Finally Free || PJM

Finally Free || PJM

Summary: Kidnapped at a young age, Y/N is forced to work for an organisation that specialises in killing. All is well until she begins to realise her partner, Park Jimin, may be keeping more secrets from her than she realised.

Pairing: Park Jimin x reader

Genre: Assassin reader, assassin Jimin, enemies (?) to friends to lovers, assassins AU, angst

Word Count: 22.9k

Warnings: Kidnapping, murder/assassination, gun violence, knife violence, physical violence, major character death, mentions of a dead animal, blood, heated making out

“Once upon a time, there was a girl.

She was haughty and smug, plagued with the impression that those around her were inferior in every way possible. Her notion was not without foundation, for she topped her classes again and again, excelled in every activity she’d ever bothered to try, and had every student in the school wishing her to give them the time of day. Teachers lifted her with commendation and boys begged for but a simple chance. 

Her only problem was that she was too good, and she didn’t bother to hide it.

She would revel in the praises of her classmates, flaunting her grades and trophies to no limits. New strangers were not seen as the beginning of a novel relationship, but new opportunities to show off her excellence. Adoration had become her perpetual melody. 

Until one day the turntable turned no more.

The girl brushed her hair softly as she sat in front of her dresser, watching as the silky curls bounced against her nightgown. She was in awe at her porcelain skin and the delicate dip of her nose. Admiration for herself was nothing out of the ordinary, enough to put even a man like Narcissus to shame. But what she didn’t notice that night was the shadow watching her from afar. 

Its gaze fixated through the cool glass of the window with focus and intensity. Had the girl been just a little aware, she might have even caught it, but she was much too immersed in stretching across her bed happily as thoughts of tomorrow’s exam results filled her with glee.

Her ignorance continued as the shadow finally moved, slithering within the darkness until it emerged from the shadows, slowly stepping towards the girl.

That was the last time anyone had ever seen her again. 

Her parents had sworn they had heard a scream erupt from their daughter’s room at the strike of midnight, but upon stumbling into her room, they were only met with an empty bed, a window left wide open, and a message engraved on the alabaster wall dripping in crimson red blood:

‘We see all, we know all, we control all.’

The next day, gasps reverberated against the walls of the school. Not at the news of the girl’s disappearance, no the parents had not disclosed such information just yet, but at the results board that had been pinned in the hallway. 

The girl that had never gotten below a full mark in her life had just received a zero, her name written boldly at the end of the list of students. 

The day after, the school newspaper’s front page had, for the first time, displayed a headline worthy of turning the students' heads. It had been a three page summary of every sin the girl had ever committed, from cheating on her boyfriend in the eighth grade to bullying her friends into obedience in the tenth.

At the end of the newspaper, was an oddly written sign off.

‘We see all, we know all, we control all.’

One by one, everything the girl had worked hard for throughout her life had been torn down within a month- her reputation, her achievements, her school rank. Until one day, even the mention of her name was met with scoffs and rolled eyes. 

‘It’s good she’s gone, she got what she deserved.’

‘If she’s really done all that, I hope she’s dead.’

‘She was snobby and arrogant anyway, good riddance.’

Jealousy is such an easy tool to play with, and they indeed played it with ease. But their intentions were not influenced by such an emotion. The pettiness of an action motivated by jealousy was far too low for their standards. They took the girl because they wanted her. They wanted her brain, her body, her soul. And they didn’t need to ask permission from anyone. 

Because they see all.

They know all.

And they control all.

So, what is the moral of the story?”

The room was met with silence. Once upon a time you would rush to fill the quiet void created by the darkness of midnight and your mother’s expectations. Her words would seep into the marrow of your bones and create some of the worst nightmares you could think of.

But now you could only scoff.

“Don’t be a show off,” the words left your lips automatically. You were only half paying attention anyway, the mind of a nine year old tended to do that when being told the same story for what was probably the hundredth time. 

All you wished to do was burrow into the blanket covering your frame and fall into the peace that was a gift of sleep.

Your mother simply hummed. She had asked this question as many times as she had told the story, and your reply was always the same. Even her hum in response was no different from the other times. It was never any indication as to whether the answer satisfied her, only a mere act of acknowledgement. 

But instead of turning off the nightlight of your room and calling it a night like she always did, this time she stayed behind, gaze boring into yours as she watched your tiny figure hugging the pillow on the large bed.

“Is that truly what you believe the moral to be?” She asked unusually.

Your mother has always been ominous in everything she said. You were sure her words always held some kind of double meaning, like she knew things you didn’t and she wanted to make sure you knew it.

“Yes?” You replied, doubt weakening your response. Up until now, you had always believed that your answer had been adequate enough.

Was it not?

Your mother chuckled, another unusual action for her. Tonight seemed to be full of surprises. 

“You will figure it out one day,” she stood, obviously refusing to answer anything in a way that might make sense. 

“Did you lock your window?” She asked, checking the lock anyway.

You nodded your head, another routine question answered flatly.

“Then let your dreams give you comfort,” she said, one of the rare phrases of hers that genuinely brought warmth to your chest.

“Goodnight,” you replied, watching her walk out of the room while gently closing the door behind her. 

Your room was drenched in the night’s darkness, only a sliver of moonlight allowing you to see the outline of the fancy furniture distributed throughout the room. You could hear the screeching caw of a bird outside your window, the tick tocks of the grandfather clock hiding behind your dresser, and the occasional tussle of your bedsheet as you squirmed around. 

You were restless tonight, the words of your mother oddly bothering you awake.

If the moral of the story wasn’t to not show off, then what else could it possibly be? If the girl had not flaunted her achievements, they wouldn’t have known how smart she was and they wouldn’t have taken her. It was a logical answer with a logical explanation.

You huffed as you pushed the blanket off yourself and made your way to the window, eyeing the bright moon as you swam in the ocean that was your thoughts.

Maybe she should have tried to be more likeable? If she had been more genuine towards her friends, they might have liked her enough to search for her after her disappearance. That’s how it was in those movies, wasn’t it? The main character’s friend disappears, the police close the case due to lack of evidence, and then the main character takes it upon themself to search for their friend alone.

Maybe that was what your mother was trying to point towards?

You sighed, not feeling any kind of enlightenment at your ideas. Your small hands found the lock of the window and pulled it open, feeling the light breeze of the fresh air outside. 

Life is not a movie my dear child. Reality is a lot more harsh than what they make it out to be.

Your mother’s words echo in your mind, though you don’t even remember when she’s ever said them. She seemed to have grown a consciousness of her own in your head. You suppose most people would classify that as some kind of mental illness.

You felt yourself lean forward, resting your arms on the windowsill as you closed your eyes and basked in the chill breeze. For a fleeting moment, you wondered what it would feel like to walk outside, to feel soft grass, or hard sidewalk concrete. That was what normal people did, didn’t they? They went on walks and played in parks. But you had never done those things. Maybe that’s why you felt like you were going crazy.

As you opened your eyes, they suddenly flitted across a shadow that you swear you saw on the stone driveway of your house. It had been small, and if it had really existed, then it had also been very quick. You strained your neck forward so that you could get a better look outside of the window. Your driveway was still within your house thanks to a tall iron gate, so no one other than your mother and the maids could be outside and at this hour it was unlikely that any of them would even be up at all.

Deep in your thoughts, you didn’t realise just how far you had been leaning against the window until you felt your hold on the windowsill slip. Your arms slipped forward, bringing your whole body with you. You only had a second to register the fact that you were going to fall, from a height that could very much kill you. But you didn’t. Your body didn’t slip outside of the window, nor did it hit against the hard stone driveway. Instead, you felt a hand grab your collar from behind, and throw you across your bedroom. Your back collided with the wood of your dressing table, causing pain to flare in your bones. 

That’s when you finally saw him. 

A figure wrapped in black clothes stood before you as he breathed heavily. The only parts of him that were uncovered were his hair and hands, otherwise his face was covered by a black mask. 

You tried to get yourself to your feet, to scream at the sight of his presence, but he was much quicker. His hands were on you in seconds, one pinning you roughly to the floor while the other was held tightly against your lips.

Of course you struggled, but the figure kept you pinned with strength you could not match. You suddenly felt like the girl in the story your mother had just told you about.

Except this was real life. Either you would die here or you would be taken somewhere else.

With an idea forming into your mind, you slowly stopped struggling, letting your limbs fall to your side. The figure must have thought you were giving up because you could feel his grip loosening.

But he was wrong to think you wouldn’t go down without a fight. 

In a quick motion, you moved to hit him on the head. But even with the element of surprise on your side he was still quicker. Instead you hand connected with his face, and in a moment of desperation, you grabbed onto the black mask covering his features.

The cloth ripped off of him, causing the two of you to freeze. He looked like a normal boy, maybe a few years older than you, but definitely no older than 12. His cheeks were soft while they were framed by his dishevelled black hair. But his eyes…

Despite their common brown colour, there was a hurricane of emotions hiding behind them. Anger, determination, fear and pain.

So, so much pain. 

The two of you locked gazes for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few seconds.

Then the boy stood and began dragging you towards your window, which was now wide open. Once you were outside, no one would be able to save you. Your fate would be handed over to this unusual boy.

A sudden panic overtook your mind.

“Wait! Please,” you begged, your hands clawing at his grip on your arm with no success, “I’ll do anything, just please let me go!”

He ignored you, continuing to walk towards his exit with no plans of stopping. 

“Please,” you were crying at this point, “who are you? What do you want from me?”

At those questions, he paused for a moment before slowly turning to face your small figure. His eyes were once again on you, this time regarding your arms, then your clothes, and then lastly your eyes. 

If you were in your right mind, you might have noticed the shaky breath that escaped his lips, but you were too busy being terrified over where your future lay now. 

He took a bold step towards you, causing you to back away as much as his grip on your arm would let you.

“Who are we?” He asked, his voice steady. It was the only thing you could focus on without panicking before nodding slowly. 

He took another step towards you, “after today your life will never be the same.”

Another step.

“You’ll either live in fear, shivering in the shadows of darkness.”

One more.

“Or you’ll learn how to hide in them and use them to rise to the top.”

You felt your back bump against a wall, but he didn’t stop until his face was barely a breath away from your own.

“Either way, you’re ours now.

Because we see all, we know all, and we control all.”

15 Years Later

“There’s no way you don’t see it. You’re dumb, but not that dumb.”

Your back leaned against the mahogany bannister in a crouched state as your neck strained to continue focusing on Jimin, who was crouched on the other side of the staircase mulling over your words. He had wisely chosen to ignore the jab you had sent him, opting instead to shift uncomfortably in his place with his position mimicking your own. 

Instead of an actual response, he just scoffed, turning his head to look between the gaps of the bannister rather than your face. Despite it, you could imagine his expression clearly, furrowed eyebrows and a narrow gaze as he waited for your target. 

Fortunately for the two of you, the owner of the mansion you were in had decided to go for an open concept layout, giving the two of you maximum coverage of the whole ground floor from your vantage point at the top of the wooden stairs. That, paired with the isolated nature of his mansion, was just making it too easy. You could do this mission with your eyes closed.

Which made this a perfect opportunity to bring up this topic to Jimin. It was just as much frustrating as it was pleasing how unserious he was about it. 

“I’m just saying,” you began, hoping to get the conversation going once again, “if you guys dated, it would be good for your reputation within the Organisation and you’d be loaded for life.”

You had to push away the rotten feeling in your heart at the mention of Jimin dating someone. It was so pathetic, all these years pining for a man that had probably never looked at you as more than a sister. But you couldn't help it. It was like in those movies you've watched, where the character's heart fluttered at his every touch. Or when he called their name and all their problems seem to wither away. Or just the thought of him brought a smile to their face. 

As embarrassing as it was to admit, that was exactly how you were. It was always fine, because if you had learned one thing from your life, even before who you are now, it was how to hide things. Hiding your emotions had especially become your specialty. 

But things were changing. You were starting to watch him when he spoke for too long, you started longing for his attention a lot more now and not to mention an incident involving falling onto him during a mission where you felt like your heart would explode. You were getting bad at the one thing you thought you were good at. 

And it was starting to hurt. All those years of pining weren't really torture for you, for some reason it was easy to call it nothing more than a crush back then. Knowing you could never have him was simply a fact that you didn't mind. You had his friendship and friendship was all you needed. But now, his presence did things to you, and whatever it was, it was painful. Watching him laugh only reminded you that one day it'll be someone else's and listening to him talk about the future only reminded you that one day he wouldn't be in it. 

Which was why you had to do this. You had to put some kind of boundary between the two of you so that these unwelcome thoughts would leave. So that you could finally go a day without thinking about him or without wishing he was by your side all the time. 

And what better way than to find him a girlfriend?

Jimin’s face turned towards you once again as you adjusted the idle gun in your hands, gaze scanning your expression and then your finger resting comfortably on the trigger. You were used to it. You had been under his constant gaze ever since you were 9 after all. 

Finally he turned away, staring forward in an oddly tired way. 

“No, I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean no? She’s the daughter of our leader. If you two dated, even eventually got married, you’d have her father’s protection and money. You’d be set for life,” you argued, chest fluttering weirdly in the process. 

But Jimin simply shook his head. You watched him for a moment, noticing his tense shoulders and furrowed eyebrows. He was a man of few words, you’d learned at least that much about him in the years you’d spent as mission partners. When something was on his mind, it took a little pushing to get him to open up. Since it was clear the mission couldn’t be what was bothering him, you guessed it was something else. 

“What is it?” you asked finally, gaze flickering towards the mansion’s front door in case your target showed up, “there’s something on your mind. Come on, tell me.”

He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts in the process. Just because he didn’t talk much didn’t mean he was stupid. He was the complete opposite really. Every word that left his mouth was calculated, an immense amount of thought and intention behind every sentence.

Finally, he spoke up.

“Do you really think she likes me?”

The question felt like a hammer to your chest. Any hope you had of fostering a more intimate relationship with the man a metre or two away from you was crushed by the sliver of hope you could hear in his voice. Of course Jimin would want to date her. She was rich, gorgeous, and, most importantly of all, the daughter of the Organisation’s leader. Who wouldn’t?

You pushed down the jealousy threatening to make itself known.

“Yes, I’m very sure she does. So what’s stopping you?”

The digital watch on your wrist suddenly lit up, a coordinate flashing on the little map illustrated in black and white. The target was close, but not close enough to matter right now. 

Jimin’s gaze lifted from his own watch, pausing once again, “even if she did like me, which may not even be the case, her dad would probably put my head on a silver platter before he’ll let her date me.”

“To me it seems like her dad doesn’t really care about what she does,” you thought out loud, “besides, I doubt he’d stop one of the best assassins in the Organisation from being with his daughter. If anything, he’d be glad he doesn’t have to pay for her bodyguard anymore.”

You hated how much you wanted him to refuse. To say that the real reason was because he didn’t like her like that. But his next words crushed your heart once again.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll try to talk to her when I get the chance.”

You wanted to ask him whether he’d been secretly pining over her this whole time, but it would have to be in a joking manner so that it looked like it didn’t matter to you and you don’t think you could muster up that kind of energy. You could barely muster the fake smile you sent his way.

Thankfully, you didn’t have to actually say anything because right at that moment, the doors of the mansion burst open and your target stomped into the room. Immediately you and Jimin took your positions, one knee steadying yourselves while your hands steadied the gun aiming towards the target. He hadn’t noticed the two of you yet as he grabbed one of the vases on a coffee table and sent it crashing against the fireplace. 

Though his anger seemed especially exaggerated, it didn’t really matter. Your mission had already been assigned, and nowhere in the outline had it said to figure out why your target was in such a rotten mood. 

So without even a glance at each other, you and Jimin each sent a bullet flying towards the target, one slashing through his right arm, while the other through his right leg. The target stumbled to the ground, flailing around while yelling obscenities that would make a viking proud. 

But no matter how hard he yelled, the only people that could hear him were himself, Jimin and you. 

The two of you dropped from the staircase and nonchalantly made your way to his writhing form on the living room’s carpet. The red of his blood seeped into the red of his carpet, so much so that an untrained eye might not have even been able to spot it. 

“Mr. Kang,” Jimin announced. His voice when he addressed people during missions was low and authoritative, one of the only things that really scared you about him. Sometimes you could even see him leading the Organisation itself with that voice. If he started dating the leader’s daughter, would that eventually become a reality?

He continued, completely unaware of your wild thoughts, “you have betrayed the Organisation with your acts of treason, and for that, you have been sentenced to die.”

The man stared up in horror as he watched you walk up to his broken form and point your polished gun to his head. There was no one that could save him now, this was the end.

As if that realisation dawned on him, he suddenly calmed himself down. The whimpers that had been echoing around the living room ceased and he pulled himself into a somewhat sitting position.

That made you and Jimin look at each other in confusion. 

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” he started, voice strained in pain, “they’ve made you mindless puppets only to be used for their own biddings. And when you finally stop benefiting them, they’ll throw you away the same way they’re throwing me away.”

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “you’re being thrown away because you’re a traitor.”

“How can I be a traitor when they betrayed me first? They promised me they’d keep him safe as long as I did their dirty work, but my years of service were rewarded with what? My own hands dirty with his blood.”

You looked over at Jimin to share your confusion but were surprised to see his shoulders tensed. He was looking at the man on the floor with an unreadable expression, but you could have sworn you caught some fear in his eyes. 

The man’s eyes widened as he seemed to catch onto Jimin’s expression too, “he knows, doesn’t he?!”

He crawled forward and grabbed Jimin’s hand, but Jimin surprisingly didn’t move, “you know what is to come! Let me go! Rebel! Run away! Do not serve them even a second of your ti–”

A loud bang suddenly reverberated across the living room, putting an end to the man’s rambling. There was a shocked expression on his face as blood dripped from his forehead down to the bridge of his nose. In a matter of seconds, his body was slumped against the living room’s carpet and silence ensued. 

Jimin slowly put his gun back into his holster and started drenching the place in gasoline. But you stood, completely confused by the last 5 minutes. 

“What was that?” You finally asked, watching him drown the body in gas.

But Jimin remained silent as he continued quickly.

“He said something about they betraying him first… I’m assuming ‘they’ are the Organisation, but whose blood did he have on his hands? And why did he say you knew something?”

Jimin threw the empty tank of gasoline to the corner of the room and brought out a lighter, flicking it so that a small fire burst from the metal opening. He threw it to the ground, watching as the fire spread throughout the room. 

The two of you made it out of the mansion, watching as it crumbled to the ground in a mixture of fire and smoke. And yet after all that, he didn’t utter a word. It made you a little frustrated.

“Jimin, I’m asking you somethin–”

“It’s nothing,” He interrupted. His voice hadn’t even been loud, but there was a firmness in it that silenced you immediately, “ I don’t know what he was talking about when he said I knew something. I don’t know whose blood is on his hands and why it’s so important. He was likely just speaking nonsense.”

Both his gaze and voice was firm as he said his next words.

“But we have nothing to be worried about, I promise.”

It took you about a week after the whole incident to forget that man and his weird words, as well as Jimin and his even weirder behaviour. But your uneasiness didn’t leave that easily. You couldn’t quite forget the tenseness of Jimin’s shoulders and the fear you had picked up on in his expression for just a millisecond of a moment. 

‘He knows, doesn’t he?!’

Was Jimin really hiding something from you? It was hard to believe considering how close the two of you were growing up. Yes, Jimin was a quiet and relatively private person, but you’ve always thought that you knew him better than others. 

Had you been wrong?

And you couldn’t even begin to decipher the rest of the things the man had said. He was clearly against the Organisation because… they betrayed him? But how could the Organisation owe him anything? The Organisation owes nothing to anyone. Not to people like you. Not to the world.

‘You know what is to come!’

Was something coming that the Organisation wasn’t aware about? Or was the Organisation planning something that you all, within the lower ranks of the Organisation, didn't know was coming?

You groaned, sending three bullets through the centres of the holographic targets in front of you. So much for forgetting that incident. 

And to your disappointment, Jimin hadn’t said a word about it at all since that day. Instead he continued to be his usual quiet self, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Though, you couldn’t help but notice his shoulders tense once or twice in your presence, like he was expecting you to say something. But ultimately, you knew that if he didn’t reveal anything that day, he wouldn’t reveal anything through begging. 

“Ms. Y/N,” a voice behind you called.

You turned around to see a man dressed in a business suit waiting for you at the entrance of the training room. He had sunglasses covering his eyes and a small black wire indicating the presence of an earpiece. Your eyebrows furrowed. 

You didn’t know who that was. 

The man bowed, ignoring your confusion.

“There is a mission briefing in room 314,” he announced, “please come with me.”

He started walking towards said room, but you hesitated. Mission briefings were announced through your earpieces, you’ve never been summoned through a person before. 

“I would advise that you pick up your pace, Ms. Y/N,” his voice came from the hallway, “we wouldn’t want to keep your partner waiting.”

The mention of Jimin had you groaning inwardly. He could very well be lying to lure you into the room and do whatever it was he, or his boss, was intending to do. But what could happen, anyway? This was the Organisation. They saw all, they knew all, and they controlled all. How could this man be doing anything against them in their own building?

So with those thoughts in mind, and also a little worry for Jimin, you started following the man to the room. It didn’t take long, one efficient elevator ride later had you entering a room labelled ‘314’ in no time.

It looked like any other briefing room, except it looked old. There was dust accumulating in its corners, an outdated television perched on the wall and a large desk in the middle of the room with empty chairs surrounding it. 

Your room scan finally revealed Jimin standing near the side, posture rigid and hands behind his back. It was how you all usually stood when talking to someone above you. 

“Please, take your position next to him,” a female voice called. 

