06; Rich minds and communication

'Ah, I LOVE this time of year!'

Kim Junmyeon – from what Jimin noted when he entered the gold and wood, vintage-inspired office behind Italian shutters – rose from his desk dramatically with open arms as he cried in joy. Kyungja was relatively composed in response to the surprising reaction, however Jimin couldn't help but cringe in his seat at how—well—disturbingly enthusiastic the school's principal was...

Nevertheless, for fake students. Well, not that the principal knew this anyway.

'New students! Gosh, this is great. We don't get this often, so this is really exciting! I’m super excited. Aren't you excited!? I know I am—oh! I just said that! Silly me.'

Jimin had been staring at the incredibly large, cluttered desk the principal seemingly worked on. Numerous files and folders were piled around it, and tiny prop-like decorations that looked far too expensive to be displayed outside a cabinet were haphazardly arranged around the chaos. They were interesting objects like a stylized mug with some mathematical equation on it, a stack of brand new sticky notes, a giant decorative domino, and colourful magazine holders that looked particularly ordered. It was no doubt the man was a collector and perhaps obsessed with order. A tiny car replica was in front of Jimin and he stared at it for a long moment curiously before the headmaster's enthusiastic wails.

I really wonder how Yoongi pulled this off, Jimin wondered with pursed lips and raised eyebrows as the principal registered the awkward heaviness in the air following his outburst. He cleared his throat and settled back into his large brown leather chair, swivelling with a vibrating leg under the table as he directed his undivided attention at them.

'Well, um...,' he composed himself, lacing his hands together over the desk. 'Welcome to Mullon High School, a prestigious academy for rich minds alike! I'm positive you two will fit in in no time, and I'll do my very best to make sure that happens. I know that we've had some... unfavourable events so far in the year, but I'd like you both to know that it's an honour to have you attend.'

Perhaps Jimin would have snorted at the line 'rich minds alike' considering it seemed like a hint at something quite literal from what he observed. Yet he remained as straight-faced as possible. Especially at the part where the man had made subtle mention of the problem they were here to look into in the first place. However, deep down beyond the humour he found in the principal's comical demeanour or the fact that he was in a very real ludicrous situation altogether, Park Jimin was nervous. Because as much as he hadn't wanted to admit it, the fact that he was practically repeating high school put him in a similar predicament as to when it was his first time being in the institution.

His was incredibly nervous despite knowing this was all part of the mission and something he shouldn't be too mindful of, however he couldn't help the racing of his heart and the accumulation of sweat on his temples as he imagined the day's events... not to mention this morning's embarrassing blunder! He had no idea how he'd go through the day if anyone remembered that.

'Well, now that formalities are out of the way, here are your timetables.'

The principal handed out two cream envelopes that shimmered visibly on the surface under the bright sunlight that invaded the room, and Jimin reached for the one offered in his direction. He glanced at Kyungja, curious if she too perhaps seemed to be feeling any sort of the same anxiety as him… however her face was blank.

Jimin watched with surprising attentiveness as she stared into the paper that neatly slid out of the envelope into her slender, milky white hands. He hadn't noticed it before, but was she always that pale? He could have gasped audibly at the fact that her skin lacked any sort of colour apart from a monochrome shade of her own personality, yet he found his eyes fixated on the stark contrast of the short black hair curtaining her face. Jimin never imagined it possible for the stoic fullmetal RoboCop to wear her hair down, so it was a sight he somehow hadn't taken much notice of all morning until now that he actually paid her attention. And now that he saw her that up close, were her eyelashes really that long?

'… Now this is the most important thing to know, and it is imperative you two never, ever, EVER do this. If you do, there'll be serious consequences. Do you understand me?'

In fact, Jimin was paying the female officer a little too much attention. Because the moment he came to, he realized two seconds too late that he'd completely missed whatever vital information the principal just provided them with.

