The Looking Glass - A BTS Story

CHAPTER X - JIMIN

He woke up from disperse dreams, and he felt fear. There was a lot of information from his daily life, but there was a fear so deep inside that he couldn't identify what it was. He didn't even know what he was afraid of, just that it was there keeping a grasp on his soul and his memory.

Min-gyu was hugging him when he woke up. His presence brought a sensation of peace and calm that made the fear inside him disappear. Jimin hugged him back tightly and kissed his lips. Min-gyu woke up and looked at him.

"Good-morning", he whispered. "You're already up".

"Yeah. I should better get ready for work", he said while hugging him even tighter.

"You say something but your body is saying another".

"I know. I wanted to stay in bed with you a little longer".

"We can wait until the alarm rings". Just then the alarm rang. "Or five more minutes after it".

"Unfortunately we need to get up. We can't keep getting late". In the dream he found out that: they always say five more minutes and end up late for work. Their boss was starting to get suspicious about it. "The boss will get angry again if we are not there on time".

"Ok, ok, honey. You're the boss".

"Right, I'm the boss". He laughed. "Let's go shower. Separated". Showering together was asking for something else to happen and them being late.

"Alright", Min-gyu answered, bummed. "I'll go prepare our breakfast".

They got ready fast and left to work. When they arrived, Eun-ji was already there. She started working early as she was solving a case. She said good-morning as she walked to the bathroom. They greeted her back and sat down on their desks. Today, Jimin felt his work was easier. He understood better what he was doing and he could do things quicker. The morning went well. He and Ji-Hun answered some calls about burglaries in the neighborhood and interviewed some witnesses. Jimin also answered to a case of domestic violence that the chief wanted to brush off. She will just go back to him. He said. The woman had a black eye and a bleeding lip, still he wanted them to ignore her. Jimin just did his work, and somehow he felt the hope growing in her from that. The rest of the time he kept working on the burglary reports that have increased a lot in the last three weeks, affecting not only commercial, but also residential places. He felt a sense of responsibility and duty while doing it.

At lunch, he and his friends ordered food from the same place and sat to eat. Ji-hun kept bugging him with his touchy and clingy behavior, but it didn't annoy him anymore. It was tolerable thinking about home and being together with the person he liked. Liked? He asked himself. He didn't like him, he was just enjoying the situation. Maybe it was the memories in his brain. Someone else's thoughts and feelings that were invading him and he didn't know why. And he couldn't do anything about it, but to try to get back. Return to his original universe.

As he was thinking about it, Min-gyu grabbed his free hand that was hiding below the table, resting on his knee. He held it tightly and asked.

"Is everything alright? You have a worried look on your face", Min-gyu whispered.

"Yeah, everything is okay", Jimin smiled.

"Really? If you want, we can go somewhere to get some coffee and talk about it. They won't notice if we go out for half an hour". He smiled, mischievously.

"I'm okay, don't worry".

"I'll believe you. But if you need to talk, I'm here".

After lunch, he went back to work. He was sitting on his desk doing some research on a case when some old cops walked by and he heard them talking.

"Those fuckin' fags. They are always getting us more work".

Jimin gritted his teeth when he heard it. The people that were supposed to be protecting them just saw them as problems. And would badmouth them in any situation. Min-gyu held his shoulders and pretended to be looking at something on his computer.

"Calm down. They're just some idiots. Remember your reason to be here. It's much bigger than any of these stupid people". He whispered.

Yeah, my reason to be here. He thought to himself. What is my reason to be here? I wonder why I became a cop. He thought once about being a cop when he was a kid. But he thought about becoming lots of stuff. That's what kids do. So why did this version of him become a cop? He didn't get this answer in his dreams.

He was lost thinking about it when Min-gyu woke him up from his daydream. He went back to work, but that question was still there on the back of his mind. Why are we here? Why are these people from this reality so different from us? What changed? Maybe he should be searching actively for a way to get back instead of pretending, but what could he do? He didn't even know how he got there. God, this is frying my brain. He went back to working, but he kept wondering what he could do to go back to his own reality.

When he got a break in the afternoon, he texted Jungkook, who said he would go to the junkyard after work. Do you want company? He asked. But he answered that it was okay, he could go alone. And Jimin would probably still be working then. So he couldn't help it. He messaged Tae, but he was still working and he had an urgent deadline. The others were probably in the same situation. He went back to his desk and finished his work.

He went home late, and Min-gyu waited to go home with him. He is a really caring boyfriend. He thought. While he waited, he brought Jimin snacks and coffee. He was always so attentive. He is lucky. He thought about this reality version of himself. He has someone who loves him so much, and who is always by his side. Someone he must love too. He wondered what would happen if that version of him never reappeared. Would he be stuck there forever? And would that wonderful man lose the one he loves? No, he had to go home. He couldn't feel anything towards that man, not even pity. He tried to convince himself of these words.

However, when they got home, lust talked louder. They did it roughly in the shower, and made out a little more before going to bed and sleeping in each other's arms. New memories came to him that night, and they kept coming in the following nights.