Bab 34: Intermission
Shwapp!
Bwak!
Namjoon... Kim Seok Jin...
My lungs were a running exhaust. Drops of sweat formed crystals on my forehead to escalate down in a single passage over my temples. I rolled my fist and waited until the sack bag stopped its simple harmonic motion. Then-
Bwak!
Suga-
Bwak! Bwak!
J-Hope...
Bwak...!
I pivoted on my left leg. My right one bullet-shot upward.
Jimin...
My speeding hand stopped. The silver chains of the hanging bag creaked and flailed with slight and moderate shakes. I exhaled a short breath and stared at it. I could feel my knuckles turning whiter, forming a hard stone fist. I huffed.
Jimin...
BWAK!
The sack oscillated backward and came back right after. I grappled holding it from both sides to stop its displacement, slipping two inches backward in momentum.
My tired body sprawled down on the wooden floor. Feeble soundness of gasps and breaths resonated louder in the empty gymnasium. The only window to the left allowed the view to the sunset. The darkness improved further as I allowed my eyes to shut down. To my world.
BTS...
Three letters, that drastically got it upside down.
I hated what I was now. This ambivalence, the paradoxical emotion, the recklessness, the vulnerability- I had seen and let my facade break allowing my vulnerable and powerless side so much after I was delegated to this case, each time which proved my lack of skill and ability as an agent. It was like, all of us, BTS and I, were tangled with each other to a ball of perennial knots. Part of me didn't want to do them harm, part of me just wanted to banish them, decimate them from this perfect real life. The latter part was what was a must, a should and what was supposed to be my 'would'. But...
There came this new info, they were not alone in this case! There was another master head!
'Ugh!' I punched on the floor and shot up. The sack bag hung from the chains in front of me. I stared at it, I knew just what to do to let go of my swindling mind.
'What did the poor thing do? You shouldn't let your emotions out on something that doesn't hit you back.'
'Then what should I do?' I wailed. 'Try me.' They settled down their jacket beside the treadmill while rolling up their shirt sleeves. I squinted to get a view of their face to their identity, that the darkness obscured. 'Mingyu?'
'Hi.' My nose scrunched itself at his small greeting. Flashback to the last time we met at the meeting room where I humiliated him badly conjured in and settled. He could see my face of disgust from his side so he said in smiles, 'You hate me. I don't like you too. So, that way, we mig-'
His hands moved up of him immediately to shield himself, safe by an inch from the rashly angled kick I shot. I retracted and huffed on my posture. Mingyu moved a step back getting over the startle, hands up in defense and right leg back as the rear, he clicked his tongue.
'Wasn't ready. Let's get back to it.'
Noises, heavy pitch of hits and punches conquered the atmosphere of the space, echos are huffs and grunts from muscle pain. I fought and blew my shots, taxing but steady, was surprised at the male's strong defense. I hated him, yes, also did love that he was a worthy opponent, smart and sturdy against me, blocked most of the attacks I did. He wasn't going easy, his attacks hurt to perhaps bruises forming. It seemed intentional like he actually wanted to give me the pain and I knew where it was coming from.
Defending from my last jab towards his neck, he twirled me on my foot and pushed me away. I didn't let him take the chance, the instant I grabbed his hand which held my wrist and shoulder threw him upfront. His heavy self meteorically landed on the floor. The wood surface saved him from the pain of injury. He panted. I lounged on the floor beside him, panting similarly to get most of my breaths.
There was silence for a while.
'I want to quit...' I mumbled to myself slowly through my periodic exhales. 'Why is that?' Despite my voice was low, he heard me and propped his head over his crossed forearms to look up at my face, 'Is it you, our prowess agent, Miss Y/N L/N saying that she wants to quit her job?'
'Nothing.' I asked him perturbed, 'What are you here for though?'
'I came to workout. Not that the gym is under your name unless our sir gifted it all to you.' I didn't get back to his playful mocks. I was too tired already to snap and slap his annoying ass.
'Boss will be so horrified if you tell him about your resignation. His favorite, gone, what will he do without you in the base?' He sat up and wept histrionically. I glared effortlessly which he obviously couldn't perceive.
'......I could have got the mission.'
'What?'
He paused for a second, 'Missions, that you are always assigned to. He never took me to tasks, never saw the worth in me and gave me a better job. It's always you, and a few others like you, who get all the rep, the money, the favoritism, everything...'
'Where is that coming from?' I hunched down to the same level as him, 'Has something happened between you two lately?
He didn't reply. Although all other times the conversation between us were entirely him being a flirt and irking throughout, today he kind of seemed off, sad about something. I didn't obviously like his usual jerk self at all, but talking to the unusual he now made me feel so anomalous. I gave a pat on his back, 'Chill. I don't like him a lot either.' To my words, he gave me such a glance, that could be described as an assortment of mock, despise, and disbelief at the same time.
