25; Deja-vu

The days following the janitor fiasco consisted of a lot more normalcy. However, beside the regular routine both the undercover officers were falling into again after the action-packed, very busy start of the week, change was evident. And evident in the words Kim Taehyung.

It was the Thursday morning when Jimin and Kyungja found themselves staring in surprise at the lanky form that greeted them... well, Kyungja not as surprised as her partner anyway. It was a familiar face. But the wheat hair on Taehyung's head certainly wasn't; his otherwise unruly bangs now combed and straightened, parting neatly in the middle over his eyebrows. And the sight definitely rounded a handsome amount of attention from nearby students, each most likely wordlessly questioning who he was rather than noting the significant change.

'Wow, Tae...,' the male officer started; cheeks rising as he assessed the kid from head to toe with an impressed twinkle in his eyes.

The latter raised his head reluctantly; the uncertainty in his gaze evident in his reserved response.

'What...? It looks weird, right?' he mumbled, twirling a few strands self-consciously, shortly followed by a surprised yelp.

The redhead was about to respond when he noticed a shorter girl appear behind the student; manicured fingers curling around a single elbow of his. The pair of officers watched the following with a sense of amusement and – what was otherwise hard to believe – warmth. Skin glowing beneath the morning sun, chocolate and caramel hair bouncing in voluptuous curls, and candy lips dipping at the centre in a mischievous smile, Moon Jihye clung to a still-frightened Taehyung.

'Yah, you scared me...!'

'Gotcha...!' she cried, despite almost sending Taehyung into cardiac arrest, and with a pleased smile lingering on her lips, raised her head in Kyungja's and Jimin's direction.

'Good morning, Kyunnie! Van Choi! How do you like my handiwork, hmm? Am I good, or am I good?'

And what she was referring to was undeniably Taehyung, whose shock gradually subsided into something more comfortable. Perhaps just last week, this sort of interaction between them was impossible. Yet following the juiciest school drama regarding all sorts of ridiculous rumours about how the campus's number one couple broke up gave rise to something unassuming, but nevertheless, heart-warming.

Despite the sinister attempted kidnapping of Moon Jihye, the troubling event brought the two childhood friends together again. Whatever happened after she'd awoken from the traumatic experience certainly rekindled a flame. And it was most evident – as Jimin watched them with a pleased smile – in their suddenly cosy relationship at school and general positive vibes that were otherwise impossible to get out of Taehyung at all.

'I still would have opted for a darker colour.'

'But Tae...!' she whined; her petite features contorting into that of a child's as she peeked up at him from under her long lashes.

'Light hair looks handsome on you.'

'Agreed,' Jimin concurred; unmasked amusement on his face as he watched a discreet shade of pink spread from Taehyung's cheeks to his ears.

'Kyungja, what do you think?'

Unsure of the weight of her response, the officer chose a diplomatic approach. She wasn't entirely sure why Jimin believed her opinion in regard to something so trivial mattered, but nevertheless, nodded discreetly. Her answer was short, but still managed to move the boy from what she observed.

'I see no problem with it.'

'It suits you, man. Jihye, you'd better protect him from the other girls from now on,' Jimin teased this time, only making the colour spread to even Taehyung's neck at that point as he lowered his head.

The girl beamed blindingly, only clutching onto the younger boy's arm tighter. 'You can count on me!'

Communication. There were times when Kyungja blandly acknowledged his manoeuvring about the skill, and there were times when she found herself astounded by just how nimbly he executed conversations, and—well—fitted in. It wasn't envy, but a mild admiration for how proficient Jimin was at it and perhaps even the authenticity of the bonds he formed with the student in question shone through his amiable nature. Unconsciously, Kyungja found herself relishing in the otherwise complacent bubble the three around her formed.

Their easy jokes and laughter were things she had grown accustomed to despite how carefully she treaded over friendships throughout the mission. And perhaps Jimin was to blame for that in some ways... not that she detested it, though, for reasons beyond her.

Taehyung sputtered in embarrassment of the officer's earlier comment, watching as they shared silent giggles at his response. 'Y-yah...! W-what kind of...'

'Hey, carrot!' a familiar voice piped up from behind.

Almost immediately, the colour from Taehyung's face drained. It was like the voice triggered a switch in the boy, whose shoulders instantly seized up and expression hardened into that of someone faced with grave news of sorts.

It was Baekhyun; his followers not far behind as they glanced in anticipation of the group of four. Despite Taehyung's self-defence mechanism however when dealing with the said student, Jimin and Kyungja remained unfazed. Their eyes fixated on the shorter boy with an equal amount of awareness.

