Chapter Text
The first time it happened, he doubts he noticed it. Familiar places, routines, one was easily shocked sometimes at the mundaness of their day-to-day life. The past few times though, he pinched himself to make sure he was still awake. Was this just some serious deja-vu? A feeling that he had done this before. The vision in his mind of the same outfit on that girl that sits in front of him, Taehyung trying that hairstyle “for the first time” again. A repeat lecture, the store having that “one day!” sale again. The first day of autumn happening twice? He’s even sure he saw the solar eclipse happen more than once, but Seokjin just waved him off, telling him to lay off the drugs.
Maybe he had just gotten really good at predicting what his classmates and teachers were going to say. His professor did repeat the same phrase many times “In one instance, in one instance, in one-“ But that didn’t account for the barista at the coffee shop having that same curling iron burn on her face, fresh, two days in a row, or the police officer when he got rear ended last Friday asking for his statement, twice, with an unmarked notepad. So, what exactly was happening?
Jungkook swore he had heard this lesson before- No. He knows he heard it before.
“And the subspecies blah blah blah…” He spoke in time with the teacher as his head hit the table with a thud, startling his tablemate.
“If you already know all of this, why not test out?” Seokjin asked quietly, pulling the papers out from under his forehead.
“I don’t know it all.” Jungkook muttered against the table. Seokjin simply sighed, turning back to color coating his notes. Although, Jungkook disagreed what he was doing was in the least bit helpful. This wasn’t Park Jimin color coding, with a key and everything. This just seemed….colorful for the hell of it.
He rubbed his forehead, a bit sore from his dramatic display. From across the room, Taehyung shot him a thumbs up, raising an eyebrow. He shot one back, sighing again before dropping his head, lighter this time, to the wood again. Seokjin chuckled, patting the back of his head with fondness.
“If you already know-“
“I don’t know it all.”
And he didn’t.
Because if he did, he would have figured this out by now, right? He would have figured out why he was sure he had walked into the kitchen, but was suddenly back in his bedroom. He would have figured out why he awoke in the night, fully rested, but it had only been thirty minutes since he laid down. He would have figured out why he was sure he typed out that entire paper, yet the screen was blank once more, nothing even saved or anything to undo. He would have figured out why he could still feel the heat of the coffee he just spilled on his hand, yet there it was in his hand. He stared at the cup, a bit shocked at the strange feeling. He was so enraptured, just barely having glanced up to see the man running down the sidewalk, full speed, straight at him. He stepped out of the way, the man rushing past, leaving a trail of thick cologne in the air. He stared, the slight red on his hand disappearing.
How strange, he always thought.
This would definitely be the point where any rational person would have simply deemed themselves mad, and walked straight into the nearest psychologist’s office, perhaps the one on 3rd St. But as Seokjin would argue, Jungkook definitely wasn’t rational. So he simply sat down on the sidewalk, sipping his coffee, wishing he had added more sugar. A few people gave him glances, but none were too concerned with the college student sitting in the middle of the sidewalk at noon on a Tuesday. He assumed there had been stranger things happen in the small town than his chosen seat for the day. He closed his eyes, using his sense of smell to enjoy the cologne in the air. But suddenly, it was gone.
Jungkook opened his eyes, glancing around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He sipped his coffee, noting it still definitely needed more sugar. The air was still crisp, the people still were staring at him curiously as they passed. But something still seemed....off.
He scooted around until he was facing back the way he came, feeling like he was a sitting duck. But what was giving him this feeling? Taehyung would tell him the government was always watching, but that definitely wasn't it. He shook his head, shaking the thought of the FBI from his mind. He watched people enter and exit the coffee shop, some speaking, some rushing, some breathing in the air, enjoying the cool weather. His brow furrowed, “What’s going on?”
The ground was cold under his butt and thighs. He sighed heavily, standing up, brushing himself off. And suddenly, his hand was hot again with coffee.
“Oh my god- I’m so- I’m sorry! But I’ve-I’ve gotta…” The man had bumped into him. He bounced foot to foot, seemingly nervous at the fact he had stopped his rapid bolt in down the sidewalk. It was the man from before. The man that he had just watched bolt down the street….three times at this point.
Jungkook stared, a bit wide eyed. “Did you-“
“I’m sorry! I- Here! My card- I’ll buy you another coffee!” The man had frantically pulled a card from his jacket, shoving it into his hands. “I’ve got to go! Just-Just- Contact me! Again-sorry!” He yelled as he continued his impressive run.
And Jungkook was frozen. There was no denying it now. Something was going on. There’s no way that man was just circling the area, running past him several times. Right? If he was in a rush….why would he be rushing to run around? He would have a goal, a point B he was running to, not just a run around the block that frantically. He glanced at the card in his hand. A real estate salesman, Kim Namjoon. He frowned, pocketing the card as he shook his coffee, or what was left of it. He sighed, sure it still needed sugar. Jungkook decided to start moving, before he saw the man run around the block again. Before he actually stepped foot in that psychologist's office. He decided to do some research, ask around...
Maybe Taehyung would have an answer…