Bodyguard | PJM

36. Explanation

All throughout class, Dong Yoo eyes Jimin, and it stresses me out. I keep waiting for him to confront me, but he waits until the end to say, "come to study room three in the library. You already know what I want to talk about."

I nod as the class files out. Jimin squeezes my hand reassuringly and meets my eye. "I just want to let you know that you don't have to have this discussion today. I'm okay not knowing if you're already emotionally drained." He murmurs, referring to how I told him about Eomma.

I shake my head, giving him a tired smile. "I want to fix my mistakes. I understand that I was hasty last year and that landed you in jail, but I want to get information for you."

+++

We walk into the study room with solemn faces as Dong Yoo glowers at Jimin unapologetically.

"Let's talk about the elephant in the room, shall we?" He asks in a dark voice, sending shivers down my spine. Jimin's hand on the small of my back comforts me as we make our way to the chairs and seat ourselves.

Dong Yoo looks directly at me, anger flaring in his eyes. "What do you think your doing hanging with a disgusting criminal, Kyung Mi?"

"Dong Yoo, you don't understand. Jimin went to jail to protect me."

After explaining to him what Jimin had told me recently and struggling to convince him that my bodyguard is a good guy, Dong Yoo turns to Jimin.

"Jimin, that was so dumb. You let her be vulnerable for a year because you thought it was the best choice—you had no one there on the lookout, no one there making sure she was okay." Dong Yoo says to him. "Look, I'm sorry for being the one to put you there, but I had my reasons."

Jimin cracks his neck back. "How do you know I didn't have anyone watching over her?" He asks, a sly smile on his face. I look at him, surprised. "Obviously I made sure my friends looked after Kyung Mi while I was gone."

Wow, I was never alone. Jimin arranged for my protection even when he couldn't be there himself.

My bodyguard leans forward and tilts his head at Dong Yoo. He means business. "You said you had your reasons. Care to share?"

Dong Yoo nods. "In Su, the spy I met, told me everything about the Sparked Mafia. He explained your guys's relationship, too."

"How do you know for sure that In Su was working against them?"

"Trust me, I know." Dong Yoo narrows his eyes at Jimin.

Jimin leans back and puts his arm on the back of my chair. I can tell he's trying to hide his anger for my sake. "Just let me meet the guy. I'll be able to tell if he's legit or not."

Dong Yoo leans back, expression changing. "I can't do that. I actually haven't been in contact with him for months, and I have no idea where he is now."

"What?" Jimin says. "You can't be serious! You let him put me in jail for a year and then he conveniently disappears and you don't think anything of it?"

Dong Yoo cowers in Jimin's presence, losing all previous confidence. "I just assumed it was risky for me to know someone working against the Sparked Mafia, since his actions could be traced back to me-"

"Goddammit, Dong Yoo!" Jimin pounds his fist on the table and I jump. "If you can't prove to me right now that In Su was working against the Sparked Mafia then we will have a big problem."

Dong Yoo, regaining his composure, looks back at Jimin with determination. "He knew information that only an insider would. I compared it to things I heard you say when Kyung Mi and I were together, and it checked out. Plus, he showed me pictures of people of the Sparked Mafia to look out for, and later those guys were put in jail."

Jimin rolls his eyes. "Ever think In Su was a double agent working for the Sparked Mafia? Because that would easily explain how he knew insider information."

Dong Yoo starts stammering as he gestures to me. "But...but he knew I was friends with Kyung Mi and he didn't try to hurt her while you were away? That says something, doesn't it?"

Jimin heaves a sigh, and I grab his hand to squeeze it. No matter how angry he gets, he can't go ape shit in school. That would only attract attention. He looks at me and nods, like he understands.

"Dong Yoo, the Sparked Mafia are incredibly intelligent. They've been working on some master plan and putting me in jail for a year was part of it. You can't just go around trusting everybody you make friends with-"

He stops short, looking back and forth between Dong Yoo and I. "You know, I think I just realized what makes you two compatible."

I slap his arm. "Jimin!" I whine, "Not the time. You were kind of in the middle of yelling at Dong Yoo, ring a bell?"

"Hey, why bring the attention back to that?" Dong Yoo asks, upset.

"Look, you guys don't understand the severity of the situation. I've been with the Sparked Mafia before, and from the broken memories I have of them, they're psycho."

"Wha-broken memories? I know you said you have trouble remembering what when on in there, but I assumed that was because you suppressed those memories." I say, suddenly on edge.

Dong Yoo replies, "What, are you suggesting they did something to him, like drug him-"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting." I turn to Jimin. "What if something big happened while you worked there, and they messed with your brain to hide it?"

Jimin looks at me with an apathetic look on his face. "They definitely did something to me, but it's not like I can go back in time and stop them. I'm assuming the drugging started when I realized I wasn't supposed to be there. I'd helped them enough by that point anyway."

"What'd you do? How come you were so valuable to them that they tricked you into working for them?" I ask, very interested.

"My reputation as a bodyguard must've caught their interest. They made me think it was a bodyguard industry and that my first job was to train the trainees. I taught the group things they'd never known before, so it's basically my fault they're as powerful as they are." Jimin scoffs.

"But if you taught them everything they know-"

"I can't always outsmart them, if that's what you're going for, because they took the knowledge and skills I gave them and built upon it to become even stronger."

"Damn." I say, defeated. "They really mean business."

"That's why I'm so worried about your behavior. Your actions have consequences that are bigger than you."