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Taehyung first noticed him on a Monday morning.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about the man.
He was quiet.
That was probably what made Taehyung notice him in the first place.
Every morning, on his way to work, Taehyung took the same train from the same station, usually at the same time. He had done it for so long that the journey had become something he barely thought about. He would get on, find a place to stand or sit, put on his earphones, and let the city pass outside the window.
Then one morning, there he was.
A stranger sitting by the window.
Dark hair falling slightly over his forehead. A book resting open in his hands. His expression calm and distant as he read, seemingly unaware of everything happening around him.
Taehyung didn't think much of him.
Not then.
Until the next morning.
And the morning after that.
Somehow, the stranger was always there.
Eventually, Taehyung began recognizing him before he even consciously realized it.
He knew which door the man usually entered through.
He knew that he preferred the seat near the window whenever it was available.
He knew that he carried a black backpack with a tiny rabbit keychain attached to it.
He knew that when something in his book amused him, the corners of his lips lifted into the smallest, softest smile.
A bunny smile.
Taehyung had never seen anyone smile quite like that.
He also noticed the way the stranger waved at little children.
There was a little girl who sometimes boarded with her mother at one of the stations. The first time Taehyung saw the stranger wave at her, he had almost smiled himself.
The girl would wave.
The stranger would wave back.
And somehow, that tiny interaction became something Taehyung looked forward to.
He didn't know the man's name.
Didn't know where he worked.
Didn't know where he lived.
Didn't know anything about him.
Yet, somehow, he knew all these little things.
And then one day, Taehyung realized something else.
He was looking forward to seeing him.
Not the train.
Not the journey.
Him.
His eyes would automatically search the carriage the moment he stepped inside.
If the familiar black backpack wasn't there, something felt strangely incomplete.
Taehyung didn't question it.
He simply accepted it as another part of his morning routine.
What Taehyung didn't know was that he wasn't the only one collecting these little pieces.
Because whenever Taehyung wasn't looking—
Jungkook was watching him too.
He had noticed Taehyung long before Taehyung realized he had been noticed.
The way Taehyung pushed his hair back whenever he was tired.
The way he smiled at things on his phone.
The way he sometimes stared out of the window with his chin resting against his hand.
The way he always checked the time before getting off.
And, most importantly, the way Taehyung's eyes searched for him whenever he entered the train.
Jungkook noticed that too.
He just pretended he didn't.
For weeks, they remained strangers.
Two people who knew far too many little things about each other without knowing something as simple as each other's names.
And Jungkook had developed a ridiculous habit because of it.
His actual station came one stop before Taehyung's.
But every morning, Jungkook stayed on.
One extra station.
Just to be there a little longer.
Just a few more minutes.
He always told himself the same thing.
I'll talk to him today.
He would rehearse sentences in his head.
Good morning.
Too boring.
You read a lot.
Too obvious.
I see you every morning.
Absolutely terrifying.
So every morning, Jungkook would sit there, gather enough courage to speak—
and then Taehyung would smile.
And every carefully prepared sentence would disappear.
Tomorrow.
He could do it tomorrow.
Then one afternoon, something changed.
Jungkook got off at his actual station.
Taehyung watched him disappear through the closing doors.
And for some reason, his chest felt strangely heavy.
He stared at the doors long after the train started moving again.
Why had Jungkook gotten off there?
That wasn't his usual station.
Taehyung knew that.
He knew it because he had been paying attention.
Much more attention than he probably should have been.
The next morning, Jungkook was there again.
Same seat.
Same quiet expression.
Same black backpack.
Taehyung hesitated for several minutes.
Then, before he could lose his courage, he spoke.
“Did you get off at the wrong station yesterday?”
Jungkook looked up.
For the first time, their eyes met properly.
“Yesterday?”
“You got off one stop earlier.”
Jungkook froze.
Taehyung continued, completely unaware that he had just exposed weeks of Jungkook's secret.
“I thought maybe you got confused.”
Jungkook's brain stopped working.
Because there was absolutely no way he could say:
No. I normally stay one extra station because I want to spend a little more time with you.
So panic took over.
“No.”
Taehyung waited.
Jungkook swallowed.
“That's my actual station.”
Silence.
Taehyung stared at him.
Jungkook stared at the floor.
It was possibly the worst lie he had ever told.
Taehyung knew it.
Jungkook knew that Taehyung knew it.
But instead of calling him out, Taehyung smiled.
A small, knowing smile.
“Okay.”
That was all.
And somehow, that one word made Jungkook's heart beat harder than any confession could have.
The next morning, Taehyung sat beside him.
Jungkook looked at him in surprise.
“Is this seat taken?” Taehyung asked.
Jungkook shook his head.
“No.”
“Good.”
Taehyung sat down.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Taehyung smiled.
“I'm Taehyung.”
Jungkook looked at him.
“Jungkook.”
“I know.”
Jungkook blinked.
“You know?”
Taehyung laughed softly.
“No. I was guessing.”
Jungkook stared at him before finally laughing too.
And just like that, weeks of silence finally broke.
They talked.
Not about anything important.
Their work.
The books Jungkook read.
The places Taehyung liked to visit.
Small things.
Ordinary things.
The kind of things strangers usually asked each other when they were trying to become something more.
And somehow, by the time the train reached Taehyung's station, neither of them wanted the conversation to end.
The doors opened.
Taehyung stood.
“So… I'll see you tomorrow?”
Jungkook smiled.
“Yeah.”
Taehyung stepped off.
Then turned around.
“By the way…”
Jungkook looked at him.
“You don't have to lie about your station.”
Jungkook's eyes widened.
Taehyung grinned.
“I figured it out.”
And before Jungkook could respond, the doors closed.
The next morning, Jungkook didn't get off at his actual station.
He stayed.
One extra stop.
Only this time, Taehyung knew why.
And when the train reached the station where Jungkook was supposed to leave, Taehyung reached for his hand.
“Stay until my stop.”
Jungkook smiled.
“That's one extra station.”
“I know.”
And somewhere between two stops, two strangers stopped being strangers.
Maybe that was how love began sometimes.
Not with grand gestures.
Not with love at first sight.
But with a familiar face across a crowded train.
A smile you began looking for without realizing it.
A few tiny details you collected and kept quietly to yourself.
And one extra stop—
just because you weren't ready to leave them yet.