Fate's Subtle Hand

[Taehyung’s POV]

The Monday after the festival started like any other—chaotic. I rushed through the hallway, clutching my books while balancing a half-empty coffee cup. My first class was in ten minutes, and I was already regretting my decision to hit snooze three times.

As I rounded a corner, my thoughts still half-asleep, I collided with someone. My coffee cup tilted dangerously, spilling its contents across the front of a black leather jacket.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I blurted, looking up to meet the dark, familiar eyes of Jungkook.

For a moment, my heart stopped.

He looked at me, then down at his jacket, and back up again. His face was calm, unreadable, but there was the faintest twitch at the corner of his lips.

“Really?” he said, his tone dry but not unkind.

“I didn’t mean to—” I stopped, realizing my words weren’t going to clean his jacket. “Wait here.”

I darted into the nearby restroom, grabbing a wad of paper towels. When I returned, Jungkook was still standing there, looking amused despite the brown stain on his jacket.

“Here,” I said, holding out the paper towels.

He took them without a word and began blotting at the stain. I watched him, unsure whether to apologize again or just walk away.

“You’re not great with mornings, are you?” he asked, his voice breaking the silence.

I blinked. “What?”

“You look like you sprinted out of bed and ran straight here.”

I felt my cheeks heat. “That’s… not entirely wrong.”

He let out a soft chuckle, and for the first time, I saw a glimpse of something genuine behind his usual aloofness.

“I’m Taehyung,” I said, realizing we hadn’t formally introduced ourselves beyond the brief encounter at the festival.

“I remember,” he said, his gaze meeting mine. “Jungkook.”

The way he said his name felt like a quiet reminder of the space he kept between himself and the world.

“I’m still really sorry about the coffee,” I said, motioning toward his jacket.

“It’s fine,” he said, tossing the paper towels into a nearby trash can. “I needed a reason to retire this jacket anyway.”

There was a pause, and I wondered if this was the part where he’d walk away again.

But instead, he surprised me. “You’re in the arts department, right?”

I nodded, surprised he’d noticed. “Yeah. You?”

“Music,” he said simply.

Of course, I thought. Something about him screamed music—not the bubbly, pop kind, but something raw and powerful, like the energy that seemed to radiate from him.

“I should get going,” he said after a moment, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“Right. Me too,” I said, though I wasn’t sure I wanted this conversation to end.

He started to walk away, but before he disappeared around the corner, he turned back. “See you around, Taehyung.”

I stood there, stunned. For someone who claimed to be fine with fading into the background, Jungkook had a way of leaving an impression.

And as I made my way to class, I couldn’t shake the feeling that fate had just given me another nudge in his direction.

[Jungkook’s POV]

The smell of coffee lingered on my jacket as I walked toward the music department.

Taehyung.

It was strange how someone I’d only spoken to twice could feel so… familiar. There was something disarming about him, something that made it hard to maintain the distance I usually kept from people.

“Yo, Jungkook!” Ryan’s voice cut through my thoughts as I reached the practice room. “You’re late.”

“Ran into someone,” I said casually, tossing my bag onto a chair.

Ryan smirked. “Let me guess. The guy from the festival?”

I didn’t respond, which only made him laugh.

“Seriously, man, who is he?”

“Just someone I met,” I said, sitting down at the piano. “It’s not a big deal.”

But as I let my fingers drift over the keys, playing a soft, melancholic melody, I couldn’t help but think that maybe it was.

Because for the first time in years, I felt like I wanted to let someone in

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***