𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

𝖮 𝖮 𝟣

⊹ chapter one ⊹

the door bell blared through the silent house, morning sun peeking through the edges of jimin's curtains. he sighed, rolling over in the bed to glare at the bedroom door. maybe if he stared hard enough they'd go away?

another ring of the door bell had jimin groaning and shoving himself up, slipping his feet into house slippers. "what could someone want at seven in the morning?"

he huffed as he jerked his bedroom door open, shuffling to the front door, pulling it open with a sour face.

"good morning! please sign this." the mailman, a grin— one far too wide for this early— plastered on his face, stood holding out a clipboard.

what the hell? mail doesn't even get delivered this early.

jimin eyed the man that stood in front of his door, wondering how morning people like him functioned.

"yeah..." he muttered, taking the clipboard and pen attached to it, quickly scribbling his signature on the page before handing it back.

"thank you. i'll be right back with your package."

jimin nodded once. with the mailman gone, his eyes drooped as he lingered by the door. he really hoped this wouldn't take long; he wanted to go back to bed.

the sound of something shifting and wheels dragging across the ground made jimin force his eyelids back open.

"where should i put it?" the mailman huffed, wiping an arm across his brow. a giant box wrapped in brown shipping paper sat on a dolly.

"oh." jimin gaped. "um, you can just leave it in the living room?"

the man heaved the dolly back onto its wheels, maneuvered the package through the narrow doorway, and left it in the middle of his living room. "have a nice day!"

jimin nodded along in a daze and closed the door behind him, standing there just staring at the closed door. he didn't remember drinking enough to blackout recently, so when did he order a package this big?

"hey, wait!" he yelled, throwing the door back open and running after the mailman. "i think there's some kind of mistake, i didn't order anything."

"oh! that's right! i was told to give you this." the mailman handed over a small, colorful envelope.

jimin took it, tore open one corner and stuck his finger in, dragging it along the top until it was open and he could wiggle the paper out. his eyes skimmed over the paper in disbelief.

jiminie, i hope you like my present! - tae.

the mailman bowed and took his leave, and jimin stepped back into his apartment where the mysterious box was waiting.

he looked the box up and down, eyes narrowing at the white envelope taped to the front— or what he assumed was the front.

the letter inside read:

dear park jimin,

thank you for choosing us! we are incredibly grateful for your support of our business. every order is custom built and uniquely tailored to each customers taste— no two orders are exactly alike.

how to activate: place one hand over the heart for ten seconds. please be patient, as your order may take a few extra seconds to process before interacting. we hope you enjoy!

sincerely, the build your companion team.

the build your companion team?

slowly, jimin reached out, fingers curling around the crinkling paper, and yanked. underneath, the box was a solid cream color, nothing but the numbers 01974 written in fancy italics across the front. grabbing a pair of scissors, jimin opened them wide, using one of the blades to slice through the tape on the sides and top.