Chapter Text
Jeon Jungkook had always been the kind of person who loved too hard once he started loving at all.
Before Kim Ara, relationships had been temporary things. Casual dates. Fleeting attraction. People who liked him because he was charming, athletic, confident. People he left before they could leave him first.
Then Ara happened.
And suddenly Jungkook became the kind of boyfriend who remembered tiny details.
The kind who knew exactly how much sugar she liked in her coffee.
The kind who waited outside lecture halls with warm drinks in winter.
The kind who listened.
Really listened.
“You’re staring again,” Ara laughed one afternoon.
Jungkook blinked from across the restaurant booth. “Can you blame me?”
“You say cheesy things so naturally.”
“And you still date me.”
Ara smiled then.
Softly.
The kind of smile that always made Jungkook feel strangely calm.
That was the problem with Kim Ara.
She felt permanent.
Three years.
Three years of shared apartment keys, late-night ramen, studying together, vacations, fights over nothing, makeup kisses after arguments, sleepy “I love you”s whispered at 2 a.m.
Three years of Jungkook genuinely believing he had found the person he would spend the rest of his life with.
Which was why the silence afterward destroyed him.
There was no warning sign.
No huge fight.
No dramatic breakup.
Just - absence.
At first, Jungkook thought she was busy.
Then unreachable.
Then avoiding him.
And finally - gone.
The only thing she left behind was a message.
"I’m sorry."
That was it.
No explanation, No closure. Nothing.
Jungkook still remembered standing outside her empty apartment in the rain, repeatedly pressing the passcode even after realizing it had changed.
His calls unanswered.
Her social media gone.
Her friends refusing to speak.
As if Kim Ara had erased herself from his life completely.
And maybe she had.
"You need to stop looking like someone died,” Taehyung muttered, dropping onto the couch beside him.
Jungkook didn’t respond.
Three months.
It had already been three months.
Three months and he still checked his phone every morning first thing after waking up.
Pathetic.
“She left,” Jungkook said flatly. “Without even respecting me enough to explain why.”
Taehyung sighed quietly.
“You loved her.”
Jungkook laughed bitterly.
“That’s the embarrassing part.”
Love turned ugly after that. Not immediately.
At first it was grief. Then confusion. Then humiliation. And finally anger.
Pure anger.
Because how could someone love him for three years and disappear like he meant nothing? How could she leave him drowning in questions she never bothered answering?
Jungkook hated her for making him weak.
He hated himself more for still missing her.
The idea came accidentally. It was late. Jungkook couldn’t sleep again. He was scrolling mindlessly through old tagged photos when he saw her.
Kim Ara, standing beside a tall man with glasses and the caption read: Finally dragged my nerd brother out for dinner ♡
Kim Seokjin.
Jungkook frowned slightly. Ara once mentioned her brother. And he remembered this name.
Her older brother - Quiet. Introverted. Smart. Too kind, Too trusting. she once said.
Jungkook stared at the smiling picture for a long time. Then slowly leaned back against his chair and something cold settled inside him.
Maybe Kim Ara deserved to lose someone too.
At first, it was only a thought. Nothing serious. But thoughts become dangerous when repeated often enough. And Jungkook repeated this one constantly. He imagined Kim Ara returning one day only to find out her brother had fallen apart because of him.
He imagined her hurting the way he hurt. The idea should’ve disgusted him.
Instead - it comforted him.
That was how broken Jungkook had become.
The first step was finding Seokjin, which turned out surprisingly easy.
Kim Seokjin was doing his master’s degree at the same university Jungkook’s friend Hoseok attended for graduate research.
Jungkook learned things slowly after that - Seokjin spent most evenings in the campus library. He tutored underclassmen part-time. He avoided parties. Liked strawberry milk. Read physical books instead of PDFs because he said he liked “feeling pages.”
Jungkook hated how harmless he sounded because harmless people weren’t supposed to become collateral damage. But every time Jungkook remembered standing outside Ara’s empty apartment -his hesitation disappeared.
The first meeting wasn’t dramatic. No spilling coffee. No cinematic moment.
Jungkook planned it carefully.
The library café was crowded that evening, students rushing around during midterm season. Seokjin sat alone near the corner window, surrounded by books and highlighted papers.
Jungkook watched him for nearly ten minutes first. Seokjin pushed his glasses up every few seconds while typing.
Cute habit.
Annoyingly cute.
Jungkook hated noticing that.
Finally, he walked over casually.“Is this seat taken?”
