Jimin twiddled his thumbs as he sat in the hotel lobby, waiting for Taehyung to return from making his call to the other Sensor, whom he hoped would be able to help Jimin tap into his own set of apparently dormant tracking skills. The older man was evidently not allowed to listen in on this conversation, however, as Taehyung had told him to stay there while the latter went up to his room.

“It could get a little ugly,” Taehyung had warned as the elevator doors closed, separating the two men and leaving Jimin behind in the messily decorated front room.

Now, Jimin found himself growing more and more paranoid with every passing second. Was that a bellhop or a shapeshifter? An unhappy old lady or a wicked, disgruntled witch? Was there a mind reading chupacabra in her suitcase? Jimin certainly hoped not, because his own thoughts were an absolute mess, and he didn’t want anyone listening in on them right now - bloodsucking monster or otherwise.

His tumultuous mental cartwheels were interrupted by his own cellphone, which started ringing loudly from its place in Jimin’s back pocket. The frowning elderly woman shot him a glaring look, and Jimin scrambled to answer the phone, silently begging her to forgive the blaring noise.

Please don’t turn me into a newt.

“Hello?”

Jimin hadn’t bothered to look at the caller ID on his phone before accepting the call, but he was pleased to discover that it was Yoongi - probably calling to check up on his younger friend after the latter’s minor freak-out last night.

“Jimin, it’s me,” the older man said sharply. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling your house phone all morning.”

Jimin glanced at the clock above the check-in desk, and saw that it was just after 9AM.

“Are you okay?” Yoongi continued to fret. “You seemed pretty scared last night; I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get eaten by evil monsters or anything.”

Yoongi’s tone had become jovial and teasing, but Jimin didn’t find the idea of getting chewed on by a demonic dog very funny at all. He knew that Yoongi was waiting to hear that everything was okay, but the younger man didn’t know what to tell him that was both reassuring and the honest truth.

“Uhhh…”

“Jimin, are you alright?” Yoongi repeated. “I mean, like, really alright.”

Great. Now he thinks I’m crazy.

“Yes,” blurted Jimin quickly. “I’m fine; I promise. I just… had a really weird dream last night. But everything’s okay now. I think you were right; I just watched one too many scary movies yesterday.”

Jimin laughed nervously. Once he started lying, it was always hard to stop, and he often had to keep himself from talking in circles lest he reveal his own deception. Yoongi was close to him, and knew this from experience, but Jimin still hoped that the older man would accept his odd behavior as yet another sign that he had simply scared himself by watching horror films.

✧✧✧

Before Yoongi even got a chance to respond, there was a sharp beep in Jimin’s ear.

“Crap; that’s my phone,” mumbled Yoongi. “I have another call coming through. I have to let you go, but if you need anything, please call me, okay? I don’t want you going crazy ’cause of some lame ghost movie.”

Jimin chuckled and promised that he would before placing the cellphone on the table in front of him.

He moaned out loud, earning him another disapproving glance from the old lady on the other side of the lobby. Too tired and confused to waste energy being embarrassed, Jimin ignored her as he buried his head in his hands and sighed. Truthfully, the young man didn’t know if he was alright or not - but he tended to think that he wasn’t, considering he had just discovered that monsters were real, he was supposed to be able to lead other people to them using nothing but his mind, and the hellhound that had visited him last night was apparently capable of killing him if he did so much as make eye contact with it one more time.

Jimin rested his head on the table in front of him, and hoped that Taehyung would get back soon so he could at least try to get a better idea of what was going on.

✧✧✧

It was about twenty minutes later when Taehyung finally returned. His clothes were clean and wrinkle-free, and he looked like he had taken a shower since leaving Jimin alone in the lobby. The frazzled monster hunter actually cleaned up quite nicely, and the faint scent of piña coladas wafted up to Jimin’s nose as the orange-haired man took a seat across from him.

“Took you long enough,” scoffed Jimin as he crossed his arms.

“Sorry,” apologized Taehyung hastily. “But I have some good news. I convinced another Sensor to help me train you to track down the hellhounds!”

Taehyung sounded excited as always, but Jimin wasn’t feeling nearly as enthusiastic. He wasn’t even sure whether or not he wanted to be here, but at the same time he didn’t see how he could escape any of it if he really was a Sensor. Jimin didn’t view himself as likely to be very helpful to Taehyung on the younger man’s quest to find the monsters he was looking for, but if trying meant that he would finally get some answers about what the thing was that had invaded his bedroom last night, then Jimin was willing to give it his best shot.

Taehyung seemed to sense that the older man was feeling apprehensive, because he reached across the table to put a hand on the latter’s slumped, exhausted shoulder.

“I know this is probably a lot for you to take in,” he said as he looked into Jimin’s tired eyes, “but just think how cool it will be to finally learn how to use your powers!”

The old woman stared at Taehyung as if he had three heads, so the animated young man lowered his voice as he kept trying to reassure his companion.

“This isn’t easy for you to hear, Jimin; I understand that,” Taehyung drawled. “But whether or not you like it, it’s happening. I told you that Sensors aren’t beacons for monsters - and it’s true that you don’t necessarily attract the things… - but they’re still out there. Wouldn’t you rather arm yourself with knowledge about the creatures that haunt your nightmares than sit cowering in front of them like a scared little boy?”

