Jimin's Pet | Park Jimin (a hybrid story)

~~Forty^.^

Mi-cha~
The week had gone exceptionally well. We had thirty hybrids for sale and over a hundred people interested in buying them; some of them interested in more than one. Quite a few of the potential buyers had already come to check out the merchandise ahead of the auction that was set for the day after tomorrow.

Sehun had already gone home for the night, but I stayed to clean up the rooms and get things ready for the next round of interested clientele, which were coming first thing tomorrow morning. It was the day I had been waiting for. Believe it or not, there were people in this world much worse than me. And Poppy was about to meet several of them.

I reached up to push my hair behind my ears and inadvertently trailed my fingertips across the deep scratches that bitch had left on my face. Not only would they probably scar, but also because of her I had to quit the sweetest job I'd ever had.

I couldn't show up at the Big Hit building with claw marks down my cheek, especially since Poppy had disappeared under suspicious circumstances. She had been a thorn in my side since the day she'd wandered in lost and asking for help. At least now, she'd get her comeuppance. 

I snickered to myself as I thought about her watching the other hybrids being treated like nothing more than cattle over the past few days. She knew her turn was coming. I made sure to remind her of it over and over again.

I turned toward her now, the look in her eyes catching me off guard. A cold sweat broke out over me from the flat look of hatred on her face. In that moment, there was nothing submissive about her. If she was not as securely restrained as she was, I might have been afraid. However, because of those restraints I had nothing to fear. Two days from now, I would be the last person on her mind. She would have new owners to hate.

I sauntered over to her cage, a small mischievous smile playing on my lips. "I can't wait until tomorrow. It will be my best wish come true to see you bent over that table while some pervert gropes you with everyone watching. Maybe you won't feel so high and mighty then."

She never broke eye contact and it unnerved me. She didn't cower at the thought of my threat; instead, her voice came off as unruffled, fearless, "You know the thing about tables, Mi-cha? They always seem to turn when you least expect it."     

~~~

Jimin~
I was deep in my cups. It was almost midnight and I had been sitting on this bar stool for hours. All the information that we had about Poppy and Mi-cha hadn't amounted to a hill of beans. No one had found anything—not the private detective we'd hired, not the police, and even with all their resources, Big Hit hadn't been able to do anything either. Mi-cha seemed to have just disappeared, taking Poppy with her.

Tapping the bottom of my glass on the counter, I got the bartender's attention and he brought me yet another drink.

"You sure you're all right, buddy?"

My vision blurred as I looked up at him and nodded. "No worries," my words slurring only slightly, probably not easing his worries much. "I have friends coming to pick me up pretty soon."

He returned my nod and moved off to take care of the other sad souls who sat forlornly at the bar. It wasn't the kind of bar you'd bring a date to; it was the kind of bar you brought your broken heart to.

Was there anything I could have done differently? How had things disintegrated in such a grand fashion?

I always thought I was doing the right thing—the best thing for both of us. I knew my actions had hurt Poppy, but wouldn't it have been worse if I'd just let Mi-cha play out her dastardly plot?

Now that I had lost everything though, I realized maybe I had been wrong—so very wrong.

If I'd told Mi-cha to take a flying leap with those photos—yes, we would have had some struggles, but Poppy and I would have tackled them together and maybe even come out stronger on the other side of things.

I suppose there was a possibility that those struggles would have pulled Poppy and me apart, but we would have at least had a chance to fight for each other. Letting our relationship die a natural death would have been preferable to what was happening now.

I didn't know where Poppy was, or if she was safe, or even if she was still alive. Who knew what Mi-cha was capable of? It drove me to continue drinking so I could keep the more gruesome possibilities out of my head—because honestly, those thoughts invaded my every waking moment.

I lifted the glass to my lips only to find it empty again, I needed another drink. I tapped the bottom of my glass against the bar, raising it as the bartender looked my way. His shoulders dropped and I could tell he was about to cut me off.

"It's all right," I heard from behind me, and the bartender nodded and refilled my drink. A hand softly gripped my shoulder and I turned my head to see Hobi and Hae standing beside me.

Groaning, I lowered my head into my hands. They were not the ones I wanted to be here right now. They were too close to the situation for what I needed tonight.

"I called Jungkook and Tae. What are you two doing here?"

"Well, you got us instead," Hobi said, pulling out a stool for Hae.

"Then I'm ready to leave."

I couldn't even look at Hae. Her sad eyes were almost more than I could take. This was a woman who was never meant to be sad. Hae was perky, bouncy, and bossy. She spoke without thinking, but she would rather die than hurt anyone. I knew she and Poppy had been like sisters and she was hurting too, but I didn't have it in me right then to deal with anyone else's pain. My own was already too heavy for me.

I threw back my drink and slid off the barstool, my knees nearly buckling as I hit the floor. Hobi grabbed me, holding me up and propelling me toward the door. A tall, slender man stepped in front of me and I almost plowed him over in my desire to get out of this place.

"Mr. Park? How nice to see you again."

I looked up into the annoyingly saccharin friendly face of Hwan from Hybrid Heaven. He looked around the bar, searching over all the different faces, "Where's your hybrid, Mr. Park? I figured you two just had a little spat and worked it out a few weeks back. Where is number 134? I'd like to say hello to her."

This man put me in a bad mood on the best of days, but today, I just could not take him.

"Her name is not number 134! It's Poppy," I shouted at him. "She is not inventory! She's a beautiful, supportive, loving..." And right there in the middle of the bar, I embarrassed myself by turning into Hae's waiting arms and dissolving into a puddle of tears.

"Oh dear, did I say something wrong?" Hwan asked, his face pulling into a sympathetic frown.

"He'll be all right," Hobi said, patting my shoulder. "We've all been having a very hard time lately. Unfortunately, Poppy has recently been kidnapped."

Hwan took a small step backward in surprise, "Kidnapped? Surely, you're not serious."

Almost immediately, he put his arm around me—as usual, far too familiar. Pulling me out of Hae's grip, he smiled mysteriously as he asked, "Mr. Park, do you believe in fate? Providence? Karma? Because something magical brought the two of us back together again tonight for a purpose."

I looked up, the tears blurring my view of Hwan's face. I felt his soft thumb gently wipe the tears from my eyes and I pulled away uncomfortably. But he just chuckled and said, "Do you find ironic moments funny?"

At my shrug, he leaned down putting his forehead against mine and said, "You're going to love this, Mr. Park—you've had the means to find her all along."