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aya-chi007 · 7 years ago

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Pickpocket the Stars - Ch. 6: Red

AFF Ao3

Yoongi takes a deep breath as she sets up containers of Chinese food on the island in her kitchen. She doesn’t do this, the whole warm, neighborly outreaching thing. This time is the exception, Namjoon is the one who told her about this job. She feels slightly obligated to do something nice in return, good karma and all that shit.

She’s just set out a couple plates when she hears the tell-tale sound of keys jingling. Swallowing gently, she rushes over to the door, peering carefully through the peephole. Sure enough, there’s Namjoon, messenger bag slung over his shoulder, loosening his tie as he unlocks his door. She pulls open her own door, the sound drawing Namjoon’s attention. He looks over his shoulder, thick-rimmed glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, hey, Yoongi,” he calls cheerfully, turning to look at her fully. “How’re you?”

She can’t help but smile at his good mood. “I’m alright,” she says, running a hand back through her hair. “I, uh, I picked up some Chinese on my way in today, but I got way too much. You wanna come over for dinner?”

Namjoon raises an eyebrow as he pushes up his glasses. “Look at you, playing the friendly neighbor,” he teases. “That actually sounds amazing though. Let me change and I’ll be over.”

“I actually lock my door, so make sure to knock,” she shoots back, smiling at his laughter as he disappears into his own apartment. She closes her door so she can return to the kitchen. Her feet lead her to the freezer. Typical. She shakes her head. Even though it’s a celebration, no alcohol. Alcohol is for dealing with pain. Instead, she opens the fridge to pull out a couple cans of Coca-Cola. The metallic red gleams tauntingly in the dim light of her kitchen.

Her breath hitches. Quickly, she sets them on the counter, alongside everything else, with shaking hands. Not right now. She’s celebrating. Running her hands back through her hair, she glances over the spread on the counter. Drinks, food, chopsticks, plates, napkins. If anything else is needed, Namjoon will ask for it. Probably. Unless he’s just overly polite.

Speaking of politeness, or lack thereof, her mind wanders to the scene at the diner earlier. Sunghwa and Hyukwoo’s attitudes didn’t surprise her at all. Since she walked out on Jay and cut everyone close to him out, they’ve been cold to her. To be fair, she’s been cold right back. No, what surprised her was Kiseok’s lack of interaction.

Out of everyone in that house, Kiseok’s the one she regrets cutting out the most. He was like a big brother and the one she was closest to, other than Jay.

A loud knock at the door pulls her out of her thoughts. Sighing she walks over to the door, checking that it is in fact Namjoon before opening it. “Took ya long enough,” she teases, stepping back so he can come inside.

Namjoon chuckles, pushing the door closed behind him. His clothes are definitely more casual now, though not as casual as what she wore to his place the other night. She frowns at the fitted jeans and white T-shirt before shaking her head. “You’re not wearing your glasses,” she comments as they walk back into the kitchen to fix their plates.

“Yeah… they’re not actual prescription glasses,” he admits sheepishly, ruffling his dyed hair. “They just make me look more scholarly and serious. People tend not to take you seriously when you have dimples.”

Yoongi snorts as they start piling their plates with fried rice, orange chicken, and everything else in the different containers. “People never take you seriously when you’re cute, I know from experience.” She grabs one of the cans of Coke in the same hand as her chopsticks as she leads the way to the living room. It’s nothing spectacular. A small TV on a simple end table. A banged up coffee table in front of a dingy, worn out couch with mismatched throw pillows.

He hums in agreement, cheeks flushed for some reason, as they settle on the couch and start digging into their food. “Did you ever put in for that job at the school?” He asks curiously.

Nodding, she swallows a mouthful of food. “Yeah… that’s actually what inviting you over for dinner was for, as a thank you,” she admits with a small smile. “I interviewed this morning and got the position.”

“Yoongi, that’s fantastic!” Namjoon says with a broad grin, though it dims slightly. “You didn’t have to buy me food or thank me.”

“Except, I kind of did. You’re the one who told me about the position. I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. I don’t usually check schools when I’m job hunting.” She shrugs. “Just figured I’d return a kind gesture with another one.” She pops a piece of chicken in her mouth. “Good karma ‘n’ all that shit,” she says around the mouthful.

