Catalyst

Part 3

"My name is Jimin."

His eyes faded from orange back to dark brown. 

I grabbed the flyer off the counter and held it up. "This Jimin?"

"Yes. But it's not what you think. I'm not wanted by the police or anything like that. The people that are looking for me-"

"Kronos Technological Labs?"

"Yes! Kronos! They did this to me!"

"They made you a cat-person?" I looked at him skeptically. 

He gave me an annoyed glare. "Well, when you put it that way, it sounds stupid."

"How the hell were you gonna put it?"

Jimin sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Look, the food is getting cold. Can we just eat and I'll explain everything?" His cat whiskers slowly retracted. 

"That's really unnerving," I said watching his face. 

"It doesn't feel great either." He gave me a haughty look and brushed past me into the kitchen. Jimin pulled two plates out of the cupboard, silverware out of the drawer, and set the table for us. 

"Did you go through all my cupboards?" I placed the frying pan back in the sink. 

"You were out for a while." He said grabbing a pot holder for the rice before placing it on the table.  "I got hungry, so I made dinner for us. The fish was already out."

"Hobi said he found me on the floor. Did you just leave me passed out on the floor while you cooked?" I watched Jimin sit down at the dinning table. 

He motioned to the chair across from him, as if it was his apartment and I was the guest. "I figured you might freak out if I touched you while you were passed out. Sit." 

He was correct. I would have. 

I took a seat and he served me a tilapia filet before placing one on his own plate. 

"Thanks," I muttered and picked up my fork. 

"What do you know about Kronos?" Jimin eyed me from across the table. 

"It's a biotech lab. But I don't really know what that means," I offered. "They advertise on the radio all the time." 

"You don't know anyone who works there?"

"No." I set my fork down, waiting for him to take a bite of his fish first. 

"Good." Jimin seemed satisfied. He noticed I wasn't eating and smirked. "I didn't poison the food. You can eat." 

He began eating. After he took a few bites, I did the same. 

"Kronos deals mostly in Green biotechnology, agriculture stuff like GMO corn. But they also have a smaller division devoted to Red biotechnology."

"What's that?"

"Medical and pharmaceutical."

"Like developing new drugs? Or curing illnesses?"

"Yes, but they also grow tissue that can be used for burn victims, and they've been working on developing artificial organs."

"Like growing human ears on the backs of rats?" I had seen several articles over the years about that very thing. 

Jimin looked at me like I was an idiot and it pained him. "Yes... but no." He finished his fish filet and pushed back from the table. Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes. 

"Okay, so they've been trying to figure out how to create kind of a fast-growing universal tissue that could transform or change into whatever tissue it needs to be. Similar to STEM cells. They've been doing genetic engineering, but instead of plants, it's human tissue. And, in some cases, human test subjects." 

I stared at him after he finished speaking, studying his facial features just in case. He didn't seem crazy. He definitely wasn't on a manic high and just spouting conspiracy theories. But everything still sounded insane. 

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Jimin opened his eyes and they locked on mine. "You seemed like a good person."

"Based on what? Me petting what I thought was my neighbor's cat?"

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. This seemed to be a habit of his. 

"I've actually been monitoring this building for a few days."

"I haven't seen you. You're kind of hard to miss with that hair." 

"Are you finished?" Jimin stood up and began clearing the table. "I was a squirrel." 

I could not think of a response and just sat there dumbfounded. 

"Two days ago you stopped someone who almost drove away with a travel mug on the roof of their car. That evening, you helped an elderly neighbor take their groceries inside. Yesterday, I saw you pick up some litter near the mailboxes. I also saw you interact with your neighbor, Hobi, and wave at his cat through the window." Jimin closed the dishwasher after loading it. "You seemed like a good person. Like you wouldn't turn away someone in need of help." 

I took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay."

I tried to gather my thoughts, but my brain was swimming with questions. "Did I yell at you?"

"When I was a squirrel?" He asked, surprised. A smile spread across Jimin's face reaching his eyes, and he let out a soft chuckle. "Yes, like a crazy person."