between books and cigarettes || JJK
Oneshot
↬ you're holding a star, and eventually, he's going to realise you're just a rock₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
Pairing: Jungkook x Female!Reader
Summary: Jeon Jungkook's entire universe revolves around the girl who holds his heart, but when a cruel influence weaponises her unspoken insecurities, she begins to quietly unravel from the inside out, leaving him to pull her back before she is consumed entirely.
Genre/Tags: university au, romance, angst, fluff, established relationship, hurt/comfort, soft Jungkook, crying Jungkook, domestic fluff
Word Count: 12.3k
Warnings: substance use, smoking cigarettes and joints, inferiority complex, overthinking, panic attack, manipulation, gaslighting, toxic friendship, fear of abandonment, emotional breakdown (pls lmk if i have missed any)
Notes: i really enjoyed writing this, literally binge wrote it in like a night and a bit, hope you like it!! oh, and if you notice any timeline inconsistencies... no you didn't. also i saw bts and holy shit... i've actually peaked in life... i fear it doesn't get better than this
Requested By: @poetryrosee
╰› fanfic masterlist
Morning arrives not with the harsh blare of an alarm, but with the warmth of a thumb tracing the curve of your cheek.
You stir against the covers, the crisp scent of his laundry detergent enveloping you. When you blink your eyes open, the world around you is a soft, blurry haze of amber morning light. You manage to focus your eyes onto the face above, he is already looking down at you. He has clearly been awake for a while; and you can tell by the way his silken hair is messily pushed back away from his forehead.
"Morning," he murmurs. His voice is a low and raspy and thick with sleep but entirely focused on your face. He doesn't just look at you; he anchors himself to you, as if waking up and verifying you are still here is the most critical part of his day. His warm hand slides from your cheek down to the nape of your neck, his fingers tangling into your hair, guiding your face closer to press a soft kiss against your forehead. Then to the very tip of your nose before finally giving you a peck to your lips.
"Jungkook," you giggle, the sound slightly muffled against his bare chest. You attempt to pull the thick duvet over your head, shielding his view from the flush that has taken over your skin
But he just simply laughs at your feeble attempt, and with a flex of his arm, he pulls you right back against him, arms locking around your waist with a firm but gentle grip: a protective hold you've grown entirely familiar with over the past year and a half.
"Don't hide baby," he whispers into your hair, kissing the crown of your head. "Let me look at you. I haven't seen your face all night."
"I was sleeping right next to you the whole time," you point out as you rest your chin on his chest, looking up at his him.
"Doesn't count," he declares shamelessly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Your eyes were closed. You weren't talking or looking at me. And you were turned the other way," he states dramatically before capturing your lips in anothr sweet kiss. The kind that makes your knees despite you lying down. The kind that makes you feel like the centre of the universe.
He pulls away just an inch, his doe eyes searching yours. "Are you hungry? I made breakfast. Oatmeal with those berries that you love, and I made coffee."
"You didn't have to," you say softly. He’s a fourth-year law student with a mock trial preparation checklist that could double as an encyclopaedia, and yet he spent his precious morning making your breakfast.
I must've been a saint in a past life to have him, you think. But right on the heels of that thought, a heavy weight settles into your stomach. Or maybe I'm just living on borrowed time before the universe realises it made a mistake.
"I wanted to," he replies, shifting his weight so he can pull you up into a seated position against the headboard. He reaches over to his nightstand, lifting a perfectly presented bowl of oatmeal, with steam still rising from it in lazy curls, alongside a heavy mug of coffee. He places the bowl carefully on your lap, watching your face with an eager expression that reminds you of a golden retriever waiting for praise. "Eat up. You have that long seminar today, right? The automatic modernism one? You need energy."
"And you have IP at nine," you say, taking a slow, steady sip of the coffee. It’s perfect, the exact amount of milk, the right temperature. Of course it is. Jungkook doesn't do anything halfway. "Did you finish revising your brief?"
