Jimin stares down at his bare feet, amazed at the dirt there. He never looked closely at his feet. Why would he? They're like the rest of his body - gross. Really gross, actually. He sighs and leans against the wall in his temporary bedroom. An hour ago they made a daring escape from the town and piled into a working SUV. Turns out they weren't from around Jimin's area. They come from a high school. Well, a boarding school. It's not too big - probably made for about a hundred students - but it's big enough that Jimin's convinced he's safe here.
Upon arrival they took his weapons and are probably holding them in an armory of some sort. He didn't ask. Why would he? It's not like he's in any position to make demands. They didn't ask his name yet surprisingly. He's wondering if they have a leader. That attracti- ahem, strong woman from before seemed to imply that this place belongs to her. Of course he's curious about the story. He hopes he gets it soon.
There's a knock on the door. He doesn't answer. Seconds later, there's a creak, then a soft pad of footsteps. Jimin looks up and almost screams. "He doesn't bite," Y/n says, closing the door behind her. Holy shit, they have a dog?! And why's she carrying a box? She sits on the bed next to him, the German Shepherd sauntering over. "Sit," she commands. The dog does.
"Wow," he mumbles. She opens the box, revealing several tools. And by tools, Jimin means self-care tools. Scissors, a bottle of sprayable water, razors, nail clippers: all things he needs right now. She takes the scissors first.
"You look like a caveman. I can style it if you want," she says. He nods in acceptance. On instinct, he turns his back so she can get to work, stealing a few glances at the obedient dog. Honestly, it's pretty stupid to turn his back to a stranger holding a weapon, but he doesn't even care anymore. Regardless, that's not the point. The point is: she never cuts his hair.
"Y/n?" he asks. She scoots closer and plays with his long hair, him relishing in the sensation hitting his spine.
"You're going to answer my questions," she says. "And for each question you answer, I'll cut more of your hair. Is that fair?"
"Information for barber services? I'll take it," he replies.
She chuckles. "Name?"
"Jimin."
"Full name."
"Jimin Park. Park Jimin preferably."
"Korean," she says, getting to work. He feels snippets of his hair falling on the bed. There's silence for a few moments, then, she stops. "How old are you? I'd guess thirty-seven, but maybe after a shower, twenty."
"Twenty-six," he replies.
"Old."
"Oh please, you look twenty-three."
"I would say cute and bright, but I'm not seeing the cute yet." He shifts back to glare at her. Meanwhile, she gives him a wave and gets back to work. More snips. More black locks falling on the sheets. "Why were you in that town?" she says, working as she speaks.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that? I've been scavenging that town for ages and never saw another person. I lived out there for a reason."
"To be alone?"
He nods. "To be alone. You kind of ruined that."
"I would apologize, but I'm not really sorry," she replies. "Aren't you glad? That place was swarming with Deadbaits and Divas."
Jimin snorts. "I know how to handle Deadbaits. They're common where I live."
"They're common here too. This one was hiding in the shadows. Lost a good man to it." She stops, brushing some of the hair. "We have working showers. Clean water. The pipes still work. We got a plumber on campus, probably about as useful as Jungkook."
"Jungkook?" Jimin asks.
"My best friend, the one from earlier? Helped save your sorry ass," she says while going back to cutting his locks. "He's a doctor. Steady hands despite acting like he's ten years old."
"Don't you act like that too?" he asks.
"Careful Park, I'm holding a sharp object."
"I'm surprised you know how to use it," he jokes. Bad decision. Bad, bad decision.
Within a blink, he ends up pinned to the bed, her keeping her knees over his and the scissors near his throat. "You don't know a thing about me yet," she whispers, bringing her face closer. "So tread lightly." After the words leave her lips, she sits back and brings him back up. Then he's turned around, and she starts doing his hair.
Okay, that was pretty hot. Horrible thoughts during a situation like this, but he can't help it. That was really, really hot. Hot woman pinning him to a bed? So damn hot. Wait what the fuck Jimin, you don't even know her last name.
"How many zombies have you killed?" she asks, tilting his head to go for his other side.
He almost gulps. "Way too many to count. Is this a test?"
"If it is, you're passing," she says. "How about people?"
Jimin goes still. "Do I have to answer that?"
"Do you want to look pretty again?"
He sighs. "Two."
She sits back. He waits a few seconds, then, he swivels to meet her sympathetic gaze. "Why?" she asks.
He tears his eyes away. "I had to. Satisfied yet?"
She crawls around and sits in front of him, doing his front side now. "Enough. I'll answer any questions you have now. Ask away."
"Who's your leader?"
"Namjoon. Jungkook and I are his right hands. He's in the headmasters office."
"And this place?" he asks.
