63
Miss. Trouble
Evening had settled and Leerang was slumped down in a chair, completely drained of energy. Faint voices could be heard from the hallway and she glanced up through half lidded eyes just in time to see Tao and Luhan enter the living room. Both of them halted though, when seeing Lay, who were splayed out and asleep on the couch. “I thought you were joking when you said he was here.” Tao’s not so amused tone made itself heard and Kris were not late to reply, “unfortunately no.” the male sighed, he truly disliked where the situation with everything going on was heading. Nothing seemed to be working for their favor and they couldn’t even get a loan from the bank. His mother had tried her best with getting a hold of some money so they could buy the café, but fifty million won was required. An amount unreachable for them.
“Kris.” Luhan glanced over at Leerang, who’d already fallen asleep in the armchair with her head resting against the backrest. To stay awake any longer hadn’t worked and she’d succumbed to the tiredness. “Her neck and back will hurt pretty bad if you let her sleep like that.” Luhan informed, to which Kris frowned since he couldn’t carry her. Not when his arm was still wrapped in that godforsaken bandage. “I know. But my arm.” another sigh slipped from his lips and he moved over to wake her up, only to be taken aback by Tao, who interrupted his actions, “I’ll carry her.” surprise struck both Kris and Luhan, as they’d always thought the younger male disliked Leerang. But Tao was slowly starting to prove them wrong. “Okay.” Tao slipped his arms under her knees and back once his hyung had moved out of the way, “your room?” Kris nodded, slightly jealous, before they headed up the stairs. His mother gave them a curious glance as they passed her bedroom by, but she remained quiet.
The two of them retreated downstairs a few moments later, once Kris made sure Leerang was comfortable. He couldn’t do much about her high school uniform though, and let her sleep with it. “Where are you going to sleep then?” Luhan questioned as soon as both Kris and Tao entered the living room again. “We’ll see.” none of his friends knew about the hospital and that he’d already shared the same bed with Leerang. Not even his mother knew. “You can always throw him out.” Tao pointed at Lay, the younger male were still far from pleased by his hyung’s decision on letting that inside. He didn’t understand why Kris would be so nice towards someone who’d made his life so burdensome. “I wonder what he would think about that.” Kris smiled, but brushed the thought away quite immediately, as he had other things to take care of, “actually, I wanted to ask you something.” the time was ticking and it was just a couple of days left now, before the café would have to close for good. He wouldn’t let that happen though, not when his mother had worked so hard to build up a life for them. “Do you know where I could get a hold of fifty million won?”
Luhan and Tao gawked, not believing their ears. Fifty million won wasn’t something you just got your hands on. Not so easily and within a week’s time. “You’re kidding, right?” Luhan was the first one to speak, shocked by the question. “No.” Kris was definitely not joking. He needed the amount to buy the café. “I think you could rule out every bank in South Korea, because none of them would give you a loan.” sad but true. “Why don’t you ask the ?” Tao glared at Lay, his pulse racing as old memories flooded his mind. The younger boy would never be able to forgive anything Lay had done.
“No. He’s already created more enough trouble.” Kris needed to settle this ordeal by himself and without help. Where he was going to get a hold of so much money he didn’t know yet. But the male was not giving up because he’d already made up his mind to do whatever it takes. “Sorry. I wish I could help but I need all the money myself.” Luhan felt bad for not being able to help out more. But he and his sister did barely manage to survive themselves. “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out.” he already had something in mind, but didn’t want to say anything as he knew how both Luhan and Tao would object. It would be fine as long as he kept it a secret. Therefore did he keep quiet about the plan when Tao questioned him whether he had something in mind, “not yet.” Kris didn’t want to reveal anything, as there were possibilities of it backfiring later on, “I still got a couple of days left.”
The subject was pushed aside a moment later, when Luhan announced he had to leave, “there’s a long day of work tomorrow.” Kris understood, he hadn’t expected them to have stayed much longer. “I better go, too.” Tao stated as he gave his hyung a sympathetic look. He felt bad for not being able to help out more, just like Luhan. But he, too, lived a meager life since his mother was sick and his father had a low-paying job. “Yeah, it’s getting pretty late.” last time Kris checked the clock stood at 9.30PM and that was quite a while ago. He only hoped it wasn’t too late, as he had someone to call. “Call if you need anything.” Kris nodded in response before watching Luhan and Tao making their way over to the door, “see you around.” the male headed upstairs to his bedroom once the door shut close. Seeing that Leerang were still sound asleep brought a small smile upon his lips and he bent down to give her forehead a light kiss, “I’ll be back soon.” in a careful manner did he exit the room, making sure to close the door behind after having retrieved his keys and cell phone from the nightstand. He stopped by his mother’s bedroom to make sure she was sleeping, too, before heading down.
Kris was far from pleased by what he were about to do, but found no other option since none of his friends could lend him money, nor could he get a loan from the bank. Pressing the phone to his ear he walked towards the bus stop. Kris tensed every so lightly when a male voice boomed through the speaker, “hello.” this was the absolute last opportunity to back out, to press the red button and end the call, but he didn’t, “is this Jaewook?” he’d only met the man once, several years earlier when he needed some money. “Yes, who’s this?” Kris made sure there were no one around before replying, “it’s Kris. I need to see you.” silence followed and Kris didn’t quite know how to proceed. For all he knew the older male could’ve ended his business and moved on to other stuff. “You know where to find me.” it might’ve been a long time ago but Kris could still remember the way, as he’d imprinted the route into his head in case of emergency. “Great, I’ll be there in a few.” the call ended just as he stepped on the bus.
Sitting down farthest back he ran a hand through his hair, wondering whether he was doing the right thing or not. Like Luhan said, fifty million won weren’t easy money and it would take a lot of time to pay back. But there were no other choice, not if he wanted the café to keep going. However, the few millions he’d managed to get in the past was nothing in comparison to the huge amount he needed now. An astonishing sum Kris could only dream of.
It took him nearly half an hour to reach the destination and the slightly rundown building. It looked even worse than it’d used to and Kris frowned, disgusted by the foul smell lingering in the air, whilst he knocked on the massive steel door. Almost immediately did the lock sound and he was ushered inside by the older male, who closed and locked the door behind him. “Long time no see.” Kris remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the room, slowly taking in and processing everything he saw. No one but them were there, something that eased his mind as he turned to face the man, “actually, I need a loan.” Kris frowned again, disliking how he remembered the promise he’d made a while back, about not borrowing money from anyone ever again.
“Really?” one word, was that all the older male had to say? “I will pay you back, but it’ll probably take some time.” years, that’s how long it was going to take for Kris to pay everything back, especially with all the extra fee’s that were added. “Oh, I know you will,” Jaewook wouldn’t hesitate to use other methods if so needed, “or else I’ll make Leerang pay.” Kris froze, his mind blank and his jaw clenched together so hard it was hurting. He was flabbergasted at how such information had reached Jaewook, even more so since they weren’t exactly close, as the only time they’d met was nearly five years back. “You don’t ing touch her, you hear that.” Kris snarled, who he was speaking to didn’t matter the slightest, because he would never allow anyone to as much as lay a finger on Leerang. “We’ll see.” the male spoke with a smirk upon his lips before continuing, “just make sure to keep your end of the deal.”
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