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☂ Chapter 5 ☂

"You... rescued a kid?"

Captain Jeon had his thin lips parted to show his bunny-like teeth. His doe eyes were stretched thanks to his eyebrows being shot up. His office was as dim as ever, with the computer light being the second brightest thing in the room. The first was Jaewon, who sat on Jimin's lap.

Jimin bounced Jaewon and had his arms around the kid's stomach. He couldn't be any older than ten, and that was being generous. Due to how scruffy his appearance was, Jimin was willing to bet that as soon as Jaewon got a haircut, he'd look seven or eight. Maybe younger.

The black chairs in Jungkook's office weren't comfortable, which was why Jimin insisted on scooping Jaewon up in his arms. It felt natural. It felt like he was back in Korea.

"How many times do I have to tell you to leave Busan behind?" Jungkook asked.

"But sir, you assigned me to the case."

"If I knew it would involve this, I never would have put you on it."

"Sir-"

"Cadet L/n proved herself on this case. Have her and Officers Kang and Jung take over. You're off the case due to conflict of interest. We'll process the kid and put him in foster care until we can find his parents-"

"Or," Jimin interrupted, squeezing the kid a bit tighter than he needed to. "I can take care of him."

Jungkook got up and turned off his computer. Shadows filled the room and reflected off of Jungkook's face. He had bags under his eyes, and Jimin swore he could see wrinkles around the sides of Jungkook's slim nose.

"You are the most confusing person I've ever met, Park Jimin. Do you love Busan or hate it? Make up your damn mind before you get someone hurt. Do I need to remind you what happened the last time someone trusted you with her kid-"

That caused Jimin to shoot up. He held Jaewon against his chest and backed away as if Jungkook was a monster. Tears welled inside Jimin's eyes as he instinctively went to the door.

"How dare you bring her into this. I thought we were friends, and now you're using her against me?"

Jungkook clicked his tongue. "Jimin, we are friends, but I'm also your boss. The way I see it, the last time you were in charge of a kid, it didn't go well. I don't care how guilty you feel, I'm not putting the well-being of an innocent kid at stake because you want to redeem yourself. Redeem yourself by sitting down, doing your job, and eventually getting promoted."

"But-"

"No. Put the kid down."

Jimin hesitated. He met Jaewon's pure eyes, and his heart cracked at the sight. The kid's small hands clung to Jimin's uniform. Jaewon bundled the navy blue fabric between his chubby fingers and made a small cooing sound.

A tear fell before Jimin could stop it. "Jungkook, this kid can barely talk. I... I can't give him up-"

"Jimin!" Jungkook shouted, which caused Jimin to flinch. "Put the kid down, now. I'm not asking you, I am ordering you. You are going to put the kid down, go assign the case to your friends, and get out of my sight."

Jimin put Jaewon down, but the kid whined and grabbed at his leg. Jungkook watched with a blank face. Jimin placed his hand on the door, but his eyes met Jungkook's before he could move.

"Why?" Jimin asked in a mutter.

"Jimin, you are this close to being pulled from field duty. This isn't a charity job, this is the God damn New York Police Department. My ass is on the line every time you screw up. As a friend, I believe in you, but you have unresolved trauma you can't deny. Every time a kid is even mentioned, you get like this. It's a conflict of interest, and it can cost me my job. I'm looking out for both of us. You can either take the kid and forfeit your rights on the field, or let me handle the kid and keep your normal job. What will it be?"

Jimin knelt and hugged Jaewon, stroking his hair and savoring the way each strand brushed by his fingers. Each piece felt coarse. Jimin had dirt on his hands by the time he was done comforting the boy.

"You're safe," Jimin muttered into Jaewon's ear. He squeezed the boy one more time before backing away and resting his hands on Jaewon's shoulders. "You're going to be okay. You'll never have to see those people again, okay bud?"

