21; Not-so-janitor anymore

Running was something Officer Park Jimin could always remember he dreaded. It was an exercise that – when he began practising on a daily basis at the academy – he felt was far too strenuous on the body, and required an unthinkable fortitude. Two things he was positive at the time he'd never acquire no matter how hard he tried, folded over in pain halfway through the daily training, breathing in and out raggedly.

That such expertise were a gift bestowed upon people he knew, like Namjoon and Jongdae. People whose bodies were tall, lean, and able to pull off – almost effortlessly – the skill set required without a tremendous amount of labour.

He often watched those kinds of people with a mellow sort of envy. He didn't particularly despise the fact that they were born with an ingrained grip on the training, but that he was seemingly the only one toiling away at rising to their standards.

However, his efforts paid off, alright. Day after day, devoting hours to running mercilessly against the stabbing in his side and the burning in his shins, Jimin had grown to actually enjoy the sport. He surprised himself even when his attitude towards it had taken a lurch in the opposite direction; complacence and excitement replacing what was initially gruelling displeasure. When he took to ritually setting out in the mornings for a run around the neighbourhood, he gradually discovered that the exercise kept him well-trained. Running was after all always a handy tool in the field of enforcement.

And as Jimin ran – the suspect, Mr K in pursuit – there was no doubt in his mind that the perpetrator's chances of outrunning him were slim… or at least that was what he imagined before noting the janitor was a lot more agile than he anticipated.

‘Stop…!’

The officer cried in vain for the umpteenth time; his heart pounding fiercely as it worked overtime pumping oxygen to every one of his limbs in motion.

He’d managed to catch up to the caretaker rather quickly after following him through the maze of corridors that comprised of Melon High’s intricate anatomy. Yet the further Jimin tailed behind him, the more he realized he was being led outside the building. Perhaps given different circumstances, the officer would take a moment to question his new surroundings curiously, however he didn’t have the luxury of stopping.

Sneakers squeaking against the polished floors of the corridor as he rounded yet another corner; the suspect within painfully close reach; Jimin noticed a door at the very end. Mr K rammed into it shoulder-first and the contraption swung open, blinding the officer temporarily, yet he didn’t allow his eyes to adjust. He followed hot on his heels and almost instantly regretted doing so when nothing but a lush hedge was all he came into contact with.

Wincing within the thorny clutches of the hedge, he pressed on. Fingers clawing ahead of him as he wrenched open a path of his own through the thicket of greenery, Jimin didn’t have the time to imagine just what sort of excuse he’d be able to offer if perhaps the damage was noticed. Once he was finally out of the thick shrub – an assortment of leaves and twigs poking out of his hair and shirt – he was tempted to look back, yet the sight that greeted him ahead was too overwhelming for him to tear his eyes away from.

Officer Park Jimin knew the private school definitely lived up to the title of ‘private’. But what he didn’t know was that apart from Melon High’s glamorous, over-the-top interior was an exterior equally as jaw dropping. From what he managed to take in in that split second were sport activities that could even put the police training academy to shame. What kind of students attended such a wealthy school and didn’t even bother putting the immaculately trimmed field, red running track, pristine tennis courts, or glittering azure swimming pool to use?

It was a thought definitely worth lamenting over. Yet Jimin’s shock was quickly interrupted by the sound of something steely rattling close by. Following the clanking, his eyes fell on the form of the janitor climbing the mesh that separated the hedge pathway from the outdoor activities; his form alarmingly at the very top within a span of a few seconds.

‘Hey!’ the officer called, not wasting another second as he too darted for the fence, hooking his fingers into the steel web and began climbing.

‘Hold it right there…!’

The janitor hopped down at the other end and Jimin cursed under his breath, not bothering to scale the opposing side of the steel lattice. It was a relatively high fence, however given no choice, he made the leap. The officer landed on his feet with a loud thud; his kneeling form on impact of the fall allowing him to bound forward naturally as he began picking up speed again behind the sprinting suspect.

The janitor – huffing loudly from the sheer exertion of the chase – looked over a single shoulder warily; hands slicing through the air and feet pounding the ground desperately. To his dismay, the student was less than four feet behind him; his form a professional adaption of a field runner’s as they crossed over onto the red track.

What the hell!? The janitor’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets by how fast the student was honestly catching up to him.

This definitely wasn’t normal. He could feel his own limbs give way already and a gruelling stab in his side with his ragged breathing, yet the boy tailing close behind him seemed to be pacing himself. Disregarding the comical assortment of leaves flying out of his hair behind him, the kid was a running machine. And his eyes…! They were trained solely on Mr K’s retreating form with the intensity of a cheetah on the run for its prey. He couldn't help but feel even more pressured by how eager the student seemed to get him in his clutches, and realizing just how troublesome the situation was becoming, was given no choice but to resort to dirty methods.

Breaths just short of wheezes, the janitor reached the clutter of track hurdles just in time before Jimin managed to catch up to him. He shoved a few in his path and clattering behind him messily, the officer's deadly concentration broke at the unexpected barrage. Almost tripping over a handful as he either leapt or side-stepped to avoid them, Jimin cursed