DEMONS [CHANBAEK]

Chapter 2

Chanyeol hated rifles. He considered them unnecessarily big and too much of a hassle to carry. Carrying a rifle meant carrying an entire briefcase, assembling the rifle before the job and then dismantling it quickly after. That made it inconvenient, but he had to admit they provided a better shot. Being a professional, the type of weapon did not affect his work, but it did affect his mood. Additionally, carrying around a briefcase was too much of a hassle for him.

Thankfully, today's work did not require a big gun. Presently, he had on himself a Glock 26 in his shoulder holster, a garrote wrapped around his wrist, two knives in his boots, a Derringer up his sleeve, a small medical pack and two or three stun guns in various pockets. On seeing Jimin suddenly, his hand went to his Glock but only his years of training prevented him from pulling it out and using it.

As Jimin drank her milk, Chanyeol waited patiently for her to talk. The little nugget and he were friends, of sorts. When Chanyeol had moved into the neighbourhood, six months ago, he did a sweep of the place as was his habit. It was necessary that he move into a quiet neighbourhood and live a few years before moving again. This was the fate of every assassin working for SM. Living in one place for too long, with their irregular 'work' hours and odd habits raised quite a few eyebrows.

He had often seen little Jimin playing in the children's park but she was a loner. She never played with the other kids and always sat in one corner of the park with her toy. That was what made Chanyeol notice her in the first place. One day, when she was being incessantly bullied by the other kids, the big guy stepped in and scared them, thus sealing their friendship. Ever since then, whenever he saw her, he would spare her a smile and she would reciprocate with a wave and a very cheerful, "SAMCHO!"

"Samcho, I know you kill people for a living. I have a job for you."

These words took a few moments to register.

"Wh-what?!", sputtered Chanyeol. "What do you mean?", he said, trying to regain his composure.

Jimin rolled her eyes so hard he could almost hear it. 

"Samcho, I know. You kill people. I've seen", and with a very contented smile, she resumed drinking the milk.

Chanyeol's eyes grew wide as saucers as he waited for more explanation, but Jimin didn't seem to want to give more. She very happily focused on finishing her milk.

"Saw... what?", Chanyeol asked.

After what felt like an eternity, Jimin finally put the glass down. Aish this kid!

"I've seen you come home often with blood on your clothes. Sometimes when your coat blows in the wind, I've seen your gun. One day you came home limping, you were bleeding from your leg. I know a bad person hurt you otherwise you would've gone to the hospital, and finally, if you didn't kill people, then you would not be so scared right now", Jimin seemed content with her observation.

"How do you know what an assassin is?", he asked after a very long pause. It seemed to be the only question to come to his mind right now.

"I've read about them. I know you take money from people to kill bad people", Chanyeol seemed incapable of speech. Mistaking his shock as offence she quickly added, "It's ok samcho, that doesn't make YOU a bad person", she said brightly.

Struggling to push his eyes back into the sockets, Chanyeol tried to wrap his head around this VERY drastic turn of events. A storm of questions raged through his mind. After a minute of silent staring, he allowed his professionalism to take over.

"You wanted me to...kill someone?", what was even the point of denying things now?

The change in Jimin's face was...loud. A look of maturity washed over it. For a minute she did not seem like a 7-year old.