Jaewon jumped into Jimin's arms, and Jimin grunted from the sudden impact. Jimin peered at Jungkook from over the kid's shoulder. If Jungkook wanted to speak, his expression didn't give it away. His eyes were as passive as ever. Jimin wished he could pry Jungkook's skull open and take a peek at the thoughts inside. That was the only way Jimin would ever be able to understand Captain Jeon.

When they parted, Jimin stood to prevent Jaewon from jumping again. He ruffled the boy's hair and plastered a fake smile on his face before walking out. He left the kid there with Captain Jeon and returned to his cruiser in the garage. Tears wanted to fall on his face, but he ignored them and opened the door to the passenger's side. He searched the glove compartment for his locket and sat down, holding the metal against his chest.

Jungkook using Jimin's older partner against him was cruel. Although he was right about the unresolved trauma, Jimin knew he did the right thing by rescuing the kid. What was he supposed to do, leave the boy to get put back in the trafficking system?

Jimin carried the philosophy that police work was both logic and emotions. People did crime for complex reasons; it was rarely black and white. Without logic, policing would be chaos. Without feelings, humanity and sanity would leave an officer's mind. That was why Jimin thought a balance was necessary, and part of that balance was protecting kids.

Jungkook was too logical, which was likely the reason the department selected him as captain instead of Jimin. They valued officers who held their jobs above all else, even themselves. Jimin could admire the dedication, but the rules didn't always allow them to do what was right. Jimin was prestigious because in Korea, he got more wiggle room. Violent crime wasn't as bad in Busan as it was in New York City.

Before Jimin could delve deeper into his thoughts, the door on the driver's side opened, and in came Cadet L/n. She glanced at him, then at the locket pressed against his chest.

"Hoseok told me you like to sit in your car when you're angry. We figured it was taking you too long to talk to Captain Jeon..."

"So you came out here and decided to intrude on my private moment?" Jimin asked, and she slumped in the seat. "I come out here to be alone, not to talk about my feelings."

"I never said I wanted you to."

"Then what do you want?"

"To ask how the meeting went."

Jimin snorted and kicked at the ground. Captain Jeon and Cadet L/n were the same. They both had too much logic and not enough feeling. Y/n would do anything to complete a mission, but Jimin wasn't like that. That was why he despised her. He saw it in her eyes the second she walked into the basement; she was a mini Jeon Jungkook, except much more annoying.

"A month from now is Chuseok," Jimin said instead of answering her question.

"The fuck is that?"

"You don't know what Chuseok is?"

"I grew up on the streets of NYC with few friends and even fewer people I could trust. You think I had time to research... whatever it is you're talking about?"

Jimin snickered. "Fair enough. It's a Korean holiday, but Captain Jeon won't give me time off for it. Something about needing to move on from Korea."

"Do you?"

"What?" Jimin asked with a quirked brow.

"Need to move on from Korea?"

"I don't see why everyone's so up my ass about that. I'm Korean. I can't just forget my cultural background. Just because Jungkook can doesn't mean I should."

"You and I both know he isn't telling you to give up your culture," she said, and it was in that moment that Jimin realized Jungkook was right: Y/n had proved herself. It seemed like something she was desperate to do.

"You're more observant than I thought."

She chuckled and put her feet on the wheel. "Where I grew up, you had to be. If you weren't aware of your surroundings, of the people walking by you... you were dead. I have more scars than happy memories."

"What is one?"

"What?"

"One of your happy memories," Jimin said. He needed a distraction from the thoughts haunting his mind. As much as he didn't care for Y/n, he had to admit he was grateful for her presence.

She laughed. It sounded genuine, and Jimin wanted to believe it was. She put her feet down and turned toward him. Her gloved hands folded over each other, and his eyes fell to the bracelet dangling off her wrist.

"Well, there was this sweet old man who lived on floor five of an apartment complex I slept by. I was sleeping behind the dumpster when he found me and told me to climb the fire escape up. He sat me down, and together, we binge-watched the Fast and Furious movies. Whenever a new movie came out, he took me to see it. Eventually, he let me stay in his apartment."