Crap, Jimin panicked. It was the first day of their mission and yet he felt as if he was falling far behind Kyungja already. Get a grip, Jimin!

'YOU!' the principal quickly threw a finger in the young man's direction.

Jimin jumped in his seat; eyes wide and shifting quickly towards the older man’s stern expression. 'Y-yes, sir?'

'You...,' he paused to eye him curiously. 'You look suspicious. You're eyeing my doll collection, aren't you?'

Jimin cocked an eyebrow, lost in the old man's words entirely. 'Uh, I'm... not...? What?'

Both he and the principal shared a long look a mixture of discomfort and confusion. Jimin had no idea what the man was up to with his sudden outburst, but just as his eyes darted to Kyungja questioningly to the cabinet in question beside her, booming laughter escaped the principal. The sudden change in overall demeanour making the young officer jump again slightly in his seat.

'Yah, I was just kidding! Oh, you should have seen your face,' his eyes sparkled with humour.

'For a second it looked like you were actually hiding something. I doubt that though. Well, now that we're done here, let me show you to your classes since first period's already in progress.'

Jimin smiled tightly at the principal who patted him casually on the shoulder before filing out, but just as quickly, a look of utter distress replaced it. His heart raced a mile a minute and he gulped uncertainly. For a moment then he actually thought the man had them figured out. He hadn't noticed it any earlier but his skin was prickly with anxiety and sweat, and he'd been holding his breath in this entire time... and the weird thought of the commissioner and principal getting along like a house on fire with their trickster antics made him shudder.

Kyungja followed behind him, however took a moment to stop before leaving the office and glanced behind her. She stared at the cabinet Jimin directed his attention at earlier, and narrowed her eyes at the handsome collection of neatly stuffed animals displayed within iron and glass doors. However, just as quickly she pulled away from the odd sight and followed behind her partner, who stood staring blankly at the lollipops the principal had held out towards them with a child-like enchantment in his eyes.

Why Kyungja was accustomed to dealing with people anything but the kind of simple she preferred, she would never know.

'As you know, we've run into some very unexpected misfortune over the last month and a bit,' the headmaster explained with a sombre look, gesturing an extended arm over the campus hallway as they followed him on either side.

'I'm sure that's a concern for papa and mama Song and Van Choi, but worry not, for we're taking considerable measures to prevent any similar mishaps in the future! We cannot afford another missing student tragedy, it's far too much for the poor students!'

However, the students attending were anything but poor. The principal continued with his dramatic explanation of the campus (with the occasional mention of the students that had went missing with equally dramatic grief) yet while listening to him, Jimin stared in surprise and a little wonder at how the students honestly dressed. One would so as simply glance at the silk-lined blazers, extra miniskirts, polished shoes, towering high heels, and blinding diamonds and gold jewellery and assume this was some sort of royal gathering. Both he and Kyungja peered into the classes they passed and noticed most of the students – during the in depth lessons – staring into their cell phones shamelessly over the desk and some even sleeping openly in front of the teacher, with little to no students even remotely attentive. Which was shocking considering the classrooms themselves looked like pieces of art carved up by Michelangelo.

A form suddenly appeared from one of the doors they approached and the two eyed the pale construction jumper the man wore curiously. He had a baseball cap tightly fitted on his head, and pale bronze hair peeking out from either side of it. There was a chunky metal box one could only imagine was filled with tools, and instantaneously, the first thought that came to them both in that instance was ‘handy man’.

‘Mr. K!’ the principal cried in delight, clapping his hands together like an overly excited child.

‘We have new students! Kids, meet Mr K, our one and only trusted janitor and maintenance man. Ah, I don’t know what we’d do without him!’

Despite the introduction at hand, Jimin couldn’t help but find incredible hilarity in the sheer glee the principal exuded. Everything ranging from his exaggerated expressions and overall blinding enthusiasm to animated hand gestures made it seem as if the biggest of his problems was getting a drop of his niece’s ice cre