Laughing, Namjoon nods, taking a sip of Coke. “So, do you want to walk with me to work on Monday?”

“Sure… that sounds nice,” Yoongi admits before reaching over to pick up the remote. “Wanna watch something?

Yoongi sighs as she sits on the edge of her bed, brushing out her long, silky hair. Jaebeom’s busy in a meeting. It’s probably not good. He was in a foul mood when Hyukwoo informed him who would be coming over today. Ji something, she didn’t catch his whole name. She overheard Sunghwa and Kiseok talking about it as she headed upstairs. The guy owes Jaebeom money, has for a few months now. Jaebeom doesn’t appreciate people taking advantage of him. She doesn’t blame him though. No one should take advantage of someone so generous and kind and-

She jumps at the almost deafening bang from downstairs. Curiously, she gets up from the bed and creeps down the stairs. She’s just reached the last step when the door to Jaebeom’s office flies open. Sunghwa and Hyukwoo march out, dragging someone… except he’s not struggling. His head hangs low, not even trying to keep it-

Gasping, Yoongi recoils at the sight. The man’s face is drenched in blood, still oozing from the bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. Oh god, the bang she heard, that was… She leans against the wall, her stomach doing flips as the metallic scent of fresh blood finally hits her. Oh god, it’s everywhere, streaked across the pretty hardwood floors. It hurts to fucking breathe, her chest feels so tight. It only gets worse when Jaebeom walks out of his office, his features steely. No, that’s not her Jaebeom, he never looks like that.

Dizzily, she finally stumbles off the last step onto the floor. Jaebeom’s head whips around so he can glare in her direction. She whimpers, backing up at the sight. Scary. Jaebeom isn’t supposed to be scary. His features soften almost immediately as he rushes over to her, the bottoms of his fancy high tops leaving tread marks in the blood.

“Hey, Yoongs, look at me.” he tells her softly, tilting her head up. Oh god, something wet and hot is sliding down her face. Just like that man’s. No, not man. Corpse. It was a fucking corpse that had its face drenched in blood. “Hey, baby girl, why you cryin’?” Jaebeom tries again, wiping away her tears. “It’s okay, I’m right here.”

No, it isn’t okay. There’s some weird, sour, almost sulfuric smell on Jaebeom’s hand, overpowering the comforting scent of his cologne. “I heard… I saw…” She sobs, not sure where to even fucking begin. “Jaebeom… there was a bang- no a gunshot , Jaebeom! He was shot in the head! Blood… so much blood…”

Jaebeom hums, pulling her into a tight hug. “I know, baby doll, I know,” he whispers, stroking her hair. “Had to do it though. Business, y’know?”

Jerking out of his embrace, Yoongi stares up at him fearfully. “ You shot him?” she questions, her voice barely audible.

“Yoongs… listen,” Jaebeom sighs, running a hand back through his hair. “That guy, Jiho, he was running for me. But he started skimming cash from the payments and pocketing it for himself, even though I was paying him plenty-”

“You could have given him a second chance!”

“Baby, that was his second chance,” Jaebeom says sadly. Oh no, she’s making him sad. He reaches out to take her hands, lacing their fingers together. She lets him. “I had to make an example out of him. If I hadn’t, what would stop the other runners from doing exactly what he did? It would ruin me. I wouldn’t be able to take care of you. Do you get that?”

It makes sense. Of course it does, Jaebeom knows what he’s doing. It’s still so terrifying though. Yoongi nods, squeezing his hands. “Yes, babe.”

Yoongi sits straight up in bed, gasping to catch her breath. Fuck , she hates that nightmare, that memory. That should have been her first clue Jaebeom, no, Jay was no good. It’s dumb, she needs to stop separating his actions and assigning them to Jaebeom and Jay. He’s the same person, aware of all of his actions. This isn’t Jekyll and Hyde.

Groaning, she looks over at her alarm clock. 2:39 a.m. Fucking. Yay. She sighs as she rolls off the bed, teetering a bit when she stands up too quickly. Never too early for some hard liquor to lull her back to sleep. She shuffles out into the living room, flipping on the TV as she heads into the kitchen, half-listening to whatever channel it’s tuned to.