"Finished it at two," he says casually, stretching his arms high above his head. He shrugs it off as if staying up until early morning hours to master a legal brief whilst maintaining a perfect GPA and a leading role in the upcoming campus theatre production is simply light work. "It’s fine. I’m ahead of schedule. Tell me about your day though. Are you going to finish your Pavlov draft?"
"I’m trying to," you murmur, your enthusiastic tone slipping away as you stare down at the dark blue berries in your bowl.
The sudden, suffocating weight of your own academic pressure settles heavily in your chest, instantly souring the sweet taste of the breakfast. Being a second-year Literature major, a field which is volatile, entirely subjective, and extremely hard to prove yourself, has had you drowning more times than you’d like to admit. Yet Jungkook operates in a world of ruthless metrics, and he dominates every single one of them without breaking a sweat.
He reaches out, his thumb catching a stray crumb near your lips, his gaze softening into something so tender it almost hurts to look at. "And you will draft it beautifully. You’re the smartest person I know, Y/N. You make my law arguments look like child's play. No need to stress about it, sweetheart."
He means it. That’s the most terrifying part of this: he genuinely, truly believes that you are his equal. He looks at you through a warped lens of blind devotion, oblivious to the vast chasm between his effortless perfection and your frantic, and practically undignified, sprint just to stay in his peripheral vision. Every compliment he gives you feels less like a praise and more like a debt you have no idea how to repay.
You force a tight nod, swallowing past the bitter lump of inadequacy in your throat, and you quickly finish the food he prepared so he won't see the panic starting to manifest in your eyes. The clock on his wall ticks forward. It’s 7:45 AM.
"I need to get ready," you say, setting the empty bowl aside on the nightstand and shifting your legs to swing them out of the warm bed.
Jungkook instantly hooks a hand around your wrist, his grip warm as he pulls you right back into his space for one more lingering hug. He buries his face deeply into the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent. "Stay. Just five more minutes. Please."
"Jungkook, I don't even have any clothes here," you laugh, though the sound is noticeably strained now.
He groans into your skin, his grip tightening for a fraction of a second, before he reluctantly lets go. "Fine. But I’m walking you down to the lobby."
"No, don't," you say quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly, the words slipping out before you can stop them. You soften your voice immediately, forcing a playful, easy smile onto your face to cover the slip. "You need to prepare for your debate later. I don't want the star of the society looking all rumpled and distracted because he was escorting his gremlin girlfriend back to her residence hall. Stay here. Really." You punctuate your words with a kiss to his cheek.
He huffs, followed by an exaggerated pout across his handsome face, but he relents under your touch. "Call me the second your seminar ends. I want to have lunch with you. I'll even buy you that pastry you like."
"I will," you promise, but the words feel heavy.
You gather your scattered belongings and slip into his navy-blue university hoodie which completely swallows your frame. It smells strongly of him: rich, clean, and safe. You slip out of his apartment quietly, the heavy wooden door clicking shut behind you with a solid click.
The moment you enter the sterile hallway of his block, the protective warmth of his presence evaporates entirely and is replaced by the icy reality of who you are when he isn't around.
You walk briskly down the stairs, pulling the fabric tighter around yourself, feeling entirely like a thief, an imposter, someone who managed to survive another night in a world where she doesn't belong.
The lecture hall you have found yourself in is grand, old, and immensely prestigious. Wood-panelled walls rise up towards the high ceilings, and the tiered seating is packed to the brim with students, professors, and guests. Even the air smells of old paper, leather, and sheer competitiveness.
You sit near the back of the auditorium, your hands shoved deep into the pockets of your jacket, trying to make yourself as small and as inconspicuous as possible. You shouldn't even really be here; you have a mountain of reading for your contemporary prose class, but Jungkook had looked at you a few weeks back with those wide, pleading eyes, begging you to watch his debate. “I speak better when you’re in the room,” he had told you.