Even though Taehyung didn’t always possess the best social skills, Jimin had to admit that the young man was incredibly perceptive. Although Taehyung barely knew the man sitting across from him, he knew just how to manipulate Jimin’s sense of pride to get the elder to agree with him.

“So you see, it’s kind safer for you to stick with me and learn about these things rather than just try to avoid ’em and hope for the best,” smiled Taehyung. “There’s power in taking action against something, don’t you think? Besides, I really do need your help with this project.”

✧✧✧

Jimin was about to ask what was so special about him if he couldn’t even use all his Sensor abilities, but he decided at the last minute to pose a different question.

“How long have you been doing this, Tae? Being a crypto-whatever-you-call-it, I mean.”

Taehyung almost looked like he would explode from happiness at the fact that Jimin had just called him a nickname and asked about his work all in one breath, but he managed to keep it together while he answered.

“Cryptozoologist, but I really prefer the title ‘Monster Hunter,” Taehyung giggled. “It just sounds so much cooler, but you can’t exactly write that on your taxes. Heck, you can barely write ‘cryptozoologist’ without getting some looks.”

“Right, so how long have you been doing it?”

“As a hobby? Close to a decade,” revealed Taehyung proudly. “Professionally, though - more like almost one year.”

“People pay you to do this?” Jimin mused.

“You’d be surprised how much people are willing to give to validate their own fears,” shrugged Taehyung. “People really love seeing their nightmares come to life.”

“So who hired you for the whole hellhound job?”

Jimin was honestly curious now, but Taehyung shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“I’m not allowed to say,” muttered the younger man.

“What? Shouldn’t I be allowed to know if I’m the one finding the goddamn things for you?” Jimin pressed, slightly agitated. “Is it terrorists or something?”

“I’m not allowed to say,” repeated Taehyung firmly.

✧✧✧

There was an awkward silence before Jimin tried to ask another question to break the air of secrecy.

“So, ten years, huh? That’s how long you’ve been a ‘Monster Hunter?’”

“Yep,” twittered Taehyung. “I was a kid who loved to get in trouble and explore abandoned houses - can you believe that?”

Jimin replied that he couldn’t with a sly little smile, but Taehyung didn’t seem to notice as he continued telling his backstory.

“So one day I’m trespassing in this old, empty apartment building, right?” elaborated Taehyung. “And I find this weird-lookin’ reptile sitting in a bathtub in the unit I’m in.”

“Wait. Couldn’t that just have been a regular old lizard?” Jimin interrupted, but Taehyung was ready with an answer.

“That’s what I thought, too, at first - but then it breathed fire.” Taehyung’s eyes lit up as he said this, almost as if the flames themselves were flickering behind his dark irises. “I’d unknowingly stumbled upon what many people throughout history have referred to as a dragon.” He leaned back in his chair as he let the word sink in, looking content with himself and filled with nostalgia. “And the rest is history. I took up an interest in monsters of all kinds, started seeking them out, and here we are now.”

“But wait; I thought you said you needed a Sensor to be able to see those kinds of things?” Jimin protested, confused.

“I said you needed a Sensor for the quote-unquote ‘paranormal’ monsters - not for the ones everybody can see.”

“So who is this other Sensor who’s gonna help us?” asked Jimin “Couldn’t he just help you track down the hellhounds instead?”

“Well, one: where’s your sense of adventure, Jimin?” teased Taehyung. “Don’t you want to learn how to use your powers?”

Jimin still wasn’t entirely sure if he did, but he didn’t say anything and instead stared down at his hands.

“Two: the guy who’s coming is an old friend of mine, and he, uh, isn’t exactly thrilled about helping me.”

Taehyung fidgeted with the hem of his button-down shirt, and Jimin wondered what had happened between him and the anonymous other man to make the latter so against working with the young, eccentric cryptozoologist. Jimin knew that some of the things that came out of Taehyung’s mouth could at times be seen as rude or offensive, but the orange-haired man’s childlike lack of restraint was strangely charming in a way, and usually innocent.

“And three: he’s not able to see the hellhounds because he isn’t powerful enough.”

This final piece of information was news to Jimin. He had assumed that if anything, he himself would be considered the ‘weaker’ Sensor, as he was going to be the student in their little arrangement, and the other man his teacher. He asked Taehyung what he meant by “not powerful enough,” and Taehyung happily obliged to explain.

“Hellhounds are pretty powerful creatures, so of course it takes a powerful Sensor to be able to get a look at ’em.” He paused to scoot closer to Jimin. “Namjoon told us that there are no other available Sensors in this area, which is true, but the other reason I can’t use any of them is because they’re not from strong enough bloodlines.”

Jimin remembered that Taehyung had said yesterday that the former was from one of the best. He wondered why his parents had never mentioned anything about either of them belonging to an apparently very powerful race of invisible-monster sensing superhumans, but he didn’t have time to contemplate that for long before Taehyung started talking again.

“Even the guy who’s coming to meet us here - he’s not from a powerful enough family to be able to help me with the hellhounds. You are. Simple as that.”

Jimin was about to ask another question, but he forgot what it was when Taehyung’s cellphone went off, buzzing loudly against the table as it caught the attention of the disapproving old lady. Taehyung leaned close to inspect his phone with a creased brow before looking back up at Jimin with a huge smile on his now-clean face.

“He’s here.”