Chapter Text
The sun was setting, the sky’s red and orange would soon fade out and it would be time to go home. And yet, Jungkook sat on the swing, slowly swaying up and down, cheeks puffed and lips in a pout.
“Come play with us Jungkook!” His friends had called for him, but Jungkook had shook his head no and stayed in the swing, still upset over what happened in his art class. She had given him a six out of ten. A six. Jungkook had never received a grade that low; well maybe he had in math but in art class? Never.
And so when a teary eyed Jungkook had asked Mrs. Choi why she had given him a grade so low, the teacher had reasoned saying, “Jungkook you painted the skies purple. It’s supposed to be blue.”
Jungkook did not understand that.
Why did the skies have to be blue all the time?
As he kept swinging looking at the sky above him, Jungkook senses a person come and sit beside him. It was Kim Namjoon from school, Jungkook recognizes. Although Jungkook had never talked to him, he had seen the boy around and many teachers talked about him too!
“Oh that’s Agaricus bisporus!” He hears the boy exclaim beside him.
Jungkook looks at where the boy is pointing and notices tiny white mushrooms with round head growing at the side. Curious and excited, the little boy jump off the moving swing uncaring if he’d fall and runs closer to the mushrooms, crouching down, his big eyes examining them with fascination. It was the first time Jungkook had seen an uncooked mushroom in real life!
Jungkook giggles, “That’s a mushroom, silly!” He exclaims. How did Namjoon not know that?
Namjoon looks at Jungkook and smiles, “Of course it’s a mushroom…..boy,” he says, not knowing his name. “I started learning scientific names during library! The mushroom’s scientific name is Agaricus bisporus,” Namjoon tells him.
Jungkook nods in awe. Woah, hyung knows a lot, he thinks.
“My name’s Jeon Jungkook hyung!” Jungkook introduces himself, before continuing, “and what’s a scientific name?”
“Well err everything has a scientific name you see…” Namjoon trails.
Jungkook aggressively nods again with excitement, “Hyung knows a lot of scientific names right?” He asks.
“Of course!”
“Can hyung tell my scientific name too?”
“Your scientific name?” Namjoon asks in confusion.
Jungkook hums, “Mm-hmm! Hyung knows it right?” He asks, his big bambi eyes shining with curiosity, leaving Namjoon clutching his stomach and laughing like it was the funniest thing he had heard.
Jungkook didn’t get his answer, but something about his hyung laughing like that had only made him laugh along, despite not understanding what was funny.
And just like that, both had forgotten about their bad day.
Jungkook gets up, ready to leave. He looks down at Namjoon, “Hyung you know a lot of things right?”
Namjoon snorts, “Of course kookie!”
“Then can hyung tell me if purple skies exist?”
Namjoon’s eyes light up. “Yes!’’ He exclaims. “Sometimes when the sun is setting…it makes the sky purple!” he says.
“Woah, then why isn’t it purple now?”
“My mum said the sun does it when the moon gets sad. The moon likes purple so before going away, the sun paints the sky purple for the moon!” Namjoon explains.
Jungkook nods, “Hyung then whenever you get sad, I’ll paint purple skies for you too!”
---
Twelve years pass and Jungkook still finds comfort in the park swings after a bad day. He walks towards the park next to his campus, mind is elsewhere. He was painfully aware of how he still had three untouched assignments to submit by the end of the week and it was already Thursday. He sighs for the nth time that day thinking about the meeting with his professor.
“Jungkook, I love the unique details your paintings have to offer. The brush strokes are distinctive in a way it tells a story of its own. But you need to focus on the fundamentals as well. It’s important to get the composition, proportions and the values right. I know the instant gratification you get when you add the detailing but I would advice you to work on the fundamentals first and later add the details.”
Jungkook didn't feel dejected because of the feedback. He felt so because he had to deal with so many deadlines that he had no time to work on improving his painting. And despite being only in the middle of the first semester, Jungkook had been ready to drop out of university right that second.
Jungkook’s stomach starts rumbling as soon as he reaches the park. He realizes how it had been almost the end of the day but he hadn’t had anything all day other than a cup of iced americano.
He decides to get himself a sandwich and have his meal at the swing set.
The sky’s a soft orange matching the color of the withering leaves.The grass is freshly watered and Jungkook has the urge to remove his shoes and walk on the grass, bare foot but he’s too tired, exhausted to even take bites of his sandwich.
He plugs his earphones, listening to the playlist his roommate sent him.
He looks around the park, slowly unwrapping the sandwich and picking out all the tomatoes. He had forgotten to ask and have them removed.
He spots few people from his uni playing football while some others were working quietly on their assignments.
Jungkook thinks it’s a good spot to work on his painting assignments. Jungkook feels his mood lifting as his stomach starts to fill. And as he was looking for a nearby trashcan to throw his waste, he notices tiny mushrooms growing nearby.
“Oh, it’s Agaricus bisporus” Jungkook says to himself giggling fondly at the memory of Namjoon at the park, years ago.
Jungkook hears someone speak next to him and he’s feeling déjà vu. Jungkook turns his head, searching for the person who spoke.
Jungkook unplugs his earphones, heart skipping a beat as he looks at the person with the most beautiful face he’s ever seen. “My boyfriend is fond of scientific names, too.” the person says with the softest smile etched on his face.
Jungkook looks at him, eyes wide. It couldn’t be…
Jungkook’s doubtful, but he asks the boy anyway, “Is your boyfriend perhaps….Kim Namjoon?”
He sees the boy burst into a fit of giggles at that, “Yeah,” he says. “And you’re kookie right?”
Jungkook looks at him, even more surprised if that was even possible, “how- how did you know that?”
Jungkook was not necessarily popular for someone to recognize him on spot. Plus, nobody called him kookie from uni. How the hell did he know?
The boy smiles, a gummy smile, Jungkook notices. “He wasn’t lying about your Bambi eyes huh,” he mumbles before a shit eating grin stretches across his face.
“Nice to meet you,” he says, “My scientific name is Min Yoongi.”