Down on the stage of the hall, Jungkook is standing behind a heavy mahogany podium. He is dressed in a crisp, black suit, the uniform of the university’s law debate society. He looks striking. His broad shoulders fill out the jacket perfectly, and his hair is neatly styled away from his face. He is currently adjusting his microphone, speaking casually to one of his teammates. No evidence of nervousness in the way he holds himself. He is entirely in his element.
"Is anyone sitting here?"
You blink, jolting slightly out of your thoughts as a girl gestures to the empty seat next to you. She is fashionable, carrying a sleek leather tote bag and a tablet, looking every bit a student who has her life together.
"No, go ahead," you say softly, offering a polite smile.
The girl sits down, smoothing out her skirt, and immediately focuses her gaze down on the stage. She sighs, a dreamy sound. "Thank god I managed to grab a seat. The turnout for these competitions are always insane when it’s the senior tier speaking."
"Yeah, it’s really crowded," you agree, keeping your voice neutral.
The girl turns her head to look at you, her eyes scanning your casual attire, a plain tee paired with an oversized jacket and jeans, a stark contrast to the numerous sharp blazers surrounding you. She tilts her head. "Are you a law first-year? I haven't seen you around the faculty building."
"Oh, no," you say, a familiar tightness squeezing in your chest. "I’m a Literature major. I’m just... visiting."
"Ah, an arts student," she says, her tone perfectly pleasant but carrying that subtle condescending tone that STEM and law majors always seem to have. "What brought you all the way to our side of the campus? Just curious about legal rhetoric?"
You hesitate. You could lie. You could say you were just bored or that you were researching classical speech structures. But a small part of you, the part that loves Jungkook and wants to claim the space he so willingly gives you, makes you speak the truth.
"I’m actually here to watch Jungkook," you say, pointing a finger toward the podium where he stands. "I’m his girlfriend."
The girl’s eyes instantly widen. They snap from you down to Jungkook, then back to you, scanning your face with a brand-new intensity. The casual friendliness vanishes, replaced by a look of shock.
"Ohhh," the girl says, the syllable stretching out, heavy and loaded. "So, you’re the golden boy's girlfriend?"
The phrase lands like a brick. The golden boy's girlfriend. Not Y/N. Not a person with your own merits, your own thoughts, your own identity. Just an attachment. An anomaly.
"Yeah," you say, your voice dropping a fraction.
"Wow," she says, a forced, tight laugh escaping her lips as she looks back down at the floor. "Everyone on campus talks about him, you know. He’s practically a myth in the law department. Top of his class, literally won the regional theatre showcase last semester... people joke that he’s a robot created in a lab because nobody can actually be that perfect at everything." She pauses, her eyes lingering on Jungkook as he confidently shuffles his note cards. "You must feel very... lucky."
Lucky. The word feels like plastic in your mouth.
"I am," you whisper.
The debate begins, and the hall falls into a dead silence. When it is Jungkook’s turn to speak, he steps forward with an effortless grace that commands the entire room. His voice rings out through the auditorium: clear, articulate, and layered with a brilliant, biting sarcasm that makes the professors nod in approval, and the students chuckle. He navigates complex legal precedents as if he’s recounting a simple childhood story. He doesn't look at his notes once. He is flawless.
At one point, during a brief pause whilst his opponent frantically searches through papers, Jungkook’s eyes sweep across the crowded tiered seating. He searches the back rows, scanning the sea of faces until his gaze lands directly on you. The intimidating glare he holds melts away for a split second, replaced by a tiny, private smile meant only for you. He gives a barely perceptible nod, a silent acknowledgement that he knows you’re there, before turning back to crush his opponent's argument.
The girl next to you lets out a soft, defeated breath. "See? Effortless. He’s just... on a completely different level than the rest of us."