You did as you were told before you looked in her direction, which was smart now that you had identified the source of the voice. 

The Leader’s daughter, Han Iseul, stood elegantly at the head of the room, just barely paying attention to the two of you as she sifted through a few documents in front of her. She was dressed in business casual clothes that hugged her skinny figure well while her makeup was sharp and precise. She was trying to be nonchalant, but you could see through her facade as easily as looking through water. When she wasn’t moving, you caught her stealing quick glances at Jimin here and then. 

You hadn’t been lying to Jimin when you said she had a crush on him, and this only confirmed that even more. It took a lot of self control to reel in your jealousy.

“I’ve called you here today to brief you on your new assignment,” she announced finally, placing the documents she had been reviewing before on the table in front of her, “I advise that you listen carefully.”

You’ve never heard of anyone being briefed by the Leader’s daughter before, it’s always been by your superiors who had direct contact with the Leader. They would always contact you through your earpiece, outlining the tasks you had to get done, and leave you and Jimin to do your job. It’s never been this excessive.

You suspected it might have had something to do with her little crush. Some sad attempt at getting closer to Jimin by briefing the two of you on one of your missions. She really must be whipped for him to pull something like this in such a strict organisation.

“The reason for the abnormality in your briefing today is due to the private nature of this mission,” she continued, eyeing the two of you, “this mission is to stay a secret even within the Organisation. The only ones you may mention it to are yourselves and me.”

“The task I am assigning you will require you to guard the transport of a particular cargo. The details of the cargo will not be provided, but it is imperative that this cargo make it to its destination. The transport itself will take about two days, both of which you will be on active duty. We will not risk transport at night, so the cargo will be transported to a secure location on the night between these two days.”

“Any questions?” She finally asked. 

When she didn’t get an answer she nodded, “you will leave in two hours. Please prepare your gear.”

With those words, she left the room, but not before stealing a glance at Jimin one last time. It made you want to throw a chair in her face, but you knew you had no right to.

Once she had fully left, you turned towards Jimin, who had been quiet this whole time.

“Cargo protection? Since when are we, aka assassins, responsible for protecting cargo?” 

“This isn’t the first time we’ve been tasked with a mission that does not involve killing someone,” he said, checking his watch for the results of his gear checkup and inventory stock. Jimin’s always been a stickler for the rules. It’s why he’s one of the best assassins in the Organisation. 

“I’ll never understand why we get missions outside of our scope,” you huffed, deciding to check your own inventory. Even though the mission itself sounded stupid, Iseul had made it sound otherwise, so it must have been important. You weren’t dumb enough to be sloppy on a mission like this.

The corners of Jimin’s lips twitched in a slight smile, “I’ve already restocked your inventory and gotten your gear up to date. Just focus on not accidentally shooting the target’s sister again.”

“That was one time!” You huffed, feeling slightly offended, “besides, I doubt we’ll be shooting at anyone in this mission.”

“Lucky for you.”

You punched him in the arm, earning you an amused chuckle. The sound had butterflies swirling in your stomach until a sudden thought struck them all down.

“So… you and Iseul must have waited a while for me,” you began, dreading the answer to your question already, “did you guys talk about anything?”

The room quieted before Jimin answered your question.

“Yes, we talked a bit.”

Your eyes widened and without thinking you blurted out, “wait, seriously?” 

You don’t know why that came as such a big surprise to you, he had agreed with the whole dating thing after all. But Jimin saying something and Jimin actually doing something were two different things. And now that something was actually happening, you couldn’t help but feel even worse than before.

“Nothing too specific,” he said, not giving much detail. But that’s the type of boyfriend you expected him to be, private when it came to his relationships, “just general stuff.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to ask him what ‘general’ meant. Did he mean general small talk? Or general dating stuff? Is that why Iseul was looking at him so much during the briefing? Did she realise that she finally had a chance with him? Or did Jimin already confess that he was willing to start a relationship with her? Were they already a couple?

You felt your throat start to close and tears prick the back of your eyes. 

Silly girl. Didn’t I tell you boys were not worth the time of day?

It’s been a while since your mother’s voice has made an appearance in your head. In fact, it’s been a while since you’ve even thought about her at all. She was a distant memory. You could barely even remember her face. But her words have never left your mind, and right now was proof of that.

“Y/N?” 

You looked up at Jimin, who was looking at you with a concerned expression. He must have been elated, knowing he would eventually become the husband of the Leader’s daughter. And here you were, a pathetic girl with a pathetic school girl crush. 

“I’m going to go double check my gear,” you managed to get out before making your way out of the room. 

You just hoped your voice didn’t betray how vulnerable your heart was. 

The breeze lashed at your hands and shoulders as you sped on your motorcycle at the first sign of dusk. In front of you stretched an empty highway owned specifically by the Organisation, while on your left was the truck carrying the cargo you had been tasked to protect. Outside of your view you knew Jimin, who was speeding on a motorcycle similar to yours, was likely on the other side of the truck. 

The two of you had been on the road for hours, silently taking in the scenery that zoomed by you. Missions usually weren’t like this. Usually, you’d be raving about the storyline of the new movie or television show you were watching recently while Jimin tried to understand with an amused expression.

But tonight, you couldn’t bring yourself to say much of anything. Iseul and Jimin’s relationship had only just started, and you already felt like a truck had run you over. You couldn’t imagine how it would be when they started getting more serious.

You shook your head in frustration, trying to get the thoughts out of your mind. Since when did you become that girl that was head over heels over a man? Why was it so hard for you to let him go?

“To your right,” you heard Jimin’s voice through your earpiece. For a second you thought he was alerting you of an attack, but when you looked to your right, you watched a bunch of horses running across an empty field together. It was enough to bring a smile to your face, watching them gallop freely. 

What must it feel like to be free?

“The holding facility is just a few metres ahead,” the voice of the cargo’s driver spoke from your earpiece, “once the cargo is safely transported there, the two of you can go on break until morning.”

You could hear Jimin’s voice agree along with yours as all three vehicles turned towards the highway’s exit. The more you all continued forward, the thicker the trees beside the road started to get until you and Jimin were forced to ride behind the truck. 

A few more metres later, a large facility appeared within the thicket of the forest, hidden well to anyone that wasn’t looking for it. Either way, a large metal gate stood between you three and the facility, ensuring no one could get inside unless they had clearance. 

All three vehicles came to a stop in front of the gate simultaneously. 

“I’ll send the message to headquarters that we’ve made it so that they unlock the gate and then I have to manually open it, so wait here and guard the cargo until I get back,” the truck’s driver said. You could feel his end of the line go silent as the truck’s door closed and he started making his way to a control panel that was likely out of sight. 

That left you and Jimin standing awkwardly next to each other as you waited for the driver to come back. You don’t think the two of you have ever been this uncomfortable with each other. 

Jimin seemed especially conflicted as his eyes flickered to your form every few seconds. Sometimes he’d open his mouth to say something, only to close it once again. 

It was literal torture, and after a few minutes, you just couldn’t take it anymore. 

You scanned the now dark area, desperate to do something other than marinate in the awkwardness. The trees surrounding you were endless and the sky exhibited a few interesting stars, but it was when you looked in front of you that you got an idea. 

“Let’s look inside,” you said suddenly, pointing towards the cargo.

Jimin, who initially seemed surprised by the fact that you spoke to him, processed your words with a horrified face, “what?” 

“Let’s see what’s inside this thing,” you repeated, slapping the giant metal crate, causing Jimin to flinch. You might have laughed at his horrified expression if you weren’t in such a sour mood. 

“Y/N, we can’t do that,” he hissed, reaching towards your arm to pull you away from the truck, but you dodged him easily. 

“We’re literally risking our lives protecting this thing, the least they can do is let us see what’s inside.”

“And what if they catch us?”

You shrugged, already working on the giant latch. Jimin tried to pull you down once again, but with no luck. 

“I mean it Y/N,” he said more firmly, “they could kill us.”

“Relax, I’ll take full blame for it if we do,” you replied, finally getting the latch off. 

“I don’t care about myself, I care about–” 

His voice faltered as the door of the crate finally swung open. It was dark, too dark to accurately make out what exactly was inside. Jimin felt his heart drop as you took a step into the metal box. 

“Y/N–” he tried again, but his eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, and the crate’s contents could finally be deciphered.

“They’re… weapons?” You said, confusion clearly laced in your tone. 

The crate was stuffed with different kinds of weapons: guns, grenades, daggers, you name it. There had to be at least thousands of them, all neatly stacked so that no space was wasted within the crate. 

“What could they possibly need so many weapons for?” You thought out loud, scanning them all. 

The Organisation was not in need of any more weapons at all, which meant a restock was out of the question. So why were they transporting so many weapons?

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy steps against the concrete. 

The driver was back.

You heard Jimin curse under his breath as he gently pushed you towards the crate’s door, “get it closed, I’ll distract him.”

Without another warning, he quickly made his way to the side of the truck, stopping the driver in his tracks with a conversation you couldn’t quite hear. But it didn’t matter as you struggled to get the heavy latch closed. 

“Dude we have to get this done before HQ thinks there’s something up,” you heard the annoyed voice of the driver get louder as he got closer to the back of the truck. 

Your arms tried to force the latch down so that it could lock again, but it wouldn’t budge. Only now were you starting to panic. When you turned to the side, the front of the driver’s shoe peeked from the corner of the crate. One step. Just one step more was all the driver had to take to see your form near an unlocked crate, simultaneously signing your death certificate in the process. 

“Wait!” Jimin suddenly yelled. 

The driver paused, looking back at him with confusion. You could still see his shoes around the corner, but with newfound adrenaline, you finally shoved the latch down, allowing it to lock in place. 

Your shoes just barely touched the ground when the driver turned the corner. He first scanned the crate, then you, and then Jimin, who looked like he had gone through ten different heart attacks in the span of a minute. 

“What the hell is going on here?” He asked, picking up on something odd. 

But you only shrugged, “I was peeing in the bushes and I guess Jimin wanted to save your eyes.”

The driver immediately scoffed in disgust.

“I’ll see you guys in the morning,” he said, getting back into the driver’s seat and driving the crate into the gates. 

Jimin was scowling at you, but it was nice not being the only one in a bad mood. 

“There’s a town nearby, let’s find a hotel there.”

Turns out the mentioned town was actually experiencing some kind of holiday, which meant crowds upon crowds of people swarmed the place. The good news was that crowds meant a less likely chance that you and Jimin would ever be remembered. The bad news was that the place was so crowded you two could only book a single hotel room for yourselves. 

Thankfully, the room itself was a suite, so the bedroom was separate from the common room, but that meant only one person could sleep on a bed. Considering the heart attack you gave Jimin earlier, you had insisted he take it, but Jimin, being the predictable man he was, wouldn’t have it. 

That left you staring up at the ceiling from the stiffly made bed while Jimin laid on the sofa in the common room. 

Despite the moonlight that shone into your dark room through the window curtains and the lulling sounds of the wall clock and AC, you couldn’t sleep. You’ve always had an issue with sleeping thanks to nightmares and likely some insomnia, but tonight seemed especially bad. Although you could usually sneak in a few minutes of sleep every hour or two, you could barely even manage to close your eyes now. 

You blamed Jimin, particularly his face, for your lack of sleep. Every time you felt your eyes close, you could see him staring back at you with his kind brown eyes and black parted hair. You could even remember him when you first met him, eyes wild with untamed emotions and long black hair. He had grown up so much since you met him, into someone that was intelligent but mature. Gentle but ruthless. Quiet but authoritative. It was his duality that you liked about him, because despite his extremes, he was still balanced. 

The mattress creaked under your weight as you shifted, eyes still focused on the ceiling. You couldn’t keep having thoughts like this if Jimin was going to start dating someone else. It would be unfair to him and his significant other, not to mention if Iseul found out about your feelings you have no doubt she’d have her father end you in a matter of seconds. You couldn’t tell whether it was funny or pathetic how the fear of death amounted to nothing in the face of hurting Jimin and his happiness. 

The sound of the door creaking open had you jerking upwards and reaching for the gun under your pillow, but you paused when you noticed Jimin’s hand on the door knob.

At the sight of you awake, he seemed to sigh in relief. 

“What is it?” You asked, as he made his way to the side of your bed. 

“Come on,” he said while his hand gently wrapped around your arm and pulled you up, “let’s watch a movie.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, but he didn’t give you a chance to protest as he guided you to the common room. When you made it to the television, you noticed two bowls of popcorn already sitting on the coffee table and the red and black colours of Netflix exhibited on the screen. 

Jimin let you down on the couch with your legs crossed before settling on the ground in front of it. You could feel his shoulder brush against your knee softly, and it took everything in you to keep the butterflies at bay. 

“Pick something,” he said, handing you the remote. Your body was on autopilot now, mindlessly shifting through movies and shows you had watched a bunch of times already. 

When you didn’t pick anything for a while, mostly because you were focusing more on pretending Jimin’s shoulder wasn’t pressing against your knee, he frowned.

“You’re mad at me.”

You felt yourself tense as he turned to look at you. 

“I don’t like it when you're mad at me.”

Your gaze couldn’t meet his, opting to continue looking through the Netflix catalogue instead. But Jimin gently took the remote from your hands, forcing your gaze back to him.

Why are you mad at me?

You could practically hear his next words, but to your surprise, his question was different from the one you were expecting.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

The scoff left you before you could stop it. Of course you remembered the most traumatic day of your life. 

“You mean the day you kidnapped me?” You deadpanned. 

Your tone had been more humorous than accusatory, but Jimin looked like you had shoved a knife in his chest. He nodded weakly, and it suddenly dawned on you that maybe that day had been just as traumatic for him as it had been for you. 

“That had been the day I had finally finished my first stage of training,” he started, looking straight ahead at the screen idly, “they used to have this mini ceremony when that happened, kind of like a kindergarten graduation. They gave me some cake. Told me that I would grow up to be useful to the Organisation. There was just one little thing I had to do.”

His shoulders tensed again, “I had to kidnap you from your home and bring you to the Organisation.”

“And despite not knowing what they would do to you, whether they would kill you or force you to join them, I agreed.”

His gaze fell to his hands, “your mother had never let you outside of the boundaries of your home a day in your life, like some real-life Rapunzel. I doubt she expected anyone to even know about your existence. It had been so easy to just break into your room one night, grab you and take you back to the Organisation.”

Jimin turned back to you, the moonlight illuminating the pain in his expression, “Y/N, you deserve someone better than me. Someone that doesn’t make selfish decisions. Someone that didn’t doom you to this life.” 

Your eyes were wide at his words. Despite this entire confession, there was only one thing that you could say.

“You know?” You realised incredulously, “you know about my feelings?”

You didn’t need an answer, it was already written all over his face. He was begging you to forget him, to ‘find someone better.’ This whole time he’s known while you had naively believed that you had been hiding your emotions from him successfully. You couldn’t tell whether you were embarrassed by that or just purely in shock. 

After the initial reaction wore off, and you could process what he was saying a little better, you furrowed your eyebrows, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be stuck in this organisation, forced to kill and stay obedient. You could’ve had a life, Y/N, but I took it away from you.”

You raised an eyebrow, “what life? Another decade trapped in the confines of my mother’s home? Knowing her, I doubt she would’ve let me out of there anytime soon. Besides, if you had refused, they would have just gotten someone else to do it. I’m glad I at least got someone like you, who's been with me and supported me every step of the way.”

But Jimin still shook his head, barely hearing a word you were saying. You never realised just how deeply he still thought about that whole ordeal. Aside from a few nightmares every now and then, you didn’t think about it much anymore. You had already suspected that Jimin had been forced into it, so you had never even held it against him either. But it was clear it was still a big deal for him. 

You sighed.

“What about before the Organisation?”

Jimin let a hand run through his hair, reliving the memories of his childhood, “I’ve been an orphan for as long as I can remember. I jumped between a lot of foster homes and orphanages, but ultimately I ran away. Even the streets were better than most of those places. The Organisation managed to grab me when I was living there. Obviously since I didn’t have a family no one really cared, so I guess I made a perfect target.”

You tilted your head, “and you’re still going on and on about being selfish and dooming me? You were a child they had taken advantage of. If you had refused to kidnap me, you would have failed that task. And we all know what happens when you fail a task in the Organisation.”

The faces of numerous children you had grown up with came to mind, all of which had failed in some way or another, and all of which had never been seen again. The Organisation wasn’t just some teaching school that reprimanded you when you did wrong. It was unforgiving and bloodthirsty, and even the youngest of children knew that.

Jimin’s gaze remained forward as you let him swim in his own thoughts for a moment. You hoped he was at least starting to let go of the guilt that’s been seemingly eating away at him for years. It hurt to see him in so much pain.

“I should’ve stopped them.”

“Then you’d be dead.”

“I should’ve refused them.”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference.”

“You deserve better than me, Y/N.”

“That’s my decision to make, don’t you think?”

He was silent once again, watching the different shows flash on the screen. You could still see his shoulders tensed and a pained expression on his face. Though he might have been slightly convinced, you could tell he still felt uneasy. 

Slowly, you sank down to the floor next to him, earning you a confused look. But before he could refuse, you wrapped your arms around his torso, pulling him closer to you in the process. Jimin paused for a moment, clearly surprised by the sudden action, but after a moment, you felt his arms hesitantly surround your form as well. 

“You’re the only reason I’m still alive today, Jimin. I would have never been able to survive the Organisation’s training if you hadn’t spent day and night teaching me. You’ve always been by my side every step of the way, not just as a partner, but as a friend. So please don’t hurt yourself with guilt, you have nothing to be guilty for.”

You felt Jimin pull you closer as he rested his head on top of yours. It was almost desperate, like he was afraid you’d disappear at any moment. 

“I like you too, you know that?” He said suddenly, “no matter how crazy you drive me sometimes, I’ll always care about you. I promise.”

You pushed yourself off him, scanning his face with wide eyes, “But what about Iseul? Didn’t you guys… talk? Don’t you like her?”

Jimin chuckled, “no, we did not talk and no, I do not like her.”

“Then why did you say you did?”

His expression became sad as he tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear delicately, “because as much as we both want this, it can’t happen.”

Your gaze dropped to the floor, letting silence engulf the moonlit living room. He wasn’t wrong. The Organisation had banned any romantic or sexual relationships between members a long time ago, and breaking those rules unsurprisingly resulted in the punishment of death. Jimin’s confession changed nothing.

But that didn’t make his confession meaningless. If it wasn’t for the Organisation, the two of you could have had a life together. You could have loved each other freely, under no one’s terms. For the first time in a long time you felt a familiar anger towards the Organisation. For stealing you away from your home, and forcing you to do their dirty work while staying obedient to their rules. You were nothing but their slave, and one step out of line would cost you your life without a second thought. 

And the worst part was that there was nothing you could do about it. The organisation didn’t lie when they said they saw, knew and controlled everything. It was terrifying how deep their branches ran in the network of society. They lurked in the shadows of the law, swam in the dealings of businesses, controlling them quietly while people went about their lives cluelessly. They could probably watch the two of you right now if they wanted to, with no repercussions whatsoever. 

You didn’t realise your hand had curled into a shaking fist until Jimin’s fingers brushed against it slowly. He let his fingers interlace with yours, calmly caressing the back of your palm with his thumb. 

“It’s unfair,” you said, like a child throwing a tantrum, but Jimin only nodded his head. 

“I mean, why us? There are so many people in this world living their own lives, completely unaware of the Organisation's mere existence. Yet, we had to be one of the few unfortunate people stuck under their cruelty. Where’s our justice?”

Jimin pulled you into his arms once again. He had no words of comfort for you, but then again, what comfort could you give two birds in a cage when you knew they had no chance of escape. There was no justice for people like you. The ones who worked in the shadows died in the shadows after all. 

Your eyes widened as you suddenly felt his lips brush against your forehead lightly, causing your stomach to do backflips. Even though it was only for a brief moment, they felt so soft and loving on your skin that you knew you’d forever remember this moment for the rest of your life. 

But his kiss didn’t just feel like an act of comfort, it also felt like a little act of rebellion. Like it didn’t matter that the Organisation had banned relationships because Jimin was choosing to kiss you anyway. It made you selfishly happy, despite the risk it posed for the two of you. 

You jumped out of Jimin’s arms, happy to see a similar smile perched on his lips as you grabbed the remote. 

“Funny but wholesome, with a side of angst,” you announced, “I know exactly what we need.”

You sifted through a few titles before clicking on one of the best movies of all time.

Jimin’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched the loading screen pop up, “is that a panda? Are we going to watch some kid’s show?”

But you simply covered his mouth with your hand as you grabbed one of the popcorn bowls and  leaned your head against his shoulder. 

“Do not attempt to put down Kung Fu Panda, it will only bring you dishonour and shame.”

Jimin shook his head with a chuckle as he pulled you closer into him. What you didn’t know was that he didn’t really care what you put on the large screen. 

In the end, his focus would be on you every time.

The next morning, the two of you were back on the road speeding through the freeway. The landscape had changed from grassy lands and animal farms to vast fields of beige dirt and rocky mountains. As if reflecting the sorry state of the scenery, the weather was also dreary, with thick grey clouds and the smell of a thunderstorm brewing. It didn’t seem to be an immediate threat, but you made a note to keep an eye on it in case it became an obstacle to the transport. 

While yesterday was filled with awkward silence, today’s silence was comfortable and calm. Images of last night flashed in your mind once in a while, of Jimin’s arms around you and his soft lips against your temple. Even though it made you as giddy as a school girl, you couldn’t bring yourself to be embarrassed about it. 

