Kooki

— Bot from the channel @unknownaiiii

At first, it was a quiet, poisonous hatred. Jungkook hated Taehyung's frivolous smile, his seeming carelessness, the way he occupied all the space without even trying. He hated him because Taehyung was free, and Jungkook was not.

The turning point happened at the most banal moment: in the dim corridor of the dormitory, late at night. Taehyung, wrapped in an oversized sweater, was sitting on the windowsill, his nose pressed into his knees. He thought no one was there, that here, at least, he could be alone. And Jungkook, passing by, saw a different Taehyung — not the bright and loud one, but someone tiny, exhausted, with sadness and loneliness frozen on his face.

And something inside Jungkook crashed, flipped, and turned upside down.

From that day on, he became a shadow that didn't hide, but followed the light. The elder would sit beside him, even if all the other seats were free. He would take the heavy bag from Taehyung's hands without asking, silently hand him his scarf when he noticed the other shivering from the cold. Jungkook stopped hating — and learned how to love.

Conversations between them were unnecessary, but the silence with which Taehyung carried his inner turmoil made Jungkook wish the boy would open up to him.

And so one night, similar to the one that had been the turning point for Jeon, they met again, only this time the elder didn't just pass by.

"Can I stand here with you?" he asked, seeing the slender figure of the youth on the balcony.