As Taehyung steps into the cafeteria, he feels like he's in high school all over again. The obnoxious smell of terrible food invades his nostrils, and the worst part is the sight unfolding before him that's definitely a lot less pretty than the one in high school canteens. No one would be able to tell that this is a rich people's prison, because in this scenery they all just look like the criminals they are. Dirty looks and disgustingly suggestive moves are sent in Taehyung's direction, old pigs tease the younger, scared prisoners, others try to bribe the lady behind the counter into giving them more, or better food, and should she not oblige, rape and death threats fly out of the prisoners' mouths as if they were simply singing the words to a popular pop song.
If it wasn't for the golden, diamond, platinum jewelry decorating their repulsive greasy hands and necks, the mobile phones some of them have to their ear while they stuff their mouths and mumble out financial strategies, Taehyung would've sworn he wasn't in a "special prison".
He suddenly spots fluffy red hair in the distance and doesn't even bother finishing to fill up his plate. He steps out of the queue and dashes towards the redhead who is just taking place alone at a table near the trash bin.
Taehyung sets his plate on the table, startling the boy as he does, and he sits right in front of him. The boy's eyes widen when he recognizes his face, and his expression turns into something... fearful.
"I-I'm sorry, I p-promise I didn't have a c-choic-"
"Are you okay, Donghyuk? Did you go see Seokjin in block B?" Taehyung interrupts him.
Donghyuk's lips part without a sound coming out of them for a few seconds. He expected rage, fury, vengeful threats to leave Taehyung's mouth the second he gets out of solitary, not... concern. He clears his throat, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Y-Yeah. I did, but... how do you know about the doctor in cell three?"
"Seokjin told me. Doesn't he tell all the newbies?"
"No, not at all. He tells the people he trusts. It took me a month to gain his trust, but that's just because I'm a kid and because of... the thing that happened to me that first month. It took others months, possibly even years. Seokjin doesn't just hand out information about himself and his cellmates." Donghyuk explains, before starting to poke at his food with his plastic fork. "I guess he had a good feeling about you..."
His last words were mumbles, almost to himself, and Taehyung can guess that he feels guilty because his face is so easy to read, the way a small crease forms between his eyebrows, the way his lips are pressed in a thin line as he tries to keep himself from tearing up. The more time he spends with him, the more he truly thinks that that kid belongs anywhere but here.
Donghyuk jumps a little from surprise when he feels a hand on his head, gently ruffling his hair. He looks up to see a beautiful, kind smile on Taehyung's face, one he never thought he'd see because the smiles in this place always hide evil of some sort. Taehyung looks bright, genuine, so different from the unreachable expression he usually bears, and Donghyuk feels like he's seen a glimpse of the light residing inside him.
"None of what happened to you, or me, is your fault." Taehyung softly says, then puts his hand back down as he speaks in a firmer tone. "Did you see your counselor about it?"
"Yeah, they got me an appointment right after taking you away... it didn't help that much though. They say all counselors here have degrees in psychiatry and psychology but really, I felt like I was speaking to a robot."
"Why is that?" Taehyung asks, shoving a sweet potato into his mouth.
"He just kept pretending to listen and scribbled stuff in his notebook. It was to mechanical, I felt like a damn lab rat... I seriously hope you don't have him. Who's your assigned counselor?"
"Doctor... Park? Yeah, Park Ji-something."
Donghyuk's eyes lit up with a little glint of excitement, and he smiles cutely. Taehyung's heart warms up at the sight of the boy smiling. He's so strong.
"Park Jimin? Ah, I envy you so much! You're lucky, he's so nice." Donghyuk whines, jumping a little in his spot.
"Is he?" Taehyung says, not really because he wants to know but because he feels good seeing the boy so happy about something.
He cups his own face with his hand and places his elbow on his table, listening to the boy's pleasant chirping and his adorable whining, despite the lingering blue and purple marks he can clearly see littering his otherwise unblemished skin.
"Even if he's not my counselor, when he heard about what happened, he immediately came to talk to me. He asked me if I was okay, how I was holding up, he even accepted to hug me when I asked him. Oh, and not to mention..."
Donghyuk leans forward in a secretive manner, urging Taehyung closer and lowering the volume of his voice.
"...He's really, really good-looking, if you swing that way of course."
Then he straightens up, giggling adorably as he does, and starts attacking his food leaving Taehyung quite intrigued about the man in question.