But there was also this new feeling of grief weaving through the muscles of your heart, weighing your limbs down so that every movement took just a little more effort than before. It was the mourning of what could have been that brought on such a response. Of the life you and Jimin could have had if you both weren’t shackled to the Organisation in inescapable iron chains. You’d learned to live with the reality of your fate, but now that you knew the value of what they had truly taken away from you, you were finding it harder and harder to maintain such a mindset.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the driver, who announced your arrival at the final destination. The facility that finally came into view was almost identical to the facility you all had stopped at last night, except this one was at least three times larger. As the three vehicles approached the gate, you watched it automatically open, allowing the three of you to drive through effortlessly. 

Once you made it inside the facility itself, the driver bid you both farewell, turning to drop off the cargo wherever he had been instructed to. There was no reason to meet up again considering your task was done, so it was safe to say you wouldn’t be seeing him again anytime soon. 

That left you and Jimin standing idly in the centre of the warehouse, in awe at its size and the diversity in equipment surrounding the two of you. The walls were lined with dozens of giant computers, while the corners were filled with tables holding various blueprints and documents. 

It was a little… messy compared to the Organisation’s normally strict and organised style. The computers were all mismatched and some of the documents had even fallen to the floor. They would never be so careless with their equipment. 

“We should get going,” Jimin said, taking in the unusual setup as well. But following the rules had always come more naturally to him than you. 

Then again, it was important that assassins be ready for the next mission immediately after completing one. And with the intimate moment that happened last night, you were thinking maybe you shouldn’t test the Organisation’s patience too much. 

You sighed, trudging reluctantly behind Jimin as he started making his way towards the exit. Your mind was whirling with theories that attempted to explain what was going on here and why. The only explanation you had was that they were in a hurry responding to something, causing them to be hasty in their actions. Could this tie into what your target in the mansion had said? Was there really something coming? But then why would he tell the two of you to rebel and run away? Was he indicating that this would be the only opportunity to do it?

Jimin pulled the large door open, waiting for you to pass through, and you were about to do just that when your gaze suddenly caught a flash of light near the corner of the room, hidden behind one of the computers. Even though it was dull, it was still bright and enough to trigger your curiosity. 

Jimin’s gaze followed your own until it landed on the light as well. His expression suddenly aged like 10 years on the spot. 

“Y/N, no.”

But you were already walking through the concrete floor, determined to figure out the source of such an abnormality. As you got closer, another computer came into view, bigger and more importantly, already turned on. The dull light had been coming from its screen. 

Jimin’s eyes widened at the discovery, “what are you going to do, break into their computer? We should leave, Y/N.”

“It’s not ‘breaking in’ if the computer is already on,” you reasoned, “besides, don’t you want to know what’s going on here?”

He just shook his head, “we could get in trouble for this.”

Before you could reply, the screen suddenly dulled, indicating that it would turn off in a few seconds. You rushed to it and moved around the mouse, causing the screen to brighten once again. 

With the mouse underneath your fingers, you couldn’t help but snoop around the files a bit, opening them at random to look for anything interesting. Despite his earlier words, Jimin peeked from behind your shoulder, scanning the contents of the screen. You had to ignore the press of his body against your back. 

After one particular click, you noticed a file that seemed a lot larger than the rest. When you opened it, you felt your eyebrows furrow. 

Dozens of blueprints began to fill the screen. At first, you couldn’t recognise what they were illustrating, but then you started to notice a few familiar layouts here and there. 

“They’re blueprints for the Organisation’s building,” you muttered.

You clicked another file that revealed all the timetables of the Organisation’s higher ups down to even the Leader. Next to every name that popped up were red flashing letters spelling ‘optimal timings.’ Curious, you clicked on one of them.

Your eyes widened when a full page suddenly popped up. Within it were all the timings in which the Leader was vulnerable in one way or another: when he dismissed his bodyguards, when he was in public, when he was alone, etc. And every timing was accompanied by the most efficient ways to kill him. You clicked through all the other red inscriptions, taking in the well-thought out and very achievable schemes that could very much have all the higher ups of the Organisation dead. 

“They’re planning a hit on all the Organisation’s higher ups,” Jimin concluded, “but why would the Organisation want to harm itself like that.”

You thought back to the unusual way you and Jimin had been summoned for this mission. 

‘The reason for the abnormality in your briefing today is due to the private nature of this mission.’

‘This mission is to stay a secret even within the Organisation.’

“Because it’s not the Organisation that’s planning all this,” you realised, “it’s Han Iseul, the Leader’s own daughter.”

The two of you stood in silence for a moment, letting the discovery fully process in your mind. It was the only explanation that made sense, at least to you. But why? The only thing you knew about the Leader’s daughter was that she was largely ignored by the Leader and the Organisation. She didn’t really have any responsibilities, but being the Leader’s daughter, she had an image of purity and power to uphold so that her father didn’t look weak. Maybe she was tired of being nothing but a puppet? You knew you could relate to that. 

You turned towards Jimin, “is this what the man in the mansion had been talking about? What you knew about, but didn’t tell me.”

No.

He hadn’t said anything, but the answer was written all over his face. Jimin looked just as shocked and confused as you did, which had you even more confused than before. There were just too many things happening right now, too many mysteries popping up just as old ones were uncovered. You’re pretty sure your head was hurting from all the thinking you were putting it through. 

But then you realised the weight of your discovery. The Leader’s daughter was staging a coup of some sort in the Organisation. Whether it would be successful or not, it was clearly going to be a big event, one the Organisation wouldn’t see coming. What if you and Jimin could take advantage of that? During all the chaos and battling, what if…

“What if we ran away?” You whispered, as if afraid the Organisation would hear you if you spoke any louder. 

Jimin’s face snapped towards you in surprise. The mere thought of defying the Organisation had you shaking down to the bone, and you were sure he was no stranger to the fear you were experiencing right now. But this could be your ticket to freedom, an opportunity to finally be free from the clutches of the Organisation and their tyranny. 

If not then, it would be never. 

You watched Jimin’s mouth open only for it to close when a buzzing sound came from your earpiece. 

“L/N Y/N, announce your presence,” a stern automated voice stated. 

You internally groaned, knowing the Organisation already had a mission ready for you. 

Your response was in harmony with Jimin’s as he also confirmed his presence, no doubt hearing the Organisation in his own earpiece as well. The two of you stood idly, waiting for the outline of your new assignment.

“Your next mission will consist of the following task,” the stern voice continued, completely devoid of emotion, “Within the next half an hour, beginning at the exact moment this call ends, you must eliminate your target and dispose of the body effectively. Your target is as assigned:”

There was a pause as the database searched for the target that had been assigned to you, before your heart dropped.

“Park Jimin.”

The familiar click of the line going dead had never sounded so deafening in your ears. Your limbs were still with tension as you tried to process words that felt like they were closing in on you, suffocating the last remnants of any breath left in your lungs. 

‘Park Jimin’

You had to kill Park Jimin

The man that’s been there for you since day one, the reason you're standing here today. Your assignment was to end his life so that you could never gaze upon him again. 

You slowly turned to Jimin, expecting his expression to mirror your own. But instead, his lips were pulled into a taut line while his gaze was aimed straight ahead of him. That was when you realised that Jimin’s expression wasn’t that of shock, it was one of resignation. 

He knew. This is what he had been hiding, what he had known and kept from you this whole time. You wanted to ask him so many questions. How did he know? Why was this happening?

But you could only force out one sentence.

“I have to kill you.”

Jimin’s gaze lifted to your face, and you realised his eyes were drowning in unshed tears. When he spoke, it was hesitant and full of suffering.

“I have to kill you too.”

While your earpiece had called for Jimin’s assassination, his had called for yours. It was clear now that the Organisation wanted a battle. They wanted you and Jimin to fight to the death, and only the successor would be allowed to continue serving them till they too met their end. 

You didn’t know why the Organisation had made the decision. Was it because of last night? Was it because of your mention of running away? 

But it didn’t matter anymore, did it? The plan was over. If one of you weren’t dead in the next 28 minutes, both of you would be killed for your failure. You couldn’t wait for Iseul’s coup to run away anymore. 

It was over. 

You brought out your dagger, an unfamiliar tremor making it hard to hold it firmly. Jimin was the better fighter of the two of you, there was no doubt that it would be your body buried today. The thought of death terrified you, but somehow, dying by Jimin’s blade didn’t seem as scary. At least he would live, even if life under the Organisation was just another form of death itself. You’d gladly give your life if it meant Jimin could live on. 

But a battle is what the Organisation wanted, and just like everything else, a battle is what the Organisation had to get.

You lunged, swinging your dagger straight towards Jimin’s neck. His hand was on his own dagger in a matter of a second and, just as you expected, he deflected your attack easily with the swing of his arm. You expected him to target your armed hand while you jumped back, but instead, he went for your torso, which you dodged easily. 

The next 10 minutes were spent in a dance of dodges and attacks. Anytime your blade came close to even nicking his skin, you felt your heart beat in fear as you quickly changed the trajectory of your dagger. The sound of daggers clanging against each other reverberated around the warehouse, but the red of spilt blood never came.

Your eyebrows furrowed as another one of Jimin’s attacks failed to even scratch your skin. You didn’t understand what was taking him so long to end this. There wouldn’t be much time left to take care of the body within the Organisation's time limit, yet, his attacks were uncoordinated and weak while his dodges were reluctant. 

You went for another attack with your dagger pointed straight towards his ribcage, expecting him to dodge it easily, but Jimin angled his dagger in the opposite direction. Instead of your dagger being deflected into the space to his right, your dagger deflected to his left. You watched in horror as your dagger plunged into the side of his arm before you could pull away.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

You jerked your blade back so that it couldn’t dig any deeper into his skin. His blood dripped from the silver tip to the dusty warehouse’s ground, creating a small pool of blood. 

Jimin’s blood.

You’ve been exposed to blood and gore since you were a child and then all throughout your life, but the sight of his blood already had your stomach churning uneasily. 

Aside from a small grimace, Jimin’s expression was unreadable. No anger. No resentment. Just a slight downturn of the corner of his lips, the one he always made when he was in pain. 

Before you could yell at him, Jimin raised his blade and swung towards your shoulder. Sudden panic took over as you raised your dagger to dodge it so that his blade would deflect to the side of your shoulder. Instead, as Jimin’s dagger clanged against yours, he twisted his wrist, literally disarming himself with your blade. 

His weapon clattered to the ground not too far away from your figure, yet he made no effort to retrieve it. Only then did you realise that he hadn’t been putting effort into this fight as a whole. None of his attacks were legitimate and his dodges were just barely keeping him alive. 

Jimin was letting himself lose. 

“No.”

You grabbed his blade from the ground and shoved it into his hand, but Jimin just let it drop to the floor. A sudden burst of anger flared in your chest as you watched his attempt at giving up. 

“Why aren’t you fighting me?” 

You grabbed the dagger once again and tried to make him take it, but the dagger clattered to the ground once again. 

“Why aren’t you fighting me, Park Jimin?!” You yelled, shoving his shoulder. He didn’t even stumble from the action, instead he just stood silently, watching your anger slowly rise.

You went to shove him again, only for his hand to enclose around your wrist and pull you closer, causing you to crash into his chest. A warmth you couldn't quite explain spread all around you as his arms suddenly surrounded your form. If it was possible for a heart to be ripped into two, you were sure you could feel it happening in your chest. Jimin’s warmth was just as comforting as it was heartbreaking, and soon you felt your anger morph into sobs. Your tears started to stain his uniform, but Jimin made no attempt to push you away. 

“We both know who the winner of this fight is, so just get it over with,” you whispered against his chest, praying for it to be quick. But Jimin shook his head. 

“Last time I checked, I’m the one that’s disarmed and injured,” he whispered back. You immediately dropped your weapon and let your hand stroke his injured arm. The cut wasn’t deep enough to be anything major, and yet it felt like your own arm was ripping apart at the sight of it. 

“Please,” you begged in desperation, “there isn’t much time left.”

“You’re right.”

Jimin grabbed the abandoned dagger from the ground and placed it in your hand, enclosing his own fingers around yours so that the dagger couldn’t clatter to the floor. You watched in confusion as he sank to his knees in front of you and then sobbed as he brought the dagger closer to him until it was right next to his neck. You tried to pull away, but his firm grip on your hand wouldn’t let you. 

“I knew that they would give us these orders one day,” he began while letting his other hand squeeze your unoccupied palm gently, “Before I had to kidnap you, I wasn’t that great at following the rules, and because of that I ended up overhearing an unspoken tradition that went on in the Organisation. Usually, they made partners fight to the death after years of service so that only the best stayed in the Organisation.”

“After you became my partner I realised that I didn’t want to participate in such a tradition. So after a little snooping around, I managed to hear about one or two instances where each partner was so good that the Organisation didn’t want to lose even one of them, so they had decided not to make them kill each other. I thought I could train us to be that good, so that we wouldn’t have to go through this, but I guess I messed up somewhere.”

You wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault. That, in the end, all the blame fell on the Organisation. That you were thankful for him and everything he’s done for you. But the words stuck in your throat as you continued to sob. 

Jimin brought the dagger closer to his neck, “I’m sorry baby, you’ll need to continue without me from now on.”

Tears continued to stream down your cheeks, “no, no, please, don’t make me do this.”

“I know it’s going to be hard, but I promise you’ll overcome it quickly,” he continued with damp eyes and a pained smile, “you just have to push this dagger forward and it’ll all be over.”

You shook your head repeatedly, unable to speak because of your closed throat. What he was asking was impossible. You could never even think of doing it. 

“It’s okay,” Jimin stopped squeezing your palm so that he could hold your hand instead, grip still strong in his other as he ensured your hand was clasped around the dagger, “you can do it. Just one push and it’s all over, I promise.”

You knew why he was so adamant about you being the one to kill him. 

‘You must eliminate your target and dispose of the body effectively.’

To successfully accomplish the task, or in other words end up not getting killed by the Organisation, one of you had to kill the other. Any other form of death wouldn’t be accepted. 

But if Jimin expected you to actually be able to go through with this, he was mistaken. You don’t think your hand could move in such a way even if you tried to command it. Jimin had been by your side for years. He’s the only one that’s genuinely ever cared for you, even taking your life before the Organisation into account. If you were being honest with yourself, you loved him. And although you would do anything for him, you couldn’t do this. No matter how much he wanted you to do it. 

Jimin must have taken your silence for acceptance because you felt his grip slowly loosen so that you could push the dagger forward. But the second he did, you pulled the dagger out of his grasp and threw it far away from you. It felt like a hot iron had been removed from your hand. 

You dropped to your knees in front of him, mimicking his position as a look of surprise took over his expression.

You knew you could never willingly kill Jimin and you knew Jimin would never willingly kill you. And ironically, that would just result in the Organisation killing you both. If the two of you were technically already dead…

Why not try something crazy?

Jimin cupped your face gently, letting his thumbs brush the tears from your cheeks. You spoke up before he could change your mind. 

“What if we ran away?” 

The question was an echo from the conversation you had earlier, only this time the chance of success was much lower. In fact, there was probably no chance at all and even Jimin knew it.

“There’s no distraction, Y/N,” he said, shaking his head, “the Organisation is focused on us now. There’s no way we can get away with it.”

“But what if we can,” you countered, “think about it. The Organisation abducted us all when we were children, in other words, young and gullible. They’ve drilled the idea into our minds that they cannot be defeated and are all-powerful ever since then so that none of us would ever dare to go against them even when we got older. But what if that’s not how it really is? What if… they're not as powerful as they say they are?”

You knew that wasn’t entirely true. The Organisation was powerful, and you’ve seen the proof of that with your own eyes. But the more you thought about it, the more it made sense. They’ve always used fear as a weapon for obedience, especially when you were children. It’s why you felt yourself shake at the mere thought of rebelling and why the thought has never even crossed your mind. Without fear, how much power did they really have?

Jimin’s gaze was focused on you as he mulled over your words. 

“We’re not going to kill each other, we both know neither of us can do it. So why not just take a chance? We’re dead anyway. Maybe this way we could actually have a life together.”

The chances of that were very low, and you knew Jimin knew that as well. But you were surprised to eventually see a slight nod in his head. 

“We have 5 minutes left,” he announced, referring to the amount of time left before the Organisation would come and finish the task that they had called for. 

He stood, pulling you along with him, but his hand didn’t leave yours even when you were standing upright beside him. 

“We’ll take our bikes and start heading North. I think I have an idea of where we should go,” he picked up both the daggers and handed you yours, “we’ll have to cut out our trackers.”

You nodded, already expecting as much. 

Jimin took your arm in his hands while you took his. The trackers were cut out and thrown to the floor in a matter of seconds, both of you hissing a bit at the slight sting of your cuts. But they weren’t deep, and that’s all that mattered. 

After ditching your earpieces as well, the two of you hastily made your way out of the warehouse to find a storm thrashing at the rocky terrain. The initially dry and dusty landscape was now damp due to the merciless rain and the roads seemed dangerously slippery. Thankfully, the weather would make it harder for the Organisation to track your motorcycle trails. 

This time, the two of you wordlessly hopped onto a single motorcycle rather than separate ones. Aside from the rain, one motorcycle would be a lot harder to track than two. You let Jimin drive, opting instead to wrap your arms around him from behind as he sped through the road at the cycle’s maximum speed. Rather than feel fazed by the speed, you could only feel comfort in Jimin’s warmth. 

“You seem to be enjoying yourself back there,” Jimin chuckled, which made you raise an eyebrow.

You chuckled along with him, “since when were you so brazen?” 

“Since the Organisation isn’t holding me back now.”

It made you feel better that you weren’t the only one harbouring some intense feelings all these years. Even though they didn’t get very intense until the last few years, it still sucked sometimes thinking that they were unrequited. But knowing that Jimin felt the same kind of made those times worth it, in a weird unexplainable way. 

Eventually, a tree here and there started to pop up until they morphed into a thick forest. At one point, you were sure you saw some of the Organisation issued motorcycles through the thicket of the forest, clearly speeding through another road in the opposite direction as the two of you. 

“We’re going back,” you realised, “we’re going back to the hotel.”

You could just barely make out the nod of Jimin’s head. The sun had fully set now, and combined with the thunderstorm it was practically impossible to see in front of you. 

It made sense to go back. The Organisation wouldn’t expect you two to be anywhere near it or near any recent mission areas considering they were too predictable. They would likely focus on the areas that were farther away from them, thinking that’s where you would be hiding. 

Thankfully your destination didn’t take too long to show up after the forest thickened. Soon enough, you were checking into the same hotel and even the same room you stayed in the other night. 

Immediately, you crashed back first onto the couch, groaning at the feeling of finally relaxing your muscles. Your day had definitely been more emotionally exhausting than physically by a long shot, which was probably why you felt so drained. Jimin gently sat next to you, adjusting your head so that it was resting comfortably in his lap. 

“We should be able to stay here and get some rest for a few hours before they find us,” Jimin said, letting his hand run through your hair delicately. 

“Then I guess that gives us enough time to come up with a plan,” you said, already racking your brain for the possibilities. You sat up and crossed your legs on the couch while facing Jimin. 

“What do you think?”

Jimin thought for a moment before speaking, “we can lay low for a while, just until they stop looking for us. Then when we get an opening, we move to the countryside.”

You shook your head.

“They’ll find us eventually, whether we live in the city or countryside. What if we completely change our identities? You know, plastic surgery, new passports– all that? Then we can even blend into a city.”

But Jimin shook his head as well, “they’d still find us. Changing identities always leaves a trail.”

There was a beat of silence as the realisation suddenly hit you. 

“Then… we’ll have to leave the country.”

The thought of leaving the country made your heart feel heavy. This was where you were born, where you were raised and became the person you were. Sure, your upbringing was pretty crappy, but nostalgia was nostalgia, wasn’t it?

Slowly, Jimin nodded his head, no doubt going over all the possible options in this situation. You’d still have to get new identities and live in the countryside even in the new country, but it was your best bet. 

“I know for sure the Organisation doesn’t have any ties in Canada,” Jimin thought out loud, absentmindedly brushing his hand against your thigh, “the country itself is huge and a lot of it hasn’t been urbanised just yet. It would be the perfect place to run away to.”

You didn’t know much about the Organisation’s reach internationally, but it didn’t surprise you that they had some control even outside the country. If Canada really was one of the countries that was outside their reach, you could easily hide there. 

There was silence after that. The two of you had been partners for so long that you already knew the rest of the plan without even having to speak it. You’d spend a few hours in the hotel room and rest until around midnight, where you’d get up and make your way to the airport. Hopefully, the Organisation wouldn’t catch up to you while you boarded and left the country for good. 

There were so many things that could go wrong. So many ways the Organisation could get to you and yet, for once you didn’t feel scared. You and Jimin were as good as dead anyway, but now there was hope for a new life. You’ve always thought of hope as a dangerous thing, but now, it’s never made you happier. 

Your hand found Jimin’s, letting yourself intertwine your fingers with his before shifting closer to him. Jimin smiled as he wrapped his arms around you the same way he had done last night. 

Being part of the Organisation since you were 9 had ensured you’ve never had any kind of romantic relationship with anyone before, to the point that just sitting here in Jimin’s arms had your heart beating out of your chest. This was all such unfamiliar territory for you. The only thing that could guide you were all the movies you’ve watched, but you were old enough to know movies weren’t a very accurate representation of real life. 

“The first time I realised that I may have feelings for you was during the Lockley mission,” Jimin said suddenly, immediately piquing your interest. You swung your legs over his and made a little show of getting comfy to encourage him to continue. 

That made Jimin chuckle.

