Thief

24

Jaebum walked back to Jinyoung's room, seeing Jinyoung with their suitcase opened on the floor and packing up clothes in it. Jinyoung noticed Jaebum's presence, flashing a quick smile at Jaebum before continuing to pack up. Jaebum joined the younger on the floor, sitting close enough for their knees to touch just a little bit.

"Sorry to keep moving you from place to place. We just don't know how safe it is right now to stay put here." Jaebum said, realizing how Jinyoung's already stayed at two different places, and now they were already moving to a third.

Jinyoung shook his head, seeming pretty unbothered. "It's fine, I get it. I feel like I'm on the run though."

"I mean, technically we are. First we ran from the police, now we're running from your boss and his henchmen... by the way, does that place you're from have a name or...?" Jaebum trailed off, not really knowing how to refer to the people they were trying to avoid.

Jinyoung just shrugged in response. "Not really. People call it different things. The name I hear the most though is Shadow, since we sort of live in the shadows of the everyday world."

"Shadow, huh..." Jaebum repeated.

There was a moment of silence before Jinyoung quickly changed the subject, obviously not wanting to talk about Shadow at the moment. "Anyway... so, is Jackson like... a close friend to you?"

Jaebum chuckled, seeing how Jinyoung was a fan, he wasn't surprised that the younger still had questions about Jackson. "Still curious about him huh? He... was my best friend. We went to school together. He still considers me his best friend, but I really don't think we're that close anymore. He's constantly busy with his own life, we barely make time for each other."

"He must be glad that you're coming to stay for a bit then." Jinyoung said.

Jaebum shrugged. "Maybe. Is he really that important to you?"

Jinyoung tilted his head, thinking about it for a moment. "Yeah I guess... I listen to his music often when I'm thinking too much and I need to drown out my own thoughts. It helps keep me sane I guess."

Jaebum smiled, loving how Jinyoung seemed to enthuse about Jackson's work. It reminded him of the day Jinyoung listened to his own songs for the first time. "I'm sure he'd love to hear that."

"Are you jealous though?" Jinyoung asked after a few silent moments.

The question caught Jaebum completely off gaurd. "Huh? Jealous of who?"

"Of Mark and Jackson. They seem to have a more... um... intimate relationship. Don't you mind?" Jinyoung asked, the younger now distracted from packing as he sat there holding a pair of socks while looking at Jaebum.

Jaebum wondered why Jinyoung was suddenly concerned about his feelings towards Mark and Jackson. Had he expected Jaebum to be jealous or upset? "Um... no not really, that was in the past. If Mark and Jackson want to do stuff together then hey, I can't stop them. I'm not worried about that though, I'm more worried about you."

"Ah, really? I'm sorry I just thought... it seemed like you were bothered by what Mark was saying earlier." Jinyoung said, now continuing to pack with a smile on his face after he got his answer.

"Mark is just annoying, anything he says bothers me. He knows that though, which is why he purposely teases me all the time." Jaebum said, chuckling a bit at the thought of some of Mark's wild comments.

"Oh... you two seem more like brothers than ex-lovers. I admire that relationship, not a lot of people can make that work out after dating." Jinyoung said, glancing at Jaebum as he said it.