ᴛʜɪʀsᴛ ☑

# 10. Yellow Object

Jimin lurked and got inside the elevator. Before the doors closed in front of him, he realized he should have taken the stairs. "Good morning," Momo greeted him with a tease in her voice. 

"Morning, how are you?" Jimin questioned politely. 

"You are avoiding me, Jimin. How am I supposed to feel about your question?"

"It's not like that."

"Can you please meet me in the document room?" Momo asked hastily just as the elevator doors opened on their floor, wanting them to be alone. 

"I had a rough night, Momo. I just need some time to settle down and start my day without a fuss." Jimin responded and walked straight to his cubicle. 

Momo couldn't bear the humiliation in form of rejection. She always got what she asked, and the man was avoiding her constantly. She felt she was being ridiculed. "You are into Hwasa these days, I know that. Do you think I am a fool?" She rushed behind Jimin, taking off her bag and putting it on the desk.

A few people were sitting randomly, but not in close proximity as Jimin spectated to ensure the voice didn't go beyond their department cube. "Hwasa might be interested in me, but I can assure you I am not. Listen Momo, I don't think I can keep doing this anymore. Whatever is between us, I can't handle it."

"You are the one who suggested it, Jimin. You came after me!" Momo whisper-yelled, sitting down on her chair so that she wasn't the center of attention. 

Jimin sighed, taking his chair as well and rotating it towards Momo. "You are right. But things didn't stay as casual as I wanted them to be. You have a husband and I am not going to be the one to feel used when we can't sustain our relationship anymore. I am sorry... We are over."

The two looked up when Hwasa waved at Jimin. 

"Hey," Jimin smiled before taking out his laptop from the bag. 

**

As lunch time commenced, everyone moved to the cafeteria. Jimin sat with his boss today, wanting to avoid the drama. "How is everything going with you, people?" Namjoon asked. Jimin had to look up at the man's face to understand the question. "Momo and you. You guys seem to be in a fight. We all can see that."

"It's nothing, Mr. Kim. Don't worry about that. Did anything come to your ears?"

"Not specifically, but I am not the only one who thinks that way. People on the team have noticed too. We are in one team, Jimin. We all need to be friends, if not best friends."

The younger male nodded with a breath of relief that Namjoon didn't exactly know about them. He knew he had to work on hiding his emotions well when his eyes fell on the mute TV hanging on the wall stand. He couldn't read the small text of the breaking news, but the big picture of Jungkook was enough to freak him out. 

"Mr. Kim, I- I need to go."

"Is everything okay?" Namjoon stood up when Jimin did so suddenly. 

The younger let out an exhale and put on a smile to fool his senior. "I just realized I have a meeting with our global stakeholders. I will eat later."

"Sure," Namjoon now chuckled, patting Jimin's shoulder to dismiss him. 

Jimin walked back to his desk, and without saying anything to anyone, began to wind up. Momo looked at him putting his laptop back into his bag and collecting his accessories. When he stormed out of the cubicle, Momo texted him.

What's wrong? Where are you going?

Jimin was on his phone, but everything looked blurry to him as he dialed his friend's number. The bell rang and it felt like an eternity to him before it was answered. "Jimin, hi..."

"Hyung, I am in trouble."

"Calm down. What happened? I will come to you."

"No, no," Jimin now pressed the elevator button, but then decided he needed to take the stairs. "Wait..."

He turned and rushed towards the staircase door and was descending like a thief running from cops in the next moment. "I went on an online date and who was supposed to be a girl, turned out to be a boy."

"Well damn, Jimin!" Hoseok yelled. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THAT BLIND DATING!"

"I am sorry, okay? It's not my fault that kids these days are liars and catfishers."

"Oh, God! A kid, Jimin? What did you do?" Hoseok asked, suddenly standing and getting his keys to come to Jimin, wherever he was, thinking that perhaps the boy's parents were involved now. 

"Nothing!" Jimin huffed annoyingly. "I mean I only yelled at him and threatened to beat him, but why am I in the wrong here? I was the one who was fooled by that boy. But that's not the problem. The problem is that he ran away after I talked to him and his missing report must have been filed. His pictures are all over the local news. If anything happened, I'll get dragged into it unnecessarily. What do I do, Hyung?"

"Where did you last see him?"

"In front of Peony Mini."

"Reach there and don't talk to anyone. I am coming." Hoseok disconnected the call and looked around his work desk. 

"What's wrong, prosecutor?" Yoongi asked, raising his brow at the lawyer. 

"Some family emergency. I'll be back in an hour." The man took off his coat before rushing out. 

Soon enough, he pulled over in front of the European bar and watched Jimin's whiter than pale face. Hoseok abandoned his car in the parking lot and got inside Jimin's vehicle. "I brought him here, but he ran in this direction." The younger spoke just as the older friend sat beside him. 

"I say we should inform the police, Jimin. It won't be legal to withhold the information from the law when we know crucial things about this case."

Jimin was afraid Hoseok would say something like that, but more than a lawyer, he needed a friend right now. "I can't, Hyung. One police case and my job will be gone. I can't do it without at least trying something."

Hoseok stared at Jimin for a few seconds too long and had the man panic even more. The lawyer sighed defeatedly while taking out his binoculars. "It's not right, but let's trace his steps. You'd be lucky if he is alive, but I don't want to give you a false sense of relief. In ninety percent of the cases, they are either dead or kidnapped." 

Jimin regretted everything and cursed the day he started talking to the boy. He shifted gear and drove fast while blinking his eyes.

After what seemed to be the most silent and awkward ride, Hoseok finally screamed all of the sudden. "STOP THE CAR! STOP, STOP!"

Jimin's foot pressed on the brake and the car halted before jerking the two ahead on their seats. "I think I saw a yellow object. What was he wearing?"

"I guess a yellow hoodie." Jimin's face passed over with hope as he bolted out of the car.