Seokjin looked up immediately. His eyes widened slightly.“No, uh-go ahead.”
His voice was softer than Jungkook expected.
Jungkook sat down and pretended to scroll through his phone. Five minutes passed in silence.
Then Seokjin suddenly looked panicked.“Oh no.”
Jungkook glanced up.
Seokjin stared at his laptop screen helplessly.“My file disappeared.”
“…What?”
“My thesis draft—”
“You didn’t save?”
“I did!” Seokjin looked horrified. “I think?”
Jungkook almost laughed. Instead, he leaned over.“Move.”
“What?” Seokjin being so confused at that moment
“Move.”
Seokjin awkwardly slid aside while Jungkook checked the folders and within two minutes, he found the autosaved file. “There.”
Seokjin stared. Then his entire face lit up.
And Jungkook - Jungkook felt strangely caught off guard by how pretty that smile was.
“Oh my god,” Seokjin breathed. “You saved my life.”
“You are being Dramatic.”
“I’m serious.”
“You owe me coffee then.” The words slipped out naturally from Jungkook's mouth.
Seokjin blinked. Then smiled again. “…Okay.”
That was how it started.
Small.
Intentional.
Jungkook didn’t push too hard at first. That would scare Seokjin away. Instead, he made himself familiar. A coincidence here. Another there.
Passing greetings turning into conversations. Conversations turning into routine.
And Seokjin made it easy. Too easy. Because Kim Seokjin was lonely in ways he tried hiding.
Jungkook noticed it gradually - The way Seokjin lingered after conversations ended. The way he brightened whenever someone remembered tiny details about him. The way he apologized constantly for “bothering people.” It became embarrassingly simple to slide into his life.
“You’re here again,” Seokjin said one evening, looking up from his books.
Jungkook shrugged casually as he dropped into the chair opposite him. “You sound disappointed.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you thought it.”
A tiny smile appeared on Seokjin’s lips. “I just thought you’d get bored eventually.”
Jungkook frowned slightly.“Why would I?”
Seokjin looked down at his notes.“I’m not exactly interesting.”
Something about the quiet honesty in his tone irritated Jungkook unexpectedly. Because Seokjin genuinely believed that. “You talk too much when you’re comfortable,” Jungkook said.
Seokjin blinked.“What?”
“You ramble about weird facts.” Jungkook stated
“…I do not.”
“You spent twenty minutes explaining octopuses to me yesterday.”
“They’re intelligent!” Seokjin arguged
Jungkook laughed for the first time in weeks.
Real laughter.
And Seokjin looked oddly pleased by it.
The friendship formed slowly after that. Late-night convenience store trips, studying together, walking Seokjin home after evening classes.
Jungkook learned Seokjin loved old songs and terrible dad jokes. Seokjin learned Jungkook pretended not to care about people while secretly taking care of everyone around him.
Months passed.
And somewhere along the way - revenge became complicated.
Because Seokjin wasn’t just “Ara’s brother” anymore.
He became-Seokjin. The man who fell asleep on library desks. Who bought extra snacks because “you always steal mine anyway.” Who waited for Jungkook after basketball practice without complaining. Who smiled softly whenever Jungkook entered a room like his day genuinely improved.
It should’ve made Jungkook stop.
Instead, he kept going.
Because by then, turning back would mean admitting he had become the villain.
And Jungkook wasn’t ready to face that yet.
"Can I ask you something?”
Jungkook looked up from the ramen cup.
They sat outside a convenience store at nearly midnight, cold wind brushing past them.
“Hm?”
“Why did you start talking to me?”
Jungkook paused. Dangerous question.
Seokjin fiddled nervously with his chopsticks.
“You’re… popular,” he said awkwardly. “Confident. You have lots of friends.”
“And?” Jungkook became curious
“And I’m just…” Seokjin laughed softly. “Me.”
Jungkook stared at him. Under the pale streetlights, Seokjin looked unfairly beautiful tonight, soft hair falling into his eyes, pink lips from spicy ramen.
Warm gaze fixed only on him. And suddenly Jungkook understood something terrifying.
Kim Seokjin trusted him completely.
The realization should’ve satisfied him.
Instead - it made guilt crawl beneath his skin for the first time.
Still, Jungkook smiled lazily.
“Maybe I just like you.”
Seokjin froze.
Completely.
Then quietly looked away.
And Jungkook noticed the slight redness spreading across his ears.
God.
He was falling already.
And Jungkook—despite everything—felt his heartbeat stutter at the sight.