Work Text:
💓
Jungkook had been minding his own business. He had never been too much of a fan of parties, and even if a back-to-high-school gathering (hosted by the school, ew) technically isn’t one, Jungkook had already decided that this was no exception. The cup of punch he was nursing reeks of death, the music they’re playing is literal noise, and he is wishing for nothing more than to go home.
Until he spots who appears to be Adonis incarnate.
Time seems to slow down, all action in the area freezes, and the punch actually starts smelling decent as Jungkook discreetly stares across the room. The being is tall, lean, drop-dead gorgeous, and a man. In other words, Jungkook’s prayers have finally been answered.
He must be new, he thinks to himself, forgetting he has morals as he watches the guy run a hand through his hair. It’s rare seeing a beauty like him around here.
But alas, Jungkook can only be so subtle, though there is no surprise in that department. The guy, after making eye contact with Jungkook (oh God oh God oh God I’m going to pass out), flashes him a grin, but Jungkook, in his sheer panic, only shows a grimace in return.
I am never going to get a boyfriend, he thinks to himself as he quickly averts his gaze. His father wouldn’t like that anyway.
Jungkook turns to the girl beside him, who is busy playing a game on her phone. “Chaeng,” he hisses to her. No response. “Chaeyoung, I will pour my drink on your phone if you don’t pay attention to me.” They were both seated on some bench-type cushion, but it was ruined to the point of no return.
The girl, Chaeyoung, rolls her eyes as she drops her phone onto her lap. “What do you want?” She grabs Jungkook’s cup and takes a sip, much to the other’s utter disgust. He was so sure the punch was already spoiled….
Jungkook clears his throat. “There’s this cute guy,” he whispers. “10 o’clock.”
“Yeah?” Chaeyoung raises a brow, looking in the direction Jungkook had just stated.
“We made eye contact, but when he smiled, I scowled,” Jungkook whines. He huffs, rolling his eyes. “I probably looked like Shrek, Chaeng. I’m so done.”
Chaeyoung nods distractedly, getting up from the bench. “Okay, well,” she says, “I’ll go look for my boyfriend now!” Jungkook snorts in disbelief.
“Wait, where are you going?” he calls out as Chaeyoung actually walks away, taking his drink with her. “You don’t have a boyfriend, bitchー!”
“Hey.”
Jungkook flat out jumps. He clutches at his chest, looking to where the voice had come from, but he regrets doing so as the person who had approached him turns out to be the guy he had been ogling just moments before, grinning at him as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
So that’s why. Fuck you, Chaeyoung. Clearing his throat, Jungkook stands, trying to exhibit the cutest smile he can manage. Ew.
“Hi!” Jungkook greets back, internally cringing at how high his voice sounded. Cute boys make me so dumb. I hate this. He subtly straightens (ha) his back, trying to appear at least an ounce of attractive. Or whatever.
The guy, though with a little slouch to his stance, is taller than Jungkook by what appears to be a few inches. He holds out his hand. “I’m Taehyung,” he says.
Jungkook, after pushing away all the nasty thoughts that were starting to corrupt his brain (most of which were about Taehyung’s sinfully deep voice), reaches out and shakes Taehyung’s hand. He also notes that his hand is very soft and that he probably should not be noting this detail.
“I’m nice,” Jungkook replies after what seems like a million years. Taehyung titters.
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m sorry?” Jungkook echoes. “Wait, what? It’s Jungkook. I’m Jungkook. Sorry.”
Oh, fuck. I mixed up introducing myself and saying “it’s nice to meet you”, didn’t I.
Taehyung only shakes his head, chuckling to himself as he grins boxily (how can smiling like that even be so adorable?) at Jungkook. “Don’t worry about it. I’m nice, too.”
♥️
“Chaeng.”
Chaeyoung grunts.
“Chaeyoung, I will take your laptop and snap it into two if you don’t pay attention to me.”
“Jeez, okay!” Chaeyoung huffs, slamming her laptop shut and leaning back in her chair. “I have a report due tonight, for fuck’s sake. What do you want?”
