Take Me to the Sky | BTS+

Wild, Wild West

"They're better than I remember. UGHMAHGAH."

Chimin watched with his narrow eyes opened wide in mild shock, as Jin proceeded to pick up a curled piece of fleshy pink meat from the tray in front of them, a piece that was half as long as his forearm. Jin then proceed to shove the whole thing into his mouth at once. The good doctor's cheeks bulged like balloons and his eyes rolled into the back of his head like he had just died...but was completely happy about it.

"Maybe you should pace yourself a little, man?" Chimin plucked up a piece of pink translucent meat the length of his thumb and started to nibble contentedly on it. His eyes went wide with innocent awe. "Wow, this is good."

Jin answered through a mouthful, "Er terld yer ser."

Jin and Chimin were tucked into the corner of a warmly lit, tightly packed restaurant with sandy wooden tables and booths, and one wall left entirely open to the bright sunlight outside. Heat and sweat and salt hovered dense inside of that cantina-style restaurant with an open bar and more bodies than a pack of sardines.

Chim started cautiously sipping on his neon green drink. His eyes went wide again in delicate wonder. His tongue grazed the tip of his lips, which he started smacking together.

"Wow. Just the right kinda sour."

Jin gave a sweaty, unshielded grin. "I know. Welcome to the rest of your life. Because you've never liiived until you've enjoyed Thirst Train Thursdays at Imo's." He reached across the table greedily for a stack of crispy fried wafers that were closer to Chimin's side of the table.

Just as Jin had shoved an entire saucer-like wafer into his cheeks, a tall, lanky figure walked up to their table.

"Your crew has some nerve."

Jin choked through his very large bite as he looked up and saw a fellow speaking down to them who had off-neon orange hair. Jin reached for his green drink and inhaled a large, almost painful gulp.

Chimin asked politely, "Have we offended you, sir? If so, it wasn't intended...."

The lanky man with the bad dye job pursed his lips. "Says the assholes who's team just killed two of our best pilots. PURELY accident? As if."

Jin stood up. He was still a good head shorter than the interloper, but he made sure his shoulders looked extra broad as he said, "Sehun of Essem Fortress, right? First of all, I hate it when a perfectly good meal gets interrupted. It is the greatest of sins, and you've just committed it, so now I get to loath you forever. You're welcome." Jin took a breath. "Second of all, as a medial professional, I DETEST nonsense. So I'll need you to take yours somewhere else now. Please and thank you."

Jin looked like he was about to sit back down.

Chimin's face remained softened, eyes wide. However, he arched the bottom half of his body forward beneath the table to be practically on his toes. Where his hands couldn't be seen, he started to brace his body into his fingertips as well. Chim was preparing for motion in rapid force.

Sehun took Jin by his shirt and pulled, until their faces were inches apart. Then Sehun snarled, "I detest your arrogance, Noon Moolite. Perhaps I should beat it out of you."

"I'd like to see you try," Jin grumbled, though his feet were hardly touching the ground now, his leverage almost nonexistent.

"Hey, c'mon guys," Chim's voice interjected with a gentle, fake nervousness to it, "let's not get out of hand. This is a public establishment, after all."

Sehun started to put Jin back onto his feet, but he kept one hand on Jin's collar. The tall Essem operative said through a tricky grin, "You're right. We shouldn't let this get out of hand." He grinned from Chimin back to Jin. "So I'll finish it quickly."

Then he hurled back and landed a solid blow of his knuckle to Jin's nose. The doctor was knocked backwards into his seat from the force of the impact, his hands lifting up to protect his face.

As soon as Chimin saw Sehun wind up for the blow, he jumped up into his seat. As Sehun's fist met Jin's face, Chimin jumped up onto the top of the wooden table. As the followthrough of the punch was made, Chim balanced on one foot, then kicked and pivoted and kicked again with his other--driving his heel across Sehun's cheek, down onto his skull, and then up to snap back the bridge of the tall man's nose.

The triple-strike force sent Sehun toppling to the floor.

Chimin continued to balance on one leg. Then he jumped casually down from on top of the table. Chimin looked down at Sehun's groaning body, his long limbs curled into himself in pain. Then Chimin looked over at where Jin was shoving napkins into his nostrils stop the flow of a bloodied nose. Then his piercing eye swept over the cantina.

Chatter had paused to watch the scene progress. At the intensity of Chimin's gaze, everyone in the room turned a shy blind eye and fell back into their own conversations, as if the tussle had never even happened.

Chimin turned to Jin. "How is it?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. My appetite is ruined now, though. Nothing could be more offensive."

Chimin threw down a series of colored bills for the half-eaten fare onto the table. Then he helped pull Jin to his feet and guided his friend out of the crowded restaurant. They stepped over Sehun's groaning form on their way out.

The floored Essem operative growled too low for them to hear, "You'll fucking pay for that, Park Chimin."