05; New students

It was the equivalent of being in a tight, enclosed room, suffering from a minor case of claustrophobia.

It was hard to breathe, there was no escape, and worst of all, he was growing increasingly irritable the more he dwelled on the fact that the white school shirt he was wearing was one size far too small for him.

In fact, that wasn’t the only reason behind why Officer Park felt the pressing need to grumble in irritation. Apart from the suffocating shirt he was certain would at any point burst at the seams – perhaps a button somewhere shooting out for that wall clock in the commissioner’s office – he was going through a great bout of denial.

‘You two look…,’ the commissioner paused; his eyes twinkling unmistakably with all sorts of snarky comments, however he settled for something a lot milder instead.

‘Good.’

On second thought, perhaps the fact that he used a word which could be perceived terribly either way made Jimin’s self-consciousness skyrocket. Not to mention the look on the commissioner’s face! If nobody noticed the pair of uniform-clad officers from across him, one would imagine he were watching a show that featured zoo animals on tricycles.

‘Like real high school students. I’m impressed.’

Jimin fought back the urge to sigh deeply. Ever since changing into the red and white high school uniform, he found his arms constantly glued to his side like he was hiding a pack of dynamite. When in fact all he was doing was nothing but desperately trying to retain whatever dignity the bloody clothes allowed him to.

‘Can we please continue with the briefing, sir?’

‘Ooh, why the rush?’ an impish little grin wormed its way on the chief’s lips. ‘Are you suffocating in that really tight shirt, Park? Or should I say, Van Choi?’

Yes, as a matter of fact, I am, he retorted in his mind, however all he managed in response was an incredibly antsy look; his eyes darting to anything in the room that was non-reflective.

‘Well it’s not my fault the sizes got mixed up…,’ he mumbled with red cheeks, clearly unamused with the former’s bubbling hilarity.

Kyungja spoke next; her voice level. ‘As long as the items fit, I see no room for complaint, Park.’

Oh, and how easy it was for her to talk! Jimin couldn’t help but scowl at the woman’s comment. Whilst his own uniform made him look like a cellophane-squeezed taco, she on the other hand was blessed with a shirt and skirt that looked relatively aired and undeniably comfortable. Despite the sagging shoulders and buttons and skirt that touched her shins, it looked far better than what he landed with.

Ignoring her comment with a distasteful scrunch of the nose that quickly disappeared, Jimin recalled the bizarre title he was addressed with moments prior and cocked an eyebrow curiously. ‘And Van-who? What’s with that awful name?’

The morning before the mission commencement consisted of officers Woon Kyungja and Park Jimin to rendezvous at the station an hour before 7. The commissioner apparently had plans in mind to brief them a little more in-depth about the tasks to be carried out at the school, as well as hand them their undercover items… however to Jimin’s horror, the uniform sizes had unfortunately been mixed up. Which in turn landed him in a shirt so tight he couldn’t help but feel more concerned for his humility rather than the buttoned collar squeezing his windpipe shut.

‘You just called your own last name awful. It’s new. Learn to like it until the mission’s over,’ the commissioner stated matter-of-factly, leaving Jimin wide-eyed as he repeated the foreign last name with bizarre dramatization.

‘Van Choi…’

‘Woon. From now on, you’re Song. First names will be retained for the duration of the mission to avoid confusion and opportunity for error.’

She nodded after mouthing a quick word of acknowledgement, and the cop beside her stared in utter disbelief at what he’d just heard. Why on earth did she get to have a relatively normal last name, and he was instead stuck with one he could barely pronounce? He was about to question the decision however decided against it when he noticed Yoongi staring back at him with a lazy look of anticipation.

‘You look troubled, Park.’

Ah, and the man’s knifing nature! Jimin was positive the man could read his mind. And realizing how preposterous of a thing it was to argue about (especially considering the fullmetal RoboCop’s presence, which he refused to make a fool of in front of again), he simply shook his head and waved off the topic.

‘It’s nothing. Go on, sir.’