You don't reply. You can't. Your throat feels too tight. As the auditorium erupts into applause at the conclusion of his speech, you feel yourself shrinking smaller and smaller into your seat. You look down at your hands, rough and stained faintly with ink from your afternoon lectures.
In this grand, wood-panelled room full of brilliant minds, you feel like a ghost. A plain background character who accidentally ended up in a vibrant movie about a boy who can fly. You love him, god, you love him so much it scares you, but looking at him down there, bathed in the praise of his peers, the whispers in the back of your mind grow into a deafening roar: You don't belong here. You are holding a star, and eventually, he’s going to realise you’re just a rock.
The evening is supposed to be a celebration. The society booked out a student lounge, which is filled with the warm glow of string lights and the low hum of indie music playing from a mini speaker hooked up to someone's phone. A small group of you are gathered around a low coffee table: you, your friend Leah, Jungkook, and a few of his friends. Some of them you've come to know quite well, Jimin, and Taehyung; others you guess are from his lectures and the society. Jungkook has his arm slung casually over the back of your chair, his fingers occasionally playing with the sleeve of your shirt.
"I’m telling you, the judge was practically ready to hand Jungkook his degree right there on the spot," Jimin laughs, leaning back against the worn leather sofa, a plastic cup of cheap cider in his hand. "The other guy looked like he wanted to cry by the third rebuttal."
"He was just unprepared," Jungkook says modestly, though a proud smile breaks across his face. He bumps his shoulder against yours, leaning down to whisper in your ear. "Did I do okay? Truly?"
"Are you kidding me? You were amazing, Kook," you say, and you mean it. You turn your head to smile at him, forcing the shadows from your eyes. "They had no chance."
He beams, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and he presses a quick, sweet kiss to your cheek, shameless about his public displays of affection even in front of his closest friends.
Taehyung snorts from across the table, tossing a peanut at Jungkook. "Get a room, you two. Seriously. A year and what later, and you guys are still acting like you’re in a romance drama. It’s sickening. Let us single people breathe."
Jimin chuckles, shaking his head. "Let them be, Tae. Honestly, we should all be grateful to Y/N. You remember what Jungkook was like before they met? A complete menace. Driving his motorcycle till the crack of dawn, smoking a pack a day behind the engineering building because he was stressed out of his mind..."
"Oh, god, the smoking," Taehyung groans, laughing. "He smelled like an old pub twenty-four-seven. And then he meets Y/N, and boom, overnight transformation. Our bad boy has become a model citizen. It’s a miracle he hasn't touched a cigarette since their first official date.”
"It wasn't a miracle," Jungkook says softly, his gaze dropping to look at you, his eyes filled with unfiltered seriousness. "I just realised I wanted to be clean for her. I didn't want her to have to taste ash every time we kiss. She deserves better than that."
The comment is entirely harmless. It’s meant to be a testament to his love, a beautiful declaration of how much you mean to him. Jimin and Taehyung both let out collective coos, teasing him for being the hopeless romantic that he is.
But inside your head, the words twist. They warp and morph into a jagged mirror.
She deserves better than that.
Your stomach drops as a lump of guilt settles deep within your ribs. You remember that night, eighteen months ago, sitting on the steps of the humanities building. You had both been stressed and exhausted, huddled together under his jacket. You had both pulled out a cigarette, lit them, and watched the smoke rise into the night air. And then Jungkook had looked at you and said, "Let’s stop. Together. It’s bad for us, and I want to be better. Let’s make a pact."
You had agreed. You had smiled, kissed him, and thrown your lighter into the trash.
Except you didn't stop.
The laughter fades into white noise as the phantom taste of tobacco fills your mouth. You think about the crumpled pack hidden at the very bottom of your makeup bag in your dorm room. You think about the shameful moments on your building's fire escape late at night, your hands shaking as you light the cigarette, inhaling the toxic smoke just to keep your racing thoughts from tearing you apart.