Jungkook settles in his desk chair beside hers, a deep frown etched on his face. He crosses his armsーa nervous habit he has.
“You won’t believe who’s back.”
Chaeyoung sighs. “Who’s back?”
“You have to guess!”
“I don’t know… the Jonas Brothers?”
Jungkook raises a brow. “Well, yeah, but no.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Chaeyoung groans, opening her laptop and typing in her password. “Either tell me whoever the fuck has your panties in such a twist or leaー”
“Taehyung.”
Chaeyoung’s fingers hover mid-type in the air, and neither of them speak for the longest time. Days, weeks, months pass. The succulent Jungkook keeps on his desk dies. Chaeyoung gets the promotion she’s been praying for since the start of time. Global warming is no longer a problem. Okay, well… not exactly.
“No,” Chaeyoung whispers. “No way. You’re kidding.”
Jungkook nods. “I wish I was.”
“Were,” Chaeyoung corrects him.
“Yeah. Whatever.”
Another beat of silence passes.
“Okay, now that that’s over…,” Jungkook trails off, taking out his own laptop to work on a PowerPoint. Being a teacher is no easy work, and he is not sacrificing his sleep later for a bunch of rascals who don’t know the difference between the bourgeoisie and a baguette. Best start now.
Chaeyoung remains unmoving in her seat. “How is he back?”
Jungkook turns to face her, his eyebrows knit in unease. “I haven’t seen him yet, but I heard that there was a new guidance counselor here, and when I asked around about thatー”
“No!” Chaeyoung exclaims, her eyes as wide as saucers. “Seriously? Holy shit!”
“Chaeyoung-ssi!” the faculty secretary scolds. “This is your last warning this month!”
Chaeyoung snorts, rolling her eyes. “Sorry!” she calls back.
Jungkook sighs as he turns back to his laptop. “I guess I’ll have to start avoiding the left wing now,” he says, playing with the laptop’s keys. “It’s a shame I teach two classes there.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Chaeyoung scoffs, reaching for her mug and taking a sip. “I still stand by my speculation that he’s gay, too.”
“No, dumb bitch,” Jungkook replies, his head snapping to her at the speed of lightning. “You can’t label people just for how they look, talk, act, and are. They decide for themselves.”
Chaeyoung nods. “All right, damn. I’m sorry.”
Silence between the two ensues, and Jungkook thinks he hears the secretary sigh in relief. He isn’t sure, though.
“I told you, didn’t I?” Chaeyoung is the first to break the quiet. “You think he remembers you?” Jungkook sighs, crossing his arms.
“I hope not.”
💓
“You’ve got nerve talking about him like this when you can’t even say a single word to his face.”
Jungkook hits Chaeyoung’s shoulder, rolling his eyes.
“I can, actually,” Jungkook says, disregarding his friend’s groans of pain. “Sorry to burst your bubble.”
They settle into their usual lunch table in the cafeteria. Today is Wednesday, equating to green beans and other vegetable muck on the menu. Not exactly Jungkook’s type of food, unfortunately, which is why he always brings packed lunch on Wednesdays.
Chaeyoung snorts, taking out her own packed lunch. (Spinach apparently nauseates her.) “Well, what are you going to talk to him about, then? Your huge crush on him? Or perhaps your nail polish collection?”
Jungkook narrows his eyes at the other, choosing to ignore her first utterance. He isn’t sure yet, all right? “I do not have a nail polish collection.”
“Then what were those pictures you sent me the other day?” Chaeyoung raises a brow. She munches on a ham and cheese sandwich, trying to look innocent, but Jungkook knows her well.
“Stop talking so damn loud!” Jungkook hisses, quickly looking around to see if anyone had heard. “Those were my sister’s!” Chaeyoung rolls her eyes.
“Your sister’s, my ass. You don’t have a sister.”
“You don’t have an ass, either, genius.”
“Who doesn’t have an ass?”
Jungkook flinches so hard that he almost chucks his fork across the room. He turns to see Taehyung taking a seat beside him, feeling his cheeks flaming as he notices the way Taehyung’s skin strains against his ripped jeans when he looks dowー I am a child of God.