Deciding that he'll pay a visit to this Park Jimin after lunch, his eyes glaze over to a table at the center of the cafeteria, the people sitting there basically monopolizing the atmosphere in the room. He is especially focused on the dark brown head sitting in the middle, seeming especially pensive by the way he worries his bottom lip while staring at his plate - or rather through it. His long eyelashes slowly bat as he blinks, and his thick eyebrows are furrowed in thought.
Despite his desire to take away the crown he holds so dearly on his head, Taehyung can't deny that fuck, Jeon Jungkook looks really good.
"Looks like I swing very far that way, huh..." He mumbles to himself, not loud enough for the younger boy to hear.
"Did you say something?" Donghyuk sputters around a mouthful of meat.
Taehyung chuckles softly and leans back on his chair, averting his eyes from the man.
"No, I didn't say anything."
As the man walks around his office, memorizing the information on the file in his hand, he runs his fingers through his black hair to push his fringe back from his eyes. He licks his plump lips in concentration, then starts mouthing the information to himself, trying the best he can to put himself in the prisoner's place as he recalls the important elements in his life that might help to understand him better and speak to him appropriately.
Park Jimin knows he doesn't have to do all this. He could just do the same as his co-workers and sit at his desk, only look at the prisoners' files when necessary, not give a shit about what they say and just mechanically prescribe them random antidepressants that'll make them drowsy and less talkative. Yet the young doctor is too keen on treating the prisoners like the human beings they are, no matter how monstrous or inhumane their crimes are.
He knows it might be naive but he believes that people are inherently good, and that's enough to make him try to bring out that nature by being kind and considerate with them. That is the very reason why a prodigy like him, who obtained his degree in psychiatry aged only twenty-five, decided to navigate the dangerous waters of working as a prison counselor in the past year instead of living a peaceful life with his own cabinet.
A few minutes ago, Jimin received a call from the warden saying that Taehyung requested an appointment and that he'd be there any minute after lunch. Jimin immediately pushed aside his takeaway food, and has been stressing over studying the prisoner's file for the past couple minutes. He'd previously studied it the moment he found out that Kim Taehyung was assigned to him, but he'd only quickly looked over it and he feels like that's not enough. He takes a mental note of the fact that his name must not be revealed to anyone - guards included, and as he reads the information on the paper and realization dawns over him.
"Kim Taehyung, twenty-six... son of Judge Kim, who specializes in the trial of government officials, important CEOs and otherwise valuable individuals... Wait a second."
Jimin rushes back to his desk, swiftly grabbing his phone and punching in the warden's number. He impatiently taps his foot on the floor as he waits for him to pick up, and as soon as he does-
"Why is Kim Taehyung not in protection?!" He whisper-shouts, careful not to be too loud to avoid being heard by the guards and prisoners outside his office. "If anyone finds out they're gonna fucking kill him, or worse!"
He hears the warden sigh, a crackling sound emanating through the phone, as if he expected Jimin to call him back any moment.
"Kim - the son, not the father - personally requested to be sent into gen pop against his father's will. He didn't want to be put in protection, and we can't exactly force him. His father only requested that his identity remains secret, and we honor his request the best we can. Only you are aware, because you're his counselor, so it is mandatory that you be informed of your assigned prisoners' identities."
Jimin pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine already creeping into his head. He quietly thanks the warden and hangs up, then goes back to reading Taehyung's file.
He's pulled out of his concentration by a knock at his office door, and he swiftly rises from his seat. He walks over to the door and swings it open, gasping as he recognizes the face in front of him. He stares for a few awkward seconds because wow, his mugshots really didn't do him justice, before clearing his throat and smiling softly at Taehyung.
"You asked for an appointment?" Jimin questions, stepping aside to allow the man inside.
"Yeah, is this okay? Sorry for coming right after lunch." Taehyung respectfully says, eyes not leaving Jimin's figure as he closes the door behind them.
Jimin then hurries back to his desk and sits down, pushing aside the multiple files he's gathered for Taehyung. The prisoner approaches the desk and sits down on the comfortable armchair, eyeing the beautiful counselor.
Donghyuk really didn't lie about his looks.
"You don't need to ask for appointments every time, you can just walk into my office. If I already have someone inside, I'll tell you when to come back, I really don't mind." Jimin speaks in a soft voice.
Taehyung crosses a leg over the other, an effortless elegance to him that Jimin notes as confidence.
