Catalyst

Part 8

"I trust you, Y/n," Jimin said, and reached out for my hand. I tried to pull my hand away, but was unsuccessful.

"That's nice."

Ignoring me, he continued, "And you trusted me enough to sleep with me."

"That was a dream!" I could feel my face heating up with both embarrassment and rage.

"Well, that too, but I was referring to last night. We both fell asleep on the couch." He winked at me, and released my hand from his.

"I can't deal with you. My eyes don't roll back far enough."

Jimin giggled, his eyes crinkling. I melted a little. Adorable.

If he is getting to me this much, I must really need to get laid. We haven't even known each other 24 hours!

His laughter subsided, and smile faded slightly. "In all seriousness, I really do trust you."

I believed he was sincere, but I did not know how to respond to him. So, I just continued to hold his gaze, and waited for the other shoe to drop.

Jimin was silent.

A playful knock at the front door caught us both off guard. I was grateful for the interruption.

"That's Hobi."

I stood up and started to walk to the door, but paused when I felt Jimin's hand catch my wrist as I passed him. "How do you know it's him?"

"That's his knock. He has a special knock."

Jimin released my wrist and walked down the hall to the front door.

Hobi threw his arms around me as soon as the door opened. "Y/n! How is cat ownership treating you?" He beamed at me, his smile as bright as the sun.

Before I could stop him, Hobi walked passed me into my apartment. I panicked, quickly closing the door. "Hobi, wait!"

I was too late. Hobi was in the living room.

"Jimin-ie?"

"Hoseok hyung."

The conversation that transpired was in Korean, so I wasn't entirely sure what was being said. What I could glean from their body language and tone was:
- The two men definitely knew each other.
- Hobi was pissed at Jimin.
- Jimin thought Hobi was overreacting

I heard my own name being thrown around, and decided it would be best if I stepped into the kitchen to give them some space.

I was leaning against the counter, debating about whether or not I should make some tea for my guests, when it hit me. Jimin lied.

He said we had no connections, and that was part of why he sought my help. He saw Hobi the night before. Jimin said he had been watching me for a few days, and that he saw me with Hobi. Sounds way more stalker-y when I think about it.

"I told you to stay a fucking cat!"

Hobi's sudden use of English jolted me from my thoughts. Both men went silent.

"Y/n?" Hobi asked softly, peaking around the wall that separated the living room and kitchen. His eyes widened upon seeing my expression. Betrayal and unbridled rage, a deadly combination in a redhead. "A-are you okay?"

"Get out." I whispered.

Hobi took two steps toward me. Smiling meekly, "Let's talk about this. We can explain."

"Get out."

Tentatively moving closer, Hobi reached his arms out to me. "It'll all make sense-"

"Hoseok!" He winced, I hadn't called him by his given name since the first time we met. "Get out!"

I shoulder-checked him on my way to the living room. "Jimin! Out!"

Jimin sighed, running his damned hand through his hair. He stood up, squared his shoulders, and faced me. "No."

"What?!"

"Sit down and listen!"

Jimin placed is hands on my shoulders and pushed me down to sit on the couch. He sat next to me, his arm wrapped around my shoulders, holding me in place. He gestured to Hobi to sit on the floor in front of us. "Hyung."

Hobi sat on the floor, resting his back against the wall. "Jimin came to me a few days ago and told me about what had happened at Kronos Tech. He asked me if I could hide him, or if I knew someone who could help. I thought of you, Y/n."

When I didn't respond, Hobi cleared his throat and continued. "You're such a good person, kind, and loving. And you've been an amazing friend. I thought if Jimin could just lay low and stay a cat for a few days, we could figure out a plan." Hobi directed a withering glare at Jimin. "But you couldn't even stay a cat for a few hours, could you?"

Jimin gave Hobi an equally intense glare, and said, "Continue."

Hobi focused his eyes on mine once again. "I didn't want to bring you into this. But we agreed that it would be better if Jimin wasn't in my apartment in case someone from Kronos came looking for him. We just needed some time to get the other guys on board and come up with a plan."

Jimin released his hold on my shoulder, and turned toward me. "We need all the help we can get."

"You keep talking about a plan. What is the plan for exactly?" I asked. They weren't giving me any pertinent information.

Jimin glanced at Hobi and gave a slight nod. Hobi sighed.

"Kronos has two of our friends. We need to save them."