"Er. Sure." Tae glanced Namjoon's way and imagined his reaction if he attempted to mix alcohol with any of the meds he was still on. None too happy, he assumed. What did one even drink in a bar that didn't have alcohol? "Hey, Ten. I need a recommendation."
Might as well use that to draw him out, because he kind of had a feeling there was a reason he was in hiding and that reason was him.
"What can I drink that's not alcoholic? Namjoon's not letting me have fun."
Fuck. Well. He supposed his genius plan of avoiding those two was a lot harder when he was in the bar they all went to. He ducked low and stayed down there for a while, there was an awkward silence before finally, he just spoke up. "Get a virgin cocktail... the margarita mocktail is pretty good."
He bit his lower lip and tried to think of anything else. It was a good distraction from having to get up and look at Tae, face the damage he caused. "Also the blue moscow mocktail. It's not bad."
"Then I'll have the blue moscow thing." Sounded like it might look strange at least and, hey. He had to make his decision somehow. He sat down on a stool, with more difficulty than he'd have liked to admit to. Honestly, these stools were just not that easy to climb. "Come out, Ten. I want to show you my gun." Maybe if he sounded ever so vaguely threatening he could get him to actually talk to him? Tae wasn't sure.
Oh shit. He was going to shoot him, wasn't he? Or was he going to hurt Hobi? He wasn't even sure. He tried to keep his shit together as he crawled around the side of the bar and stood up, dusting himself off sheepishly and eyeing up Tae with obvious fear. Where was the gun? Did he have to find Hobi? His eyes flickered around the room, just trying to locate the other but no luck. He focused back on Tae. "Hello, Tae hyung."
"Hey, Ten." Tae waved his hand. "Don't tell me, I know I look like shit. Namjoon only let me out because he thought I'd ruin my thumbs playing video games if he left me home alone today." Which, to be fair, was likely true. He wasn't quite sure how to interpret the look on Ten's face, so he just took his gun out of the holster, very careful not to drop it, then held it out. "Look! What do you think?"
Ten cried out in fear and dropped behind the bar protectively, afraid that he was going to shoot him in the fucking face. To be fair, who pulled out a gun like that? "Oh God, Tae. I'm so sorry. Don't kill me. Please, don't! Talk to Hobi-hyung! He said it's all okay, please don't kill me." Oh God, he didn't want to die here. He didn't want to survive everything else and be shot in the face by Tae. Even if Tae deserved to kill him.
"Er..." Wait, what? Tae put his gun down, carefully managing to get it back into the holster, trying to figure out what was happening here. "I'm not going to kill you," he finally announced, since that was apparently worth announcing. "Ten? Ten, come out, I was just showing off, I'm sorry!"
Well, now he felt bad. He tried to get on his knees to look over the bar. "I'm not mad at you, I promise."
"You're not?" He thought he was going to be shot at. Ten tried to breath as he looked over the bar and -- oh no, Tae was trying to get down. Rushing forward, he pulled Tae back up gently and tried to make sure he stayed sitting down. If he got hurt because of him, someone would hear back and that'd be trouble. "I just ... you had a gun, I'm sorry. Everyone in this place has a gun."
Gangsters, he never liked them. He still didn't like them. "Don't hurt yourself, please. Stay sitting, hyung."
"I didn't think you'd... You know Hobi has a whole gun collection, right?" He'd have thought the boyfriend would have seen that by now at some point, but apparently not. Tae sat back down, slightly worried about his balance. His head still felt a bit weird sometimes, probably mostly because he wasn't used to moving and walking so much. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that I got the gun from Namjoon and it's the most beautiful thing I own, so..."
"Hobi has no reason to want me dead." Just saying. He trusted Hobi, he didn't really trust anyone else. And hell, his trust for Hobi was shaky as fuck even so. "I'm glad you got a new gun, I guess the old one went missing. It looks pretty." He could still see it under his jacket. Oh, it was so shiny. He wanted to touch it but he was kind of jumpy at the idea of having Tae and a gun. "Is it gold? It looks expensive."
"Yeah, it's real gold. I asked Jungkook how much he thinks it was, but he's pouty about it, so I'm pretty sure it's worth more than his." Which, really, was all he needed out of a gun. The gesture meant a lot, no one had ever believed in him the way Namjoon had. "I can't actually shoot it yet. My thumbs are still pretty useless." He moved one thumb a little to show, smiling for a moment. "Listen... I'm not saying it was okay, what you did. But I get that it was a fucked up situation for you. I've been in fucked up situations. I know Cheon is good at making people do things they don't want to do."
"I'm sorry." Ten looked down at his hand and twiddled his fingers a little. Everything about this was awkward. Having to apologise for what had happened, having to have Tae not overly mad at him and hell, just knowing that Tae heard Cheon fucking him. It didn't feel great. He decided he may as well be cards on the table with him because what did he have to lose? His friendship? As if. "I sent Cheon after you."