“It had been right when Lockley had turned the tables on us and pulled a gun on you while he had taken you hostage. I remember feeling so panicked, not the kind of panic you feel when a friend is in danger, but so much worse than that. It felt like his gun was resting on my head and, for the first time in a long time, my mind went blank with fear.”

Both your hands wrapped around his as you noticed a slight tremor in them. 

You remember that mission. You and Jimin didn’t anticipate that Lockley, your target, had been expecting the two of you, and because of that he had managed to grab you and put a gun to your head before any of you knew what was happening. He had created a hostage situation so that he could buy himself enough time to get out of there before you and Jimin could kill him like the Organisation had ordered. Thankfully, Jimin had managed to save you, but not before Lockley’s gun went off and instead hit you below the ribs.

Jimin continued as his other hand rested on your leg, “then when you had gotten shot, it was like my heart stopped beating. I couldn’t even let you go when the surgeons had arrived because the thought of losing you terrified me. That’s when I knew that how I felt about you was not as simple as I thought it was.”

“Since the Lockley’s mission…” you thought, “that was almost 5 years ago.”

He’s liked you for the last 5 years and you hadn’t even noticed, probably too busy trying to hide your own feelings from him. 

“Maybe it’s my fault we’re in this situation,” he said uncharacteristically, “I didn’t hide my feelings well enough last night and now our lives are on the line.” 

Jimin has never been one to dwell on ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes,’ he always made sure that what he spoke was useful and relevant. Otherwise he was silent. It was you that often spoke your mind, broke the rules, and gave him heart attacks. He’s done everything to keep you safe, and now here he was blaming himself for what you were starting to realise was probably your fault.

“If anything, I’m probably the reason we’re in this situation,” you thought out loud, “let’s face it Jimin, I’m not exactly good enough for them to make an exception in a tradition that has been upheld for years. They were going to order us to kill each other, regardless of what happened last night.”

You just wish Jimin didn’t have to suffer for your shortcomings. He could have lived if he had killed you when the Organisation had ordered it, probably would have been sleeping in his bed back at the base right now. It was only because of you that he’d dropped everything, sacrificed his life, just to be here with you.

As if reading your thoughts, Jimin immediately brought up his hand to cup your cheek before taking a breath, “no, don’t ever blame yourself for something that isn’t your fault.”

“But-”

“Even though the situation isn’t exactly ideal, I don’t regret trying to protect you. Because no matter how bad everything is right now, nothing makes me happier than being able to hold you like this after years of believing I’ll never get the chance.”

His hand felt warm against your cheek as you looked at him, his own gaze focused on your eyes. You felt the same; even though you’ve been doing everything the Organisation had ordered to keep your life, you’ve never felt more alive until today. Jimin’s touches and words, no matter how small, were electrifying and you found yourself wondering how you’ve been living without them for so many years. 

You noticed his gaze flicker down to your lips for a moment before moving back up to your eyes. The action made you heat, and probably would have been enough to make you look away in embarrassment if it wasn’t for your own gaze that was now focused on his plump lips. 

“Y/N?” 

“Hm?” You said absentmindedly, trying to force your gaze back up to his eyes.

“Can I kiss you, baby?”

Baby

Your stomach exploded with butterflies at the nickname as your cheeks became hot. The prospect of kissing Jimin, combined with that nickname, suddenly had you panicking to the point that you couldn’t help but blurt out the first thing that came to mind. 

“You called me that before.”

Jimin’s head tilted in confusion for a moment, put off by the sudden comment. It gave you time to try, and fail, at lowering your raging heart and mind. 

“Back at the warehouse,” you explained, trying to focus on your words rather than how close his face was to yours and how foggy it was making your brain, “when you were trying to get me to kill you, you called me baby.”

Jimin studied you for a moment, gaze dropping to your slightly shaky hands still enveloping his and then back to your face, before suddenly shifting your positions. In a matter of seconds, you were straddling his lap while both his hands gently cupped your face. The position was different, it made you feel more in control of whatever was happening. 

You could feel the warmth from Jimin’s chest seep into your own at the new proximity. For as long as you could remember he’s been your warmth and comfort, but experiencing this side of him gave the two words a completely new definition. You wanted to experience more, go as far as humanly possible- but with him, only with him. 

“You’re dodging the question, Y/N,” he whispered, as if not to break the silence. 

Your faces were so close to each other that you could feel your breaths mingling. The closeness felt oddly calming, helping you focus a little better. But you didn’t need much of your brain right now anyway. You knew what you wanted. There was no more need for thinking anymore. 

“Can I–”

Before Jimin could finish, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him towards you, finally connecting your lips with his. 

A comfortable warmth burst inside your chest as Jimin immediately sunk into the kiss, letting you feel his soft and plump mouth in the process. You couldn’t describe the feelings you were experiencing. Everytime his lips glided over yours, your chest tightened with want for more. Your hands found themselves in Jimin’s hair, tugging every once in a while and subsequently earning you a pleased groan. 

One of his hands dropped to your waist, pulling you closer as his tongue moved your lips apart to let himself into your mouth. It was no question that he was the one dominating this kiss right now, but you didn’t mind at all. You were just trying not to self combust under all the new emotions you were experiencing for the first time. 

Jimin’s hand, which was now resting on your waist, continued to pull you flush against his chest.  The movement caused him to groan, and he suddenly pulled you away from him. 

“How far do you want to go tonight?” He said through laboured breaths.

It took you a second to notice the obvious want in his eyes and then another to process the fact that he had asked a question.

“As far as we can,” you said, “I want every part of you, Jimin.”

Jimin smiled before he connected with your lips once again. This time, one of your hands raised to brush your fingers through his hair. He moaned, causing his lips to disconnect with yours. Instead they found a spot near your neck, allowing him to send open mouthed kisses all over your throat.

You felt yourself being gently pushed until the soft couch connected with your back. Jimin hovered over you, continuing to mark your neck and collarbone with his lips. His torso, which was now slotted between your legs, pushed you deeper against the couch, causing you to moan. The movement had your heart rate racing once again. 

“Wait,” you said suddenly.

Jimin immediately paused, putting some space between the two of you, but the arms wrapped around his neck kept him in place. 

“I’ve never done this before.”

Sexual relationships were also strictly banned in the Organisation. And since you started at 9, it was no surprise that you were still a virgin at your age. You wouldn’t be surprised if Jimin was still one as well. 

It wasn’t that you were scared of having sex with Jimin, but it was the idea of the unknown that scared you more. You didn’t entirely know how to pleasure him, or even yourself. Knowing that you’ll never have sex, you never really bothered to research the specifics, but now you were really regretting that decision. You felt unprepared. 

Noticing the uncertainty on your face, Jimin’s expression softened, “do you want to stop?”

“No,” you answered immediately, “I just… I don’t…”

You struggled to find the words, but Jimin being Jimin didn’t need much explanation. He intertwined his fingers with yours before placing a kiss over the scar you had gotten from the Lockley incident. 

“I haven’t either,” he admitted, “but don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”

That made you smile. Of course he will. Park Jimin had been by your side for as long as you could remember, been the only person in this world that had kept you safe and as happy as possible given the situation. You trusted him, more than you trusted even yourself. 

“I know,” you said, because you wanted him to know it. You wanted him to know that you trusted him and knew how much he cared about you. You wanted him to know how much you cared about him too, and how much you wanted him in your life, even if it probably wasn’t going to be a very long one, “I love you.”

Maybe you shouldn’t have said the big ‘I love you’ right before having sex, you don’t recall any romantic movie scenes where that had happened. Maybe it was shallow or too casual. 

But the big smile that suddenly overtook Jimin’s face made you happy that you did. He gave you a few light kisses on your lips before he whispered it back against your ear.

“I love you too, Y/N.”

Hearing him say it back affected you a lot more than you had thought it would. Despite dreaming about a moment like this for years, nothing could come close to the real feeling of Park Jimin telling you he loved you right after telling him the same. You imagine this is what being high feels like, mind hazy on satisfaction. 

You let Jimin kiss you again, this one much more passionate than the last. When he pulled away from you, his expression showed nothing but care and love. 

“Let me show you how much I love you baby.”

This time you didn’t overthink.

This time you gave yourself to him completely, all night. 

It was still dark when Jimin woke you up, pointing out a few shady looking people from your window. It didn’t take long for you to understand that your time at the hotel was up. 

You both needed to get moving. 

After making sure you weren’t being followed, you and Jimin hopped onto your motorcycle and continued speeding down the secluded highway. You’d only managed to get a few hours of sleep before Jimin had woken you up, meaning the sun was probably going to rise in an hour or two. It wouldn’t do much to change the gloomy atmosphere considering it was still raining, but you’ve never been in a better mood until today. 

Jimin also seemed to be in a good mood, pointing out cool scenery and animals through the dark as you travelled through vast fields of farmland. It didn’t even feel like you both were trying to run away from inevitable death. It just felt like any other day, following through on one of your missions.

About an hour or two later, Jimin was pulling into the airport, bringing the motorcycle to a stop right in front of the passenger pick-up and drop-off area. 

“So what’s our point of entrance?” You thought out loud while scanning your surroundings. 

You obviously couldn’t just waltz through security with your weapons and no passport and expect not to be thrown into jail in record time. There needed to be another way. 

Jimin pointed his head to the right, guiding you to follow his line of sight. At the far end, you could see the air stewards and pilots laughing and talking with each other as they walked into the airport with their small hand carries. 

“It would definitely get us past security,” you agreed, picking up on what he was implying.

The two of you abandoned the motorcycle and made your way into the airport. You needed to find the group of air stewards and pilots that were flying to Canada so you could get past security. After that, it should be easy to get onto the plane.

You and Jimin scanned the board of flights, praying there was a flight to Canada happening soon. To your relief, the earliest flight was departing in about half an hour. Not a lot of time, but you could definitely make it work. 

Before you could start looking for a group of stewards attending that flight, a man caught your eye. He was just standing there, looking around the place as if he were some kind of security guard. But he wasn’t dressed as such, rather he was wearing a black hoodie and jeans–

Your eyes furrowed as you noticed his shoes. They were standard issue shoes from the Organisation, no doubt about it. And with how vigilant the man was being, you were betting that he had been put on high alert, likely searching for the two of you. 

“Nine o’clock, in the black hoodie,” you whispered to Jimin, who didn’t look right away. 

His eyes flickered to the man and then back to you, “the group of stewards next to the security entrance match our description.”

You nodded keeping a close eye on the man, who was still oblivious to the two of you thanks to the crowd surrounding you both. 

“We meet up in the family bathroom after clearing security,” you said, causing Jimin to nod. 

Without any other words the two of you split up, Jimin off to seize his steward while you were off to seize yours. It was normal for you to follow unsaid commands like that, you could read each other so easily after all. What wasn’t normal was the small squeeze Jimin gave your hand before you split, one that had you battling a smile and heated cheeks. 

It didn’t take you long to find the group Jimin had hinted at, but it did take a while to find a stewardess similar to your height and appearance. The clock in the back of your mind was counting down the time left until the plane’s departure. You had to get on that plane in time, or you could kiss any chance of freedom goodbye. 

27:32 minutes remaining.

You walked up to the steward, explaining the first problem you could think of off the top of your head. It was easy getting her to come with you into the bathroom, and then even easier to knock her out in one of the stalls without a sound. The Organisation had taught you how to manipulate to the point that it was practically second nature to you. 

You quickly put on her uniform while checking for her passport and boarding ticket. Unfortunately you were going to have to leave behind your gun and daggers, which made you feel more naked than ever. But you didn’t have much other choice at this point. 

With your head held high, you walked out of the bathroom in the stewardess uniform and hand carry dragging against the floor. You didn’t see Jimin anywhere yet, but you had to get past security and into the bathroom first before you could start worrying about him. 

You greeted the security guard with a smile as you handed him your passport and boarding ticket. He took your baggage and placed it on a conveyor belt while motioning for you to go through the metal detector. The detector stayed silent as you walked through confidently.

It was the bag that caused a sound to erupt from the machine. 

The security guard’s eyebrows furrowed as he focused on the screen that was showing the scan of your luggage. Unfortunately the screen was turned the other way so you couldn’t see what he was picking up on.

“Are you sure you’ve declared everything ma’am?” He asked sternly, pulling the carry on from out of the machine and unzipping it. 

Crap… was the stewardess you picked a drug smuggler? She didn’t seem like one to you, but if he’s picking up on drugs then that’ll be an issue. How stupid could she be to openly smuggle drugs in her luggage? She was a stewardess, didn’t she know security scanned baggage?

You readied yourself to get out of the situation, but then paused as he flipped the luggage open. 

Oh god…

Staring back at you and the security guard was a neon pink adult toy sitting right at the top of a bunch of neatly folded clothes. 

The security guard stuttered as he quickly zipped the carry on shut while you tried your hardest not to laugh. He practically threw the hand carry back at you, looking anywhere but your face. 

“Enjoy your flight ma’am,” he choked out. His eyes suddenly widened, as if realising the double meaning behind that sentence before scrambling to redeem himself, “that’s not– I-I mean-”

You couldn’t help the reply that came out of your mouth, “Thank you, I will indeed enjoy my flight.”

You laughed internally as you watched the security guard’s face turn bright red, before walking off towards the bathroom. 

Poor guy. That was hilarious, though. 

But your smile was quick to vanish when you noticed the guy in a black hoodie from earlier standing in the same line you had been just a moment before. This time, his gaze was fixed solely on you. 

They found you.

Your hands were quick to find the lock of the family bathroom, twisting it quickly before you were scanning the small space. Jimin was already there, sitting atop the closed toilet patiently while wearing a men’s steward uniform. At your arrival he stood immediately. 

You were surprised when he greeted you with a firm kiss to your lips. 

Man could you get used to this. 

“Nice dildo,” Jimin snickered, earning him a roll of your eyes. 

“I guess the plane ride can get boring for some.”

The two of you couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. The fact that it was caught on the machine meant that it was some kind of automated toy too, which for some reason made it funnier. 

When your laughs died out, you were the first to break the mood, “the man we saw earlier spotted me. He’s in line for security right now.”

“Okay, then we need to be quick,” Jimin nodded, demeanor becoming serious,“we obviously won’t be able to get on the plane as stewards. Our only point of entrance is the cargo compartment that they have for pets since it’s the only one on an airplane that’s pressurised and ventilated.”

“We can try getting there through the vents,” you suggested.

In the past, the two of you participated in a mission that required you to memorise the layout of the airport’s vents, but that was a long time ago. Your memory of the vents couldn’t be as accurate now, not to mention the airport was always going through construction, so you didn’t even know if the vents would still be the same as before. 

Jimin explained that much to you again. 

“There should be a back entrance for the workers that load the baggage into the plane,” he said, “we’ll have to find it and–”

A sudden bang from outside the bathroom door caused you both to flinch. Your eyes immediately went to the door, while your hand instinctively grabbed for your dagger before realising it wasn’t there anymore. 

“This is airport security. Open the door or we’ll be forced to use violence,” a man’s voice yelled. 

It was safe to say that was not airport security, and instead the Organisation forcing you out of the bathroom. In fact, you’d bet some heavy money on that guy in the black hoodie from earlier being the one standing outside the door right now. 

“Well, vents it is,” you announced, rummaging through the stewardess’s hand carry until you managed to find a metal hair curler. You gave it to Jimin, who grabbed it quickly and began breaking the vent cover. 

“You have 20 seconds before we open this door,” he said, but you could already see the door knob wiggling. They were no doubt placing an explosive and would set it off the moment they were done. 

In a matter of seconds, Jimin had managed to break off the vent cover with the hair curler and hoist you into the vent. The sound of the door erupting reverberated around the room just as Jimin managed to hoist himself up. Splinters from the door flew everywhere, landing near even you, who was already well within the metal labyrinth. You grabbed Jimin’s arm and helped him up before making your way deeper into the vents. 

Your mind struggled to remember the layout of the airport’s vents. Every turn you took was more of a guess than a certainty, but Jimin didn’t correct you when you made a decision so your choices couldn’t have been that bad. 

The sounds of the Organisation’s men following you through the vents could be heard a few metres back. You needed to hurry if you wanted to get away from them and if you wanted to make it on time to the airplane. 

10:01 minutes remaining.

You paused when the vents split into two opposite directions, completely unsure of which direction led to where. You could swear that this split wasn’t even in the outline you studied years ago. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know the directions, would you?” You asked Jimin, while sounds of the Organisation’s men got closer and closer. 

Jimin paused, no doubt crouched uncomfortably as he waited behind you. You hated how if the men caught up to you, it would be Jimin that would have to face them first. You could even bet that’s why Jimin stayed behind you in the first place. That protective bastard.

“I don’t think this was part of the outline,” he said after racking his brain for the answer. 

Your focus shifted behind you to look at Jimin, but instead you noticed the Organisation’s men already inching a few metres away towards you two. They’d catch up to you guys in no time. 

You shifted your focus back to the situation in front of you. It was really a 50/50 chance at this point, so you quickly did eenie meenie miny moe in your head and prayed the direction you chose wouldn’t land you right into the hands of the Organisation. Wordlessly, Jimin followed behind. 

A few more minutes of uncomfortable crawling led you to a dip in the vent, almost like a slide. You slid down it without hesitation, completely aware that the Organisation’s men were now dangerously close to Jimin. 

What you didn’t expect, was for the vent to end, causing you to slam into the vent cover. You awkwardly brough your feet in front of you, and slammed them against it. It clattered to the seemingly concrete ground, allowing you to finally squeeze out of the cramped vent. 

05:57 minutes remaining.

The outside’s breeze flowed through your hair as you tried to make out the layout in front of you through the darkness of dawn, a crack of the sun that was now visible helping a bit. A few airplanes stood side by side in a line, while others were already speeding down the runway into the air. 

You heard Jimin jump out of the vent, but before you could turn towards him, you felt him pull you down to the ground. Not a second later, three bullets came flying towards where you had been standing moments ago. 

The both of you turned around to see the Organisation’s men jumping out of the vents, eyes trained on you. You were already mentally cursing at the guns in their hands. 

“Let’s go,” you said, grabbing Jimin’s arm and dragging him behind you. 

You were lucky that it was dark, which messed up the aim of a lot of the shots being sent towards you both. What you needed was to find the airplane leaving in less than 5 minutes. But the more you scanned the area, the more you were losing hope. 

“There,” Jimin said suddenly, pointing towards your left.

The plane was hidden behind one of the watchtowers. It seemed that all the passengers had boarded, and the only thing it was waiting for was the loading of the luggage. You could see the workers still throwing large cargo into the cargo compartment quickly. You just needed to reach that point, then getting past the workers would take no time. 

You and Jimin continued to run towards it. Almost there, almost there…

“Wait,” you stopped suddenly, realising something. Jimin’s brows furrowed as he paused next to you.

“Wha-”

“The men,” you said, looking behind you. They weren’t shooting anymore, instead they were just standing there watching the two of you, “why are they just standing there?”

You were well within range of their weapons. Why wouldn’t they take a shot when they had the cha–

“Watch out!” Jimin suddenly yelled. 

You just barely managed to dodge the giant truck that had been hurtling towards you at full speed. With its headlights off, you didn’t even notice it had been coming towards you until it would have been too late. 

The truck screeched to a stop, allowing several more men and women from the Organisation to jump out and surround you. You were severely outnumbered, with no weapons and now less than 3 minutes to get on a plane that stood at least 120 metres away from you. 

“We just need to get to the plane,” Jimin said, analysing the 17 armed individuals currently surrounding you both, “once we’re in the plane, they can’t get us. We’ll need to make a run for it.”

02:11 minutes remaining.

Jimin was right, there was no time to take your chances with the individuals surrounding you. You could already see the workers throwing in the last of the baggage and getting ready to close the cargo entrance. If you didn’t make it, it was over. 

You quickly lunged at one of the men, clearly taking him off guard. You grabbed his gun and managed to slam its butt into his face, causing him to crumple to the floor. One look at the gun in Jimin’s hand had you both sprinting towards the airplane. 

01:37 minutes remaining.

Every few seconds, you had to turn back and send a few bullets flying towards the group, which was now down to 15. It gave you and Jimin a chance to run without being shot at. 

01:07 minutes remaining.

A worker threw the last bag into the cargo hold and motioned for another to begin closing the compartment. You and Jimin were only a few metres away, sprinting with as much energy as you could. You’d be able to make it within a minute–

A bullet suddenly ripped into your calf, causing you to stumble and almost faceplant right into the concrete. Pain erupted in your leg as you tried to get back onto your feet.

“Y/N!” Jimin shouted, crouching down next to you immediately. 

He brought up his gun and sent a bunch of bullets towards the group, three of which actually hit their target. The Organisation’s members immediately fell backwards, waiting for a safe moment to shoot. 

00:34 minutes remaining.

You could see the compartment closing as the workers made their way back into the baggage carts and began driving away. 30 seconds… You only had 30 seconds to make it before your opening would close forever. 

“Y/N, I know it hurts,” Jimin said, and you could pick up on the hint of desperation in his voice, “but we need to run for it. Just 20 seconds, okay? You just need to hold out for 20 seconds.”

You nodded, clenching your teeth as Jimin helped you up while sending more shots towards the Organisation’s people. 

10 seconds remaining.

“Okay, now!” He signalled. 

The two of you continued to sprint towards the now closing airplane compartment, Jimin’s arm half dragging you in the process. Your leg wasn’t completely useless considering you were just barely able to match his speed, but the pain almost had you blacking out midrun. 

7 seconds remaining.

Jimin’s grip on your arm tightened as he sped up.

“Almost there,” he assured, “almost there.”

5 seconds remaining.