Chaeyoung, thankfully, notices his distress. “Hey, Tae,” she greets. “Have you submitted your critique paper yet?”
Taehyung raises his brows, turning to Jungkook and meeting his gaze. “When is that due again?”
“T-Today,” Jungkook manages to spit out, trying not to let his wince show. Shit, he thinks to himself, why am I such a loser? “Deductions will be given to those who submit their papers past nine.”
Jungkook thinks he sees the corners of Taehyung’s mouth twitch, but he isn’t sure. He does see Chaeyoung facepalm in his peripheral vision, though.
“Oh, is that how it works around here?” Taehyung pouts, and Jungkook feels himself break (oh God oh God oh God I am so gay) before nodding. Taehyung sighs, slouching even further into his seat before sitting right back up.
“I’ll have to finish it in class, then,” he says, shrugging as he stands. “I’ll go buy lunch, okay? Be right back!”
Jungkook watches him walk away before turning back to Chaeyoung and sighing. “Wow,” he mutters as he gathers a forkful of spaghetti, “I can’t believe he actually eats healthily. That’s, like, really important, you know?”
Chaeyoung only stares at him, an unimpressed look on her face.
“You do know that you stuttered earlier, right?”
“Shut up!”
♥️
Jungkook really, really should’ve expected this to happen.
Working in a school (or in general, really) forces you to meet new people whether you like it or not. Just last week, Jungkook had been introduced to a teacher from the Math department who had a kidney removed for the purpose of selling it, which did not, in fact, turn out to be legal.
Well. Wednesdays do always turn out to be unlucky for him.
As Jungkook unknowingly walks past the guidance office, caught up in thinking about what to eat for lunch, he fails to notice a certain someone standing right outside the office door.
“Jungkook-ah!”
Jungkook freezes. That voice sounded awfully familiar.
He turns around, and there, only a few feet away from him, is his actual high school crush in all his tall, lean, and drop-dead gorgeous glory. What the hell.
“Taehyung-ssi?” Jungkook winces at how his voice breaks, but he doesn’t shy away.
“This is so cool!” Taehyung exclaims, walking towards Jungkook with a huge grin. He hasn’t changed, Jungkook catches himself thinking. “We literally haven’t seen each other since, what, high school?”
Jungkook clears his throat, managing a smile. “Yeah,” he replies, adjusting the straps of his backpack on his shoulders. “It’s great meeting you again here.”
The two stare at each other, not really saying anything.
“Well,” Jungkook starts, shifting his weight between his feet, “I was just on my way to the cafeteria. Wanna come?” He can feel his cheeks burning, which is never really a good sign.
Taehyung visibly lights up. “Oh, is it lunchtime already?” he asks, his smile becoming even wider. “I hadn’t even noticed!”
Cute. Wait, what?
Jungkook shakes his head, not helping the smile on his face. “I’m on break, actually, but we can still eat together.”
“Oh, is that how it works around here?” Taehyung raises a brow, chuckling to himself. “I’ll go grab my stuff first, okay? Be right back!” Jungkook nods in acknowledgment, watching as Taehyung jogs back into the guidance office.
Later, as they’re walking to the canteen together, Taehyung turns to Jungkook.
“You think they still serve those green beans?”
💓
Everything had been going so well.
During the past months, Jungkook and Taehyung had gotten closer, even spending time after school together. Jungkook feels giddy just thinking about him, a big smile immediately appearing on his face whenever the thought of him enters his mind.
“I’m home!” Jungkook calls out into the living room. He rushes to his room upstairs, excited to tell Chaeyoung about how Taehyung taught him how to balance chemical equations. Before he can get any further, however, his father materializes in the hallway.
“Jungkook-ah,” his dad booms, his tone no-nonsense. “The nice little lady from next door told me that she keeps seeing you with a boy after school. Is this true?”
Jungkook flinches, and he hopes that his dad doesn’t notice. Shit. I should’ve remembered.
