You Never Walk Alone || VMIN

THREE

Neither Jimin nor Taehyung believed in the concept of good people and bad people.

Taehyung was constantly told to protect the good guys from the bad guys. Jimin was repeatedly told he was the good guy who needed protection from the bad guys.

 However, none of them found it to be that simple.

Taehyung believed all humans to be equal beings, with the same basic needs and wants. That's part of why he became a lifeguard. He didn't care how famous or successful his clients were. They were just human beings, like himself. All that fame and success was just shallow, he believed. Under the surface were just human beings. He simply couldn't understand what all the fuss was about.

Protecting people went beyond how many retweets and views someone had. Taehyung had a clear goal. Keep them safe at all times. Maybe that was what made him so brilliant in his role. He kept it simple, uncomplicated, which appeared to be his recipe for success.

Jimin believed no person to be a bad person. He simply believed them to be a person, molded by their surroundings and experiences, leading to them making wrong decisions. No matter how wrongful some people appeared to be, Jimin believed them to have far more complex and multilayered minds than they were given credit for. Just like he believed the seemingly simplest person alive was way more complex than they were given credit for. Somewhere deep under the surface, they had their layers too. They had their complexities too.

❦

"Jimin, meet Mr. Kim, the lifeguard I told you about."

Taehyung was instantly taken aback by the sight of Jimin. The actual sight of Park Jimin.

He just looked so real.

All the photos Taehyung had seen of Jimin had been undeniably retouched, portraying him as nothing but a character. A facade, beloved by the people. However, standing in front of Taehyung in the brightly lit dance studio, Jimin just looked so... 

Real.

His tired, yet kind eyes, casting a curious glance at Taehyung. The indistinct, yet visible bags under his eyes. His ruffled hair, clearly tossed around while dancing.

It was all just so real.

"Uhm, you can call me Taehyung. I don't really care for formalities with my clients..."

Namjoon's eyebrows slightly raised by his bold comment.

"Um..." he hesitated, "You still have to respect to my artist, though..."

"It's fine, Namjoon," Jimin immediately stated, his eyes fixed on Taehyung, "He can just call me Jimin, I don't care. Plus, you said he'll come with me wherever I go, right? Might as well make it as comfortable as possible..."

"Alright then..." Namjoon hesitated.

"Why do you look so un-lifeguard-like, anyway?" Jimin asked while inspecting Taehyung's black turtle neck paired with rolled-up chinos, before turning to Namjoon, "Are you sure he's a guard?"

Both Namjoon and Taehyung let out muted chuckles, while Jimin remained unamused.

"He's not like the other guards, Jimin," Namjoon explained, "If he wears a uniform it'll draw unnecessary attention to the two of you. He's supposed to look as 'un-lifeguard-like' as possible."

Jimin's doubtful expression remained, but he didn't question it further.

❦

"Why are you so young, though?" Jimin asked Taehyung as Namjoon left the room to answer a phone call, "It freaks me out having a lifeguard who's like, no years old."

He kind of shocked himself at how straightforward he was acting with someone he had just met. Granted, he knew he was going to have to trust this new person to the highest degree, so he might as well try and establish a relaxed dialogue. But still.

This was not really Jimin-like.

"If I'm 'no years old', then what does that make you..?" Taehyung countered, slightly puzzled to have Jimin interact with him right away. 

For a second he felt unsure if he had come across too disrespectful. Then again, Jimin was just a person. A person who had explicitly told him not to pay him superfluous respect.

"No years old. That's what I'm saying. It freaks me out that you're my age."

Truthfully, Jimin did feel quite uneasy. But it wasn't because of Taehyung's age.

It was a weird situation to be put in. He was comfortable with Namjoon. With some of his other staff as well.

This nicely, yet normally dressed person in front of him, however, was a complete stranger. Seeing him in person made Jimin swiftly realize what a peculiar role this Taehyung-guard was about to have. He was about to become Jimin's tail, following him everywhere.

Jimin hadn't questioned it much before. It's just another guard, he had thought.

But this wasn't just another guard.

The fact that he was about to have a role Jimin couldn't quite put his finger on, slowly but surely started dawning on him.

He wasn't just another guard.

He was something else.