were supposed to love him.

"Jinyoung I'm sorry... I didn't know any of this until now..." Jaebum said, having the urge to just hug him right now, but holding himself back from doing so and settling for a little pat on his thigh.

"Of course you didn't, I never told you until now." Jinyoung stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"So then... you're really on your own now, huh? You pretty much have nothing and no one..." Jaebum asked, the answer seeming pretty obvious.

Jinyoung nodded his head, the reality of it all crashing down on him. Jaebum could see his eyes water just a bit, but he quickly blinked away the tears, apparently not wanting to cry over his life story. "But... since I met you... and you've help me so much... I was hoping that maybe I've finally found someone who actually cares about me. I know I'm still basically a stranger to both you and Mark but... I was just thinking that maybe I've found a new life with you guys..."

Jaebum didn't know what to say. His heart swelled in that moment, and that urge that he had to hug Jinyoung grew ten times stronger. Really, all Jinyoung needs is someone to show that they care for him. He needs someone to be there for him when he feels down or lost or confused. He's never really had that, everyone just gave up too fast on him.

Not Jaebum though. Jaebum refused to let Jinyoung suffer like this anymore. He didn't want to watch Jinyoung's life go down the drain, not when he has so many opportunities to turn it around. Jaebum wanted to help Jinyoung out of this rough part of his life, and if he was the only one who believed in him, then he'll just work ten times harder to turn Jinyoung on to the right path.

Jaebum gave in to his urge, reaching over and grabbing Jinyoung's arm to pull him closer. Jinyoung jolted at the touch, but realized what was happening, and he allowed Jaebum to wrap his arms around him. Jaebum rested his chin on Jinyoung's head, holding the younger tightly in his arms.

"Of course I care about you. And of course you can start a new life with us. This is a new beginning Jinyoung, a clean slate. I know you've done things you're not proud of but, trust me. This will be good for you. I'm so happy that you finally believe you can start over. I'm really proud of you." Jaebum gushed out all of the things he felt in his heart to Jinyoung, maybe going a tad bit overboard, but he honestly didn't care.

"Thank you so much. For everything." Jinyoung mumbled against his chest, his voice cracking from a silent sob breaking through it.

Jaebum felt his shirt wetting with Jinyoung's tears, and he was sure that the younger was letting out all of the anxious emotions he'd been hiding this entire time. Jaebum let Jinyoung cry, he wanted him to feel safe here, like he could freely express himself and do what he truly wants to do with his future rather than being forced into a life of crime. He was happy that Jinyoung finally felt free, and all he could do was pull the younger closer, silently promising to never let him out of his arms.

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(*This chapter was just uwu uwu uwu uwu*)