He'd find out sooner or later. "He asked me in the club if I knew some kids for a quick job and I told him you two. I didn't know he wanted you to steal coke but I was pretty sure it wasn't good... I knew it wasn't going to end well." He fucked them over big time. "Cheon said if I could find him kids to do the job, who would pull it off, he'd let me sleep over at his and he got me this watch, I just -- I don't know. I'm really sorry."
"Oh." That was new information. Tae reached for his mocktail and took a sip, then realised that taking a sip through a straw from a blue drink while looking right at Ten was kind of ridiculous in this situation. Damn it. Min Yoongi would never do that, Jungkook would never do that. Being cool was so much harder than those people made it look.
"You didn't know us then, I guess. I don't know. It's hard to..." Tae shrugged his shoulders with a sigh. "I just wish I'd gotten to know you without all that Cheon stuff, you know? You... I think you are a cool guy. Just makes me hate that asshole more."
"Me too. Cheon really fucked me over, huh? I didn't think he did but everyone in the world keeps telling me or giving me that look so I guess I'm the idiot." He shrugged his shoulders. Ah well, he couldn't go back now, he could only try and be better. He could only stick by Hobi and maybe learn to be a better person. "I guess after everything that happened, I can't claim it was really ever anything."
He gritted his teeth and tried his best not to grind them. He'd been doing that a lot lately. "Sorry you had to hear us fucking." Fucking, not rape. He was pissing him off and ... it was just better to think of it like that. It was a safe barrier.
"I don't know. I don't know, he gave you a better position than you'd have had otherwise. None of-- I mean, I never got that option. I don't know what I'd have done. Doesn't make you an idiot, just means you are that type. Like Jimin. But you got unlucky with Cheon."
He supposed he was luckier now, much like Jimin. The type that made men fall for them and want to, well. In case of Cheon, fuck them over. He could only hope that it was as different with Hobi for Ten as it was with Yoongi for Jimin. "That's not your fault. Anyway. You know, the reason I came with you that night was because I saw your wrists. I figured maybe Hobi was the one hurting you. I was gonna ask you about it."
"Hobi only hurts me in a fun way." Ten grinned playfully, unable to help himself. What? It was true. He did. He sighed and turned his head, looking over at where Hobi was probably working, wishing he was here now. Yes, he was needy and he wanted attention but Hobi always worked! And yeah, the money was good to get him shiny things but he didn't get that many shiny things yet!
"Cheon always liked to hurt me, not always in good ways. You and Jimin, I don't even know, you're both so caring. I don't get that." They were all survivors, they all had a rough time - why were Tae and Jimin such good people and he was such a trainwreck? "I'm happy you're both happy now."
"I didn't use to be like this. I think it's Jimin's fault. You should hang out more with Jimin, suddenly you care about everything, because he just likes everything. And everyone." Tae shrugged, not really able to explain it. "I think it develops. Grows. Something like that. Like you have Hobi now. You care about him, right?"
He assumed he would, given that he was pretty sure that Ten even cared about Cheon and that guy was such a bastard. "You're lucky! Why can't I find a nice boyfriend? Am I not cute enough?"
Tae pouted playfully, then paused for a moment. "...just imagine me without the bruising."
"You're ridiculously beautiful. You're just not very forward. Pick a guy and go for him. Hobi avoided me at first, gave me nothing... then I seduced him and soon I was tied up in the back of his car. It's all about being cunning." At least, it was for Ten. He shrugged though, unsure how to explain Jimin. "Jimin is just like... I dunno, he loves everyone. I think people return it. I can't explain Jimin."
He was just someone people wanted to love.
"I'll help you get a guy. It's about the only thing I'm good at."
"...yeah, I don't think I really want to be tied up in the back of someone's car?" Tae said it slowly, just putting that out there. "I am forward. I'm way too forward, people find me annoying. Anyway, it's not hard to get a guy that you can do stuff with. You're not the only one who's been on the street sucking dick." Not that he was proud of it, but still. "I used to get my drugs that way too. But it doesn't really... I mean, I'm a gangster now, right?"
Tae didn't seem particularly gangster while sipping his mocktail and asking the question, but on days when he didn't recover from a beating, he had the vibe down. "I don't know how to hit on a guy as this me. Do I tie people up? I don't even have a car yet."
"That's not your vibe. Your vibe is like... unobtainable beauty. Work it. Just act like no one else can have you and eventually, people will want you. Seriously, just, don't give people want they want for once. If someone asks you to do something, say they should do something else first. The more you're unobtainable, the more they want you." Tae looked unique and rare, something that people would want but he tended to play the annoying brother role instead of the handsome man role. He supposed that was part of Tae's charm but he didn't know how to get that across to him.