Jungkook thinks he changed for you. He thinks he became a better, cleaner version of himself to match the perfect girl he thinks you are. He has stayed entirely clean for over a year, exercising his iron willpower because his love for you is that pure. And you? You’re a liar. A fraud who couldn't even keep a simple promise, who uses a toxic vice as a crutch because you are too weak to handle your own pressures.
"Hey," Jungkook’s voice breaks through your spiral. His hand shifts to rest on your thigh, his thumb rubbing soothing circles through your jeans. "You okay? You look a bit pale."
"Yeah," you force a voice out, your throat dry. "Just... a little tired with all the lectures and that seminar."
"Do you wanna leave?" he asks instantly, ready to abandon his friends, his celebration, everything, just because you look a little worn down. "We can go back to my place. I'll make you tea."
"No, no," you say quickly. "Don't be silly. Stay and celebrate. I actually have a couple of library books I need to return before the night drop closes anyway. I'll just head back to my dorm early."
Jungkook frowns, his eyes darkening with immediate reluctance. "I'll walk you."
"Jungkook, stay," you say, your voice carrying a rare edge that surprises him. You soften it immediately with a gentle touch to his cheek. "Please. I'll go with Leah. Hang out with the guys. I’m just gonna go straight to bed. I'll call you in the morning, okay?"
He stares at you for a long moment, searching your face for whatever secret you’re keeping, but you force your expression into one of exhaustion. Finally, he sighs, leaning forward to press a long, almost desperate kiss to your lips. "Fine. But text me the exact second you get into your room, or I’m getting a search party."
"I will." You chuckle. He would.
It's ten minutes later and you aren't in bed. You are standing on the freezing metal of your dorm's fourth-floor fire escape, the wind biting through your thin tee; you shouldn’t have left your jacket on your chair. Your hands are trembling as you flick a silver lighter, the flame illuminating the air around you. You press the cigarette to your lips and inhale, the harsh smoke burning your lungs. It stings, it tastes bitter, and it makes your chest ache with waves of guilt.
You lean your forehead against the cold metal railing, staring out at the distant lights of Jungkook’s building across the quad. Tears prick the corners of your eyes, hot and angry, as you take another long drag. You are lying to him. You are rotting from the inside out with secrets and self-doubt, while he sits over there, completely, purely, and terribly in love with a girl who doesn't exist.
The university library is supposed to be a sanctuary, but today it feels like a cage. You are surrounded by towers of leather-bound volumes, literary journals, and half-empty cups of lukewarm coffee. Your laptop screen glows blankly back at you, cruel and mocking your complete inability to string together a single coherent sentence.
Your essay on medieval science fiction is due in forty-eight hours. You have written three paragraphs, and every single one of them reads like absolute garbage. You delete the last sentence for the fourth time, letting out a frustrated breath that cuts through the silence of the humanities floor.
Come on. You mutter to yourself, tapping your pen aggressively against the desk. You’re a lit major. This is the one thing you’re supposed to be good at. Just write the damn analysis.
But your brain feels entirely blocked. It's clogged by a thick fog. You keep thinking about Jungkook’s perfect legal brief from earlier this week. You keep thinking about how he effortlessly handles his workload, whilst here you are, unravelling over a mere two-thousand-word analysis.
"Staring at a blank document won't magically make the words appear, you know."
You flinch, your head snapping up. Standing at the end of your study desk is a girl. She is older, probably a fourth- or fifth-year, dressed in a perfectly tailored tweed blazer and carrying a stack of texts. Her hair is sleek, her makeup flawless, and she carries herself with a distinct, high-class confidence. The more you look at her, the more familiar her face becomes.
Oh.
She’s in Jungkook’s year. Serena..? She’s the vice president of the Competitive Debate Society.
"I’m aware," you say, your voice carrying a sharp edge. You are too tired for polite pleasantries, and your naturally snarky instincts tend to flare up when cornered. "Thanks for the profound psychological insight, though."