You wanted to cry in relief when you finally came to a stop in front of the compartment door. The large door was closing upwards and was already halfway closed. That caused Jimin to hurriedly lift you up so that you could slip into the little opening between the closing door and the side of the plane. 

The only issue was that by the time you were inside, the opening was much too small for Jimin to slip through. 

3 seconds remaining.

“Jimin!”

You couldn’t see him anymore, the sides of the door had closed too much. How was he going to get in?

2 seconds remaining.

No, no, no.

“Jimin!” You shouted again, like it was going to do anything. 

1 second remaining.

A grunt caused your gaze to shift upwards, and you noticed Jimin slipping through the small opening between the top of the door and the plane’s side. For a terrifying moment, you thought the closing door was going to crush him, but at the last second he managed to slip through without losing his head. 

The second his feet connected with the floor, you threw your arms around him, almost sobbing at the fact that he was alive and you weren’t going to have to travel to Canada without him.

Jimin chuckled at your reaction, but with how tight his hold was, you were sure he wasn’t as nonchalant as he was making himself out to be. 

“Come on,” he said softly, refusing to let you go, “let’s go to the ventilated compartment before the plane takes off.”

You nodded as he helped your limping form towards the other side of the compartment. With the initial shock wearing off, your eyes widened at the realisation. 

“We did it…” You said incredulously. 

Jimin gave you a smile as he got the door open and ushered you inside before making sure it was properly locked. 

“Holy crap, we actually did it, Jimin. We bested the Organisation.”

The realisation didn’t feel real, like at any moment you’d wake up back in the hotel room and realise this was all a dream. The Organisation that you’ve feared ever since you knew about its existence would now be a distant memory. You and Jimin could finally live your lives based on your own terms, without the fear of death constantly looming over your heads. It was almost daunting thinking about the amount of freedom you now had. 

Jimin sat you down next to one of the cages, which were largely empty besides one sleeping dog nestled in the corner. Moving your pant aside, he began examining your bullet wound. 

“I’ve been through worse, I’ll be fine,” you assured, but he continued anyway.

Gently, he unravelled the mini scarf wrapped around your neck as part of the stewardess uniform and began wrapping it around your wounded calf. You flinched in pain, causing him to stroke your thigh in comfort. 

“What do you want to do now?” He asked, continuing to wrap your wound gently while you clenched your teeth. 

“What do you mean?”

He raised an eyebrow in amusement, “we’re about to go to Canada and live the rest of our lives there. Surely you have some plans.”

You rolled your eyes, “I didn’t even think we’d make it this far, much less have time to plan out what we’ll do in Canada.”

The plane suddenly lurched, indicating the beginning of its take off. Jimin finished tying the scarf and then began to apply pressure, causing you to whine in pain. 

“I want a small house,” you blurted out, piquing Jimin’s interest.

“Small?” He asked, to which you nodded, “I would have thought that after our small rooms at the Organisation, you would have wanted something big?”

You shook your head. Sure, the Organisation’s small bedrooms had driven you crazy at some points, but a large house was just as daunting. Big houses reminded you of your life before the Organisation, and although it wasn’t terrible, it made you feel cold and unsettled. And you told Jimin just that. 

He smiled, continuing to hold pressure against your leg, “then a small house you will get.”

“What about you? What do you want once we reach there?” You asked, genuinely curious about his answer. Jimin wasn’t a very materialistic person. At least you watched an unhealthy amount of movies and made a hobby out of talking his ears off. But aside from training, you don’t think you’ve ever witnessed him doing much else. 

“Well that’s easy. All I want is you.”

You rolled your eyes, “okay, Romeo. Serious answer please?”

The pressure on your wound suddenly lifted, allowing you to breathe out a sigh of relief, as Jimin checked for bleeding. When he seemed satisfied by the lack thereof, his gaze held yours, shifting to a more serious expression. 

“As an orphan, I’ve never stayed in a place comfortable enough to call it home,” he said, “and then when the Organisation kidnapped me, I knew I could kiss any hopes of comfort goodbye.”

“But then I met you. You were lively and intelligent, with a spirit as vivacious as a cool breeze. And though they tried their best, the Organisation couldn’t entirely kill that fire inside you. I was doomed the second you decided to give me the time of day. You quickly became my comfort, my home. So yes, all I really want is you.”

“Since when did you become so chatty, Park Jimin?” You said, trying to distract him from the fact that you were sure your face was red. 

But Jimin just gave you a lopsided grin, “ I have to make up for all the times you talked my ear off, don’t I?”

“Hey! I thought you liked listening to my rambling,” you protested.

Jimin stood up suddenly, walking towards you before kneeling down next to your seated form. His hand cupped your face gently as a slight chuckle escaped his lips. 

“I’m just kidding baby, of course I like your rambling,” he said softly, “I would listen to your voice all day if I could.”

He brought you closer for a chaste kiss before pulling back and giving you a teasing smile. How you ended up with a man like him you’ll never know. But if the Organisation hasn’t killed you, you know he probably will with his sweet words and even sweeter actions. 

His proximity had your whole body feeling warm and fuzzy, especially your hands. It wasn’t until you noticed your hands turning hot when you realised that they weren’t heating as a response to Jimin. Confused, your gaze dropped to where your hands were resting on the floor, Jimin doing the same when he noticed your sudden change in expression. 

Your eyes widened.

Dark red liquid enveloped your hands as it pooled in the centre of the small compartment. Jimin’s gaze snapped to your leg, but it had long since stopped bleeding. 

“What the hell-” you said, following the trail of blood to the corner of the cages. 

Jimin stood, slowly making his way to the source of the trail. The dog from earlier was still soundly asleep in its cage, completely unaware of your presence. Or at least, that’s what the two of you had thought. 

As Jimin inched closer, he was starting to realise that the blood was actually seeping from under its cage and pooling into the centre of the compartment. He crouched down with furrowed eyebrows, wondering how the dog could be sleeping through all this. But the answer came to him quickly as he noticed the eerie stillness of the creature.

He wasn’t sleeping. 

He was dead.

“Jimin?” Your distressed voice called from behind him. 

“The dog is–”

Jimin froze as he stood and turned around, taking in the terrifying scene in front of him. A man almost double your size had pushed a dagger dangerously close to your throat as his other arm wrapped around you, ensuring you couldn’t move.  

‘Behind you!’ his mind screamed at him. He knew this move, had learned it multiple times before they had even taught him how to write. But he knew he was too late when he felt the press of a single cool blade against his neck. The owner of said blade chuckled from behind him. 

You watched in panic as the man pressed his dagger more firmly against Jimin’s throat, enough to draw a single drop of blood. 

“Well, haven’t you both been a surprisingly significant inconvenience today?” A deep voice rang. 

Your gaze shifted to the other corner of the room, taking in the entrance of another man. It didn’t take long for you to recognise his tall figure, rugged features, and uniquely marked pistol hanging from his hand. 

The Leader.

His sharp gaze scanned over you and Jimin with contempt as he slowly made his way towards the centre of the room. You grimaced when he stepped right into the pool of blood like it was nothing but water. 

“You were given direct orders,” he continued, “yet they were disobeyed, despite your pledge of loyalty to the Organisation.”

“Were you not aware of the consequences?” 

A silence ensued in the compartment, you nor Jimin willing to provide him with an answer. He didn’t seem to appreciate that. 

He flicked his head towards Jimin, and you only had a second to realise the implication of that action.

The man standing behind Jimin suddenly plunged his dagger into him, right below his rib cage, to the point that you could see the tip of the dagger. 

“No!” You screamed, trying to run to him but the man behind you held onto you firmly. Jimin groaned in pain, falling to his knees with a hand pressed against the bleeding wound. The man behind him no longer needed to restrain him, opting instead to lean against the wall. 

You didn’t bother to hide the tears that started running down your cheeks as you watched Jimin grimace in pain. It felt like the dagger had stabbed you instead because you could’ve sworn pain erupted under your ribcage as well. 

“I asked, were you not aware of the consequences?” The Leader asked again. 

It made you glare, “since when do you care about what we are and are not aware of?”

But the Leader ignored you as he stepped right in front of Jimin, gaze focused solely on him. He lowered himself into a kneeling position and grabbed Jimin’s chin, forcing him to gaze upwards. The look of pain on Jimin’s face made you sob. 

“Yes, I did know,” he said, voice unwavering despite the evident grimace on his face.

“So you both directly disobeyed orders from the Organisation? You admit to being traitors to the most powerful organisation in the world?”

“Spare her,” Jimin said suddenly, as if he’d been holding it in the entire time, “do what you want with me, but please let her go.”

“No!” Like hell you were going to let him take the fall for this, “I forced him to do it. He isn’t a traitor!”

“Shut her up,” the Leader commanded. 

You felt pain shoot up your leg as the man behind you dug his heel into your bullet wound. Your knees collapsed to the ground as you tried to muffle your cry of pain. 

The Leader scanned Jimin once again, who was starting to look a little dazed with all the blood he'd lost. He wasn’t going to last much longer. 

“I’m disappointed in you, Park Jimin,” he sighed, “I had great plans for you. You could’ve married my daughter, become the leader after me. But now you’ve made yourself a traitor, and my daughter is dead.”

Guilt spread through your chest at the news of his daughter’s death. She was the one that could’ve stopped him and his organisation, but now she was no more. No doubt killed at the hands of her own father. You could see a hint of guilt in Jimin’s expression as well. 

“I suppose I should thank you for aiding in exposing my daughter for the traitor she was,” the Leader continued, “but we both know the Organisation does not work like that.”

The Leader’s hand went to cup Jimin’s neck, who was now barely keeping his eyes open. 

“There are no places for traitors in the Organisation,” the Leader whispered. 

Jimin’s dazed, but heavy gaze fell on you, who was doing a poor job at keeping the tears streaming down your face at bay. For the first time in a long time you had trouble understanding what he was trying to say. Goodbye? I’m sorry? I love you? For a moment, you were sent back to when you were 9 again, staring into the eyes of the 12 year old boy who’s expression held a whirlpool of emotions and pleas as he dragged you away from your old life. 

Then a dagger sprang from the Leader’s wrist and plunged into Jimin’s neck, causing another scream to rip out of your hoarse throat. This time, Jimin went limp in a matter of seconds, body dropping to the ground as his lifeless eyes stared aimlessly in front of him. 

Your sobs filled the compartment’s silence as the Leader paused. He deserved so much better than this. He was so kind and intelligent and talented. He could have done so much, achieved so much if he had only been given the chance. If the Organisation hadn’t gotten to him and made his life a living hell. 

The Leader turned to you, but you were no longer paying him any attention. Your eyes couldn’t rip away from the nightmare standing in front of you. Not even 10 minutes ago you had been hoping that you weren’t living some kind of dream, but now you’d do anything to wake up back at that hotel. If only you had forced Jimin to kill you at the warehouse. If only you had pushed him away that night in the hotel. If only, if only, if only.

Then Jimin wouldn’t have suffered so much. He could have been back at the base, training for another mission, alive and well. It should’ve been you. It should’ve only been you.

You could make out the Leader making his way towards you before kneeling and forcing your chin to face him. But it didn’t matter, all you could see was Jimin’s lifeless body and it would be the only thing you’d see until the Leader finally decided to end your suffering. 

“It’s disappointing watching you in this position considering how hard we worked to get you back from your mother,” he said while shaking his head. 

That made your eyebrows furrow momentarily. What did he mean by back from your mother?

Noticing this confusion, the Leader continued, “before you were born, the Organisation had decided to experiment with a new way of recruiting members. Instead of kidnapping children, we decided to try breeding them and then training them as soon as possible. Of course, we had to test this new approach first.”

“So we bred you, the daughter of the strongest assassins in the Organisation at the time. Unfortunately, your mother seemed to grow an attachment to you and ended up stealing you away from us. It was impressive how she managed to hide you from us for 9 years. 

“But those 9 years were wasted. During them, you could have trained to become the Organisation’s best assassin. You could have been our most powerful tool.”

The Leader looked back at Jimin, but you couldn’t find it in you to follow his gaze. The image of his lifeless body had been burned into your mind, looking at him just felt like the hot iron was pressing back into your brain once again. 

“Both of you could have.”

There might have been a time when the revelation of your history might have shocked you. When learning that your mother had betrayed the Organisation for you might have willed you to look back and connect the dots. But now your mind felt numb. You honestly couldn’t care less if your mother had picked you up from a garbage can. Jimin was gone and you were only running on borrowed time. 

“Tragic how the ones destined for greatness always fall the hardest,” he continued.

The Leader’s hand followed up your shoulder until he was cupping your neck. His gaze was the gaze of death, and you focused on it until you no longer could. You closed your eyes, waiting for the final blow. 

It’s funny how in the face of death your life didn’t flash before your eyes, nor did you cry hysterically or beg for your life. Instead, the voice of your mother awoke from its slumber in your mind, asking a question that you hadn’t been asked in a long time. 

So, what is the moral of the story?

For years you had racked your small brain, trying to find an answer to the question that had seemed so significant and complex to you. It was almost insulting how quickly the answer came to you now. It couldn’t have been more clear. 

In the story, that stupid girl had gone her whole life flaunting her grades, her intelligence, and her beauty in the faces of everyone around her. She ensured that anyone, whether friend or stranger, knew about her superiority and magnificence, yet not once did she stop to ponder about how against her that would make others. How willing people could be to destroy her out of jealousy, or how willing people could be to steal what she had and keep it for themself.

Not once did she stop and wonder how she could protect herself in the case of an attack. 

She had built the cage that was supposed to protect her with glass, and when the big bad wolf had come for her head, she might as well have handed it over to him on a silver platter. 

All your life, you had thought that the metal cage your mother had built around you was to keep you contained, but really it had been made to keep the Organisation out. Once the Organisation had gotten you, you didn’t bother building another. That’s what made you and the girl from the story the same. 

You both didn’t bother to prepare, instead you were stupidly content with your glass cages. 

But as you felt the Leader’s grip tighten on your neck, you couldn’t help but think you were tired of cages. You’d suffered within the confines of your mother’s, and then the Organisation’s. Your first taste of freedom had been Jimin, but now he was gone and had taken your freedom with him. 

“There are no places for failures in the Organisation,” the Leader whispered. 

And when the dagger plunged into your neck, a sigh of relief almost escaped your lips. 

You were finally free.

Detective Perfect

Summary: Detective work is one of the most challenging jobs in terms of intelligence- at least, that's what you've noticed as someone who has been on the sidelines for the past two years. But with Kim Taehyung by your side, how hard can it be?

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Genre: High school student reader, high school student Taehyung, best friends to lovers, detective au, bantering, fluff

Word Count: 5.8K

Warnings: Mentions of murder, dead bodies, divorce and cheating (not between oc and Taehyung), blood, gun violence, physical violence, mentions of gangs, minor character deaths, mentions of parental abuse, detailed mentions of drugs

Author's Note: My first fic ever! I'm a little nervous haha, but I'm glad I'm finally gaining the confidence to do it (*_*;;;). I hope you enjoy this and everything else I have planned for the future of this page!

"Here."

The plastic bag hanging from your hand dropped onto the grass next to Taehyung, who looked up at you with an annoying grin. Your best friend grabbed the bag happily, pulling out its contents.

"Aw don't be like that," Taehyung teased at your sulking, bringing out a pair of wooden chopsticks and a plastic container of steaming chicken from the bag, "you did this to yourself."

You rolled your eyes, "I did not. Remind me to never place a bet with you again."

Taehyung pouted as he brought a piece of the chicken to his mouth like he always did when he ate, "you say that every time we make a bet, and every time it ends with you making me food."

"Mhmm, and who won the last time we made a bet?"

He just waved you off, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The familiar feeling of wanting to throw your best friend off a bridge engulfed you, but for the sake of the greater good, you suppressed it reluctantly. 

"Come on," you said, tapping his knee as you turned towards the police building, "our lunch break is almost over and I'm pretty sure our new case is more interesting than finding some lady's purse this time!"

That had his eyes widening in excitement as he quickly closed the container and placed it in his bag, running after you, "you really think so? How do you know?"

"I overheard some officers and Detective Lee having a serious conversation. Then I heard him mention our names! I know it's not a lot to go on, but it can't be nothing, right?"

Taehyung was silent for a moment, clearly mulling over your words, "maybe? I really hope so, I'm so ready for a case that doesn't involve finding Mrs. Hwang's grandson in the convenience store."

You chuckled as you both made your way towards Detective Lee's office, "at least she always gives us cookies after, even though he's always just trying to stuff himself in the ice cream freezer every time."

Taehyung just shook his head, "man, that kid is something else. If I even thought of being that reckless, my mom would beat me with her slipper."

You nodded in agreement. Your dad would never let you see the light of day again.

When the two of you finally arrived at Detective Lee's office, you let Taehyung open the door to find the detective sitting behind his desk, gaze intensely focused on the papers sitting in front of him. At your entrance, his eyes flickered upwards before standing up and giving you both a grim smile.

"Taehyung, Y/N, today your task will be a little different from the ones you're normally used to," he announced. It took every ounce of self-control in you not to jump excitedly at his words and one glance at Taehyung's restrained smile made it clear he felt the same.

"We're ready for anything you ask of us Detective Lee," he said quickly and you nodded alongside him.

Detective Lee nodded his head towards the guard standing in front of the door you and Taehyung had entered from. In a matter of seconds, the guard walked in with a police officer trailing behind him. All their expressions looked solemn.

"Meet Officer Jang. We will be working with him during this case," he said, allowing the officer to stand beside him as he spoke, "Officer Jang, this is Y/N and Taehyung. They've been student volunteers here at this precinct for the past 2 years and will be accompanying us as part of the precinct's shadowing program."

The officer, who had been expressionless up until now, furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "how young are they?"

"They're both 17, so not too young. But please keep in mind they are still high school kids. Try to limit their interactions with the crime scene to what's appropriate."

Crime scene?

You glanced at Taehyung, who already had his eyes on you. Were you both going to investigate a crime scene? Like an actual murder? Or maybe a robbery? Detective Lee wouldn't be so adamant about not seeing a bank robbery. It had to be a murder.

The possibility had your heart beating rapidly in your chest.

"Alright then," the officer said in finality.

"Let's begin with the briefing."

-

-

-

The story of how you and Taehyung met has always been a popular one for the parties. It often left your classmates shocked in a mix of emotions, which of course the two of you could not care less about. The pain behind it had passed, and now the only thing you could do was laugh it off and continue with your lives. 

You weren't childhood friends that grew up together, nor were you classmates that had found friendship during the school year. In fact, Taehyung didn't even become a student at your school until after the two of you became friends and Taehyung had asked his mother to transfer.

It all started when you were 12 and had started noticing an odd atmosphere suffocating the air in your house. Back then, you were much too young to understand the hesitance and aversion in your parents' actions towards each other and, unfortunately, none had made an attempt to explain the situation to you. It was probably because you were young and the topic was a little too mature for your age, but still, looking back you would have appreciated it if someone had taken the time to sit down and walk you through it. 

Instead, you found out about it firsthand in a way that was frankly traumatizing for a child to see. 

Your mother had been having an affair with another man,

and you had caught them both in your mother's bedroom doing... well, affair-worthy stuff.

While your mother had covered up and desperately tried to explain to you the importance of keeping this secret from your father, the sound of his footsteps entering the room had left all attempts at secrecy futile. And as if that wasn't enough, a woman you had never seen in your entire life had barged into the bedroom a few minutes later and began yelling at the man still sitting on the bed. 

"Is this normal in the adult world?" A voice had asked. You had turned to find a boy around your age standing and watching the chaotic yelling coming from all four of them now. You assumed he was the son of the unfamiliar woman in the room considering their similar appearances. 

"No one warned me we would need earplugs to prepare for adulthood," you thought out loud. He had laughed and after the divorces took place, the two of you had been inseparable since.

You're not sure whether the infatuation with crime had been because of that incident in some weird psychologically twisted way or you would've found the interest regardless of that situation, but either way, it happened. You and Taehyung had spent hours watching crime shows and documentaries together, using your non-existent detective skills to solve the cases presented. 

That's what led you both to volunteer at the local precinct in your city and eventually to the place the two of you were in now.

A house.

You and Taehyung had been a little disappointed by the lack of creepy haunted mansions and mysterious dead bodies when the officer had explained that a murder had taken place in a normal house a few neighborhoods away from your own, but at least the mention of a murder was interesting enough. Detective Lee had followed the officer to the body while giving orders to the two of you to search the upper level of the house for evidence.

"He doesn't want us to see the body," Taehyung said dejectedly, walking through the doorway of one of the bedrooms. 

"There are probably some kind of laws in place for minors seeing stuff like that," you guessed, looking around the room. It had already been searched by officers beforehand, evident through a few evidence markers that had been placed here and there, "but who cares? If we show Detective Lee we're useful, maybe he'll let us come to more of his serious cases."

"I want to actually be a part of the investigation, not look at underwear," he pouted as he pointed towards an open drawer that was full of said undergarments, "he's just keeping us busy because he thinks we're children and he wants us on the sidelines."

"I mean... we are children, though."

He just sighed, "there's nothing here. Let's check the other room."

You nodded, feeling the same disappointment Taehyung was. But it only made you more determined to show Detective Lee your potentials. 

You followed behind Taehyung mindlessly as he walked through the doorway of the second bedroom. 

"What the-" Taehyung suddenly yelped, flinching backwards into you.

"What is wrong with you?" You said, pushing him off you, and walking into the room.

At first, you didn't understand what could have caused his reaction, until you saw it.

There was someone in here. A boy, around your age, sitting calmly on the floor, eyes glued to a window that revealed the brick wall of the house next to the one you were in now.

