Chapter 7: Park Jimin

“I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary.”

- Margaret Atwood

    “This is going to be a big one, boys.” Irene spoke to the team as she handed out pieces of paper to each of them.

    It was eight in the morning and all of them were excused from their classes for an entire week, and it was obvious from their yawns and drooping eyes that they took advantage of their free time to catch up on some much needed sleep. Irene, however, looked alert and ready, as she always did. 

    Jimin didn’t hate that he had to wake up early in the morning as he has always been a morning person, but he didn’t mind not having the important debriefing meetings placed in the afternoon instead, either.

    Chanyeol squinted his eyes as he read the distributed paper through his still-blurry eyes. “Nothing can be bigger than encountering Taeyong, so I’m not—“

    “Hyung. Read ’til the very end of the page.” Jimin sighed. He did not enjoy fighting against Taeyong at all. There were just too many complicated feelings within him that come out when he faces Taeyong that he doesn’t have to worry about when facing other opponents, and it was most definitely because Taeyong used to be a student in their academy. In fact, Taeyong wasn’t just a regular student of the academy, he was part of the dangerous ability class. He was supposed to be part of the family.

    But in the end, he betrayed them all.

    And, to add salt to the wound, Jimin has always felt a bit jealous with how close Taeyong and Seulgi always were. When alone, the two seemed aloof and definitely ice-like, as if nothing in the world could affect them and it was true. But, together, and he hated to admit this—they’ve always seemed like a perfect match. 

    He always thought of them as ice and ice, as an entire being that was forced to be made into two; that’s what they were. And because of that, Jimin has always secretly disliked Taeyong. It was definitely not a good thing, either: it was hard to keep their battles impersonal and objective whenever he had to face him.

    “Oh, great. So, it is him again. Why can’t he just leave us alone?” Chanyeol muttered.

    Mark glanced worriedly at their leader. “Uh, noona… what is this paper saying, exactly?”

    Curious that he may have missed something, Jimin checked the paper containing the mission details again as he read the text out loud. “Mission’s code red, team A will be dealing with Taeyong, while team B will… Hold on. Did I read that right?”

    Irene had an uncharacteristically grim look that confirmed everyone’s anxious looks. “It’s not a trick, guys. Team A will be… handling Taeyong… this time, while we help them do what they’re supposed to do in the background.” Jimin immediately crumpled the paper in his hands. 

    “Yah, Irene, there’s a reason why it was always us who dealt with him!” Chanyeol stood up as he started to feel agitated.

    Jimin closed his eyes and did his best to control his anger. What was Onew thinking? The risk involved this time is way too high. He doesn’t see anyone gaining anything from this mission whatsoever. This was such a stupid idea.

    “I know it sounds too dangerous for everyone involved, and it is,” Irene said as she looked at the view of the academy from the rooftop of their dormitory. It was a peaceful morning, but all their hearts felt tumultuous because of the shocking news. She seemed composed, but even she was probably worried about Seulgi at the very least, Jimin thought.

    “Even Onew was against it, believe it or not. But, it was a direct order from the high school principal that team A will take on the responsibility of dealing with Taeyong, as they, apparently, should have taken in the first place.” Jimin didn’t miss the note of bitterness in her voice.

    “This is bull,” Within a second, the paper Chanyeol was holding got burned to ashes. “Is it because we’ve failed to kill him after all this time? And if he thinks we can’t, then team A can?!” 

    “Statistically, just Seulgi and Jungkook’s kills already outweigh our total kills as a group.” Irene nonchalantly said as she used her wind alice to sweep away the mess Chanyeol made with their mission paper. Like discussing the number of kills was a simple matter, that those they’ve killed weren't even worth giving a second thought about: this was the side of the academy he’s always known and he truly hated it at the moment.

    “Noona, that isn’t the point at all,” Jimin started to speak up. He sounded deliberately calm, which was so very much unlike him that even Chanyeol stopped seething for a second to listen to what he had to say. 

    “Team A is the most dangerous group we have here in this academy. Their skills outmatch ours without a doubt, but because of that, they’ve been isolated from everyone ever since they were admitted here. Aside from us, they only have themselves—literally. Their group used to be very close because of that, but look at them now. Most of them don’t even talk to each other, and it was all because of Taeyong’s betrayal. How can anything good come out of their confrontation at all? Tell me, please, because I’d love to know.” Jimin glared at them all because he was just so angry at everything at the moment.

    “Jimin-ah… there’s nothing we can do.” Irene sounded helpless. She herself didn’t want this very thing to happen either, which is why she never complained when they had to deal directly with Taeyong all this time even when she knew her team was no match for him.

    But what could any of them have done? They were just robots, trained to kill by the command of the academy. “I’ll give you guys time to prepare for our training later so I’m giving the morning off,” Irene sighed. It sounded like she needed it more than they did, but Jimin didn’t dare say it out loud. “Don’t burn anything else, Chanyeol.”

    Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Mark, eat breakfast with me.” He basically dragged their youngest out of his sitting position on the floor. “Yah, you too, Jimin-ah.”

    Jimin’s hands were clasped tightly together at his back all this time as he struggled to maintain his composure. “I’ll follow in a bit, hyung. I think I’ll stay here for a while.”

    Chanyeol shrugged as he and Mark opened the door leading to the stairs. Irene was about to go in with them, but before closing the door, she looked at Jimin one last time. “Don’t forget to get something to eat, Jimin-ah.” With that, she closed the door behind her.

    Jimin went to the edge of the rooftop and sat on the very edge. The dormitory was ten stories long and if one fell from the rooftop, he suspected that person would die, but he wasn’t too worried about it. He didn’t have the most dangerous Alice, but he did have an excellent control of his balance.

    The view from the rooftop was truly spectacular and he was immediately thankful for that because by now he had rapidly calmed down. The lush Northern and Western forests, the numerous parks found along the academy, and the bustling Central Town were all visible to his current bird’s eye view.

    It was such a peaceful sight, but he felt anything but at ease. Taeyong was such a formidable opponent when it was just their team who was against him, but Jimin suspected that he was even going easy on them. What would he do if he was finally up against those who are at par with his skills? What would he feel?

    Most of all, he was anxious for Seulgi. What would happen to her? Would she be able to kill him? Or would he kill her? Jimin immediately dismissed that thought. Even if Taeyong got close enough to kill her, he doubted that Jungkook would just stand by and watch. What thoughts are running through her head now, then, when she found out she has to kill her former teammate and best friend? All these questions with no answers were starting to hurt his head.

    Then, someone opened the door leading to the rooftop. “Oh, someone’s here—Jimin hyung!”

    Jimin tried his best to compose his face before facing the familiar voice. “Jungkook-ah, I missed you last night—oh, Seulgi-sshi.” To his evident surprise, Seulgi was standing next to Jungkook, while both of them sported purple and yellow bruises on various parts of their body. He already knew what that meant without asking: the two had gone on one of their insane morning practices