The Trials and Tribulations of Pathos - Jikook

Chapter 4

Jimin sighs as he throws his keys onto the table by his front door. He leans against a wall, head tilting back and thumping against it. It had been hard saying goodbye to the orphanage- even if it was only temporary. Jimin enjoyed it there; he considered it one of his few safe places, an area where he could fully get away from the memories that haunt him day and night. He could be himself at the home, without the fearful eyes and downturned mouths that greeted him at his other job.

Of course, he was well respected and revered. But that isn't how he wants to be viewed by everyone. In actuality, he's just a regular man with an irregular occupation. He loves reading, enjoys superhero movies (and romcoms, but he wouldn't admit that to anyone), and has a black cat named Luna. He adores coffee (can't start his day correctly without a large mug) and painting.

But these are the things that no one asks about. These are the things that nobody knows about because they don't take the time to know him. They don't take the time to come over for a Captain America marathon, don't take the time to binge-read the Harry Potter series with him, don't take the time to befriend his beloved, playful Luna, or admire his careful brush strokes. It's honestly never bothered him. Until he started at the home, that is.

The children cared. Minji loved looking at videos of Luna chasing her tail, Doyoung would stare at Jimin's paintings, trying to memorize every intricate detail. Henry would recommend him new books, and the pair would rave about their favorite series for hours at a time.

The children cared unlike anyone ever had in Jimin's life, and for that, he will always be grateful. But now, he thinks with a pull at his heart, he won't have that anymore. At least not for months.

The ash-haired male trudges down to his room in his house slippers, shoes left in the rack at the front door. He spots Luna on her favorite chair, stretching out her back as she calls to him with a languid meow.

A tired grin breaks across his face as he reaches over and scratches under her chin, to which she responds with a loud purr. Jimin picks her up, holding her against him as he makes his way into his study. The young male sets her down on his desk, rolling out a chair and taking his seat at the dark piece of furniture in the vast room filled with files, drawers, and shelves and shelves of books.

This is another one of his safe places; he spends most of his time in here, getting lost in the rows of stories and information to be looked at and discovered, nestled in his hanging chair in the corner of the room and cuddled into a fluffy blanket.

Jimin reaches into a drawer in his desk, pulling out a locked chest and setting it on the flat surface in front of him. He then pulls out a thin chain from around his neck that was hidden underneath his t-shirt. He inserts the key attached to the chain into the lock on the chest, turning it until it clicks open.

Inside the chest lay several neatly stacked files, each one encased in a cream folder and labeled in Jimin's tidy scrawl. The words aren't written in letters, however, each 'letter' a unique and intricate symbol. It's the KOABH official code, a series of characters taught to each high-ranking agent, every individual person's code varying slightly. The only one who can read everyone's code is Namjoon, every secret therefore protected by this 'language' and the only key to unlock it all is the boss himself.

It took a couple of months for Jimin to memorize the characters now scrawled all over his most important projects, but after his seven years in the business, the words come to him like a second language. He pulls out the first folder, closing the chest and placing it back in its drawer.

He takes in the code on the front of the file on his desk, symbols getting absorbed by his mind and translated to read 'Target: Kim Taehyung'. Jimin carefully opens the folder, mindset switching to his work headspace, clearing his mind in order to better absorb the coded words written across the many pages in the file.