How creepy.

You inched towards him despite Taehyung's protests to get behind him.

"Hey, are you okay?" You asked softly. The boy was still for a moment, before turning towards you and you gasped.

He was beautiful.

You sounded so pathetic saying it, but damn was the boy sitting on the floor fine. His jawline was sharp, body toned and cheeks cutely puffy but still managing to be structured at the same time. And his eyes... Although they were simply brown, they were so intense as they first scanned you and then Taehyung.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he said softly, pulling himself off the ground.

Taehyung gave you a look before he whispered, "why'd you gasp like that?" 

"He's hot."

You noticed Taehyung's jaw clench as his eyes scanned the boy, his gaze suddenly very cold.

The boy on the other hand smirked and, even though you had whispered it, you had a feeling he might have heard your comment, "I'm Jimin, Park Jimin."

"I'm Y/N, and this is Taehyung," you said politely, eyes travelling down to the outline of his abs against his shirt before forcing them back up to his face.

Congratulations Y/N, you are officially a creep, you thought bitterly.

"What are you doing here?" Taehyung said. You were surprised to hear the distance in his voice. 

"I live here," Jimin said, regarding Taehyung before his eyes landed back on you, "my father was the one killed."

That's when Taehyung's eyes softened, "I'm sorry."

But to your surprise, Jimin just waved him off, "he was an abusive bastard. Whoever killed him did me a favour."

"I'm assuming you guys are here with the detective to figure out who killed him?" Jimin continued, as if he wasn't talking about his father's murder.

Then again, he did say he was abusive. If your dad abused you, you doubted you would love him as much as you did.

"Yeah, we are," you replied, deciding to take advantage of the situation. Jimin nodded, walking past the two of you while grabbing some keys that had been sitting on the desk, "come on, I'll show you the office he always kept locked. Maybe you'll find something there."

The two of you followed behind Jimin as he led you through the hallway of the small house. He slowed down a little, causing Taehyung, who had been walking directly behind him, to step back, allowing Jimin to fall into step beside you.

"So Y/N, you're into this investigative stuff?" he asked.

You nodded, "I'm going to be a detective in a few years."

"You must go over a lot of cases and watch a lot of crime documentaries in that case. It must be fun to do that stuff with your boyfriend," Jimin asked suddenly, "do you? Have a boyfriend I mean?"

"What?" 

The stupid response escaped before you could think it through. Why would he want to know that?

"Just curious," Jimin explained nonchalantly.

You were about to answer when Taehyung spoke from behind you, "yes, she does. Screw off Park Jimin."

You rolled your eyes and slapped him on the shoulder, "No, I do not Taehyung."

A smile perched on Jimin's lips as he smoothly set the key into the lock of an unfamiliar door and pushed it open, "good to know."

You and Taehyung peered curiously into what seemed like a normal office. There was a desk littered with papers and mail, a bookshelf filled with a bunch of textbooks and a picture frame of a girl posing lewdly for the camera.

"What was his job?" You asked, slowly starting to sift through some of the papers on the desk. Surprisingly, it didn't seem like the police had searched this room yet. 

"I don't know," Jimin shrugged, curiously looking around the room as if he had never been in there either, "some kind of businessman, I think?"

The papers, which turned out to be documents, seemed to confirm that. They showed mass purchases of various products, from bathroom supplies to giant construction machinery. 

Your eyebrows furrowed as you continued to sift through the transaction documents. His purchase history was so odd that you couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what kind of businesses he dealt in. Sometimes he was mass purchasing random grocery items, other times he was selling oddly named airplane parts. 

What the heck?

"Hey guys?" You spoke up, watching as they stopped their search and turned towards you, "um, do you guys know what bathroom accessory a 'nalatir' is?"

Both boys' eyebrows furrowed as they made their way to you and peered over your shoulder to look at the document in your hand. 

"Yeah, I've never heard of an 'ethem' before," Taehyung announced, with Jimin nodding on your other side.

"Definitely haven't heard of an 'enaicock' before," Jimin continued, smirking a bit. 

You rolled your eyes at his childishness, "maybe he's not actually purchasing and selling what's written on the paper?"

"You think they're some sort of anagrams?" Taehyung asked, hand brushing against yours faintly as he took the paper from you and narrowed his gaze at the words.

You felt your fingers tingle at the subtle touch, a little surprised by your reaction. What was that?

After a moment, Taehyung turned towards you, pointing at one of the words on the paper, "this one roughly spells out cocaine if you read it backwards."

You took the paper from him.

enaicock

kcociane

cocaine

It kind of made sense. You looked at the other words to make sure it wasn't a coincidence. But you found yourself finding various names that happened to relate to a variety of drugs. 

Taehyung had cracked the code. 

"I think you got it," you said, smiling a bit at Taehyung who returned the expression, "maybe you're not as stupid as I thought you were."

He rolled his eyes at your teasing, but the smile didn't leave his lips as he turned towards the desk, "so your dad was a drug dealer or something?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was," Jimin huffed, "just when you think that man can't get any worse," he mumbled under his breath.

"Actually I don't think that's all," you said, feeling kind of bad for Jimin and what all these new revelations were probably doing to him. You can't imagine suffering at the hands of someone you thought you knew, only to discover that he was so much worse than you had thought. 

"The product names on these documents are all some form of anagram for drugs," you explained, showing them the purchase history for the 'bathroom accessories,' "but I can't really find any drug names from these names over here."

You placed a purchase history document that was supposed to be for construction equipment in front of the two, "If we're still going with anagrams, then these names kind of remind me of the names of weapons."

Slowly the boys nodded, looking over the other documents.

"I think you're right," Taehyung said, eyes glued to the papers. 

"These kind of make out names, don't they?" Jimin said, placing the 'plane parts' document in front of you. He was right, you could make out a few human names here and there. 

"What does a person use drugs, weapons and names for?" Taehyung thought out loud.

"It's kind of like those gang or mafia TV shows," Jimin chuckled. But the smile was wiped off his face when he noticed your expression, "wait, seriously? You think my father was part of a gang or something?"

"It's a pretty likely guess," you said.

The conversation came to a stop when you all heard a series of bangs come from the downstairs level of the house. 

"That kind of sounded like-" you said slowly.

"Gunshots," Taehyung concluded. And in a matter of seconds, he was already running out of the room.

"Taehyung!" You yelled, running after him with Jimin right on your heels. 

Was he insane? What kind of idiot runs headfirst into a gunfight? What if he got hurt?

Your run came to a stop when you made it to the living room, eyes widening at the scene before you.

Everyone was dead. 

Detective Lee, the officer that had brought you and Taehyung here and the other officers that had been roaming around the crime scene, were lying on the floor with gunshot wounds littering their bodies. 

The only two that were still alive were standing in the centre of the room. The weight of the situation was suddenly clear to you. 

Taehyung stood only a few steps before you, hands up in the air as his gaze focused on the man in front of him.

Jimin's dad. Park Hae-Soo. 

He stood amidst the chaos, gun pointed at Taehyung with what seemed like a cross between a grimace and a smirk, yet the body that had brought on the investigation was still lying near the wall. 

The person that had been killed had not been Jimin's dad, you realized. The body had just meant to lure everyone here for Hae-Soo's plan. The only question was, what exactly was he accomplishing  by killing all these people? What was his motive?

"Crap," you heard a shaky voice behind you whisper. You found yourself looking back to find Jimin staring with wide eyes at his father.

The nonchalant Jimin that had spoken casually about his dad was long gone and had probably never existed now than you thought about it. That mask had dropped to showcase just how terrified Jimin was of his father. He was trembling- no shaking- at the mere sight of him. His gaze flickered between the bodies, then the gun and then finally his father's face. 

"Why?" Taehyung asked, gaze firmly directed towards the man that could end his life in mere seconds. You wanted to shout at Taehyung, scream at him to shut up and care about his life. How could he speak so casually with a man that had murdered at least a dozen people in the span of five minutes?

"Why?" The man laughed, "Kid, how old are you? They bringin' children to do men's jobs now?"

He nudged one of the dead officers with his shoe, with a haughty scoff, "bastards."

You began to tremble just like Jimin as he fixed the point of the gun at Taehyung's head and unlocked the safety of the weapon, "I'm giving you an option, but I'm not a man that likes to repeat his words so listen carefully." 

"You and your girlfriend can walk out of here without bullets in your bodies as long as you promise not to tell anyone about this."

His voice lowered considerably at his next words, "but if I find out you didn't keep your mouths shut, I'll personally track you both down and show you what a slow and painful death looks like."

His words floated dangerously in the air as silence ensued. You knew what Taehyung would do, what he would say before he opened his mouth. 

"We're not-" But he was interrupted as you ran towards him and covered his mouth.

"We will! We'll leave and we promise we won't tell a single soul, just let us go," you said hastily. 

You could both leave here and let the officers of another precinct know about this, but you had to survive first in order to do that, "just let us leave unharmed."

Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed. 

"Well, I can see who's the brains in the relationship," the man said, licking his bottom lip as he smirked a little. You knew where his eyes were, and they were not on your face. 

With a disgusted expression, you nudged Taehyung to get him to move, "come on Jimin, let's go."

"No," Hae-Soo's strong voice cut through the air like a knife, "that boy stays here."

That boy.

Your gaze landed on Jimin once again, who hadn't moved an inch from the doorway of the living room, expression still terrified. 

"I said you two can go, not him," Jimin's dad commanded loudly, and you could've sworn you noticed Jimin flinch, "he stays here."

That was going to be a problem. 

You couldn't leave Jimin here after hearing about his father being abusive, who knows what he had in store for Jimin. It was clear his father didn't have an ounce of love for him, or any kind of connection with him for that matter. Jimin couldn't stay here. 

"We're not leaving him," you said firmly, and although some may consider it brave, the only thing you felt was fear because you might just become the reason for your and Taehyung's, and maybe even Jimin's death.

"You're in no position to make demands sweetheart," he sneered and pointed the barrel of his gun at your head, "get out. I won't say it twice."

You felt Taehyung take a step to move in front of you, but Jimin's dad moved the gun towards him, stopping him in his tracks, "don't move unless you're leaving this house."

"I'm giving you one last chance," he said slowly, eyes blazing with anger, "leave, or die."

Another silence overtook the room as no one moved. It was like there was a timer ticking in your head, counting down the seconds you had left to change this situation. Your eyes darted everywhere, trying to think of some way you could disarm Jimin's father. Some way you could save both Taehyung and Jimin. 

Your gaze travelled towards the grey leather couch, then the white dirty carpet drenched in blood, and then the bodies littering the floor.

There was nothing.

"Time's up," Jimin's dad said suddenly. You saw the barrel of his gun point towards you once again.

"No!" Taehyung yelled. You felt Taehyung's hands on your shoulder at the same time you heard the sound of the gun going off. 

Your head connected harshly with the floor while Taehyung hovered over you. You could make out the bullet hole on the wall just a meter above where you had been standing a second ago. Taehyung didn't waste much time as he pushed himself up and ran towards Jimin's dad, trying to pry the gun from his hands. 

"Sehun!" Hae-Soo yelled while trying to get out of the hold Taehyung had on him now.

You felt a pair of hands grapple you down as you tried to pull yourself up. The owner of the hands, most likely Sehun, was unfamiliar to you, but it was clear that he was on Hae-Soo's side as he held you down and waited for further instructions. Behind you, you could make out Jimin fighting with another man dressed similarly to Sehun. 

Your gaze dropped to Taehyung and Jimin's dad, who were now grappling with the gun. It sat between them, the barrel pointed dangerously at Taehyung as he tried to pry it from Hae-Soo's hands. You could feel your heart beat loudly in your chest as you saw Jimin's dad's finger snake around Taehyung's arm and feel the trigger of the gun. Only you don't think Taehyung noticed the action, which made your stomach drop.

"Taehyung move!" You yelled.

But it wasn't fast enough.

The sound of a gunshot reverberated across the room. Taehyung, whose eyes were wide now, slowly looked down at the gun and then Hae-Soo's face. 

The barrel had been pointing at Taehyung.

Taehyung had been shot.

Kim Taehyung, your best friend, was going to die.

You heard yourself scream his name before you could even realize what had happened. You couldn't lose him. You couldn't lose the best friend that had helped you through the choppy divorce of your parents. You couldn't lose the man that made sure to call you after school every single day to make sure you got home safely. You couldn't lose the one person in your life that did everything he could to make you happy when you were feeling down even when it involved embarrassing himself.

You couldn't lose Kim Taehyung. Because without him, you think you'd lose yourself.

"Get up," a man's voice rang from in front of you, but you didn't move. Your eyes stayed glued to Taehyung. 

"Get up, we have to go before his men get here, your friend is fine," he said more firmly. His words caused you to look up at him, surprised when you saw Sehun passed out on the floor not too far away from you. Instead, another man was standing before you, hand raised to help you onto your feet. 

His black hair was trimmed into an army cut and he towered over you, looking a little impatient as you stared at him from your position on the floor. 

Who was he? And where did he even come from?

You turned to look at Jimin, who was being helped by a guy that was dressed in similar clothes to the one in front of you, only he was a little shorter and adorned with light purple hair that somehow managed to suit him. 

But then you processed the man's words. 

Your friend is fine.

You turned back to Taehyung, who was crouched over Jimin's dad. There was blood surrounding them, but none actually on Taehyung's shirt. It was Hae-Soo. It was his shirt that was soaked in blood. An unfamiliar man stood behind him, a gun in his hand as he pried Taehyung off of Jimin's dad and dragged him out the door. 

"See? He's fine," the man in front of you confirmed, and you were surprised to see him smiling, a prominent dimple on each cheek as he beckoned his hand towards you once again.

"Now let's go."

A blindfolded truck ride later, you, Jimin and Taehyung found yourselves being led, by the man that had saved you earlier, through the halls of an enormous mansion silently. You didn't know where the other men that had been with him had disappeared, but it was clear whatever had happened back there was not finished. 

After they had loaded the three of you into a truck, there had been no explanations whatsoever about who they were and where they were taking you. You half expected them to be kidnappers now that you thought about it. 

"What are you going to do with us?" Taehyung asked. For the past hour he's been asking the same questions. 

Who are you? Why did you save us? Where are you taking us?

But the man was silent, not sparing as much as a glance at the three of you. 

Finally, he led you into a large room that resembled a meeting room. Desks full of computers lined the walls and a large table sat in the center, holding various maps, papers and other things you couldn't even recognize. The only sign of life was one man sitting with his back towards you while watching the screen of a computer. If you were to guess, the screen seemed like it was displaying some kind of surveillance footage. 

Now that the guy leading you had stopped, the fear was starting to kick in. Who were these people?

"Well, Yoongi hyung?" The guy who had led you here said, apparently towards the guy sitting at the desk, "how's our situation?"

"The bastard is dead, thankfully," the guy named Yoongi huffed, "Police officers are at the crime scene right now, inspecting the body. Jungkook's there too, but I don't think he'll pick up our trail, although I'll continue to monitor him just in case. We can't have the cops on our back... again. I'll plant some evidence to lead him away if I have to, don't worry Namjoon."

Namjoon crossed his arms, "Good."

Finally he turned towards you all, who had huddled closer to each other in fear. These people were clearly not with the cops, so what were they going to do with you all?

"We're letting you guys go, so relax," he said, which earned him three confused stares.

Namjoon sighed, like you all were some kind of nuisance to him, "we just need to make sure that if you're questioned, you won't mention us. It's the least you could do after we saved your life."

"You're misleading cops, there's no way you people are any better than that gangster," Taehyung countered. As much as you wanted to jab him in the ribs with your elbow, because they had guns and you all did not, you still had to agree. Whatever this was, it wasn't legal, and it was definitely shady. You couldn't just stand by and do nothing, even if they did save your life.

"Kid, the cops aren't exactly angels," Namjoon said, his tone light but firm, "you're still a child, so I don't expect you to understand."

He took a few steps closer to you all, "but just know that if you tell anyone about our existence, a lot of people are going to get hurt, both the cops and the people I care about. Keep your hands clean from blood by keeping your mouth shut, this is my warning."

"Hoseok, get them out."

A few moments later you were being pushed out into the now dark street by a guy named Hoseok, who apologized for 'being so mean.' After handing you some money, he was gone. 

Everything happened so fast that the three of you just stood in silence for a good minute, contemplating everything that had happened up until now.

Then Taehyung grabbed your wrist and pulled you away from a shock-stricken Jimin so that he couldn't hear your conversation.

"That was weird," he said, and all you could do was nod because, yes, that was in fact weird.

"Should we... tell the cops?" Taehyung asked uncertainly. He was feeling conflicting thoughts as well, you were sure of it. You should have said yes and reported them to the police right away. But something felt wrong, like doing that would get a lot of innocent people hurt. 

And that's what Namjoon said, didn't he? That people would get hurt if you exposed them to the police.

It occurred to you for the first time that maybe everything you knew about the station, about the justice system in general, wasn't completely the truth. After all, you still didn't know why Jimin's father did what he did. There were secrets, secrets you could only get from the inside. 

"No, I don't think we should tell them," you said finally and you were glad to see Taehyung nodding. You loved how you two were always on the same page, even without having a proper conversation. You both knew each other too well. 

"Good because I was thinking the same," he explained, looking almost relieved.

"By the way, why'd you ditch Jimin over there?" You asked, pointing towards Jimin who was still standing idly in shock. You doubted he even noticed you and Taehyung had moved a pretty big distance away from him. 

"Because he's annoying," Taehyung huffed, sending him a glare.

"Why do you hate him so much?" Your gaze narrowed at him. Taehyung was always so friendly and cheerful with everyone, it came as a surprise to you when he acted so cold with Jimin. 

Taehyung paused for a moment, scanning your face before sighing, "you know for an aspiring detective you're really not good at picking up clues."

You tilted your head, not sure whether to be offended or not, "I didn't realize I had a case."

"Well then let me give you a briefing," he said firmly. There was no hint of jokes or laughter anymore, he was serious, "I spend every minute of my free time with you. I pick up on every small detail about you. Every time I look at you, I can't seem to find any words to tell you how beautiful you are because none of them would do you justice. I always reply to your texts within seconds even though I literally leave people on read for months. I can't think about losing you because I genuinely feel like something happens to my heart when I do. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and only you. Solve the case, Y/N."

You couldn't help your mouth that was wide open now. All the things he said... they all pointed towards one thing...

"You... like me?"

Your voice came out in a hesitant whisper. If he was trying to get at something else, which was probably the case, you had no clue. Maybe you really were bad at detective work?

Before you could backtrack Taehyung pulled you into him,

and pressed his lips against yours. 

For a moment, you froze, the action not registering in your brain even after Taehyung pulled away from the soft peck on your lips. 

"I know you may not feel the same way, but-"

You didn't let him finish. 

You grabbed the collar of his shirt and crashed your lips against his. He was quick to respond, hands pulling you closer as yours did the exact same. 

It felt like only a second had passed when the two of you broke off for some much-needed air.

"I can't believe this," Taehyung said through pants, "you really accept me? What about Jimin?"

"Screw Jimin, I want you Kim Taehyung, only you," you said, giving him a smile. He returned it for a moment, but then something seemed to cross his mind.

"But I don't have abs."

You shrugged, "Abs are overrated anyway."

Apparently, that was a lot bigger of a deal than you had thought because he engulfed you in a hug and began jumping excitedly, "good because I refuse to go on a diet. I love food just as much as I love you."

You don't think he realized just how much of a praise that was to you. Food was elite. The fact that you could even compare to it made you realize just how much Taehyung liked you. 

You quickly gave him another kiss in excitement before pulling away, "okay, we have to get Jimin and figure a way out of here."

"Out of where?" Taehyung asked, looking a bit dazed after the kiss. 

"We're literally in the middle of the street, which is also in the middle of nowhere, idiot."

"Oh, right," Taehyung said, noticing, probably for the first time, where you all were, "can't we just leave Jimin?"

"No, now come on," you said, dragging his whining form towards Jimin, who was somehow still frozen in shock. 

"We need to start re-evaluating some things."

The Reaper's Daughter (PJM)

Summary: The Reaper’s Letter, a chilling call for blood, has been delivered, and who better to answer that call than the Reaper’s Daughter herself?

Pairing: Park Jimin x Reader

Genre: Hitman au, mystery

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Park Jimin. That’s it, that’s the warning. 

A/N: Take this random drabble (or possible prologue…?) while I struggle with writing TSC even though I’m only on the third chapter (●_● ).

The first time you met him was on a piece of paper. 

It wasn’t just any piece of paper, of course. If that had been the case, his name would have been quickly dispelled into the forgotten depths of your mind. Your world was nothing short of a theatre piece crafted by Shakespeare himself, and anything that strayed from his intricately constructed script swiftly faded into its indifferent backdrops. 

No, the paper you met him on was very much a detail of that script. Delicately handcrafted, with sloping black cursive characters and glittering golden borders. It had many names, too. The Reaper’s Letter. Death Note. The Waiting Crow’s Hailing. But, it was not what it was called that mattered. 

What mattered was the name printed boldly on its top left corner. Because whoever’s name was unfortunate enough to find itself nestled cosily on this paper, would be found dead by week’s end. 

It had always reminded you of a children’s game you could just barely remember from the shattered fragments of your childhood, though there was nothing childish about the work you did. You’re handed the Death Note, you navigate through the mountains of information it supplies, and then the hunt begins. Kind of like Tag, yet nothing like it at all. 

But that time the rules had been slightly different. Usually accompanying the name was a picture of your target, alongside a thick file of information covering every miniscule detail of the name’s life. Instead, the paper handed to you held only three words. 

Name: Park Jimin. 

