Chapter Text
The first time Taehyung saw him, he was sitting on the last bench of the campus library, a thick novel resting on his lap. His head was bowed, lips slightly parted as he read, completely unaware of the world around him.
He wasn't wearing anything extraordinary - just a beige sweater that looked a size too big, and round glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. But to Taehyung, he looked like a walking daydream.
There were prettier people in the university. Louder. Bolder. But something about this boy - with soft eyes and ink-stained fingers - pulled him in like gravity.
At first, Taehyung sat a few seats away.
Then closer.
And then, one day, he finally whispered, "What book is that?"
The boy blinked up, surprised. "The Fault in Our Stars," he said quietly, voice soft like a page turning in the wind.
Taehyung nodded. "Do you like it?"
"It's sad," the boy mumbled, eyes lowering to the page again. "But beautiful."
"What's your name?" Taehyung asked gently.
"...Jungkook," he replied.
"My name is Kim Taehyung," Taehyung whispered softly in return, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Jungkook looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes - then gave the sweetest bunny smile Taehyung had ever seen. A quiet whisper left his lips.
"I know it."
And right then, Taehyung's world stopped.
That smile. Those eyes. So soft. So breathtakingly pretty, he felt like he might die right there.
From that moment, everything changed.
-
Taehyung began showing up at the library every single day. Not because he liked books.
But because he liked Jungkook.
He learned that Jungkook loved rainy mornings and hated loud noises. That he cried over poetry and sometimes hugged books to his chest when a chapter broke his heart. That he wanted to become a literature professor one day - and open a quiet little book café where people could come to read in peace.
He learned that Jungkook had a shy smile... and the loudest, brightest laugh when he was truly happy. That he blushed when complimented and always looked away when he was nervous, chewing on his bottom lip without realizing it.
And somewhere in between shared coffees, late-night walks home, and reading poems together under quiet trees...
They fell in love.
Softly.
Quietly.
Calmly.
----------------
Years passed like seasons melting into one another - like pages flipping in a book they never wanted to end.
What once were awkward silences over shared library desks became whispered laughter in quiet corners.
What began as study sessions turned into sleepy naps on each other's shoulders.
Late-night ramen runs, the first hesitant hand-holds, stolen kisses under dim campus lights - all of it had become a private history written only in their hearts.
And now, in the blink of an eye, they were standing at the edge of it all.
Because now... it was almost time to say goodbye to it all.
Just a few more days left on campus.
Graduation was coming fast, stealing away their routine. Their shared space. Their comfort.
Only a few more sunsets together in this place that had given them everything.
It was a quiet winter evening. The campus library was almost empty - the soft sound of snow falling outside brushing gently against the windows.
Jungkook had been confused when Taehyung asked to meet him there at this hour, but he went anyway.
He always would.
For Taehyung.
The moment he stepped inside, something felt... different.
The warm golden lights still glowed overhead, casting soft halos across the familiar space, but the room was empty -
except for one open book placed delicately at the center table.
The cover made his breath catch.
The Fault in Our Stars.
Their first book.
The one he was reading the day Taehyung first spoke to him.
The one he had cried over and laughed through.
The one they read together, again and again, as they slowly fell in love.
Jungkook walked toward it slowly, fingers trembling slightly as he reached the table.
The book was open to a specific page - the page where Augustus confessed his love.
But across the pages, written in bold, careful red marker, were two words:
"MARRY ME?"
Right in the center, nestled gently between the pages, was a silver ring - thin, elegant, with a small heart-shaped stone in the middle.
It sparkled under the library light, almost as if it, too, was holding its breath.
Jungkook's mouth parted in shock. His heart pounded against his ribs.
Before he could move, he heard footsteps behind him.
He turned slowly.
Taehyung was standing there - wearing the same navy coat he had worn the night they first kissed in the snow. His hair was slightly tousled, his cheeks pink from the cold, and his eyes... his eyes were glistening, full of nervous joy.
He didn't say a word.
He simply stepped forward... then another step... and then, slowly, he sank down onto one knee.
Jungkook froze, heart caught somewhere between a gasp and a sob.
"I know it's sudden," Taehyung said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "But please... just listen."
He glanced up at Jungkook with teary eyes. "Years passed so fast, didn't they?" he whispered, his voice shaking. "It feels like just yesterday I saw you sitting here for the first time - hiding behind that book and refusing to look at me."
Jungkook let out a broken laugh, tears already filling his eyes.
"I used to sit in the library just to catch a glimpse of you," Taehyung continued, eyes shimmering. "just to watch the way your eyes lit up when you read. I think... I fell in love with you before I even realized it."
He took a deep breath and gently took Jungkook's hand in his own.
"I know it might feel too early to talk about marriage... We're only just graduating. We have our whole lives ahead of us. But Jungkook..." he said, voice thick with emotion, "...I've already spent twenty years of my life without you."
He swallowed hard, lips trembling.
"And now that I've found you, I don't want to spend even one more second apart. I don't want a life where you're not in every morning, every hug, every home."
Tears spilled down Jungkook's cheeks before he could stop them. His heart ached - not with sadness, but with too much love. With the weight of memories, and dreams, and all the quiet ways they'd grown into each other.
"You once told me that love should feel like peace," Taehyung whispered. "Like coming home after a long day. And Jungkook... I've never felt more at home than when I'm holding your hand."
He smiled through his tears. "You're my calm. My peace. You quiet the world when it's too loud. You're the only home I've ever wanted."
"I want to grow old with you. I want to be there when you open new books, when you cry over the sad parts, when you laugh so hard you forget how adorable you look. I want all of it."
Taehyung picked up the ring from the book's pages and held it up.
Jungkook gasped softly, his chest heaving with emotion, his tears falling faster.
"So I'm asking you now," Taehyung whispered, voice cracking, "right here where it all began... Jeon Jungkook, will you marry me?"he whispered. "Will you let me love you until we're old and graying and still arguing over who gets the last piece of chocolate?"
He laughed softly, eyes locked with Jungkook's.
"Will you write every tomorrow with me - every chapter, every line,
every quiet night and soft morning?"
His lips trembled, but his smile grew as he added,
"And... would you consider changing your surname from Jeon to Kim Jungkook?"
Jungkook dropped to his knees in front of him, unable to hold back anymore. He cupped Taehyung's face with both hands, their foreheads resting together as they sobbed quietly into the moment.
"I was waiting," Jungkook whispered shakily, pulling him into a trembling hug. "I was waiting for you to say this..."
"I can't live without you, Taehyung. Not even for one second. I love you... so much."
He began kissing Taehyung's face - his cheeks, his forehead, his eyelids - over and over again, laughing and sobbing all at once.
Taehyung chuckled softly through his own tears, his arms wrapping tightly around Jungkook's back.
Jungkook clutched at Taehyung's coat like it was the only thing keeping him from falling apart.
"Yes," he breathed, eyes locked onto Taehyung's, their tears mirroring one another."Yes. A hundred times - a thousand times - yes."
Taehyung slid the ring onto his finger. It fit perfectly, like it had always been meant to be there.
He brought Jungkook's hand to his lips and kissed it softly- never once breaking eye contact.
Then, gently, he cupped Jungkook's cheeks in his hand and leaned in.
Their lips met in a kiss - soft, slow, trembling - surrounded by the silence of the library. The very same place where it all began. - it felt like the world faded around them.
Leaving just this moment.
Just them.
Two hearts.
One calm love.
Forever starting here.