She narrows her eyes, focusing on a small strand of hair that's insignificant in the long run. Regardless, she tries hard to get it. "Boarding school, nothing out of the ordinary. I was with Jungkook when we found it, at the time it was being run by a bunch of teenagers. Some adults stayed like Professor Kim - Namjoon - and the nurse, Katherine. The others ditched the kids, so Namjoon turned it into a mini fortress. Repaired the walls, made the clocktower a watchtower, made us self-sufficient. We have fresh food, plants we grow ourselves. Flowers too if you're romantic."
He finds himself softly smiling. "Really? So... homecooked food?"
"Katherine's a pretty good cook. She's taught me a thing or two. If you ever want warm food, we'll provide. Assuming you prove your worth and want to be here."
He watches her eyes while she focuses on cutting his hair. "You know, you don't have to cut it so well. It's the apocalypse, I'm not trying to impress anyone anymore."
"Oh really? Not even me?" she asks. Jimin almost gets shy at that. Almost.
"I thought I wasn't cute," he says.
She laughs. "The more I cut, the more I see a twenty-six year old rather than a middle-aged caveman." She brushes his hair out of his face. "There. Now you look like a human again. Gotta say though, you don't rock the facial hair." She shoves a razor into his hand. "My advice? Go take a shower and shave it. Those nails too. Jesus, Divas got nothing on you." Y/n slides away from him, but he grabs her wrist. She whips around, then relaxes. "Sorry... instinct." Even the dog jumps at his actions, so he can't blame her.
"No, I get it. I should apologize, that was aggressive of me. I um... can you stay?"
She raises a brow. "Stay? Here?"
"While I take a shower. I just, well, I haven't talked to anyone in months. The last person I talked to tried to kill me. It's nice to have a change."
She lights up in understanding, even nodding. "I'll get you some clothes and let the dog out. Take the box into the shower, looks like you'll need it. There's shampoo, conditioner, soap, and washcloths already in there. Take a good shower and I won't leave. Deal?" She offers him her hand for the second time today. He shakes it right away.
"Deal."
~~~
Holy shit, Jimin has never felt so good in his life.
He laughs while finishing his shower. Jimin took a solid five minutes to bask in the warm water. When he finally gained the willpower to shave, he shaved every inch of his body that he could get. Now he's shiny and clean again. When he turns off the water and steps out in a towel, he shakes his head to get the water out of his now much shorter hair. She was nice enough to leave a lot on. An amount that comes to his eyebrows. Not that it matters when it's wet: it's all over the place.
Jimin dries himself as best as he can before stepping out of the shower room to be met with the girl who cut his hair. Oh great, he's only in a towel. She goes still, her mouth falling open. "Well when you don't have anything else to do, you work out a lot," he says, shrugging. Secretly, he loves seeing her get frozen up when she was so in control of him earlier. Now at least he has a bit of an impact on her.
"So you're trying to impress people after all, hm?" she asks, coming over and poking his abs.
He scowls at her. "For someone who doesn't know me, you seem oddly interested in my life."
"Maybe that's why," she says. "I don't know you. We haven't had a new recruit in a while."
"What about the kid? Looks like you're recruiting young."
"Don't talk about Ves like that," she's quick to reply. "And put on a shirt please. I'm not talking to you like this."
Jimin can't stop his smirk. "Mhm."
He goes to his temporary room and closes the door, changing into the clothes she grabbed for him. Looks like she gave him a lot. Almost a whole wardrobe of fresh clothes that would fit him. Jimin makes sure to refold them after he's done looking through them. Two minutes later, there's a knock at his door. "Telling me to stay but now you're leaving me? Pretty rude, Park," Y/n's voice says.
Jimin snickers and opens the door for her. She enters, closing it behind her. He models for her, doing a spin. "How's it look?"
"Surprisingly, not awful." She leans against the door, staring at him for a few moments with an awe-filled expression. "You clean up well, Mr. Park," she says.
"You think?"
"You look more than like a human being. Maybe you're secretly an angel."
"Back in high school that's what my teachers called me, same with the girls... but they said that in other areas."
"If I had a pistol, I'm not sure if I'd shoot you or myself for that comment," she says with a sigh.
He laughs, his squeaky sounds coming out. She gazes at him with her jaw dropped. When he's done laughing, he's amazed too. "Holy shit," he mutters. "I think that's the first time I genuinely laughed in months. Even then that might be pushing it."
"If you prove your worth here, you can have plenty more just like it."
"How do I prove my worth exactly?" he asks.
She places her hand on the knob and shoots him a sly smile. "Want to find out?"
He stares at her beautiful form and lets out a relieved breath. For the first time in a long time, maybe he has a friend. Groups never, ever work out for him... but if this school has lasted from the start of the apocalypse until now, maybe, just maybe he can relax a little bit. It'll end eventually - all good things, right? - but for now, if he can have even a day of peace with more than one person? It's worth it. So, Jimin steps forward and returns her expression.
"Yeah, yeah I do."