diet of lies

Chapter 3~ Park Jimin

   THE WEATHER NEVER CHANGES HERE. It seems like when the weather does consist of sunshine and heat, its because the gods are practically kissing the land. But the rest of the time, they must be displeased with us townspeople as they leave us to scrounge in cloaked shadows and what seems like an eternal downpour.

***

      I scrape my shoes across a coarse foot mat at the entrance. The store appears empty but I know that's never the case.
Loud shuffles emerge from the backroom, and suddenly an copper headed Hoseok appears. His eyes are droopy; his hair is unbelievably shabby. There's medical wrap around his neck, but I shrug it off. It's not abnormal for the boys to come in all banged up. In fact, I'd be surprised if they didn't show up with bruises and cuts daily.
"Hyung?"I utter. Hoseok rubs his eyes and yawns, shaking his head. Gripping my trench coat tightly, I make my way upstairs.

My fingers push the old white door open causing bits of paint to chip off. The lights inside are dim and it doesn't help that the furniture isn't any brighter. There's the definable shadow of seven chairs, neatly pushed into the large conference table, all perfectly centered in the room, with Mr. Wan's chair is proudly at its head.
Hoseok passes by me and collapses into his rightful chair beside Mr. Wan's. I carefully take my seat on the other side of him. Soon, Yoongi comes in, with Namjoon behind him. Yonngi sits across from me, whirling a cherry sucker between his teeth. He taps the rim of his black ball cap to cloak his eyes. Namjoon's strolling leisurely to his spot, gently caressing a styrofoam cup of fresh steaming coffee between his fingerless gloves. He reclines in his chair.
Jungkook runs into the conference room, jumping into his chair, and nearly bounces out of it.
   "Sit properly!" Jin propels his voice from down the hall.
"Huh? How did he know," Jungkook slumps.
"I have eyes behind my head." Jin's standing in the doorway.
"That's what you keep telling yourself." Yoongi crosses his arms.
Jin takes the seat beside me.
"Respect your elders." Namjoon jokes.
"I'm not ancient..." Jin pouts.

         The last member to sit down is Pilk Wan. He comes in and lowers himself into his chair. Roughly, he scans our faces with a deep, belated sigh. We all stand up curtly, bending over into a bow directed for Mr.Wan.
"Where is Taehyung?" He grumbles while rubbing a spot behind his ear. We all sit back down.
"He said he had to finish up a job, sir." I lean forward.
"I see, well I have a hunch that everyone knows why I called this meeting." 
Hoseok reclines into his chair, crossing his arms, and snuffing his breath. Namjoon shoots him a glare, that's set to 'STUN' instead of 'KILL.'
       "We're all aware of the green crate, yes?" Everyone's heads nod. 
"To make a long story short, I planted them on the floor in the thrift shop. And it happens that a young lady has them now.
    "The Bangtan Sonyeondan Tapes?" Jin looks around.
"They have all our files on them..." Namjoon quickly grieves, his free hand rubbing his temple.
    "Then- Why'd you let her take them?" I say quietly.
   "We need new meat. For 26 years those tapes sat upstairs in our vault. Not a another soul had seen them beside us. But, recently I decided to move them downstairs, and then yesterday happened and I decided it was for the best."
    "What's her name?" Jungkook adjusts in his chair..
"Chae." Hoseok lowers his head and taps his finger nails melodically on the table.
     "How do you know that?" Mr. Wan face grows red with anger.
"She had a tag on her jacket that ripped off, it had her name written on it. Anyways, its information we need."
"Its information you need."
Mr.Wan grabs the collar of Hoseok's shirt but quickly releases him knowing he's not worth another scratch. I hold Hoseoks shoulder to get him to relax a little.

   "I have a hunch on this girl.... she seems to get around somehow. This skill will be highly valuable to us. Not to mention I've heard she has traces to the P'il Family. It'd be foolish to not make her a member..." Mr. Wan continues "and since she will end up watching the tapes, that will put her in a dangerous situation.... so Jimin, I want you to keep an eye on her."
    "Yes-s sir." My hearts thumping loudly.
He wants me to watch her?
"We'll see how well she can handle the heat that is BTS. I'm placing you in charge now, Namjoon. I'm positive you can take over from here." Mr.Wan slowly stands up, placing his hands on the table at either side of himself.
    "Every single one of you needs to be on board. Otherwise, this won't work. This is not a game, gentleman. We need to act as soon as the opportunity calls." Mr. Wan exhales then walks towards the doorway. "I'm counting on you boys." He finishes briskly before walking out the room.

    "She's one of us now?" Jungkook's expression is ajar.
"Yes, and we know the rules," Namjoon speaks, looking around.
   "We protect our own." I add sternly, under my breath.
"That's right Jimi-"
The office door crashes open and Tae walks inside accordingly.
     "Perfect timing Tae, really." Yoongi rolls his eyes. Taehyung's panting like a dog.
"Aigoo, why are you always so late?" Jin moans. He reaches across the length of the table, wagging his finger in Tae's face.
   "Stop talking, dirt is spewing out your mouth." Tae fires back, slapping away Jin's finger. Jin holds his heart, "Gee, bad mission?'
Taehyung lounges in his chair, crossing his feet atop the table. He wipes some sweat away from his brows. His white headbands tie-died from dirt, sweat, and blood. Namjoon glares at Tae menacingly, then at his feet rudely on the table. Tae smiles sheepishly and plants his boots back on the floor.

       "This is a big job," Joon motions with his hands. "Failure is not on the agenda. So, for the sake of keeping our asses on our bodies, behave~ I'm talking about you Hoseok." Namjoon doesn't hesitate to point. Hoseok rolls his eye's so far that I think they'll get stuck.
    "I don't like her, Namjoon. Chae isn't trust worthy. She's a danger to us."
"Yeah? Well, keep it to yourself." The navy headed man barks.
Hobi throws his hands in the air, dumbfounded. Namjoon and Hobi continued to bicker but my attention follows Jungkook and Yoongi. Their having their own little situation.

Yoongi's being like a heavy stone at the bottom of a stream, unbothered and stagnant. I notice Jungkook's pestering him about the blue lollipop in his flannel pocket. Yoongi swats at him, despite how useless he knows that is. It's known the Jungkook won't cease till he gets the answers he wants. That's what makes him such a great member.
Yoongi grunts and whisk's the sucker out of his pocket. He cracks Jungkook on the head with it first, before actually handing it to him. Kookie grins and rips the wrapper off, sticking the candy into the side of his cheek happily.

        "Where do we start?" Jin leans on his arm rest.
Namjoon locks his hands. He's thinking about something. Suddenly his eyes expand. "Jimin," I jump from my chair and to attention.  "Why don't you spy on Chae. Make sure she doesn't do anything too irrational. And if you have to intervene, by all means do it- even if you need to use force." He sighs.

It's been a while since I've been charged with a real task, and the thought of being on the job again exhilarates me. I politely bow and was ready to leave when I was called back again. I sharply turn around.
    "Stay alert." Namjoon shakes my hand.  I smile and leave the room. Here goes nothing.