Thief

18

Jaebum, Mark, and Jinyoung gathered on the couch after they had all calmed down from the conflict earlier. Jinyoung was still shaken up a bit, and Jaebum felt bad that he'd scared the younger so bad. He hated seeing Jinyoung terrified like that, even if he did do something wrong. But Jinyoung seemed to understand that Jaebum was upset, so he didn't hold it against him, for which Jaebum was glad.

Jinyoung sat with some tea Mark made him, taking tiny sips of it as he planned on telling them what he had neglected to mention before. Jaebum and Mark leaned in curiously, both eager to hear what they needed to know since it seemed so important.

"So... what do you mean by 'everything'? What haven't you told me?" Jaebum questioned. He did talk to Jinyoung about his life and past, but obviously there seemed to be some details that were omitted, which Jaebum wasn't exactly too happy about.

Jinyoung took in a deep breath, looking down at his cup of tea as he explained. "I... left out a big part of my life... I told you things about me without mentioning it but... now I feel that it's important to tell you two..."

"Tell us what, Jinyoung?" Mark urged, wanting the younger to get to it already.

Jinyoung gulped, his eyes flickering back and forth between the floor and Mark. "I... I don't steal for myself... nothing that I've ever stolen was for me. I... I work for someone... or, a group of people, rather..."

Jaebum was a bit surprised by that, especially considering that Jinyoung had said the opposite before. "But, you told me that you worked for no one. You said you just steal for yourself."

"That was when I felt that I couldn't tell you the truth. I'm sworn into secrecy. I had to lie. I shouldn't even be telling you now; I could get in so much trouble for this..." Jinyoung stated, a worried look settling on his face.

"So then, these people told you to steal? Why did you listen to them? Why not just ignore them? You're not apart of that anymore." Jaebum still couldn't understand Jinyoung's motives; why would he still be stealing after hes gotten in trouble and had to be moved out of the city away from that life of crime?

"I can't. I can't just leave them. I really wish it were that easy but they... they don't just let people leave, not without a deal or some sort of exchange for their silence. They know that I ran away... they had to find out sooner or later." Jinyoung said, becoming more distressed the more he talked about it.

Jaebum didn't like the sound of this at all. Jinyoung was apparently part of something much bigger, yet he'd been hiding it this entire time. "So it's like, some sort of gang? You've been apart of them this entire time? If you're so worried about them, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Jinyoung shook his head, taking another short sip of his tea. "It's not really a gang... but it sort of operates like one. It's like a crime 'company' I guess, with like, different departments. It's a really big group that runs throughout the entire city. They have all types of dangerous people there, from people like me who steal to freaking murderers. It's a fucked up place to be... and they don't allow you any freedoms because they're afraid of the cops finding out. It's a whole underground scene that no one knows about... well, until now I guess... I've lived there for years..."

Jaebum was shocked, yet this did explain many things about Jinyoung. Why he was hesitant to answer questions and barely giving any information when he did was because he literally couldn't, or else he'd be going against whatever this organization he was apart of was. "Years? Is that why you couldn't tell me exactly where you lived? Because you've been hiding away with these people and they've scared you into silence?"

Jinyoung nodded, looking down at the floor. He seemed ashamed to be apart of these people, yet how could Jaebum blame him? He was obviously forced into doing this, and now he had no way out.

"So... you're basically apart of like, a mafia or something. Exactly what does you telling us all of this means? Do they know where you are? Are we in serious trouble right now?" Mark asked, seeming more concerned with whatever they're dealing with now than Jinyoung's past.

"I don't think they know exactly where I am right now. I'm not too sure, but I don't think they can like, location track me or anything. But they can definitely find me, they have people who are really good at using clues and connections to find where someone may be hiding." Jinyoung stated, his fingers nervously tapping on his cup. "They... they called me earlier... right when I was supposed to call Jaebum back, my boss himself called me... he doesn't usually call, but when he does, you know it's serious. I had to pick up or else he would be even more pissed than he is now."

So that's why Jinyoung didn't call Jaebum back. Since then, Jinyoung must've plotted how he was going to steal Mark's money and escape. Jaebum was curious though about what they must've told Jinyoung to make him do it. "What happened? What did he say to you?"

Jinyoung's brows furrowed, unable to make eye contact as he recalled what he was told. "He told me that he knows I ran away. I was supposed to be back to him with no less than $3,000 worth of stolen stuff in my pockets a few days ago or else... they'd punish me... but when I never came back, they got suspicious."

"So... did they threaten you or something?" Mark asked, the thought of some random people threating Jinyoung sending a sharp pain through Jaebum's chest.

Jinyoung hesitated before nodding slowly, both Jaebum and Mark's eyes widening. "He told me that if I return now, they'll be less extreme with the punishment, but if I don't, then... he'll find me, my family, and anyone else I love and... well, he put it as 'silence us all forever'. That was putting too many people at risk, including you two. I had to steal the money Mark, I'm sorry, he would've killed everyone I know."

Jinyoung let out a shaky breath, his hands trembling as a mixture of fear and rage brewed inside of him. Jaebum couldn't take seeing him so worked up, his hand almost automatically reaching out to rub Jinyoung's arm.

"But... you took way more than $3,000... you took $24,000 from that box I keep hidden in the closet... I don't even know how you found that..." Mark mumbled.

"I've been stealing for years, I've found money in weirder places. I took more money to hopefully appease him; he's pissed that I tried to run away. When I returned, they were gonna..." Jinyoung trailed off, not even wanting to finish what he was thinking.

Jaebum was curious though, the shudder that ran through Jinyoung obviously meaning that what he was thinking wasn't good. "What Jinyoung?"

Jinyoung chewed on his bottom lip, his eyes remaining towards the floor as he began to speak. "...They... beat people who... don't do their jobs well, or who betray them... they beat them up really bad and leave them without food for a day or two so that they get the message. They would've done that to me..."

"What the fuck?" Jaebum mumbled, the mental image of anyone hurting Jinyoung absolutely disgusting him.

Jinyoung then suddenly stood up, tugging at his shirt. His hands slowly lifted the fabric up as he turned around, showing Jaebum and Mark the bare back of his torso. Both of their eyes widened, with Jaebum's heart dropping at what he saw.

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(*lol another annoying cliffhanger I'm sorry but I'm sure you can take an accurate guess at what they saw so it's not even a good cliffhanger sksks. *)