Taekook Oneshots

Sweet Chaos

"Where's the rent for this month?"
"I'll....pay it tomorrow. I don't think my latest salary has processed just yet."

My landlord raises a dark eyebrow at me, his expression unimpressed, his arms crossed. "And you expect me to believe this because?"
"Because it's the truth," I say, honestly, and he tilts his head slightly at me.
"Why does this keep happening, Taehyung?" I just shrug. "Is it because your employers are unable to process things properly? Because you spend the money too quickly? Maybe you just need to change the date that your rent is due?"

"I don't have an answer for you, Mr Jeon." There's a pause after that, and I correct myself. "Jungkook." He sighs.
"I can't just let you stay here for free, no matter how good you are as a tenant, Taehyung. I don't hate you, nor do I blame you. But I have to pay my own bills, make sure I am able to survive. I have deadlines to meet too, you know."

I nod quickly. "I know, I know. I understand that...please just give me one more day to get the money together. I can sell some of my stuff if I need to, I'll get a second job, apply for some sort of financial help, I can-"
"You are a university student, are you not, Taehyung?" Jungkook interrupts me, his gaze unchanging. I pause, look at the ground, nod sheepishly. "When will you have the time to get a second job? And I'm assuming you already get some sort of maintenance grant, like everyone else?"

"That doesn't make it easier when you get paid next to nothing every hour you work," I return, frustrated. "I know that it's a pain in the ass, because I also have to deal with it. I get that you have a business. But I'm doing my best, and I don't want to be homeless. I just want to be able to live, and do my degree. These grants aren't as generous as you think. I use that to buy food. I don't want to starve."

Jungkook sighs, doesn't reply for a few seconds. "I've been a student too, but it was a while ago. Things are..very different now." I stare at him.
"You're younger than me, aren't you? How have you been through the system before I have? And this has been the same system for like twenty years, so how would it have been different?"

"It's not important," he returns, too quickly, but I choose not to question it. "I'll give you a week. I don't want to evict you, Taehyung. I don't want to make your life harder, because I have had tenants that I couldn't stand. I've met people who are incredibly disrespectful, students and adults alike. But you are...interesting."

Something flashes in his eyes, a sort of glimmer that catches my attention for a moment, and he must see the confusion in my eyes, because he shrugs. "It will not make sense to you, and that is okay. I hope that everything goes through okay, or we will have to find a solution. I don't want to see you on the street."

With that, he leaves, but I sit there for a few minutes even after I hear the door close behind him, thinking about our conversation. Nearly every single month, I end up paying my rent late, because the small cafe I work for doesn't pay me on time. Whenever I ask my boss about it, he just scowls at me, threatens to fire me. And I simply don't have time to find a new job.

It's a vicious cycle, and now every single month my own landlord is chasing me for rent. It's not even that expensive, when you think about the area, and how much some of the people on my course have to pay for rent. And he's never an asshole about it, especially when you compare his attitude to that of my boss. He's patient, reassuring. But he has to make a living too, and I get that.

I'm not expecting to see Jungkok at all over the next few days, since he's given me a week to come up with the money, but he turns up two days after our discussion, shoves a small piece of paper into my hands, advises me to give it some thought and talk to him about it when I'm ready, apologises for 'interrupting', and leaves.