'What is going wrong with your task?' He asked cutting the course, 'Agent's block? You appear wrecked. Is it undercover? Is your cover at crisis?'
My mouth opened shortly, I gulped down whatever was about to come out of it, and I tentatively observed him. 'No. Nothing much.' He let out a small laugh at me before saying, 'Don't still like me, huh? Oh, well. I can't do anything about that.'
We sat like that then, for seconds, minutes, not hours.
'Another round?' He asked. I lied back down prone on the floor, 'I am tired.' He glanced at me from head to foot, finishing with a small smirk, 'Well, okay then. Take some rest. Shall I tell her to leave too?' I followed his eye direction to look at the doorway. A small round face peeked out from the entrance. Curly hair and round glasses.
Momo coughed getting apprehended and brought out a sheepish smile. Mingyu picked up his coat, scraped then hung it with a knot to its sleeves around his neck. His walking silhouette stomped its way out through the place.
'Were you eavesdropping?' Momo massively jerked her head, 'Not at all.'
'I heard what you say.' She added later after, getting herself through the entrance and closing the door. I gazed at her, 'Is that different from the definition of eavesdropping?'
Her small laugh didn't let her off guilt. 'Can I take a seat?' She took my no-reply as an affirmative and settled herself down near me.
'What happened, Y/N? You can tell me.'
All that I had bottled up inside arose in a rush tried to spurt out, I slowly brought myself up to sit down, 'I...'
'I feel like I can't do this anymore...Momo.' There was no change of expression over Momo's face. She was ready to listen to me without sparing any words, gesturing me with her gaze to carry on.
'I want to withdraw from this case.' I was scared to reach a higher volume, reluctant to speak but desperate to be heard, 'I...just...I never ever felt like this before. I-I...' It was my sin, I couldn't but accept it. I was held before a confessional where I was the priest myself, my vice, which was- 'I got emotionally connected to them. I never do, but this time-' I stopped.
'But you must do your job. It's among the first rules when you become an agent, never let anyone know who you are and never get too attached to the people when you are on a mission-'
'I know!'
My voice was the reach of silence, calmness to the storm inside my mind, 'I never feel feelings, Momo.' She nodded at that as if she knew it more than anyone did.
'Who is the specific guy?' She suddenly threw me the question. I looked at her face in the faint draining-away light, '...Park Jimin.'
'Wow, the sexy.' 'He is.' I laughed, 'But that's not the thing.'
'What is? What had happened?'
I remained silent. I had no answer to the question myself. Momo waited for me to speak, then she asked, 'But you know what he is, they are. There are more things to meet the eyes.'
'Yeah...'
'Have you fallen in love with him?'
'What? NO!' I immediately responded. My heartbeat upheaved as a quotient to her question, in fear or surprise. 'Why would I have feelings for him? He's not the guy, the kind of guy I would fall for...' I paused again.
What was wrong with me?
Momo eyed me suspiciously. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Love, I didn't know love. These four letters with such a humongous space inside yet so hollow for having no definite meaning to it; I would still know what I felt for people was whether love or not. Seeing Jimin, whatever I felt for him, I knew it was not love. To define the first feeling I would say- 'pity'. I pitied him. Like the way I pitied me.
We were relatable, in a few cases. But still, I didn't know the true side of him. He was a mystery. We all love mystery, will die in intrigue until we break the puzzle to small pieces of the solution. He was unsolvable. Who loves a mystery which never ends? Even science doesn't. How could someone love him?
'Whatever they acted like around you is because to them, you are a manager. If they knew what you were-' She left the blank space for me to get it filled. I knew what she meant, my rational self spoke in my head and I let it triumph, bit by bit.
I gathered my hands behind my neck, 'I know. I need to get my shits together.'
'But I am worried about you.' Momo's eyes held authenticity as she gently spoke, 'I know when things start to affect you, they get you trapped bit by bit that at one time, you can't let go. Y/N, don't let yourself fall into that. Emotion is such a thing, once you fall deeper, you can't go back.'
'I need to work out on that... I know what I can and will do.' I stood up. A quick and low sound of clunks from the corridor distracted my attention for a second.
'What was that?' Both of us looked warily at the doorway. It feebly sounded like something shifting or skittering away...
'Wind's act.' I shrugged and turned back to the woman, 'My leave of absence ended three days ago. I still haven't gone back to work at Big Hit yet.'
'Wow. Do you want to get fired? You'll get me fired too. Work, you lazy bones!' I grinned.
'Let's get some coffee together.' We headed out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Just one thing to do. Find out the mastermind and get them all eight together in the prison.
To apprehend them, I need to reach them individually, targetting one by one.
After all, this is Y/N L/N.
Agent 47.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone