17; Headaches, exhaustion, and... attraction?

A deep blue acrylic bloomed like a bloated moon from below, invading the cloudy sky inch by inch. The darkness of evening seemingly melted into the cerulean glow of daylight that still lingered freshly beneath the earth’s surface.

Yawning widely from within the confines of a convenience store, Park Jimin watched with little to no interest in the impending sunrise. He’d been awake for over 24 hours, save for the tiny intervals of sleep he managed after the girls seemingly decided to call it a night after 2 AM with the lights out. He could only imagine how his partner was holding up in there, but the thought proved less and less of an amusing one when he realized just how exhausted he was himself.

He and Taehyung – after successfully completing the math homework – settled back comfortably in the bushes and the two had chatted about an awful lot of things, to the officer’s surprise… and for some reason, the kid found an interest so great in the police officer, Jimin had absolutely no explanation for.

Apparently Taehyung had all sorts of bizarre hobbies. And one of them was conjuring ridiculous assumptions about people, leading to the boy being incredibly convinced the latter was some sort of royal heir to a Danish family of spies… at which Jimin could only helplessly remain silent at. He thought back on Kyungja’s claim of carefully constructing their own backstories, and couldn’t help but feel the pressure of this responsibility bear down on him with Taehyung’s farfetched; albeit very creative; allegations.

Not to mention the boy’s obsession with the tackle he’d pulled off earlier! He was positive the kid had forgotten about it during that time, but alas, he was mistaken. The student had practically harassed Jimin into ‘teaching him the ways of a spy’, at which the officer had no choice in but to comply. Which consisted of basic police training theory to shut the kid up and more mumbo jumbo on his part to avoid physical demonstrations, considering they were after all in hiding.

Well, it was safe to say that Kim Taehyung was a handful. It was like spending a few hours at day care awfully unprepared.

Jimin grimaced at the recollections and rounded his shoulders, grabbing a box of aspirin from one of the shelves. His head had been killing him ever since parting with the student; Jimin being the first to excuse himself under the pretence of ‘returning home’. When in fact, all he was returning to was the black police vehicle they’d arrived in outside the convenience store a few houses away.

The police officer was extra careful in making sure Taehyung (and the resident gnome) were successfully in the next door yard when he took off, occasionally glancing about his surroundings as he returned to the car. The van – he noted – had been gone at this point and he was incredibly grateful of its absence considering the horrendous throbbing in his skull.

Paying for the bottled water and medication; exiting the store with a hand in his hair; Jimin dreaded returning to the car. It was only 4:40 AM. The sun hadn’t even risen – despite threatening behind the smoky blue clouds – and on top of that, he had no idea when Kyungja would return. His thoughts drifted to Pepper briefly who was most likely at home, snugly occupying his bed; that at this point he craved like you cannot believe; and he scoffed at how accurate the thought was. Nevertheless, the idea of snuggling with the cat in bed was one that made him internally croon. Practically lounging in mulch and twigs wasn’t exactly ideal, and Jimin’s limbs cried in exhaustion.

The store bell chimed as he nudged it open with his shoulder, cracking open the water bottle with his hands. He stared out at the mini battle going on between good and bad weather with the dawn of a new day and stood for a moment to observe the scenery. It wasn’t like he was in a rush anyway.

He punched out two pills from the foil packaging and chucked them into his mouth, taking a gulp of water shortly thereafter. He was just about to swallow them when he decided to begin his walk back to the car, and the moment his eyes shifted to the vehicle in sight, his entire body froze on the spot. Because there was an extra bit of scenery present.

A visibly slender form draped in dark, baggy clothing leaned against the police car. It took a brief moment for him to realize, but undeniably, it was Kyungja. Like patches of sun her skin peeked out from between black clothing and coal hair that brushed against the sides of her neck; her head tilted and nose directed towards the sky. Her eyes were closed; her unusually relaxed shoulders and overall open body language a shocking sight. Was she sleeping?

Well, Park Jimin wouldn’t know the answer to that. Because what he saw then filled him with something completely unexpected and preposterous at the time: attraction.

He’d never before seen the woman in a state that peaceful. And the fact that she was wearing makeup for some reason allowed for every feminine aspect of her to stand out tremendously. He couldn’t understand if her lips were always that plump and pink, or if her face was always that round, or perhaps even if her eyebrows were always that perfect… or better yet, if Officer Woon Kyungja was always this darn beautiful.

The bland woman the world took for a robot under that pale skin was now transformed into a swan-like creature. There was a Siberian chill to her features that struck him like lightning, making for an unusual combination of lethality and charm… and the fact that the rising sun – that now managed to scrape past the dark plume of clouds – shone on her face, illuminating the edge of her sharp nose and sooty hair made her seem even more surreal.

Jimin couldn’t believe his eyes. And he was certain he would have stood there staring for the next few minutes too if not for the sharp bitterness in his mouth. Pulling him out of his momentarily bewitched state, Jimin was forced to swallow the swirling contents in his mouth. But despite the awful taste that still lingered, the officer found himself unable to make an appropriate expression whatsoever… that was until his partner caught him staring.

‘Is there something on my face, Park?’

Her voice startled him so much he was stunned for a moment. Feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, he quickly jerked to life, fumbling with his words and running a hand through his rust red bangs nervously.

‘Uh—no, no, I was just…,’

Staring, his mind completed the sentence to Jimin’s utter embarrassment.

Horribly conflicted with his thoughts and feelings, Jimin made a start for the police car in silence. Kyungja lowered her head at his careful approach and watched him; an exp