"What's his name?"

"I call him Old Man Pete."

"Is Pete his real name?"

She made an 'o' shape with her lips and acted like she was wincing. "Officer Park, in the hood, none of us go by our real names."

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."

She laughed again, and the grin that followed crinkled her eyes. "I'll let you choose."

They went quiet after that, and Jimin decided to rest his feet on the dashboard. She mimicked him, but she had less space due to the wheel being on her side. They had to get back to work. They had paperwork to fill out. Yet Jimin stayed put.

"Where is he? Old Man Pete," Jimin said.

She didn't answer for a long moment. "I don't know. He left the apartment without telling me."

"You didn't look for him?"

"I didn't want to."

"Why?" Jimin asked before he could stop himself. He knew he was a hypocrite; he had told her not to pry, yet there he was doing the same thing.

She chuckled. There was no humor in it. "I'm not sure I'll like what I find if I do."

Jimin didn't mean to turn a happy conversation sour, so he cleared his throat. "Isn't the second part of Fast X coming out in... what? A year and a half?"

He didn't realize she had tears in her eyes until she sniffled and turned her head away. She gazed out the window without answering. Right when he thought she wasn't going to speak, she parted her lips.

"Yeah."

"You should watch it with him."

"But how can I..."

"Cadet," Jimin said after she trailed off. "Find a way to watch it with him. You're an annoying asshole with too much focus on the mission instead of yourself, but you deserve to smile."

She met his stare with a soft grin. "That was almost sweet."

"I'm a police officer, it's kind of my job to be an ass."

"Considering you won't let me have donuts, you're not wrong."

They fell quiet. It wasn't awkward like Jimin thought it would be. He knew working with her would be hell due to their varying views on how to do the job, but at least she wasn't a bad person. She listened to him and didn't pry. She gave him an escape, even if it was just for a moment. He admired that, but he'd never say that out loud.

"Captain Jeon took me off the case. He's assigning you, Seulgi, and Hoseok to it," Jimin said to break the silence.

"Just us?"

"I doubt it. I'm sure he'll assign half the department to it. Child trafficking isn't something that can be solved by three people."

"That's great, but it doesn't change that we hit a dead end. We don't know where they're going. We don't know their motivations or have enough for a warrant. What you did was great, but you didn't get the evidence in a very legal way. It won't fly with a judge."

"No, but breathing holes on shipping containers gives us reasonable suspicion."

"That's just one thing-"

"And only young, fit men working on a dock that's conveniently empty except for one ship. And did I mention they had gang tattoos? Oh, and I heard scurrying from inside the containers they're transporting in an unmarked ship."

"Huh. Not bad," Y/n said.

"Like I said, L/n." Jimin paused to wink. "Prestigious officer from Busan."

"Yet you can't read cursive and get offended if anyone criticizes your hair."

"My hair is stunning."

"And also most of your personality."

"Not true," Jimin said with a pout. "I make donuts and black coffee a big part of it too."

"Alright, whatever you say. Come on, let's get back inside. We need to find out where in Long Island they went."

"Actually, we don't."

Y/n went to open the door, but she stopped as soon as those words left Jimin's lips. She whipped back around with wide eyes that asked her question before her lips ever could. He grinned until his eyes smiled with him. Then, he spoke again.

"I know where they went."

☂☂☂

A/N: Jimin and Y/n are fun to write. Jimin is more emotional and experienced while Y/n is more logical and stuck on the mission instead of anything else. You'll see that more from Y/n's POV in the next chapter.

Anyway, I hope you liked that chapter. The plot has been moving fast, so I think this was a needed character chapter where we got more of Jimin's past while learning a bit about Y/n's in the process.

Any thoughts about Captain Jeon and his reaction to Jimin? Without knowing Jimin's past, it might be difficult to answer this, but do you think Jungkook was overreacting?