Clearing his throat, Jungkook turns around, trying to look the elder in the eye. “Yeah. He’s a friend.”
“Right,” his dad says. “She said you two look rather cozy, though. Do you have anything to say to that?”
I shouldn’t have forgotten.
“N-No,” Jungkook answers, wincing at his voice breaking. Fuck. “We just always do our homework together.” Where was his mom? Why isn’t she here at this time of all times?
His father raises a brow. “Tell me the truth, Jungkook.” It’s his warning tone.
I shouldn’t have let them see. “I am!”
“Don’t lie to me!” His father starts to raise his voice, clenching his fist in anger. “You know better than to lie!”
I shouldn’t have said yes. “I’m not lying to you! Taehyung is just my best friend!”
“Jungkook. She said you two looked really close. Don’t try!”
I shouldn’t have befriended him. “He’s my friend, dad!”
“I didn’t raise a faggot!”
His father’s voice echoes through the room, bouncing off its walls. Jungkook’s eyes widen, and a single tear falls from his eyes.
“Remember these words, boy,” his father grimly says, jabbing a finger at Jungkook torso. “Either fix yourself or leave. There’s no room here in this house for a son who fancies those of his kind.”
Jungkook blinks as his father leaves, clutching at his chest.
I shouldn’t have.
♥️
“Why are you so scared of me?” Taehyung asks out of nowhere, chuckling nervously. “Did I do something?”
“What do you mean?” Jungkook asks, raising a brow. They are in Taehyung’s private workplace in the guidance office as of the moment, working on their respective tasks. Jungkook had given in after Taehyung offered him a latte in exchange for his company, though they have been hanging out a lot lately.
“I don’t know…,” Taehyung trails off, scratching his nape. “I just noticed that you flinch whenever I come near you, and you always seem so unnerved around me.”
Jungkook looks at him in confusion, setting down the pen in his hand. “And? What’s your problem?”
Taehyung frowns. “You tell me, Kook. What’s your problem?”
“I’m sorry?” Jungkook asks, uncertain if he’d heard the other correctly. What is going on ?
Taehyung huffs, furrowing his brows together. “You act as if you don’t remember."
"I don’t understand.” Jungkook crosses his arms. “I’m not understanding anything you’re saying right now.”
“I don’t understand you, either, to be honest,” Taehyung says, much to Jungkook’s utter surprise. “Seriously, you cut me off in the middle of senior year, start ignoring me out of nowhere, and now that we’ve finally reunited, you act as if nothing had ever been between us! How did you think that would have made me feel?”
Oh.
“I-I don’t have the time for this, Tae. I have papers to check. I’m sorry.”
Jungkook shakes his head, willing the tears already forming in his eyes to go away as he stands to collect his things. He remembers just how painful it was to do all that. Jungkook had tried so hard to suppress everything he’d been feeling for Taehyung. It had been so, so painful, but he did it. He fought against who he was, studied, graduated, stayed in his family, stayed his father’s son.
That was what mattered most. Being his father’s son.
Taehyung scoffs in disbelief. “I can’t believe this! You’ve already left me before! How can you do this now?”
“Stop being such a child,” Jungkook scolds. He’s feet away from the door now. “Go back to work.”
“Fine. Forget about me again. Go on and leave!"
Jungkook turns around to face the other completely. "What’s it to you?!”
Taehyung stands, his face red. “I liked you!”
Jungkook freezes.
“What?”
Taehyung harshly exhales, dropping his head. “I liked you, okay? And for a while, I thought you liked me, too.”
“Taehyung,” Jungkook warns, his breathing getting shakier by the second. He can’t do this. Not now.
“I liked you so much that I didn’t know what to do with myself when you suddenly left.”
“No. Stop.”
“You leaving me hurt. You forgetting me hurt.”
“Tae, please.”
“I liked you, Kook,” Taehyung says, almost pleading. “I like you. Why won’t you listen to me?”
“You’re just confused.” Fuck.
“I’m sorry, what?”
It’s as if Jungkook has suddenly lost control over his mouth. “You don't mean it.”
