The Trials and Tribulations of Pathos - Jikook

Chapter 8

Jimin stretches as he sits up, leg muscles shivering underneath the blankets as his body uncurls itself from its huddled position under the sheets. The ash-haired male sighs as he cracks his neck, flinging his legs over the side of the bed and turning off his beeping alarm.

He has a lot to do today and didn't get much sleep, so he grumbles as he reads the time on his phone: 4:00 a.m. It's too early to function, Jimin thinks as he stands up to go brush his teeth. He breezes through his morning routine, throwing on some loose, light-washed jeans and a cable-knit white sweater and running his hands through his hair to tame its waves. He tugs on his red converse, some silver hoops, and throws a designer backpack over his shoulders before grabbing the duffle bag he packed last night and locking up his house.

Jimin climbs into his red Tesla Model X, choosing not to drive in one of his more exotic sports cars so as to not draw suspicion. He tears out of the driveway, opening the GPS and putting in Yoongi's address.

He has to catch a 5:30 am plane to Jeju Island to investigate Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook's case. He hopes it's easy enough to find them so he's able to get enough rest time, but at the same time, he loves a good challenge. After all, the reason he became an assassin wasn't to have the entire case handed to him. He loves the thrill of working with criminals- however sick it might sound, Jimin seeks the excitement of hunting people and the possibility that he's being hunted as well.

He lives for the near-death experiences, and because of this he's come to accept how fucked-up he probably is in the head. If he wanted to, Jimin could become one of the top criminals in the world. He's got the brains for it, he's got the money for it, he's got the madness for it. The only thing he's missing is the drive.

Jimin doesn't want to hurt innocent people. He doesn't seek revenge, and he doesn't want to seek revenge.

This is probably why he loved working at the orphanage so much- not only did the children care, but they didn't mind that he was a little fucked up. They saw the bad in him but also saw the good- then they decided that the good outweighed the bad.

Jimin sighs as he thinks about the orphanage, lips forming a small pout as he yearns for the life he had for those blissful seven months. Alas, he can't help but admit that he's glad he's back. Although the time off had been nice, there hadn't been an outlet for his yearn of the hunt. Playing tag with the children had helped a bit, but there hadn't been any real threat. It was fun, but that's about where the benefit of tag ends. There weren't guns, he didn't have a partner, there was no investigating or suspense, and there wasn't the thrill of near-death experiences.

Somewhere in that fucked-up brain of his, Jimin knew he had to come back.

He pulls into the large driveway of the Min residence, taking in the expansive grounds. At the center of the rounded driveway is a gurgling fountain carved with the faces of nymphs and mermaids and fairies. The sweeping fields of flowers and grass and intimate groves of fruit trees surround the towering mansion. All in all, the estate screams wealth and riches. It's a bit larger than Jimin's own home- he guesses it's because he likes to spend his wealth on less material things.

Jimin's Tesla comes to a stop in front of the large mahogany door, gilded with golden swirls and patterns and sheltered by a raised entrance, a balcony overhead held up by four white pillars.

As he's taking in the intricate designs, a short, mint-haired male adorned in a checkered, button-up shirt and frayed jeans walks through the doors, locking them behind him and strutting up to Jimin's car. "Hey, Yoongi," Jimin calls as he opens the trunk of his car for his partner to lug all his bags into.

"It's too early for this shit- who in their right minds gets up this early. Fucking phsycopaths," Yoongi mutters, eyes drooping closed and hand running through his matted hair as he climbs into the passenger's seat. He puts on his seatbelt and promptly falls back asleep.

Jimin chuckles as he starts the car again, agreeing with Yoongi's statement. It was way too early for anyone to be up. ...Unless you're an assassin who needs to get to Jeju early enough for your targets' traces to still be fresh.

The drive down to the airport is quiet, Yoongi's small snores filling the car and mingling with the muffled rush of the wind. It's oddly soothing, and it lulls the younger male into a calm state. Jimin normally turns on the radio during longer drives, but this time he needs his mind to be able to function clearly, thoughts fluttering with information about their case.

It's all coming back to him: the addicting adrenaline rush, the suspense and thrill, the caution that's thrown to the wind along with the caution that causes him to look in the side mirror every couple minutes to check for a trailing car- Jimin had forgotten how much he loves the art of the chase. Both being the chaser and possibly the chasee. The thrill of hunting and being hunted, a predator-and-prey type of scenario that's sure to get anyone's heart speeding up.

Right now, Jimin is focussing on the predatorial side of this case. Judging by their progress, he assumes this project will be over soon enough. Their two targets obviously need some work on keeping things on the down low, if their recent encounter with the elderly cafe owner is anything to go by.

Although, it is odd. That they were tracked so easily. If Jimin were anyone else, he might try sinking into this case slowly and continuing with caution. Alas, in true Park Jimin fashion, the young agent is diving in head first. Of course, he's far from careless. He puts a bit of himself into every case- which is why instead of focussing on the beautiful scenery outside his window, his mind is awhirl with questions.

Most of the targets he's dealt with before at least made an effort to cover up their tracks. They'd try their best to lead their pursuers in circles, leaving different clues at different places and dropping misleading hints. These are Jimin's favorite cases, as he finds a certain joy in smart criminals. Prey that can think for themselves and continuously try to trick the young assassin provide an interesting game of cat and mouse. Which one wins? Smaller, stealthier size and cunning brain or pure, raw instinct, intellect, and muscle?

Let's just say that there's a reason you never see cats being chased and eaten by mice.

Because of the two targets' obvious bread crumbs, Jimin's mind is working in overload. This could mean one of three things: One, the pair is leaving a more obvious trail in hopes that Jimin follows that one instead of looking closer to find the real one. Two, the pair are being cocky and don't realize that they're being followed. Or three, they're just plain stupid.

From what Jimin has read about their IQ scores and grades, he quickly rules the third option out. These two are not dumb- they have impressive IQ's and blatant common-sense. This also rules out the second one. They must know that they're being trailed, as they left early the day after visiting Yong's shop, and didn't leave an obvious trace. This leaves the first option, which Jimin still doesn't feel is right. The pair are certainly smart enough, but haven't had any past criminal records. To successfully think of and achieve creating diversions that lead any hunters astray, they need practice. Practice and experience, which according to their clean records, they do not have.

Jimin has seen many projects out successfully, whether killing, torturing, capturing, or proving the targets' innocence. Every criminal he's worked with has fallen under one of those three categories, unless they were innocent- and it's obvious Jeon Jungkook and Kim Taehyung are running from something. Innocent people don't run.

That means there's something else going on here, and though Jimin can't figure out what it is yet, he knows that by the time the two month deadline is up, he'll know it all.

Because Jimin isn't just Jimin, but Park Jimin, Number One Assassin for the Korean Organization of Able-Bodied Hitmen. And Park Jimin of the KOABH never fails an assignment.