“-Mayor Kim announces decision to run for reelection-” Pull out a bottle of whiskey. Slam the freezer door closed. “-occer team moves on to the semi-finals-” Set the bottle on the counter. Go to the cabinet. Get a glass. “-date on a murder investigation. The body that was found in the alley next to the Starlight Diner was identified as Park Jimin.”

Yoongi doesn’t feel the glass slip out of her hand. She doesn’t hear it shatter on the floor, sending shards of glass across the floor like ripples from a stone thrown in a pond. She doesn’t remember grabbing her keys or rushing out of the house. She does remember running. The brisk early autumn air fills her lungs. It almost burns. Just like how the concrete bites at her bare feet as she races across an all too familiar path. She doesn’t see the people staring at her, a scrawny girl with bedhead in a red bralette and black gym shorts.

Soon, too soon, not soon enough, that awful, terrible, beautiful gray colonial comes into view. She doesn’t even bother with the gate. Instead, she vaults over the low fence like a pro. She doesn’t want to slow down. It’s been too long. There’s not enough time. There’s no time left at all.

They always keep the stupid front door unlocked. She leaves it open before charging up the stairs, not caring how loud her feet pound against the wooden steps. Once she reaches the next floor, she makes a beeline for the bedroom right next to the office. Jay’s bedroom. She throws it open before storming into his room. How can he sleep so peacefully after all the shit he’s done?

God, it pisses her off.

All she can see is red.

She leaps on the bed, quickly straddling his stomach before the punches start flying, trying to hit everywhere she can: his chest, his arms, his face. His stupid, annoying, perfect, smug face.

“The hell?!”

There’s shuffling as he moves beneath her. Her blows don’t stop, not even when the bedside lamp comes on, illuminating the situation. It only stops when Jay grabs her by the wrists. Even with his muscles, his strength, he struggles to keep her still. “The fucking hell, Yoongs?” He demands, looking at her like he doesn’t fully believe she’s there.

“You’re such a fucKING ASSHOLE!” She shrieks, her voice rising in volume as she flails, fighting to get her arms loose. “I quit my job, I turned Jimin down, I did everything you fucking told me to do. You didn’t have to kill him , you miserable, low-life, fucking-” She screams, lunging at him.She’s crying again, hot tears of rage streaming down her cheeks,

Jaebeom leans back, eyes darkening slightly as the realization sets in. “If he was going to keep harassing you for a date, who knows what else he would ha-”

“I don’t need a selfish prick like you protecting me! I can take care of myself!”

Heavy, hurried footsteps tromp down the hall. Hyukwoo and Sunghwa both appear, still in their pajamas. They each grab one of her arms, pulling her off Jay with ease. Yoongi kicks her legs frantically, managing to get one good hit to Jay’s chest.

Jay sits up, sighing as he runs his hands back through his hair. He looks at Yoongi tiredly. If Yoongi cared, she’d notice the dark circles under his eyes. She doesn’t care. Hasn’t for a long time. “Take her to her room,” Jay says shortly. “We’ll let her out when she finally calms down.”

“You can’t just fuckin-” She doesn’t get to say much else before Hyukwoo and Sunghwa are dragging her out of Jay’s bedroom. Just like they dragged that corpse and so many others out of Jay’s office. Her stomach turns at the thought. It’s painful when they drag her up the stairs to the attic, throwing her inside before slamming the door shut.

Yoongi scrambles back to her feet, jostling the door handle. Locked. They fucking locked it from the outside. “Not this shit again,” she mutters before banging frantically against the wood. “Let me out! You can’t fucking do this to me! Fucking assholes!” She kicks the door, swearing loudly before she limps over to the bed. Jay was right, they kept it all clean, tidy, and ready for her, if she ever came back.

Slowly, her heavy breathing turns to sobs as she curls up on the bed. Jimin’s dead. It’s her fault. No, it’s Jay’s fault for being a possessive piece of shit. It’s not her fault. Steadily, her sobs soften as exhaustion finally overtakes her and she succumbs to sleep.

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