TW: MURDER, ABUSE, MENTAL HOSPITAL
When Jimin was young, he had a weird obsession.
Most kids might have an obsession with things such as sweets, or toys, or maybe their favorite characters from a movie.
Park Jimin was obsessed with killing.
It started with little things, like ripping the wings off of butterflies or catching spiders and putting them in jars just to place a match in it and watch the spider suffer from the choking flames.
Insects turned into bigger animals, like garden snakes or birds. He didn't know why he liked it so much, he just... did. Whether or not it was the adrenaline and wave of happiness that consumed him when he did it, he couldn't bring himself to stop.
And then his parents got a guinea pig.
It was a fat rodent that Jimin despised, and he hated seeing the brown thing in its cage whenever he would pass it in the living room. What was worse was the awful squeaking of its wheel whenever the pet would decide to go for a run.
So, at the age of 10, Jimin kills the family pet.
When it was midnight, he crept out of his bedroom and tiptoed to the kitchen, grabbing the biggest blade from the kitchen knife set. Then, he went to the living room and opened the lid of the cage, lifting the rodent out.
Except, he was a little clumsy at that age, and he tripped. The guinea pig began to run away.
"No!" Jimin seethed, lunging towards the pet.
The blade seared through the back of the guinea pig and Jimin smiled in victory, his eyes holding a crazy glint. He was so caught up in his euphoria that he didn't notice his parents rushing downstairs.
"Jimin!" her mother screamed.
Jimin blinks up at them innocently, a pout of confusion on his lips as his father grabs his forearm and rips him up from the ground.
"What the fuck?" his father shouted in his face. "What the actual fuck, Park Jimin?"
His parents' plan was to sweep this whole incident under the table. To never tell a soul what had happened and to send their son to a mental hospital, and they would just tell their friends that they sent their son to live with his aunt for a while.
When Jimin got to the hospital, he hated it. He hated their fake smiles, hated the gown they made him wear, hated the smell of the place.
And what he hated most, was that there were no animals to kill. Well, except for the fish in the tank that was in the common area. But Jimin had grown past killing fish a long time ago.
"Come meet the other children, Jimin," the worker smiles, nudging her head towards the common area.
Jimin scowls at her before marching forward, his arms folded over his chest. He didn't want to talk to these brats, and they were all occupied doing something anyway.
Well, except one.
There was a smaller boy crouched in front of a puzzle, knees close to his chest and bangs falling in front of his eyes. Jimin figured he was harmless, so he went and sat across from him.
"Hey," Jimin says boredly. "I'm Jimin."
"Hi, Jimin," the boy says quietly, keeping his head down. "I'm Taehyung."
"Year?"
"'95."
"Oh, me too," Jimin smiles. When the boy still doesn't look at him, he pouted. "Why won't you look at me?"
"B-because," he whispers, his voice shaky.
"Hey," Jimin says softly, pushing the puzzle to the side before crawling forward on his knees. "It's okay, Taehyungie."
"No, it's not," Taehyung shakes his head, tears pricking his eyes. "I hate it here. I hate it here!"
Jimin looks around as the workers look at the boy suspiciously from his growing voice, and he scowls at them before shushing Taehyung gently. "I do too. It stinks like ass."
"T-that's a bad word," Taehyung giggles softly.
"What're you, five?" Jimin jokes.
"I'm 9," Taehyung pouts back. "I'll be 10 in December."
"Well if you're such a big boy, then look at me," Jimin challenges.
Taehyung waits a few seconds before hesitantly lifting his head, and Jimin's eyes widen at the black bruise around Taehyung's left eye.
"W-what happened?" Jimin frowns, his heart aching.
"He hit me," Taehyung whimpers, curling into himself again. "He always hits me."
"Who?" Jimin whispers, his voice angry. "Who, Taehyungie?"
Taehyung reaches a hand out and curls it into Jimin's shirt, tugging him forward. The elder obliges and sits beside him, and Taehyung cups his hand around his ear.
"The guy by the counter. With the blue tie and black hair," he whispers. "You have to listen to them, Jiminie, or they'll hit you."
Jimin finds the guy Taehyung pointed out and stares at him with fire in his eyes, the familiar want of killing flooding his senses again.
Except this time, it's not an animal he wants to kill.
It's a human.
***
"It's movie night, Jimin," the worker says as she folds fresh gowns into his drawer.
She had been appointed as Jimin's personal watcher, and Jimin hated her. He seemed to hate everything here, excluding Taehyung.
Taehyung and him had gotten along exceptionally well, and they always sat together everywhere. It was like they were two magnets, always finding one another.
"I don't want to go," Jimin says, bored, as he looks out his window.
"Well you have to," the woman says, a bitter force behind her sweet voice.
"Why?" Jimin huffs. "Listen, lady, I don't have to follow your lousy schedule just because my parents dropped me and ran."
The lady closes his drawer with more force than necessary and turns around, and Jimin raises an eyebrow as she stalks forward. He was surprised, then, when her hand slapped against his cheek.
"Jimin," she says sweetly, smiling like she didn't just hit him. "We don't talk back, hm?"
Jimin blinks in surprise, his cheek stinging painfully. He touches his cheek gently, his jaw clenching and his neck slowly rolling back to stare at her with dark eyes.
The want to kill was increasing.
***
Taehyung looks happy as Jimin strolls in for the movie. He was almost afraid the elder wouldn't come, but his friend was heading towards him quickly.
"He—" Taehyung's greeting got stuck in his throat when Jimin sat next to him, a fresh red handprint on his face. "Jimin, oh my god!"
Jimin stares straight ahead, his face still painted with anger.
"Who did this?" Taehyung whispers as the lights are shut off. He slips his hand into Jimin's when the movie starts playing. "Who Jiminie? Tell Taehyungie."
Jimin looks at Taehyung. "My worker. Ours must hate us."
"It's because we're different," Taehyung whispers. "We don't like the rules."
Jimin stays quiet, searching Taehyung's eyes. They held the same crazy look Jimin's did. "Taehyung?"
"Hm?"
"Have you ever killed?"
Taehyung's eyes widen and then darken, and a sadistic smile forms on his lips. "Of course. Why do you think I'm in here?"
Jimin looks around to make sure no one is paying attention to them before leaning towards him. "Why are you?"
"My parents caught me killing our pet rabbit."
"Really?" Jimin couldn't help but giggle in excitement. "I killed our pet guinea pig! Taehyungie, we're like—we're like soulmates!"
Taehyung gasps, squeezing Jimin's hand and nodding in excitement.
"Would you ever... kill a person?" Jimin asks.
Taehyung turns his face back to the movie, holding Jimin's hand tightly. And, with the tiniest movement, Taehyung nodded his head.
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happy halloween !!