Body And Soul

39. Troubling Mishap

"What was that?" asked Jimin after Jin finished reading.

"I don't know," said Jin as he turned to look at Jimin. "It's in a different language, which - on top of the writing being old and smudged - is why I have a hard time reading it. Supposedly what I just read though is a spell that would initiate a body swap between the two nearest living things. That is why I faced away from all of you. I don't need another body swap situation to happen."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a rattle that could be heard from the boxes Jin had been facing during his reading. Jin grabbed the book out of Namjoon's arms as Namjoon moved to walk towards the boxes. Out of the four of them, he seemed to be the least afraid.

"Be careful," said Jin as he stood near Hobi and Jimin as Namjoon approached the scene pretty much on tip-toe. Namjoon grabbed up a trash can lid nearby, holding it up in one hand so he could be ready to smash whatever might jump out at him.

Just as Namjoon was about to reach the boxes, the tabby cat that had brushed up against Jimin earlier jumped towards him with a hiss. Jump scared by the sudden appearance of the cat, Jimin let out a yelp and turned to cling to Hobi.

"Get off me," muttered Hobi as he looked over at Jimin who had his arms wrapped about him. Jimin flushed and let go of Hobi

"It must have just been this cat," said Namjoon as he looked at the tabby cat who - instead of running off and out of the alley - was sitting calmly beside him. "It seems to be domesticated."

Namjoon was about to walk back towards the others when he heard more rattling from behind the boxes. Namjoon cautiously went closer and moved some boxes aside to reveal a man in a suit sitting tucked up against the back corner. As soon as he was fully exposed to Namjoon's view, he let out a hiss.

"Did you just hiss at me?" asked Namjoon in disbelief.

"Who are you talking to?" asked Hobi who moved closer, unable to contain his curiosity.

"There's a man back here that is just glaring and hissing at me," said Namjoon.

Just as Hobi stood beside Namjoon, the man Namjoon had both been talking about sprang into action. He moved onto all fours, tearing past them with another hiss as he ran out of the alley and towards the front of the fish restaurant.

"What is wrong with that guy?" asked Namjoon as he turned to look at the man as he disappeared around the corner.

"Don't know," said Hobi. "People are rather strange nowadays."

As Namjoon and Hobi talked, Jimin looked towards the cat that was sitting nearby. He noticed that the cat had now flattened itself out on its stomach and was running paws over its face, seeming to meow in despair. Even though Jimin wasn't a cat person, he moved closer to it. As he did, he realized that the meowing sounded a lot like crying.

"What's wrong with this cat?" asked Jimin.

When he spoke about the cat, the paws came away from its eyes so that it was able to focus its gaze upon Jimin's face. Jimin found himself debated whether or not he should look back at the cat, wondering if locking eyes with a cat was a sign of intimidation. Jimin ultimately decided to look at the cat and swore he saw traces of sadness in its blueish gray eyes.

"The strays are always prowling around here because they hope to dumpster dive for some fish remains," said Jin as he put the book back in the shed before walking over to Jimin. "It's probably just hungry."

A phone suddenly started going off as Jin stood beside Jimin and the cat. Whoever the phone belonged to had obviously put it on the vibrate option. It could be heard clattering a bit as it vibrated from wherever it was placed. Namjoon and Hobi - who were still close to the spot where the man had sprang out at them and ran off - moved closer to the shadows he had once been hiding in. Namjoon shifted a fallen box or two aside to reveal the cell phone; its screen lit with an incoming call. Hobi - who was standing behind Namjoon - recognized the name on the screen, gulping as he moved around Namjoon to pick the phone off the ground.

"Um Jimin? Did you happen to recognize the guy in the suit that ran off?"

Jimin lifted his head from the cat to gaze towards Hobi as he walked over with the vibrating phone in his hands.

"No. I didn't get a good look at him. Why?"

Hobi turned the phone around so that Jimin could have a clear view of the phone's screen. The caller was none other than the label.

Jimin felt sick when he saw that. The last time that he had felt this sick had been when he had overdone it at the all-you-can-eat buffet at the label's last holiday party. He quickly walked past Hobi and Namjoon, rounding the corner to see that the man that had run off hadn't gotten far. He was currently sitting in front of the restaurant looking through the slightly filmy front window at the patrons indulging on fish inside. He was sitting on his haunches in a crouch of sorts.

'Like a cat,' thought Jimin as he felt the mochi from the holiday party revisiting him all these months later.

Jimin swallowed the feeling of nausea that swept over him as he walked closer to the man. When he stood by him, he reached out to place a hand on his shoulder to get him to face him. The face that stared back at him was the face of the person that Jimin had been dreading ever since Taehyung's parents said they were sending him their way to help expedite the end of the album.

It was none other than Min Yoongi. Jimin would recognize those intense brown eyes anywhere.

"Jin," said Jimin as he turned to look at him as he rounded the corner of the alley with the tabby cat close on his heels. "That thing you read out of the book...do you think there is a chance you may have pronounced it correctly?"

"Well, I mean there's a chance, but why do you..." Jin's question trailed off as he looked from the man perched on his hindquarters in front of the restaurant window to the cat practically snarling in disgust beside him. He went pale, nearly running headlong into Namjoon and Hobi as he ran back down the alley towards the shed where he had put the book.

"Where are you going?" asked Namjoon as he practically bounced off the wall like a bouncy ball as Jin accidentally shoved him aside to get through.

"I have to get the book before I go back on shift," called back Jin in reply instead of answering Namjoon's question. "Don't let the cat or that man out of your sight!"

"What's gotten into him?" muttered Namjoon as he and Hobi rounded the corner where the man had now placed his palms flat against the window glass; his face practically plastered to it as his eyes bugged out at the large fish being carried by just then. The cat that sat a few feet away in disgust brought a paw up to its face as if it was giving itself a face palm.

Now that the man wasn't hissing and running off, Hobi was able to get a better look at him. The man's once pristine and likely expensive suit jacket had already been stained with some dirt from the four legged run out of the alley. Hobi could even catch the glint of a golden watch about his wrist as his hands stayed pressed against the window. Even from the side, his face had distinctive angular features that had Hobi identifying the man immediately.

"Is that Min Yoongi?" asked Hobi to Jimin. "The supposed heavy hand of the label?"

"It would appear so," said Jimin. "Though he's acting like a cat."

"You don't mean..."

Hobi looked from Jimin and the man to the cat still sitting there with a paw over its face. As Hobi looked at it, the cat brought its paw away from its face to start meow babbling as if it could be understood.

"Oh we're in trouble," said Hobi.