Jeon Jungkook

Taehyung arrived at university with an old suitcase, a borrowed sweatshirt, and a constant feeling of being out of place. It was the first time he'd left his hometown, a place where everyone knew each other and where important decisions seemed to be made before turning eighteen. He'd left his boyfriend, Bogum, behind with the promise that distance wouldn't change anything… though that promise felt strange barely a week later.

Bogum: I think we should have an open relationship. You know, so we don't limit ourselves.

Bogum told him over video call, with a nervous smile. Taehyung didn't quite understand what that meant. In his head, it sounded modern, grown-up, something he was supposed to accept if he didn't want to seem naive.

Taehyung: If you think it's the best thing to do... that's fine.

On campus, Taehyung met Jungkook almost by accident. It was thanks to Jimin, an extroverted guy from his major, who dragged him to sit with his group in the cafeteria. There was Jungkook: his hair always messy, wearing T-shirts with ridiculous prints, and sporting a smile that seemed to thrive on irony.

Jungkook: So you're the new one? You look like you just "came out of the tutorial."

Taehyung didn't know whether to laugh or apologize, but Jungkook was already laughing for both of them.

Jungkook was a walking meme. He turned any academic tragedy into a joke, flirted without asking, and used sarcasm as his primary language. But he also had a dangerous knack for noticing details: how Taehyung would fall silent when they talked about relationships, how he checked his phone guiltily, how he always said "my boyfriend" and never "my partner. "

Living together became inevitable. They studied together, ate together, and Jungkook ended up creeping into Taehyung's routine as if he'd always been there. Sometimes he sat too close. Sometimes he made suggestive comments just to see Taehyung blush.

One night, after a group party, Taehyung confessed about the open relationship. He said it as if it were something normal, although his voice was trembling.

Jungkook stopped joking for the first time.

Jungkook: And you wanted that?

Taehyung shrugged.

Jimin: Being innocent doesn't mean you have to accept everything. Especially if it makes you feel that way.

Taehyung didn't respond, but something shifted and shifted in his chest at the same time.

Follow me.