Taehyung cocks a brow. “And what do you know about what I mean and what I don’t?”
I don’t know anything. “You’re just confused,” Jungkook repeats, tears now gushing from his eyes.
“I’m not, Kook. I’m not. I know myself. I know who I am.”
“You don’t like men.”
“I like you.”
God, it hurts.
“There’s no room in this world for us, Tae.” Just like father had said.
“Jungkook. Listen to me."
He never listened.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then let me. Please.”
“I never let myself hope that you would ever like me back,” Jungkook says as he turns to leave, ignoring Taehyung’s pleas. “It was just too good to be true."
💓
Chaeyoung frowns, her hands on her hips. “Kook.”
Jungkook shakes his head, refusing to look up.
Chaeyoung sits on the floor beside Jungkook, who has his head in his hands. His cap lies abandoned by his feet, and his toga is askew and rumpled on his frame.
“Are you crying?”
Jungkook shakes his head again, but Chaeyoung knows him well.
Chaeyoung knows.
She sighs. “Well, at least you didn’t have your bra stick out in your pictures, yeah? It would have been real embarrassing on the yearbooks.”
Jungkook finally looks up, an unimpressed expression on his face. His eyes are bloodshot, his lips are trembling, and his breathing is more than ragged. Chaeyoung almost tears up at the sight.
She wraps her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder as she rubs his back. “Hey. Listen. I’m never letting anything happen to you, okay?”
Jungkook whimpers, folding back in on himself. His whole body shakes from the force of his cries.
“It’ll be okay, all right?” Chaeyoung says, trying to control her wobbly voice. Tears are now streaming down her face. “You did it. We’ll be in college now, remember? We can start studying to become teachers already. He won’t be around anymore. It’ll be okay.”
“I’m scared,” Jungkook sobs, his voice muffled by Chaeyoung’s sleeves. “I don’t know about that, Chaeng. I don’t know anything.” Chaeyoung shakes her head, running her fingers through Jungkook’s hair.
“I know,” she says. “You’ll be okay.”
♥️
Avoiding the counselor is no piece of cake, but Jungkook had managed to for two weeks now. As soon as his classes in the left wing ended, he simply bolted without looking back. Jungkook would’ve seen him coming this time, would’ve had time to duck into the other corridor if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with his thoughts about work.
So because he hadn’t slept last night, he is now a few feet away from having to pass by Taehyung.
Shit, shit, shit, Jungkook thinks to himself as he prepares for the encounter. He keeps his eyes straight ahead, ensuring that his grip on his folders is extra tight. Fuck. Here goes.
Jungkook drops his head as he walks by Taehyung, much to his dismay. He hadn’t wanted to show that this little rendezvous would affect him, but what matters is that it's donー
“Jungkook-ssi.”
Jungkook stills, his skin practically breaking out in goosebumps. So close. He slowly turns around, dreading the contact to come.
“Taehyung-ssi,” he greets as his eyes meet Taehyung’s cool gaze.
Taehyung approaches him, and Jungkook thinks he’s going to get hit when he gets handed a folded piece of bright pink paper instead. He stops himself from crossing his arms.
“You dropped this.”
Jungkook clears his throat, taking the little slip from him. Stupid me. “Thank you.”
Taehyung nods as he passes. Jungkook thinks he sees the corners of Taehyung’s mouth twitch, but he isn’t sure.
When Jungkook is sure that Taehyung has turned into the other hallway, he lets out a sigh of relief. He hurriedly unfurls the pink paper, checking to see if it had been ruined only to find:
Dear Jungkookie,
After giving it much thought, I’ve realized that we were fated to forget each other.
Well, fuck fate.
Let’s talk. Library after school. You know, like we used to.
Love,
The One and Only Taehyungie <3
P.S. I’m pan. Suck on that, Kookie.
Jungkook rolls his eyes, not caring that he’s smiling like the biggest dork in the world and ultimately tearing up at the same time. God, he is so pathetic. He pockets the piece of paper and continues to walk ahead, though with a little skip to his step this time.
He hasn’t changed.