Run into Sin | Jikook

⋆Part 1⋆

Bills.

Bills that Jimin can't afford to pay.

He stares at the stack of envelopes that sit before him. The dining table is still messy, in a state with the unwashed dishes and residual food stains since he attempted to prepare a new dish last night. Admittedly, his passion for food may alight a spark within him but carrying out the task and cleaning up afterwards isn't made for him.

Jimin sighs as he tentatively reaches for the first of the letters, ripping it open ungracefully. The water bill. His eyes scan over the letter, mouth slackening upon noticing the price named at the bottom.

"Jeongguk!" He calls out immediately.

"What?" Comes his roommate's distinct, distant reply.

"Come to the kitchen!"

It takes a moment for Jeongguk to emerge from his bedroom, clearly having freshened up from a shower. A towel is wrapped around his waist, hanging low and exposing his toned stomach and visible v-line. He has a toothbrush in his mouth, hair pulled back by a headband. Evident of last night's party and last night's fuck is clear on his face, seemingly exhausted. He stares expectantly at Jimin, arching a brow.

"I have class in thirty minutes and I just woke up. What could you possibly want right now, Jimin?"

"Perhaps if you hadn't stayed out late partying, you would be on time."

Jeongguk rolls his eyes, huffing under his breath.

Jimin swallows around the lump that grows steadily in his throat. It's an undeniable fact that his roommate is attractive. He hadn't anticipated that Jeongguk would be as striking as he is when he had agreed to give Jeongguk a chance, from Taehyung's recommendation. Yet, Jeongguk had waltzed into his life, practically begging on his knees to let him move in.

"Shut up." Jeongguk mumbles. "What's the issue?"

Jimin licks his lips smoothly, handing over the letter.

"I'm gonna go off on a limb here and assume you used the water to this extent, have you seen the sum of this bill, Jeongguk?"

Jeongguk looks in disbelief but he strides forward, grabbing the paper off his hands and allowing his eyes to scan over the letter.

They're struggling—that much isn't a secret anymore. Taehyung, even, has noticed their inability to pay their rent and bills on time. The boy always discreetly transfers money into either Jeongguk's or Jimin's account whenever a payment is due. Sometimes Jimin's best friend, Yoongi, also help out as much as he can. As much as Jimin appreciates Taehyung's and Yoongi's endless dedication to their spiralling financial issues, he's growing tired of their friends always supplying for them.

"I've literally cut my shower time by half." Jeongguk denies, shaking his head as he throws the paper down on the table. "Literally, Jimin! A whole ten minutes less, I timed myself! You can't pin this down on me, no sir."

Jimin had known that renting out his own apartment, away from campus would be significantly harder than dormitory life.

Living in dorms had been dreadful. When he had moved in and met his roommate: Sangyun, he realised they were polar opposites. Sangyun was an enthusiastic and overly cheerful man whereas Jimin is anything but. Jimin prefers his own space, his own quiet time and they two of them just didn't collide well.

As the weeks had passed, Jimin knew he had to get out of there.

It hadn't taken him long before he had started to look for a new roommate, searching high and low for a man who'd adapt well to his habits. Taehyung had approached him and told him about Jeongguk, insisting that Jeongguk was also desperate for a new place and they'd get along well.

Jeongguk, in many ways, is like Sangyun but Jimin has come to accept this fact and deal with it. In times of desperate measure, Jimin had to accept Jeongguk as a roommate. It's easier since they have their own rooms, only having to see each other in the living room or the kitchen.

"Fine," Jimin grumbles irritably, running a hand through his unkempt hair. "What're we going to do, then?"

"I don't know?" He shrugs helplessly.

"What about your family funds?" Jimin breaches the topic carefully, not wanting to hit a sore spot for Jeongguk, knowing the man keeps his family secrets close to his heart and never reveals them. "You're rich. Don't you have an inheritance, or something?"

Jeongguk wraps the towel tighter around his body, looking perplexed.

"I'm not using that money."

"Why not?"

"Why don't we just ask Taehyung, again?" Jeongguk suggests, changing the topic effectively.

Jimin shakes his head almost instantly.

"No way. We're not taking from him again."

They stare at each other for a moment in complete silence, the heavy weight of the situation settling into both of them. They have bills to pay, rent to pay. Neither of them have the sufficient amount of money. Jimin's part-time job as a Psychology tutor isn't providing enough.

Jeongguk, on the other hand, simply doesn't have the time to work.

He holds a prestigious place in the dance academy at the university, a vigorous program that requires extra curriculum classes. He juggles his dance classes as well as History and Sociology modules, tackling a lot on his plate all at once and making it virtually impossible to handle a part-time job alongside it all.

"Well..." Jeongguk drawls out when neither of them speak, attempting to fill in the gaps. "I'm not asking my parents, if that's what you're waiting for me to say."

There's finality in his tone. Jimin knows that Jeongguk's from a wealthy family, it's obvious from his attitude, the way he carries himself. It irks Jimin that he doesn't use his fortune to good, doesn't attempt to supply for them.

"Why not?" Jimin groans. "Won't it be helpful if your rich daddy can—"

"No." Jeongguk's shutting down the suggestion before it can progress any further, shaking his head. He walks to the fridge, picking out his pre-prepared green juice and shaking it up. "Did I not just say, no?"

The two of them have been living together for approximately five months now and yet, they're not relatively close yet. They get along well enough for roommates. They can manage a dinner meal together with some light conversation, they can see each other around campus and stop for a small chat but there's not a real, strong bond between them.

The reason they're able to bond and communicate effectively with each other is because of their mutual friend, Taehyung.

They're from two different worlds, two different personalities that insistently clash.

"Fine." Jimin's irked and he can't help how it laces into his tone. "Fine. You can figure a way out of this mess then because, I'm pulling my weight."

He doesn't stick around to observe Jeongguk's reaction. Jimin grabs his pot of yoghurt and granola, retreating back to his bedroom where he can eat his breakfast peacefully in his own company.

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