"Please don't tie people up unless you know what you're doing. It's so hard to master and lack of circulation?" He showed his wrists, the bruises only now starting to fade. "It hurts."
"Unobtainable beauty?" Tae laughed, surprised at the words and not complaining, but wow. He ruffled his own hair and just kept smiling, because this was entertaining. He kind of wanted to tell Namjoon, just to see his face upon learning that from now on Tae was going to go for an unobtainable beauty vibe. "We should go out together some time, go to Jungkook's club when I stop looking like this. You can help me be unobtainable."
Well, he clearly needed coaching. "So, tying someone up isn't easy? I guess I'll have to learn eventually, for business." Although he figured that was different. "Is Hobi good at it?"
"Hobi is the best at it. Holy shit, his handiwork is amazing. I have hung from some things, you know?" With a playful smile, he winked at Tae and then nodded his head, very agreeable. "We will, if you guys are cool with me coming. I'd like to do something good for you guys. I owe you a nice boy. Lemme handle it, Tae hyung!"
With a grin, he reached out and gently touched Tae, just to confirm it was okay. That he could do that. "When you guys are next free, text me. I promise nothing dodgy will happen this time. I'd sooner die."
"I don't know if Jimin is going to come, he's kind of needy right now. All about Min Yoongi." Tae didn't really blame him, but he just had to roll his eyes anyway. "I'll ask him though. And I'd give Jungkook a heads up, so we can get proper treatment."
Tae held up a victory sign, since that was easier than thumbs up. "Hey. I'm glad you didn't die. I asked about it when I woke up. I didn't want you to be dead. I mean it."
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Might as well use that to draw him out, because he kind of had a feeling there was a reason he was in hiding and that reason was him.
"What can I drink that's not alcoholic? Namjoon's not letting me have fun."
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He bit his lower lip and tried to think of anything else. It was a good distraction from having to get up and look at Tae, face the damage he caused. "Also the blue moscow mocktail. It's not bad."
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Well, now he felt bad. He tried to get on his knees to look over the bar. "I'm not mad at you, I promise."
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Gangsters, he never liked them. He still didn't like them. "Don't hurt yourself, please. Stay sitting, hyung."
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He'd find out sooner or later. "He asked me in the club if I knew some kids for a quick job and I told him you two. I didn't know he wanted you to steal coke but I was pretty sure it wasn't good... I knew it wasn't going to end well." He fucked them over big time. "Cheon said if I could find him kids to do the job, who would pull it off, he'd let me sleep over at his and he got me this watch, I just -- I don't know. I'm really sorry."
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"You didn't know us then, I guess. I don't know. It's hard to..." Tae shrugged his shoulders with a sigh. "I just wish I'd gotten to know you without all that Cheon stuff, you know? You... I think you are a cool guy. Just makes me hate that asshole more."
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He gritted his teeth and tried his best not to grind them. He'd been doing that a lot lately. "Sorry you had to hear us fucking." Fucking, not rape. He was pissing him off and ... it was just better to think of it like that. It was a safe barrier.
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He supposed he was luckier now, much like Jimin. The type that made men fall for them and want to, well. In case of Cheon, fuck them over. He could only hope that it was as different with Hobi for Ten as it was with Yoongi for Jimin. "That's not your fault. Anyway. You know, the reason I came with you that night was because I saw your wrists. I figured maybe Hobi was the one hurting you. I was gonna ask you about it."
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"Cheon always liked to hurt me, not always in good ways. You and Jimin, I don't even know, you're both so caring. I don't get that." They were all survivors, they all had a rough time - why were Tae and Jimin such good people and he was such a trainwreck? "I'm happy you're both happy now."
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He assumed he would, given that he was pretty sure that Ten even cared about Cheon and that guy was such a bastard. "You're lucky! Why can't I find a nice boyfriend? Am I not cute enough?"
Tae pouted playfully, then paused for a moment. "...just imagine me without the bruising."
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He was just someone people wanted to love.
"I'll help you get a guy. It's about the only thing I'm good at."
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Tae didn't seem particularly gangster while sipping his mocktail and asking the question, but on days when he didn't recover from a beating, he had the vibe down. "I don't know how to hit on a guy as this me. Do I tie people up? I don't even have a car yet."
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"Please don't tie people up unless you know what you're doing. It's so hard to master and lack of circulation?" He showed his wrists, the bruises only now starting to fade. "It hurts."
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Well, he clearly needed coaching. "So, tying someone up isn't easy? I guess I'll have to learn eventually, for business." Although he figured that was different. "Is Hobi good at it?"
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With a grin, he reached out and gently touched Tae, just to confirm it was okay. That he could do that. "When you guys are next free, text me. I promise nothing dodgy will happen this time. I'd sooner die."
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Tae held up a victory sign, since that was easier than thumbs up. "Hey. I'm glad you didn't die. I asked about it when I woke up. I didn't want you to be dead. I mean it."