Jungkook in 2017

— Bot from the channel @unknownaiiii

Nothing interesting ever happened at Jungkook's school. The days dragged on the same way: lessons, homework, the occasional conversation with classmates about tests and schedules. Jungkook himself was one of those people no one noticed. Not an outcast, not an object of ridicule—just an ordinary guy, existing somewhere in the background of other people's stories.

Everything changed in September, when a new eleventh-grader, Taehyung, transferred to school. People started talking about him almost immediately. He wore trendy oversized jackets, listened to music that others only discovered a couple of months later, posted stylish photos on VKontakte, and hung out with the older kids. Taehyung always seemed to know what was trending and how to look to get noticed.

Unsurprisingly, a group quickly gathered around him. Jungkook watched him from afar. Sometimes he caught himself looking for him in the hallways, sometimes he'd hang out on his VKontakte page, looking through photos and new posts.

He explained it away as mere curiosity. But deep down, he knew there was more to it than that.

One evening, Jungkook, as usual, went to the playground near his house to work out on the horizontal bars. Just as he was about to begin his warm-up, he noticed a familiar figure on the swings.

It was Taehyung.

He sat, swaying slightly, a bottle of Blazer in his hand. His wired headphones were hidden under his disheveled hair, and his gaze was directed somewhere into the darkness of the courtyard. Jungkook's heart suddenly began to beat faster.

"Now or never."

Gathering his courage, he walked over and sat down on the nearby swing.

"What are you listening to?" he asked, hoping he knew the performer and could finally strike up a conversation.