Chapter Text
The rain came fast and without warning.
Jungkook tightened the fraying strap of his backpack and hunched his shoulders as he darted between awnings and storefronts, trying to make it to his third job before the clock struck three. Another late shift. Another seven hours on his feet. His socks were soaked through already and he could feel his toes going numb.
He cursed under his breath as a car passed too close to the curb, splashing water straight up his legs.
"Of course," he muttered.
He ducked beneath the overhang of a bookstore, shaking out his hair, trying to gather what little composure he had left. That's when it happened.
A hand. A touch. Light, accidental - someone brushing past him to step under the awning as well. And it burned.
Not like fire. Not pain. Something else. Something deep. Something real.
Jungkook flinched and turned - his heart hammering and met the wide, startled eyes of a man who, hesitantly at first, broke out in a kind smile and it was like sunshine blended in his aura.
"Sorry," the stranger said softly. "I didn’t mean to - "
He stopped.
So did Jungkook.
There was silence. The kind that descends before a storm.
A warmth blossomed in Jungkook’s chest. A glow behind his ribs. As if something inside him had finally clicked into place. It felt like a secret name whispered just for him.
"You--"
“You felt that, right?” the man whispered.
Jungkook nodded, slow and dazed. “Yeah".
The air hung thick between them, heavy with something unspoken. Jungkook’s mouth was dry, but he couldn’t look away. His heart pounded so loudly he swore the man could hear it.
The stranger blinked, once, twice, before a stunned kind of wonder spread over his face.
“Wow,” he whispered.
Jungkook swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
For a long moment, neither said anything. The rain kept falling around them, a silver curtain hiding them from the rest of the world. The stranger didn’t move away and neither did Jungkook.
“You’re-” the man tried again, then smiled sheepishly. “This is…sudden.”
Jungkook gave a nervous laugh, quiet and uncertain. “Is this... real?”
The man extended a hand. His movements were slow, careful like he didn’t want to spook him.
“I’m Hoseok,” he said gently. “Jung Hoseok.”
Jungkook stared at the hand for a second before reaching out to take it. His fingers trembled as they touched and that same warm, buzzing feeling danced along his skin like a secret shared through skin.
“Jeon Jungkook.”
Hoseok’s eyes softened at the name, as if trying it on in his mind, testing how it felt to know something so personal, so intimate.
Jungkook pulled his hand back quickly, tucking it into the pocket of his hoodie. “I--I have to go. I’m late for work.”
“Where do you work?” Hoseok asked, stepping slightly aside, as if preparing to walk with him.
“Just…nearby. Small cafe.”
“You’re soaked.”
Jungkook didn’t respond.
Hoseok hesitated. “Can I…see you again?”
Jungkook glanced up, startled. “What?”
“I know it’s fast. Weird. But I felt it. You did too, right?”
Jungkook bit his lip. The rain behind them blurred the city lights. The heat from that brief contact still lingered on his skin, and for the first time in years, he felt like someone had seen him.
“I did,” he admitted. “But- " He faltered. “You don’t even know me.”
“I’d like to,” Hoseok said quietly. “If that’s okay.”
Jungkook opened his mouth. Closed it. The warning bells in his head were already screaming. Don’t get involved. Don’t ruin this too. Don’t let anyone find you.
But Hoseok was still watching him, so earnestly. Not demanding, not expecting. Just offering.
"...Okay,” Jungkook said, barely above a whisper. “But…not yet.”
Hoseok nodded, as if he understood. “Soon, then?”
Jungkook gave the smallest smile.
"Soon.”