BAD HABIT (2JAE)

Chapter 5

Youngjae POV

About two or so months have gone by and I'd say I'm starting to get the hang of the whole mafia world. I've even made a few friends along the way.

"Hey Youngjae, this is Kim Yugyeom. He works under me and I thought you two should get to know each other since you're so close in age." Jackson introduced me to a tall and bubbly boy who didn't seem at all like the type of person to (willingly) be in this type of situation.

"Nice to meet you!" He smiled, extending his hand for me to shake.

"Nice to meet you too," I smiled back and shook his hand. Not too soon later, he introduced me to another one of his other friends.

"This is Bambam! He's my best friend, and if you can get along with me then you can get along with him!" Bambam was much more chaotic than Yugyeom was, but when they got together they were an unstoppable duo. For both better and for worse. Whenever they put their mind to it or were tasked with a job, they got it done in a flash; but they did leave a path of chaos wherever they went in the headquarters. But they were having fun and were living almost carefree lives - and I can't deny that I didn't join in on their chaos sometimes. It was like a breath of fresh air getting to laugh and goof around them; they treated me as if we had known each other for years! Ah, it made me forget where I was and how I got there.

The trust between Jb and I grew too (something that I didn't think was actually going to happen). Not fully though, just enough to hold me responsible for the little things that we did without constant need for him to be there. He entrusted me with handling money, checking and surveying goods, dealing with paraphernalia, all the "good" stuff. Every now and then he would ask me to come along with him on a task if it wasn't too big of a job; I guess he finally acknowledged that I can't handle violent situations.

Anyways, as time passed by, it became more and more difficult for me to keep all of my jobs on top of all the other shenanigans. I was losing more and more sleep every night to the point where I couldn't even function. I had to quit my morning jobs because of all the stress, but I still needed to pay off my family's debt so I chose to keep working my two night shifts. Even working only my night jobs was still super tiresome, not to mention trying to even get out of the building without being questioned.

I woke up from a small power snap and quickly got dressed. I didn't want to be late to work like yesterday, the store manager was more on edge since I had been showing up late pretty frequently. I washed my face and put an old pair of shoes on and headed out the door. The night was pitch black and silent, only a few stars were shining in the sky. Even though we were situated in more of a big city, nights were always peaceful. The convenience store where I worked wasn't too far, it was within walking distance, so I was fine walking on my own. Just as I was about to reach the next floor down from mine, I heard someone call my name. I turned to see Jb and Jinyoung standing outside an open door of the floor I was about to be at. I guess then would have been the perfect time to talk to him about my work and stuff.

I walked over to the two of them and bowed. "What are you doing out at a time like this?" Jb asked.

"Oh, I had actually been meaning to talk to you about that." I replied. I looked back up to him to see that his tie was a little messed up. I reached out and straightened it, pulling it a bit tighter. I didn't think much of it, but Jb looked a bit shocked. "Oh, I'm sorry. I saw it was messed up and I had to fix it." I paused for a moment to come up with what I wanted to say.

"Umm, I was just on my way to work and it had crossed my mind that-" I was cut off by Jb.

"You still work?" He paused to look over at Jinyoung then back to me. "I thought you quit those jobs a while ago?"

"Well, I did quit some of them, but I still work a couple shifts. I still have to contact my father about all of this too and try and help pay off debts."

"You work for me now, don't you?" Jb asked. I nodded. "Then don't worry about all that. Quit your other jobs and go get some sleep."

"But what about the de-" He cut me off again.

"I'll help you pay off your debts, just continue to work for me and it'll be fine." I didn't want to be a burden on him, I really felt bad that he offered to pay off my father's debt. Reluctantly though, I accepted his offer.

"Thank you, I really appreciate you doing this for me. I promise to make it up to you." I bowed again and again.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now go back and rest." Jaebeom said, shooing me away. I nodded and told them both goodnight, and headed back up to my room to rest.

3rd Pov

Jaebeom turned back to Jinyoung as Youngjae jogged up the stairs. Jinyoung did not look the happiest.

"Why are you being so lenient on him? He's only been here for like four or so months." Jinyoung hissed.

Jb shrugged. "I don't really know. I guess you could say that I empathize with him." He took out a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket and lit one, offering one to him. Jinyoung shook his head.

"You know I don't smoke, Jaebeom." He crossed his arms and leaned up against the frame of the door. "I mean, I don't have anything against the kid, but what if he's up to something?" Jb shook his head in response.

"No, he doesn't seem like the type of person to do that. He's too naive to think of something like that."

"Ok, I guess I'll side with you this time. You should get going before it gets too cold." JInyoung said, stepping into the room.

"Alright I will. I'll see you in the morning." Jb said waving to him 'goodbye' and walking towards the stairs.

Time skip! 3 months later

Jaebeom had warmed up to Youngjae since his first day there. His attitude towards him had turned from rude and apathetic, to stern yet caring. He even went out of his way to help Youngjae with the things he didn't understand! Youngjae felt more comfortable around him; comfortable enough to simply walk up to him and strike up a conversation without feeling intimidating. Jb had begun to check up on him whenever he saw that he wasn't feeling too well, or he tried to show him how and how not to do things. Maybe it was because he could see himself in him, someone helpless in a world that they have no control over. As Jaebeom dwelled on this thought, he didn't forget that he was the reason why he was here in the first place. It wasn't like Youngjae had asked for this, if anything he asked to get out of this. He was definitely going to make it up to him since he caused all of this, it was the absolute least he could do.

But in all honesty, seeing him and the others goof and joke around was a refreshing sight to see; it was almost a way to relive his missed teenage years through them. Youngjae was surprisingly a joy to have around once JB let his guard down, though he was a pain for him sometimes.

Youngjae thought about the leader's new welcomed company as well. With him not being so attentive to him and instead opting to be more of a watchful eye, every once in a while he would catch a glimpse of what he would call the 'true Jb:' kind, understanding and playful. Though that wasn't very often, Youngjae loved to see it. Even though he knew very little about that man, he wanted to trust him. Besides, from what Jb had said before they were in a somewhat similar situation: both being forced into rough positions --albeit one objectively worse than the other, but valid all the same-- with almost no real way out. Maybe he had misjudged him previously. Yeah, he did technically kidnap him, but it was to protect not only himself but his colleagues around him who he considered to be his close friends. If anything, Youngaje would have done the same thing himself (Not exactly killing someone in front of said person, but that's besides the point).

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"I know exactly where this is going to end up," An unnamed voice spoke aloud. "He's going to end up too soft and will be a weak link within this association. It is only right that I take these precautionary measures." The unknown person picked up their phone, and dialed a number.

"Hello."