‘Good,’ the commissioner purred; his lower back resting against the edge of his desk as he looked up to address the officers. ‘Almost time for you cucumbers to go, so Imma hurry this up. I want a report by you both at the end of the week of even the smallest details, and you better have something. Your first priority is to keep a lookout for trouble, and second is to scope the area for suspicious junk. I don’t care how you go about getting your information, as long as you get it.’

He leaned back casually and reached for a peppermint stick of gum, which he lazily placed between his lips. ‘Now get lost, you two. And enjoy school, I guess.’

Jimin couldn’t help but feel the anxiety of the start of a mission the moment he shooed them out of his office. Whilst Kyungja looked relatively composed and her frowning eyes calculating some incredibly complex formula in her mind, Officer Park on the other hand was not prepared.

‘Oh!’ the commissioner shouted suddenly, catching their attention again as they turned before leaving the room. ‘One—no—two more things before you go.’

Somehow Jimin didn’t like the sound of his recollections. And the fact that he smiled at them again – an expression that oozed nothing but sinister intent – allowed for goosebumps to travel the length of the officer’s arms and sweat to accumulate around his hairline in dreadful anticipation.

‘No one in the school knows you’re cops, and I want it to stay that way. Secondly, you two are a team now. So I expect you to work together.’

A team? Work together? With Woon Kyungja?

If not for how anxious he felt, Jimin was certain he would have been laughing. The thought of working together with the woman who practically ruined his self-esteem was preposterous, and he was certain as he dwelled on this, his expression was a jumble of disbelief and nerves.

Well, at least one thing about his morning was worth noting. There was no… ‘Chimchim!’

Jongdae. Jimin cringed at the sound of his excitably booming voice, and dreaded turning around where he was certain he’d meet with a life sized donut. And lo and behold, that was exactly what he was faced with. Officer Kim Jongdae leaned casually against one of the few empty desks, much like the commissioner but in a way that was clearly lacking in finesse. He was surrounded by a handful of other officers who had their hands on their hips, sharing the amused glint in his eyes and each holding cups of coffee in their hands.

Jongdae himself had a box of donuts in one hand and a can of Coke in the other. Somehow the imagery was frighteningly fitting, considering Jimin was convinced the chap’s brain was a manifestation of what he ate.

‘Nice threads! At least it’s not too different from your usual look these days.’

Despite the fact that this comment was perhaps intended to jab at the latter, Jimin couldn’t help but find the sight an incredibly pathetic – albeit horrendous – one at that. There was nothing even remotely convincing of his insult with all that sugary powder creating a mini patch of snow on his uniform.

‘Uh, thanks, Kim…,’ he responded; eyes glued to bits of donut scattered over the front of his uniform. ‘I could say the same for you, man.’

The chuckling coworkers surrounding Jongdae each fell silent at the retort, followed by more amused grins directed at the cop of the month instead. It took a few seconds for the man to realize what the latter meant, and glanced down at his uniform where a dusting of powdered sugar stood out horribly against the dark navy; the obnoxious smile on his face disappearing.

Uninterested in sticking around any longer thereafter, Jimin turned around, noting a familiar blonde head a few feet ahead. Namjoon stared back at him with an amused nudge of the eyebrows, and the latter only grumbled in response.

‘Go ahead. I know you’re just dying to say something.’

‘Now that you’re in school…,’ the older man started; a grin finding its way on his face as he threw a hand on the shorter officer’s shoulder. ‘Please try not to drink.’

The younger officer couldn't help but groan at the memory of last night's fiasco at the bar, and waved his hands around in embarrassment.

'Yah! Don't tell anyone!'

'I just might if you mess up this mission. And besides, this is a good way at getting back at rainbow poop.'

Jimin cocked an eyebrow. 'Excuse me? How so?'

Namjoon rolled his eye dramatically. 'Because he's clearly head over heels for Woon! If you nail this, we've got tons of leverage on him. So don't screw up. Or else your drinking secret is front page news. Now go get 'em, tiger.'

Woon Kyungja was a being shaped from