Byun Baekhyun stopped a few feet away from the foursome; a tense, crackly air Jimin was all too familiar with forming from above. The student's face was a composition of irritation and mild disgust. his bangs back coolly, the brunette placed his free hand over his , caressing the glinting broach pinned to his blazer as he spoke.

'Or should I call you potato now...?' he sniggered, and as if on cue, the surrounding students responded similarly.

Shrinking under the boy's sharp eyes and the equally condescending line his thin lips formed, Taehyung exercised silence. On the contrary, Jihye appeared incredibly guarded; irritation flaring in her narrowed eyes... not that the Byun heir was visibly impressed, though. Backed with a staggering number of friends as opposed to the latter, he felt just as confident as he always did even when he brandished the said girl as an accessory of his own.

'What do you want?' Jihye spat.

She clearly wasn't impressed with the turn of events, and sensing impending danger, moved a step ahead of Taehyung in a protective stance.

'Jihye...,' the blonde mumbled with a troubled furrow of the eyebrows, however his concern went unnoticed.

A sharp, bitter bark of laughter escaped the opposition; his gaze pointed and lips upturned in a mocking smile.

'How cute. The bum and the bimbo. I could get cooties just looking at you two.'

Jihye gasped in horror. 'Bimbo—!'

'You'd better wash your hands off these two, Song, Van Choi. They're toxic,' he sneered, turning to leave before sparing the group one last pitiful glower. His eyes bearing a significant weight as if he'd just recalled even more disturbing information.

'And just by the way, blonde is so last season.'

Byun Baekhyun his heel – followed by incredibly uneasy fellow blondes who self-consciously twirled their hair as they did – and the first one to make a move was none other than Jihye. The girl almost immediately sprang into action; her body propelling forward and the delicate curls of her hair seemingly frizzing horrendously with rage. In fact, Jimin felt the younger kid's attitude ruffle his own feathers. His comments were completely unwarranted and now was the perfect time to give him a taste of his own medicine, and realizing this, the officer felt his hands ball into fists in his pockets.

'Why, I oughta...!'

'Hey,' Taehyung mumbled huskily; his hand darting out for Jihye as he clutched her elbow to stop her. 'He's not worth it.'

Jihye's eyes softened visibly at the comment. Or perhaps it was Taehyung's change in demeanour. From someone who appeared to be under duress just moments ago, the strain in his entire body dissipated and instead, there was a cool, collected air about him.

'But...'

'Are you sure about that?' Jimin was the one to interject this time; the usual kindliness in his eyes now accommodating something more serious as he held a level look with the younger student.

'Jimin.'

The warning in his partner's level voice was evident. It only took one look from the tallest of them to tell she was sending a message along the lines of being careful with what his words could possibly do while they were undercover, and he deliberated. A scene was the last thing he wanted to cause. Sighing – a hand reaching for his hair as he combed through the crimson bangs with some frustration – he spoke in a hushed voice, picking as appropriate words as he could, feeling Kyungja watch him from the side of her eye attentively.

'Things can't go on like this forever. Sooner or later, you're going to have to stand up for yourself.'

Perhaps a few weeks ago, Jimin would have been incapable of voicing such sensitive thoughts. Yet the more he observed and discovered about Taehyung, the more he realized the kid was competent and a lot more human than any of his classmates could even dream of being. The treatment he received was undeserved. And even Jihye – as she stood watching the boy with a combination of anticipation and what Jimin would believe was compassion – waited for a response, to which Taehyung only responded with a small, however genuine smile.

'There's a time and place for everything,' he commented, shrugging shortly after with averted eyes. 'And it just isn't here. If I want to sort out our differences, I want to do it when we're on even ground, because I'm not like him.'

There was a brief moment of silence that fell over the four, and in that short span of time, Jimin realized there really was a lot more to Kim Taehyung than what meets the eye. There was no doubt he felt fear and hesitance. But he knew – and Jimin was certain of it by the look in his eye – that reacting equally as petty as his opponent would solve nothing and benefit no one. With those words, Taehyung didn’t just take a step forward, but he leapt.

'Well said,' Kyungja commended to every member's surprise. 'Don't forget those words, Kim.'

The response was so like her and yet so fitting for the moment, that Jimin felt the corners of his lips rise. Even Taehyung and Jihye felt the motivational shove she offered with them, and gratefully acknowledged her support with smiles each.

'Yah, those were some big words from a small kid like you!' Jimin chuc