Beside it was no picture, no age, no location. At first it had annoyed you, because that meant the burden of research now fell heavily on your shoulders. But then again, this was a novel challenge, one that you were not willing to collapse under. 

Your interest had piqued even further when you were halted before your exit to be given an ominous warning. 

“Be careful, I heard he’s sharp.”

The statement was not enough to catch you off guard, but it, like the entirety of this task, was new. You were one of the best. If the likes of you had to be cautioned, then who exactly was this man?

You didn’t find out, and maybe that had been your first mistake. His information had been hidden well, too well. Of course, that had sent a few alarms blaring in your head about messing with the wrong people. But you had been given a job, and you couldn’t not see it through. 

Thus, by week’s end, you had only managed to collect a measly location and picture. It wasn’t much, but you were out of both options and time. And really, a name and place was all you’ve ever needed anyway. 

Killing a person was really not as difficult as films made it out to be. 

Take Park Jimin for example. He was completely unaware of your presence on the rooftop of the building standing right next to the enormous banquet hall he was in now. Instead, he laughed with a woman adorning glittering gold jewellery from head to toe, with a velvety navy blue dress that could only be designer. She was not special amongst the sea of identically dressed women, each accompanied by men in posh suits. 

Park Jimin didn’t look too bad himself. He was donning a dark magenta suit that hugged him in all the right places, especially the extra piece of cloth that wrapped around his torso to show off his figure. His hair was dyed dirty blonde, but it only added to the intensity that radiated off of him. 

If only it could save him from the bullet that was about to make acquaintance with his head. 

The one that you were going to release, just from a little pressure on the trigger of the sniper that your finger brushed against now.

Poor Park Jimin. He won’t be getting laid tonight, at least, not in the way he wanted. 

Your finger pressed against the trigger, only to still when a head appeared in front of Jimin. It was another woman, this time in a sequined scarlet dress that was pulled taut against her skinny figure.

You readjusted the aim of your sniper, making sure it was once again pointed towards Jimin’s head, only to huff when another opulently dressed individual, this time a man dressed in a dull black suit, gets in the way of your aim. 

You wouldn’t have paid it much thought if it wasn’t for the unusual nature of everyone’s movements. The second your aim found its way back to Jimin’s head, another individual would pop up, effectively blocking your aim. It was so ridiculous that, at some point, even Jimin himself had disappeared behind the crowd of people now laughing and chattering with one another. 

It only took you a few moments to realise the eeriness of the situation, and then one more to jump to your feet. Something was wrong, you could practically feel it buzzing around you in the air. 

As if confirming your suspicion, you heard the safety of a gun being turned off behind you. That made you freeze. 

“So, they chose you?”

The voice behind it was soft but low, and although you’ve never heard it before, you can already guess who it belongs to. 

You kept your lips sealed, not entirely sure what his words meant. They were too ambiguous, too many meanings that they could branch into. 

Instead, you decided to risk turning around. 

You were wrong, you realised, about Jimin not looking too bad. Because although he was pointing a simple handgun at your forehead, he was probably the most beautiful man you had ever laid your eyes on. 

His magenta suit had darkened into a rich wine shade that seemed to glitter under the soft rays of the moonlight, while a few strands of dirty blonde hair rested delicately on his exposed forehead. This was in contrast with his sharp jawline, that casted a deep shadow on his neck. But his eyes… Though a simple brown, they held an intensity you couldn’t quite decipher. Like creatures swimming to the surface of the vast ocean for only brief moments, you managed to catch only glimpses. Of mischief. Of anguish. You could have sworn you had even caught a tail of compassion. 

But a compassionate man wouldn’t be pointing a gun at your head now would he?

In a single, swift movement, your fingers wrapped around the gun at your waist and brought it to his own head, a perfect reflection of him. You waited for the familiar fear to pull at his calm expression, but instead, you watched him smile. 

He was pissing you off. Not because of his clearly inciting behaviour, but because he had a chance to kill you and he didn’t. He didn’t seem stupid enough not to be aware of your intentions, and yet, he didn’t seem the slightest bit worried, or even vengeful. 

Why?

“It seems we’re at a stalemate,” he stated, eyes searching your expression. For what? You didn’t know. Only now were you wishing that you had collected more research on the man standing before you. Then you at least might’ve had an inkling of his intentions. 

“Both of us will be dead the second these guns go off,” he continued nonchalantly, as if he were talking about the weather.

Silence. 

It was a very underrated tactic that had quickly become one of your signature skills a long time ago. It was especially useful now, as you were in a bit of a predicament. You could have shot him and left easily if he was inexperienced. A simple disarm, duck and shoot would have been more than enough to secure a safe exit, as well as your paycheque. 

But his posture was perfect, his hands gripped the gun without even a quiver of instability, and there was an ease to his movements that lacked any kind of panic. 

He was like you, you realised. Gang members were wildcards that acted before they thought and most of their movements were rough around the edges. Police officers were more diplomatic, and Jimin would have stated that he was a cop the first chance he got if he were one. 

No, he wasn’t a gang member or police officer. He was more like you. 

You allowed yourself a single step backwards, the beginning of your journey to the roof’s edge. 

If he was as experienced as you were, he was going to be a slight problem. You had not anticipated this. You needed to do more research, find out who this man truly was because he did not seem normal. His flashy attire, calculating gaze, and eerie amusement in this whole situation had thrown you off, but you’ve never been one to be embarrassed. 

Life happened, you were a prime example of that. 

“Leaving so soon?” He asked, tilting his head to the side with an unwavering gaze. 

“You’re not doing a very good job at- well, your job. So, I’m assuming the party’s over,” you finally said, voice flat. 

“Ah, so she can speak,” he said, feigning astonishment, but it didn’t bother you much, “love, if I wanted you dead, you would be it already.”

“Careful. I’ve seen the overconfident crumble faster than the weak.”

You know you shouldn’t have responded if you wanted to maintain your air of silence, but you were also mature enough to admit that winning frivolous verbal spats like these were a guilty pleasure of yours. Before Jimin could continue, to fan the fire you guessed because he seemed like the kind of man that would, you beat him with a question.

“So, tell me why you’ve decided you don’t want me dead.”

He chuckled at that statement. 

“Who said I didn’t?”

He readjusted his aim so that instead of your head, the gun was pointed at your heart, “maybe you’re just nice to look at, and I’m just enjoying the view before you’re reduced to nothing but a pool of blood on this rooftop.”

This time it was your turn to chuckle, but you only laughed inwardly. If he was expecting you to be scared he was going to have to do a better job than that.

Despite repressing the laugh, you still felt a smile just barely twitch against your lips, “I would’ve expected trash talking to be beneath you Park Jimin.”

Jimin’s gaze remained steady, a glint of amusement in his eyes, “trash talking, huh? Well, I guess I’m just full of surprises.”

You cocked your head to the side, a silent question, but Jimin only copied the movement. At first you thought he was mocking you, but then he spoke. 

“So they finally decided to send you,” Jimin continued, “Reaper’s Daughter.”

You didn’t let yourself tense, or move in any way that would indicate that he had caught you off guard. That nickname was known by many, but the many couldn’t attribute it to a face. Not only did Jimin know you were The Reaper’s Daughter, but he had also revealed it to you that he knew. You still didn’t know what game you had walked into, but it was clear now that there was more to this task than you thought. There was more to Jimin than you thought. 

Slowly, you let your eyebrows pull together as you cast him a confused look. Jimin chuckled, seeming to find amusement in your lack of communication. 

“I’ve been keeping tabs on you for a while.”

The fact that you’ve had someone tailing you and you didn’t notice didn’t sit right with you. But you pushed the thought to the back of your mind, focusing instead on the fact that Jimin had been collecting information on you and that could only mean there was something he wanted. 

Before you could ask what it was, Jimin spoke up again. 

“When I first saw you on this rooftop, I wondered what you could be doing here. And then I watched you assemble your sniper,” he said, “I couldn’t understand why you’d agreed to make me one of your targets.”

You almost snorted at his naivety, because if he had been tailing you then he should know what you do for a living, but then paused at his next words. 

“I found it odd that this little mouse had agreed to eliminate the only one on her side,” he continued, “unless… she decided to switch sides.”

The atmosphere shifted from light jabs to a fierce hostility as the amusement suddenly drained from his face, leaving behind a sharp pair of eyes that betrayed nothing. You automatically tensed, knowing that the real standoff had just begun, even if you didn’t have a clue as to what Jimin was talking about. 

“I must say I’m disappointed. I wouldn’t have expected it from you of all people. I didn’t expect that you’d be here for this reason.”

“Speak plainly, Jimin. What are you talking about?” you said, your curiosity finally reaching a point strong enough to break your silence. Your tone was still flat, but now it was firm, tired of his cryptic words and your mind trying to grasp at straws to understand. 

Jimin studied you for a moment. Without the amusement in his gaze, you had to stop yourself from shifting uncomfortably. His eyes could be so… intense. 

You had a feeling that your words had surprised him, as the hostile environment seemed to dampen for a moment. Jimin looked like he was at a crossroad, unsure if he wanted to share what was truly on his mind or simply take his chances and kill you on the spot. You waited patiently, curious to have the hurricane of questions in your mind answered. 

But when the silence continued to stretch, you realised that Jimin had decided to adopt your preferred method of communication. It was clear now that he had opted to leave you in the dark instead, refusing to reveal any kind of information to you. You felt a pang of annoyance hit your chest as you realised the burden of research would, once again, fall on your shoulders. 

You took another step towards the edge of the roof, Jimin’s eyes still focused on you. It’s not like you were trying to hide it, because Jimin’s calculating gaze would not allow such a thing. The two of you knew there would be no deaths tonight. You were caught in a stalemate, one you would have left a while ago under normal circumstances, but nothing about Jimin was normal and maybe that was why you had stayed a lot longer than you should have. 

But even though he looked almost devilish under the moonlight in those sinfully sultry clothes, holding tempting answers to questions he would never answer, you knew you couldn’t stay any longer. This night was over. There was nothing left here for you. 

The roof’s edge brushed against your backside as you continued to aim your gun at Jimin’s chest, your gaze just as focused as his. You watched his expression soften for a moment before he spoke. 

“When you figure it out, you’ll know where to find me, Y/N L/N.”

You didn’t know how he knew your name. You didn’t know what he wanted you to figure out. You didn’t know where you would find him, or if you would even want to find him after you figured out whatever you needed to. But you didn’t question it. A gut feeling told you that once you started searching, you’d be able to figure things out easy enough. All you had to do was get out of here so that you could let your curiosity do its thing. 

So when you were finally balancing on the edge of the roof, taking Jimin’s gaze into your own, it wasn’t at all abnormal when you felt the drop of the fall in your stomach. 

What was abnormal was the butterflies that continued to flutter even after you had landed on the pavement of the street.

The butterflies that continued to flutter even after you had made it safely back to your home.

Chapter 1: Pilot

Summary: Elitist Academy is exactly what it sounds like: an academy that focuses on teaching students from elite classes of the magic community. When Y/N is thrown into the academy to learn alongside 8 men, she realises she’ll have to learn to work with them, whether she likes it or not.

Pairing: Reader x OT7 (Choose Your Own)

Genre: Magic School au, mystery, angst

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: domestic abuse, additional warnings might be added as story progresses

University sucked. 

It hadn’t even started yet, but you could already tell what your fate at this new school would be. You stood in the front courtyard, staring at the building in front of you while its gleaming 24-karat gold gates blocked you from making the escape you so desperately desired. An enormous clocktower cast a shadow on your form, embellished to the tip with rich architecture and topped with a long, probably gold, spire. Even the grass you stood on was lush and cut to perfection, no blemish in sight. 

You weren’t a fan. 

Everything in your vicinity screamed of pride, yet you saw nothing to be proud of. Just the elite trying to flaunt their wealth in each other’s faces, desperate to be seen as the most affluent. You’d witnessed this game so much growing up, that the glittering golds and sparkling reds did nothing to faze you anymore. 

What you truly wished for was to be anywhere but here, in this courtyard full of students you would have to learn alongside starting today. Coming to this school was no decision of your own and you hated being forced into things. 

But… a part of you couldn’t help thinking that maybe this was better. You knew that ultimately it was your tragic mood that was dampening your outlook on this school and, although it wasn’t exactly the best place in the world for you, it was definitely better than what you had before. Maybe you should be grateful for being thrown here, a place that finally allowed you to get away from-

“Hah!”

Your thoughts came to a sudden halt as you heard the sound of a new commotion brewing amongst a small group of students. At first, you thought they were just noisily playing around, but once you took in the scene properly, you realised that you were wrong. 

A group of about three students stood a few metres away from you, laughing altogether as they pointed at something on the ground. They all wore the same uniform as the one you were wearing, with a mixture of maroon, brown, and off-white topped off with a gold emblem in the shape of the academy’s logo pinned to their chest. 

When your gaze dropped, you noticed a guy lying on the floor between them, his arms propping himself into a sitting position as his eyes stayed fixed on the floor. He was also in the academy’s uniform, with a light brown fringe that did a poor job of hiding a pair of bright purple eyes. The rest of his hair was covered by a maroon beanie, as if he were trying to hide as much of himself as possible. Aside from that, you could only make out the slope of his nose and plush lips. 

You waited for the guy, who had clearly been pushed to the ground, to get back up and give them a piece of his mind. But instead he stayed put, with his head held low and gaze straying from the eyes of the group of three towering over him. His apparent shyness only made the students laugh more as they realised he probably wasn’t going to retaliate. 

The sigh that escaped your lips was heavy. You’d think university-aged students would act a little more mature and not like high school bullies who shoved kids in lockers for fun. But then again, these kids were the children of the elite and wealthy. It’s not like they’d be getting taught any great lessons from their families…

You debated if you should step in and tell them off. The guy didn’t seem like he was going to start defending himself and the students clearly weren’t going to stop after realising that. Everyone else seemed engrossed in their own conversations as they waited for the first class’ bell to go off. Which left you as his only hope. 

If you were being entirely honest with yourself, you didn’t want to. People like him deserved a little misery from time to time and, if he wasn't even going to stand up for himself, why should you?

But being a bystander would only make you as bad as them, and as annoyed as you were by the guy, you didn’t want to be a bully. 

Reluctantly, you took a step towards them. The student closest to you was a girl, clearly a foreigner, with long blonde hair and light greyish-brown eyes. She stood a step behind a guy with dark brown hair, while another boy with lighter brown hair laughed alongside him. 

You decided to confront the dark-haired guy. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Despite your gaze, which had been focused on the guy, the girl stepped forward, directing her haughty eyes at you. 

“Whatever I want? Who the hell are you?” She jabbed, as if you were some fly that needed to be swatted. 

You couldn’t help but grimace. You didn’t want to start a fight with her considering it was clearly the guy that had pushed purple-eyes to the ground. But she seemed keen on being the one to answer, while the other two simply stared at both you and her in amusement. 

Or at least the light-haired guy was staring at the drama in amusement. The dark-haired one was staring at you differently, with his eyebrows pulled together and his gaze scanning your face. You couldn’t understand why he was staring at you so intently, as if he was confused or trying to remember something.

But before you could ask him about it, the guy’s eyes suddenly widened as if something had just struck him. You watched him sputter in disbelief, and then distress. 

“Wait… aren’t you…?”

He quickly turned towards the girl beside him, not even bothering to finish his sentence, “Hannah, we need to leave.”

“What?!” she screeched incredulously, “you’re going to let this stuck up brat tell us what to do?! You’re such a sorry excuse for a man, Jihoon!”

Despite the jab, Jihoon grabbed her arm, bowing towards you in the process.

“We are so sorry about this, please forgive us.”

He grabbed the other guy too and started dragging them both away, bickering relentlessly with a livid Hannah. 

“What the hell, Jihoon?! What are you, a coward?!”

“Shut up! Do you know who she is?! She could ruin our lives, idiot!”

“She’s just another student! What the hell could she possibly do?!”

“No Hannah… she’s-”

You watched the three disappear into the crowds of students milling around while you listened to their voices dissolve into the unintelligible conversations swimming through the courtyard. That left you and purple-eyes, whose position still hadn’t changed one bit despite the threat’s disappearance. 

“Did they hurt you anywhere?” You asked reluctantly, voice void of any real compassion.

Instead of answering, he wordlessly pushed himself off the floor, towering over you when he stood. His gaze stayed on the ground while his broad shoulders hunched slightly, as if he were trying to make himself smaller than he was. But even after a few seconds passed, his lips didn’t open. He simply continued to stare at the ground.

“Seriously?” You couldn’t help after a few beats of silence, “I just helped you and you’re not even going to say anything?”

You weren’t exactly expecting him to throw you a party and kiss the floor you walk on, you would hate to have that from him anyway, but not even a simple thank you? Was he really just going to stand there and ignore your presence?

Apparently so. He continued to stare at the ground, almost looking like he wanted it to swallow him whole. 

You scoffed, mostly unsurprised by his lack of decency. Every day you were reminded that they were all the same, every last one of them. So were you really expecting him to be any different? You should have never involved yourself in the first place. Just standing here now was clearly a waste of your time. 

So instead you turned on your heel and walked away, both grateful and annoyed when the sound of the bell rang across the courtyard.

He continued to stand in the same spot as he watched you leave angrily, guilt eating away at him with every step you took.

I’m sorry, he thought.

I’m so so sorry.

-

-

-

“Welcome to History of Magic 101. My name is Ms. Kari and I will be this year’s Professor.”

Ms. Kari continued to introduce herself to the class as you sat quietly in the lecture hall. She was dressed as professionally as a Professor would, with a knee-length black coat over a light grey knitted sweater, black dress pants, and black slip-on shoes. She let her blonde mid-length hair fall freely on her shoulders while her greyish-green eyes were framed by a pair of silver-wired glasses. It was clear she was a foreigner. 

Of course you knew all foreigners weren’t related, but distantly you still wondered if she was related to Hannah. 

The first day of classes were obviously filled with long and boring introductions, ones that you barely paid any interest to. So instead you let your gaze roam around the large hall, taking in the multiple students sitting alongside you curiously. There weren’t many, only around 20 from what you could guess. 

As you continued to check out the students, you caught sight of the guy from earlier, his maroon beanie standing out in the sea of varying hair colours. The view of his face was enough to make your blood simmer once again, so you quickly turned to the other side of the class. 

Unfortunately, that proved to be a worse decision as a more familiar face caught your attention. 

Kim Namjoon. 

You could recognise that dirty blonde hair, and even dirtier smirk, anywhere. His father was a good friend of your dad’s, so you were pretty well-acquainted at this point. The dude had the biggest god-complex you’d ever encountered and was an absolute sore to look at. Sure his face was half-decent, but the dirty blonde comb-over fade was like the cherry on top to his disaster of a personality. 

He seemed to be paying attention to the lecture intently as he fervently scribbled down the Professor’s words into a thick notebook. You wanted to laugh at his concentration. Did he really think focusing on an introductory lecture was going to help him in any way? How stupid of him.

“So in that case, can I get two volunteers? Don’t be shy, it’s only for a fun activity. I promise,” you caught the Professor ask near the end of her introduction.

You weren’t surprised when you watched Namjoon’s arm raise instantly. He may have been an arrogant jerk, but he was also the biggest suckup you’d ever met. You were sure it was why your father loved him so much. 

“Wonderful! Anyone else?” Professor Kari exclaimed, scanning the group of students. 

As annoying as goody-two-shoes here was… the teacher would definitely appreciate active participation on the first day of school. And as conflicted as you were about this place, you still had to do well here. 

So you raised your hand, earning a pleased smile from the Professor. 

“I’m so glad to see such initiative in the first year,” she exclaimed, “alright, please make your way onto the podium and face each other.”

You and Namjoon did as you were told, standing in front of each other as the Professor walked back to her desk and opened the drawer. Namjoon’s calculating gaze fell on you as he faced you with pure confidence. You could even see a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. 

“Hey Y/N,” he finally said in that conceited voice he always used, “it’s been a while.”

God was he annoying… But you smiled at the chance to destroy his ego. 

The Professor walked back from her desk, placing a big red button between the two of you. It hovered in the air, as if there were an invisible table under it. No doubt the doings of some kind of magic. 

“Now the activity is quite simple,” she explained, her eyes darting to the wall clock for a moment, “I will ask three simple questions related to the history of magic. Whoever presses the button first gets to answer the question and whoever answers two questions correctly gets extra credit. Is that understood?”

The two of you nodded eagerly as you felt the air fill with competitive tension. The rest of the students looked just as eager, focusing intently on the two of you as they wondered who of the pair would grab the winner’s title. 

“First question,” the Professor began, “how many times has the magic community been discovered by non-magic users?”

A smirk tugged at your lips as you managed to smash the button first, loving the way Namjoon’s expression immediately morphed into frustration.

“In the past, the magic community has been discovered three times: once in 1782, then again in 1820, and then lastly in 1999. Each time, the magic community was able to purge the memories of the non-magic users to make sure the magic community remained a secret once again.”

The Professor's eyes lit up at your explanation, “that’s correct! I’m impressed that you know the dates as well!”

A small smirk played at your lips as you stared smugly at Namjoon, who simply rolled his eyes in response. Professor Kari, completely oblivious to your charades, continued.

“Moving onto the next question: when was the famous Tree of Life first discovered?” She asked. 

Your hand moved rapidly, only to stall when Namjoon’s fist slammed onto the button before you could. It was his turn to smirk now, and he wasted no time in sending one your way. 

“The Tree of Life is known to be an enormous source of magic and was discovered by Park Bogum in 1738.” he answered quickly. He didn’t need any confirmation as to whether he was right or not, he was already well aware of his accuracy.

