In Retrospect - Jikook

Chapter Two: Experation Date

"Where'd you get the jacket?" Jung Hoseok asked Jimin as he walked past The Kims front doors, sand dusting off the bottom of his shoes. The Kims held base in an old mansion built off the coast of Busan's beaches. The building was only one story, but it spanned wide with large arches for windows, navy blue walls, and the scent of the ocean perpetually in the air.

Jimin glanced at his new leather jacket, the material swallowing him and the sleeves pooled around his arms where a red-stitched dragon hit his knuckles instead of his wrist. He threw the right-hand a shrug and the dragon-stitch crinkled with the movement. "Gift from a friend."

"Right. Well, The Don's asking for you." Hoseok said, clocking the dried blood on the jacket's neck.

"Right now?" Jimin blinked in suprise. "He usually lets me shower first." He said. Honestly, Jimin really did need to shower. There was blood on his wrists, sweat covering his neck, and the scent of coffee clung to his skin like a bad cologne. His body screamed to have the water turn hotter and hotter as it hit his back and Jimin could lose himself under the steam for hours. But, he knew better than refusing a direct order from his Don. His body was littered in enough bruises and scars to show for it. 

Hoseok flicked his brows up and Jimin sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Office of Lobby?" Jimin said. Usually he never had to ask. The Don's office was where his feet naturally stepped to go. It was a small, private space. The only window in that room was a circular opening in the ceiling that allowed sunlight to pool into the room like it was bleeding into it. But with the way Hoseok had waited for Jimin to return from his hit and the strange quiet in a mansion littered with guards, Jimin guessed today might not be a usual day. He hoped Hoseok would prove him wrong. The Lobby was the name for the building's ballroom. It was a massive space where card tables and cigar booths decorated the floor. The leader of The Kim Mafia used it for ceremonial purposes - or more specially, when he wanted to make a show of someone.

"Lobby." Hoseok answered and Jimin's heart sank, but he didn't let any of his disappointment show on his face. Instead, he jumped the leather jacket and started to head down the hall towards the ballroom. His shower would have to wait.

Hoseok quickly stepped in line with Jimin, and the assassin let himself fall into the familiar rhythm of the two of them preparing to see their Don. He found comfort in the way Hoseok never let Jimin step too far ahead of him. His eyes were always trained on Jimin's hands while his own never strayed too far from the gun holstered on his hip. Jimin savored it; Hoseok was one of the few people in Busan who watched Jimin with caution instead of hunger.

Many Kim guards eyed Jimin curiously as the pair passed through the halls. Jimin didn't walk like they expected for someone coined The Kims' Whore. He never did. He walked with his shoulders back, his chin high. Like he watched mike's mic and knew that he was that bitch and will forever be that bitch. Seeing Hoseok, their superior, on guard with Jimin always added to the confusion. Some gossiped that Jimin was the family's assassin, others enjoyed the fantasy of Jimin under them too much to notice the truth, and the third kind were those who didn't see a difference whether he whored himself to The Kims or killed for him.

When Hoseok and Jimin turned a corner out of view of the guards, Hoseok took Jimin by the shoulder and pushed him against the wall, looking around to make sure no one was coming their way. Jimin's body immediately called to action, his hand reaching for the knife in his sleeve to stab Hoseok through his ribs - then hesitated. Hoseok seemed worried. Not for himself, but for Jimin.

"We don't have long." Hoseok said. The door to The Lobby loomed behind them, laughter and the hum of conversation pooling from the crack between its hinges. "But you should know that you're not going to like what you hear in there." Hoseok warned and Jimin slipped the knife back into his sleeve, his brows furrowing. His tenuous relationship with Hoseok always leaned towards friendship, but the older had never warned him of a meeting before. It could get them both killed if The Don found out he's said anything. "Just, don't show any shock on your face in there. I don't know what The Don will order me to do if you do." Hoseok's grip loosened on Jimin and the right-hand stood back with a pale face.