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Jungkook took any and all measures to avoid his friends seeing him struggle with assignments and exams and other things. He knew what they’d say.
I thought you were supposed to be super smart or something? I thought you were supposed to be the best student? Look at you struggling with something so simple. Wasn’t all this ‘Jungkook is very intelligent’ chatter plain bullshit then? He was just like any of them. No, don’t worry. They didn’t need him explaining anything. They’d go find someone else that really was smart to help them.
It was all talk. The things they said were just jokes, they were just teasing him. None of them had ever really gone to get someone else to help them. But still, their words made Jungkook’s heart race and his chest feel tight. All of a sudden it was harder to breathe. His brain went blank. And this horrible feeling of not knowing what to do or what to say or how to excuse himself invaded his veins.
It was an awful experience.
Thus, Jungkook never worked on stuff he knew he might struggle with while he was with his friends. In fact, he almost never worked on his assignments when his friends were around.
But that meant he had to do his homework after he got home, and it meant he had to stay up till late most nights.
When he didn’t have classes early in the morning it was a manageable situation. But this semester he’d been forced to take a course at seven in the morning.
Meaning: he couldn’t keep on going to sleep at three a.m.
So, he had to work on his assignments while at college. Yet also not do it in front of his friends.
That was how he began spending about one third of his free time in the Drawing Department.
The other two thirds were distributed among study sessions with his friends (who took up most of those two thirds) and Jimin.
However, since Jimin had a special situation going on (both his arriving late to the semester and his being shunned by the batch of first-semesters he saw classes with), the brunet once told the younger one that should he need to find Jungkook, he could try looking in the Drawing Department.
And the silver-haired boy did come find him there. And caught Jungkook asking Mr. Zhang for help.
The first time, Jungkook almost passed out from how fast his heart was racing and how thin the oxygen had suddenly become. He even got dizzy and needed to sit down because his knees couldn’t support him.
Jimin didn’t do anything more than worry about him, and ask if he was alright.
He thought it must’ve been a fluke, that the other guy hadn’t understood the situation he walked into.
The second time was exactly like the first time for Jungkook. Maybe worse. Because this time there was absolutely no doubt that Mr. Zhang was helping him with his exercises for the topography course.
Again, Jungkook had to sit down from how dizzy he got. Again, Jimin only showed concern.
This time he began to have a small little suspicion.
The next few times also caused the world to become suddenly black at the edges and that disturbing increase in his pulse. But the strength decreased each time it happened again and Jimin didn’t utter any teasing comment questioning his intelligence.
Then one time, Jimin walked in and greeted Mr. Zhang with cheerful respect. Already familiar with the boy after seeing him so often, the old man directed his placid, grandpa smile towards the silver-haired boy, and invited him to sit and stay in the department if he wanted. The man said they didn’t need to leave, that they could just work on their things or study there. Jimin thanked him happily and sat down to, just as ordered, work on his homework.
Not a single word was directed to Jungkook other than to say hi, or to ask him to explain something.
It was then that his taut muscles abruptly relaxed.
Once more, Jungkook needed to sit down because his body couldn’t hold him up. But this time the reason was completely different. The exact opposite in fact.
Sweet happiness and warmth filled his chest as he watched Jimin bent over his notebook, fringe almost brushing the hand he was writing with.
He could struggle and ask for help in front of Jimin and he wouldn’t get teased for it.
That was yet one more thing he’d never experienced before.
Jungkook added it to the ever growing list of things he was discovering with the silver-haired boy and asked Mr. Zhang another question.
As he heard the explanation, somewhere in the back of his mind he thanked whatever deity had made him meet Jimin.