“I must say, my expectations for this class have definitely risen because of the two of you. I wasn’t expecting such precise answers,” she said, a little surprised, “but with the class almost ending, we should probably move onto the last question.”

The last question… you had to get this one if you wanted to win against Namjoon because there was no way you were going to lose to this smug bastard. His face revealed equal determination to yours, though his may have been just slightly placated by his arrogance. You bet he didn’t even think he could lose, much less was going to. 

Your classmates all leaned forward in their seats, eager to discover who would break the tie despite the fact that you barely even knew them. The tension had clearly thickened, and only one of you would be leaving this place with bragging rights. 

“When was Elitist Academy created, and for what reason?”

<< intro || masterlist || next chapter >>

About Me

| Name: :) | Age: One year older than last year :)) | Birthday: It's the same as the day I was born :))) | Where I'm From: my mother :)))) --> do you hate me yet or do I have to keep going?

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To be honest I'm way too busy to be having an account like this, but it is what it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Chapter 3: Princess

Summary: Elitist Academy is exactly what it sounds like: an academy that focuses on teaching students from elite classes of the magic community. When Y/N is thrown into the academy to learn alongside 8 men, she realises she’ll have to learn to work with them, whether she likes it or not.

Pairing: Reader x OT7 (Choose Your Own)

Genre: Magic School au, mystery, angst

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: domestic abuse, additional warnings might be added as story progresses

“Dude! What are you doing?!”

“Let go of her! What are you a creep?”

“Come on man, why are you-”

“Stop it! I’m not doing anything to her!”

What was going on?

You groaned at the loud voices surrounding you, the sound hurting your ears as you managed to open your eyes slowly. But when you were met with a midnight blue sky, you bolted upwards with a start, gaze immediately scanning the area around you. You were sitting on the ground of what seemed like a forest, sparsely filled with large coniferous trees that reached for the glittering stars. Small animals flitted through their branches in the dark, seeming more like mere wisps of shadows. Soft green grass brushed against the palms of your hands while you squinted, trying to figure out if there was anything else lurking in the dark. 

Anything that you should actually be worried about.

“Oh look, she’s awake.”

You turned towards the sound of the voice to find a man towering over you with his thick arms crossed over his chest. His hair was blonde, and long enough for him to manage a part of it into a short ponytail while the rest of it fell to frame his face and neck. His eyes were a deep green colour that seemed to practically glow in the darkness of the night. Your gaze also caught onto two silver cross earrings dangling from his ears. 

Offhandedly you thought he looked like a bunny. 

He was dressed in the Elitist Academy uniform, a clear sign that he was also a student. The only thing that wasn’t clear at the moment was what was going on?

“Glad to see you’re alive sleeping beauty,” he spoke again. You caught slight amusement in his tone, “for a second we thought that Mr. Creep here really killed you.”

Your gaze followed his to another man that you hadn’t noticed had been standing beside you this entire time. His hair was the same shade as the first man that had spoken, but his was a little longer and messily collected into a hair tie, only a single strand free to frame his face. He was also dressed in a uniform, its colours darkened under the night sky. 

Your eyes widened slightly when you leaned forward to catch a glimpse of his face. A black eyepatch hid one of his eyes, but the intense blue of the other was enough to make up for it. It was like a feline’s eye: sharp and calculating. 

Despite the accusation, eyepatch guy remained standing silently with his arms crossed over his chest. 

As your gaze drifted around the forest, you realised that there were a lot more people present that you hadn’t noticed. You recognised Namjoon leaning against a tree, observing everyone closely from afar, while Hoseok and Taehyung stood watching you and cross-earrings guy. Jimin stood beside them with the guy you had saved from being bullied earlier huddled behind him despite being taller. 

You moved to speak but paused when you realised a cloth had been tightly wrapped over your mouth, preventing you from saying even a word. Okay… this did not look good. You were alone, with seven men, in a forest in what seemed like the middle of the night. As the alarms started blaring in your head you pushed yourself off the ground, reaching to remove the cloth, only for a firm hand to grab your wrist. 

“That stays on for now,” eyepatch said, voice solid and gaze unyielding. 

“You could at least try to sound less perverted,” cross-earrings snorted, though his gaze was fixed on eyepatch’s grip on your wrist. 

Eyepatch ignored him just like he had done earlier, not even sparing a glance his way, as he gave you a hard look. The message behind said look was clear: obey me.

With a scoff, you tried to snatch your wrist back, but his hold on you didn’t budge. All you could do was send him a withering glare as you fought his grip, trying to speak through the cloth despite how muffled your voice came out because of it. Maybe a small part of you was scared too considering the situation, but you pushed that fear from your mind. You weren’t going to let any of them hurt you. 

You weren’t going to let any of them hurt you. 

Eyepatch frowned when you finally managed to push him backwards. It was barely a step, but it was enough to get him to realise you weren’t going to back down. He sighed frustratedly, clearly irritated by your lack of compliance. But he was stupid if he thought you were just going to blindly let someone like him keep you here in a dark forest with a gag.

“Fine,” he relented after a moment, finally coming to terms with the fact that you weren’t really the docile type, “but only if you don’t use it.”

That made you pause. 

“Use what…?” You heard Hoseok mutter, clearly confused. Everyone else’s face mirrored his, equally perplexed. Except for Namjoon, of course. 

If glares could kill, eyepatch would have been completely decimated by now. You were sick of him trying to tell you what to do, who did he even think he was? However, you were also just as sick of having your ability to speak taken away from you. 

So you nodded slowly, still irritated by his audacity.

Even then eyepatch seemed to hesitate for a moment before he reached over and removed the piece of cloth. 

“It was you wasn’t it?” You said immediately, “you’re the one that knocked Jimin and I out. Why?”

You couldn’t remember much after the hit you took to your head, but the blurry images of the blonde man standing over you before you passed out seemed to resemble eyepatch greatly. 

“Don’t bother,” cross-earrings said lazily, “we’ve been trying to get answers out of him for an hour.”

“And I deeply apologise for his lack of communication,” a voice suddenly explained from behind the group, “I made Yoongi promise to let me explain everything.”

The group whirled around to look behind them, their eyes widening at the man standing before them before quickly straightening themselves. 

Standing in the centre of a clearing between the trees was Principal Park, the principal of Elitist Academy. He was a man of average height, with short brown hair and a big face. He looked stoic as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back and head held high, with a posh black suit seemingly ironed to perfection. 

“I also apologise for the seemingly drastic measures,” he continued, holding the gaze of each and every one of you, “I’m sure you all must be terribly confused.”

“I promise that none of you are in trouble, nor will any of you be harmed. I simply wished to speak to the eight of you privately as this matter does not concern the rest of the student body.”

Your confused expression mirrored the rest of the group’s expressions. Except for eyepa- Yoongi. He seemed completely unsurprised by the turn of events. But then again, he was the one that had brought you all here in the first place. 

“As you are all aware, Elitist Academy is an academy that was created for the magic society’s upper class, for the sons and daughters born into power and riches so that they may be taught humility, gratitude, and responsibility.”

Principal Park’s gaze swept over you all once more, “but you all are a different type of upper class. You are the elite of the elite.”

You noticed his gaze fall on you during the last sentence. 

Of course…

“When I think of the future of this country, as well as the future of magic, I see the eight of you leading us, hopefully, to success.”

“But in order for such an achievement, you must be provided with training of the highest quality. You must be taught the intricacies of how to be a leader and how to handle the responsibilities that come with it. Which is why you all will be placed in a separate curriculum in comparison to the rest of the students. From now on, your classes will be specialised to prepare you for your distinct future roles.”

“Wait,” you blurted out suddenly, a sinking feeling in your chest. Principal Park’s gaze landed on you, “you’re saying they’ll be the only ones in my class for the rest of our degree? No one else?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Your chest dropped at the confirmation as your gaze reluctantly scanned the boys around you once again. This couldn’t be happening… You couldn’t be stuck with seven men for the rest of your degree. 

Oblivious to your deteriorating thoughts, Principal Park turned back to the group once again.

“All of you have travelled from different regions of the country, away from your homes and families to receive the finest education available. In a way, you will only have each other during your years here at Elitist Academy. So I hope you find comfort in each other.”

In the midst of your dread, you couldn’t help but catch onto a hint of nostalgia behind his words. But you scoffed inwardly at the thought.

Comfort? In them?

“Well, I suppose I will let you introduce yourselves to each other now, but it is already past midnight,” he said, “I wouldn’t advise you to stay out for too long at this hour.”

The eight of you watched Principal Park turn around and walk deeper into the clearing, hands still clasped behind his back during his confident strides. When he paused, you didn’t have enough time to shield your eyes as a flash of bright light blinded you for a moment. 

It was only when the light had receded when you noticed that the clearing had disappeared, replaced by the entirety of the academy now standing before him. Your eyes widened, wondering what kind of magic had made the school appear in front of you in the blink of an eye. 

“Also,” Principal Park added, back still facing the eight of you, “I did not have Yoongi kidnap you all without reason. It was a lesson to show you that even within the academy you are not fully safe. Always remain vigilant.” 

He turned his head to look each and every one of you in the eye one last time, “it was frightening just how easy it was for Yoongi to capture you all.”

With those comforting words, he turned around once again and walked back to the academy, leaving the eight of you stunned to silence in front of its gates. 

The other’s were probably stunned by the implication that there may be people out to get you even within the academy’s walls, but your silence was for a completely different reason.

The problem… was them.

Principal Park had just thrown you into a class full of men like it was nothing. Not even one girl in the class to make things at least slightly more tolerable. How could he have done it so casually, too?

You could almost hear the laughs of whoever controlled your fate.

“Well, the principal did have a point. We might as well introduce ourselves if we’re going to be stuck with each other from now on,” Namjoon spoke first, to your surprise.

“You make a valid point,” cross-earrings agreed immediately, “I’m Jeon Jungkook, and I can tell when people are lying.”

Your mind, which had been drifting far from the conversation, was suddenly reeled in by Jungkook’s words. They were going to reveal their abilities? Just like that?

“I’m Park Jimin,” your roommate said next, “I can… um, make people feel good?”

Jungkook smirked. 

“Anyone can do that with the right skills.”

Jimin, clearly amused, rolled his eyes, “I obviously didn’t mean it like that. Here, let me show you.”

He walked up to Jungkook and placed his hand on his shoulder, earning a confused expression from Jungkook.

“Dude, what the hell? Don’t touch m-”

You watched Jungkook suddenly quiet, pupils dilating as a calm expression suddenly spread through his features. His lips pulled into an almost dream-like smile. 

“Woah,” he breathed, his voice almost sounding like he was in a daze, “I feel so… calm, and at peace.”

A breathy laugh escaped his lips as his gaze jumped from one thing to another joyously, seemingly seeing his surroundings in a new light, “this is amazing.”

But the serenity in his composure dropped the second Jimin removed his hand from Jungkook’s shoulder. He blinked a few times, as if waking up from a dream, before straightening himself out once again. 

“That’s what I meant,” Jimin explained, “I can control how good I want a person to feel. I can even go as far as making a person drunk on happiness.”

“I have never wanted to make a dirty joke more badly in my entire life.”

Hoseok scratched his head as he seemed to ponder on something, “I’ve heard that Principal Park’s son has the same ability…”

“That’s because I am his son,” Jimin confirmed, turning to Hoseok.

Jungkook gasped, “you’re Principal Park’s son? Wait! You have to tell me, is it true you have an evil twin? I’ve heard so many rumours about it! And I swear I saw this guy that looked just like you in class earlier!”

“Okay,” Namjoon intervened with a judgy eyebrow raised, “I think we’re getting off topic. Would anyone else like to introduce themself?”

“I’m Jung Hoseok,” Hoseok said, “my ability is healing. Pretty basic, I know, but very useful.”

Then he pointed to Taehyung, who was standing silently behind his shoulder, “the one behind me is Taehyung, he can control ice and frost. He’s not very talkative to strangers so don’t mind him.”

So that’s why you had frost on your arms when they had spoken to you earlier today.

“There seems to be a lot of quiet ones amongst us,” Jungkook teased, sending a glance towards you. But at that moment, Jimin spoke up, almost apologetically.

“Actually my brother can’t really help it,” he said, pointing towards the guy that had gotten bullied this morning. He had been practically hiding behind Jimin the entire time you all were here, “this is Kim Seokjin, my brother. He has a speech disability.”

“Wait, what?” You blurted out before you could stop yourself.

“Well who would have thought, she actually speaks!” Jungkook said playfully. 

“He lost his ability to speak when he was younger,” Jimin explained, “not even the magic healers could find a way to help him speak again.”

The guy that you had saved from being bullied earlier… was mute? No wonder he didn’t say anything after. He couldn’t have, even if he wanted to. 

It made you feel kind of… bad, for blowing up on him. 

“That’s weird,” Hoseok spoke up, “magic can usually heal physical illnesses like that.”

“The healers found it weird too, but there was still nothing they could do about it,” Jimin said, but then an edge appeared in his voice, “but it doesn’t matter because either way there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s still my brother, whether he can speak or not.”

He looked around the group, as if daring anyone to object.

“Relax Jimin,” Namjoon said, “I don’t think anyone would stoop that low as to bully someone for that reason.”

You snorted at his statement, earning an odd look from Namjoon. School hadn’t even started yet when you had found Seokjin getting bullied by a bunch of students. 

“That guy is right,” Jungkook said, “you don’t have to worry about that from us at least. What’s his ability though?”

“He, um,” Jimin hesitated.

“He doesn’t have one.”

Everyone’s gaze snapped to him in surprise as Jimin’s words rendered them speechless. 

One of the major reasons why Principal Park had excluded all of you from the rest of the students was because you came from special families. These families, unlike the rest of the magic users, were special because they had a history of being born with unique abilities. Normal magic users couldn’t be born with those abilities, nor could they acquire them in their lives. They would always be dependent on a wand in order to use magic. But you all, coming from special families, didn’t need a wand to perform magic and were each born with unique abilities that made you “stronger” than the rest. 

The thing that was so shocking was that Seokjin was a part of a special family and didn’t have a special ability. You don’t think you’ve ever heard of a child from a special family being born without some kind of an ability. It was honestly the first time hearing anything like this for you and, judging from the others’ expressions, they were thinking the same. 

Namjoon cleared his throat, clearly ready to change the subject, “anyways, my name is Namjoon. My ability is a little complex to explain to others so, in a nutshell, let’s just say I’m extraordinarily smart.”

Jungkook crossed his arms over his chest with a frown, “did he just call us dumb?”

“That question in itself proves my point,” Namjoon deadpanned. 

He then turned towards Yoongi, who had been standing to the side quietly with his arms crossed over his chest the entire time, “what about you?”

Yoongi just gave him a blank stare before stating, “Min Yoongi.”

The rest of you waited for him to continue, but it only stretched the silence. 

Guess not everyone was willing to share their ability…

When the guys had given up on him, their gaze then fell on you. It took you a moment of silence to realise they were waiting for you to speak. They had all happily given their names and abilities to bond in that way guys seemed to do easily. 

And now they were expecting you to do the same to join the club. 

But you didn’t want to be part of this boys club, because, ultimately, it didn’t matter if they had a smile on their face or an expression that told you they didn’t care. It didn’t matter if they were cold or friendly. Shy or confident. 

All men were the same. 

And you would much rather go through this school year alone than risk being hurt by them. 

“Yeah, this isn’t happening,” you finally said, tone flat, “I want nothing to do with any of you or this family.”

You turned around, starting to walk back to the academy.

“Just leave me alone.”

The boys all watched you disappear behind giant double doors that led straight into the residences. 

“I’m getting a sense of deja vu right now,” Hoseok mumbled, watching the double doors close shut. 

Jimin nodded in agreement, “you’re telling me.”

Namjoon couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “god, she’s so predictable.”

“You know her?” Jungkook asked.

“Her name is Han Y/N,” Namjoon explained, “our father’s are close friends, so we practically grew up with each other.”

“Didn’t seem like that to me,” Taehyung said, voice as icy as his gaze. Namjoon frowned, slightly annoyed by his attitude.

“I said we grew up together, not that we were childhood besties. Besides, Y/N would never be friends with someone like me.”

“Because of your arrogance?” Jungkook asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Because I’m a man.”

Everyone’s brows raised at his words, partly surprised and partly confused by his answer. 

“What?” Hoseok finally asked. 

“Y/N hates men,” Namjoon explained, “it’s like her quirk I suppose. She’ll be the kindest and most caring person until a man shows up. Then she’ll be about as caring as a brick wall.”

Seokjin shifted unnoticeably behind Jimin, letting his gaze drift to the floor.

She wasn’t the nicest, but… she still stood up for me against those bullies, he thought, she can’t be that bad.

“It’s why she didn’t even bother staying here to get to know you guys.” 

“Did something happen to her that she’s like that?” Jimin wondered out loud, surprised by the revelation, “there’s no way it’s for no reason.” 

Namjoon shrugged, “if there is a reason I don’t know it. She’s been like that ever since I met her.”

“What does it even matter?” Taehyung said, growing tired of the conversation, “she’s just a little girl that throws a tantrum every time she sees a man.”

“Little girl or not, she’s anything but harmless.”

The boys all gave Namjoon a questioning look, urging him to explain the ominous comment. 

“I’ll tell you her ability, but only because I’m warming up to you guys,” he said, “she can command anyone to do anything she wants. As long as she says it, and you hear it, you’ll have to do it. Even if you die trying.”

The others’ eyes widened, slightly horrified by just how bad a power like that can be for them. But Jungkook’s eyes were widened for an entirely different reason. 

“Wait…” he said slowly, turning to Yoongi, “that’s why you gagged her? Because you knew about her ability?”

“Got any other assumptions you want to make about me, mafia boy?”

Jungkook chuckled sheepishly, “oops.”

Yoongi then turned to the others, “I, for one, think she's smart for not wanting to waste her time here.”

“Should’ve left when she did,” he muttered under his breath before turning around and making his way back to the academy. 

“Isn’t he a treat?” Jungkook said sarcastically, watching Yoongi disappear behind the double doors of the residence. 

“Yeah,” Namjoon agreed, studying Jungkook, “but why did he call you ‘mafia boy’?”

Jungkook just raised an eyebrow, “wouldn’t you like to know, porcupine head.”

“Anyways,” he said, clapping his hands, “it looks like this party's over. I’ll see you guys later.”

The last four boys watched Jungkook take the same route Yoongi had.

“I agree,” Jimin finally said, “it would be best to call it a night considering how late it is. I’m sure Y/N will warm up to us eventually.”

“I’m sure as well,” Hoseok said, a hopeful smile on his face, “we’ll be studying together for an entire degree. Her view of us will have to change over time!”

“Good luck with that,” Namjoon snorted. For as long as he’d known you, you’d always been set on blocking yourself from every man you met. Namjoon had his own theories on why that was, but he’d never actually been able to pinpoint the exact cause. 

He met the hopeful gazes of Jimin and Hoseok.

“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

-

-

-

You walked through the empty hallway towards the dorms, fuming at the recent turn of events. Your entire life you’ve spent trying to avoid men like the plague and yet life just had a way of making sure you were stuck with them regardless. 

Namjoon’s presence was especially annoying, like a rotten cherry on top of a rotting cake. You bet he’s been waiting for your downfall ever since he stepped foot in this school, that arrogant bastard. You’ll never give him that satisfaction, even if it’s the last thing you do. 

The sound of muffled footsteps behind you had you pausing in the centre of the corridor. 

Did one of the guys really decide to follow you after you left? 

You had been hoping Namjoon would tell them about your ability and that would be enough to scare them off. But it seemed that you were mistaken. 

Typical men. Too busy listening to their ego than to reason. 

You turned around, only to find the hallway completely empty. With furrowed brows, you slowly made your way to the end of the hallway.

Was this some sort of elaborate prank? The guys hadn’t really seemed like the type, except for maybe Jungkook you supposed. He seemed to have an air of mischief around him. 

What exactly was going on?

Another muffled sound reverberated around the hallway, as if someone had clanged something metal against a hard surface. It took you a second to realise that the sounds were muffled because they had been coming from the main hall, so you pushed against the large double doors to enter it. 

Your eyes widened at the scene. Under the moonlight that was entering through the stained glass ceiling above, the pink petals of the Tree of Life glowed a mystic violet colour. The glow spread throughout the dark hall, lighting it up beautifully. 

But right in front of the stone barrier encasing the tree’s base was a figure hunched over on the floor, wrapped in the academy uniform. The person mostly had their back to you from what you could make out in the hazily moonlit hall. 

You wasted no time in pulling out your wand and aiming at them. Compared to most students, you were already quite skilled with magic, so hopefully it would be enough to deal with whoever this was. 

“Hey, what are you doing?” You asked after taking a few steps towards the person you were starting to realise was a boy. When you watched him pause, you tightened your grip on the wand, “who are you?”

Then he stood.

And your eyes widened in confusion. 

It was Jimin. The same plump lips, small nose, and sharp jaw. But… it wasn’t him, because the man standing before you had eyes that were sharp… and red. A deep red that reminded you of blood. It was fitting even, since his gaze felt more like a knife slowly slicing into your skin, rather than the warmth that seemed to always accompany Jimin’s soft gaze. His hair was a deep purple, messily parted at the side. 

“Jimin…?” You said, uncertainly. Your eyes were saying that this was clearly Jimin standing before you, but your mind…

Your mind was screaming anything but him.

“Tsk,” Jimin said, an arrogant tilt to his head as he scanned you callously. Watching his mannerisms only grew your uncertainty even more. 

“Guess again, princess.”

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