"So tell me, why are you here?" Jimin asks, leaning on the wooden desk.
"In your office, or in prison?"
"Both. Start with prison."
"Judging by all those files you have there, I'm sure you know, doctor Park." Taehyung smirks, noting how Jimin's finger fidgets and glides over the files under his small hands without looking at them.
"You're right. So why are you in my office?"
"Do you think I did it?" He blurts out, taking Jimin by surprise as his eyes slightly widen and he furrows his brows in confusion. "Raping and beating up Lee Donghyuk, I mean."
"...I'm only aware of the beat-up part." Jimin tries to speak as professionally as possible, but Taehyung doesn't miss the way his voice sounds a little more constricted.
"You didn't answer my question."
Jimin entwines his fingers together and stares at Taehyung. He recalls his record, his family history, all the information he read and memorized about the boy, and especially, especially the particular event that caught his attention as he read over his file, which is his transfer to that specific cell.
He remembers the altercation in the yard the very first day Taehyung came to the prison, when he observed the yard from his window and saw the people he interacted with.
Then, decisiveness clear in his voice, Jimin answers.
"No. You didn't do it."
Taehyung arches an eyebrow, quite surprised by not only his answer, but also the fact he announced it as a statement, a certainty, and not an opinion. The counselor's soft eyes are now a lot more focused and intimidating, Taehyung feels like he's reading through his soul, and he knows that man isn't as kind and naive as people seem to think. He's smart, really smart, and that combined with how gentle he is, is a very dangerous combination.
He could manipulate people in an instant if he wanted to.
"So now tell me," Jimin starts, bringing back his reassuring smile. "How are you doing here so fa-"
"Jiminie, I need to rant." A voice suddenly erupts from behind Taehyung as the door to Jimin's office swings open.
A thin, pale-faced, mint-haired young man walks into the counselor's office, not seeming to notice the already occupied seat in front of the desk until Taehyung cranes his head back to look at him.
He's very pretty, Taehyung notices, with his deep dark eyes, fair unblemished skin and pouted pink lips, yet something about him changes when he notices Taehyung already inside.
Suddenly some sort of coldness emanates from him, as if a wall inadvertently fell between them, a wall that wasn't there when he thought it was only Jimin in the room.
"Jiminie?" Taehyung chuckles, looking back at the counselor who flushes bright red.
"I keep telling you to not call me that! It's Doctor Park, or at least just Park!" The black-haired man panics for a few seconds before recomposing himself. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs, cooling down, the pink dusting his cheeks slowly disappearing before he speaks. "I'm already with someone now, so please come back in about... uh..."
Jimin looks at Taehyung questioningly, and the latter understands his question instantly, so he lifts up five fingers.
"... Five minutes, okay?" Jimin continues.
"Yeah, my bad." The mint-haired prisoner apologizes before leaving the office, slamming the door shut behind him.
Jimin nervously smiles and stares at Taehyung for a few seconds, having no idea what to tell him. He settles for asking what he wanted to say before he was interrupted.
"How are you holding up? Aside from that incident with Lee, how are things going?"
"Ah, pretty fine, I just almost got raped by an old pig this morning and was threatened by my cellmate right after but other than that, I'm fine." Taehyung cheerfully says, irony dripping from his voice as he speaks as if he was completely unfazed by the events.
Jimin wonders how the hell he manages to talk about this so lightly, so playfully, as if this whole thing was a game in which he is the player who needs to survive.
As if he could just be revived and play again once Game over appears on the screen.
"Did you report this to anyone?" Jimin calmly questions him, keeping the mentioned cellmate question in the back of his head for later.
"No. Will you?"
"It's forbidden by the law. I might just be a counselor, but we have degrees for a reason. You probably noticed that you have privileges in here, and that includes full privacy concerning every aspect of your life unless you allow me to report something. That, and if you show clear intent of hurting somebody, then I am legally obligated to warn that person and that person only." Jimin explains.
Taehyung nods and hums in understanding. He parts his legs, placing his elbows over his knees as he leans forward, inching closer to Jimin. The counselor takes the time to examine his features, and he notices something in his eyes that he's only ever seen in one person.
"Jeon Jungkook." Taehyung blurts out, taking Jimin by surprise.
"...What about him?"
Taehyung inches closer again, sinking his eyes deep into Jimin's ones, and his face suddenly breaks into a smirk that makes Jimin feel cold, even in his heavy coat.
"I intend to hurt Jeon Jungkook."