Serena doesn't look offended by your bite. Instead, she lets out a soft chuckle, pulls out the chair opposite you, and sits down without being invited. She sets her heavy law books down with a soft thud. "Don't snap. I’m just offering some sympathy. I see you here all the time, huffing and puffing over those literature books. I’m Serena, by the way. I work with Jungkook in the society."
"I know who you are," you say, closing your laptop slightly, an instinctive gesture to shield your failure from her eyes. "Jungkook mentioned you helped organise the regional tournament."
"Oh, did he?" Serena's eyes flash with a look of satisfaction before she settles into a warm, patronising smile. She tilts her head, looking at your cluttered desk, the crumpled sticky notes, the highlight-stained pages. "You look completely overwhelmed, sweetie. Are the undergraduate lit modules really that brutal? I always assumed arts degrees were a bit more... flexible."
There it is. The first tiny prick. It’s subtle, buried under a sweet tone and an endearing nickname, but the jab lands perfectly. Arts degrees are flexible. Arts degrees are easy.
"They require a different kind of critical thought," you say smoothly, your eyes narrowing just a fraction. "We actually have to formulate original arguments instead of just memorising legal codes. It can be quite taxing."
Serena's smile tightens for a microsecond before smoothing out into an airy laugh. "Oh, absolutely. I didn't mean to minimise it. It’s just... cute to see how hard you try. You’re always buried in these books, sprinting to catch up. It reminds me of myself when I was a first-year. So young, so inexperienced, just desperate to prove that you belong in a university setting."
"I'm a second year, actually."
"Oh." She reaches across the table, gently patting the back of your hand. Her touch is warm, but it feels like ice against your skin. "Don't stress yourself out to the point of a breakdown, Y/N. Jungkook's a very understanding guy. He knows you operate at a different academic level. He doesn't expect you to match his pace, and that’s perfectly okay."
Your heart hitches in your chest. He doesn't expect you to match his pace.
The words are delivered under the guise of elder-student comfort, a senior reassuring a stressed junior, but they carry a slight edge. Serena is spelling out the exact nightmare that keeps you awake at night. She is confirming your deepest, darkest fear: that everyone looks at you and Jungkook and sees a brilliant, mature man babysitting a struggling, inferior girl.
You pull your hand away from her touch, your fingers curling into tight fists under the table. Your defensive snark dries up in your throat, replaced by a sudden, choking wave of panic.
"I have to get back to work," you say, your voice dropping into a colder register.
"Of course," Serena says easily, standing up and gathering her books. She offers you one last smile. "Good luck with your little essay, Y/N. And tell Jungkook I'll see him at the mixer tonight, okay? Don't forget to take a breath."
She walks away, her heels clicking softly on the library's wooden floor. You sit there, entirely frozen, staring at your laptop. You picked up on the bite in her words. You aren't stupid. You know she was throwing passive-aggressive shade. But instead of dismissing it as the petty jealousy of a rival student, you can't help but let the words sink into your skin. You don't dig into it immediately; you don't want to admit that she got to you. But as you open your laptop again and stare at the blank page, Serena's voice echoes in your head, loud and clear, drowning out every original thought you had left: He doesn't expect you to match his pace.
The university’s Arts and Culture Alliance mixer is held in a historic courtyard on campus, illuminated by heavy iron lanterns and fairy lights woven through bushes and ivy climbing on the walls. It’s a joint gathering between a few departments and societies, an attempt to foster collaboration. The air is alive with the chatter of students, the clinking of glasses filled with cheap wine, and the soft strains of a student jazz quartet playing in the corner.
For the first hour, everything is wonderful. Jungkook is by your side, his hand firmly locked with yours, completely ignoring the various law professors and senior debaters who keep trying to pull him into serious conversations. He is completely focused on you.
"Look at this," he whispers, leaning down to show you a small, terribly drawn caricature of his constitutional law professor he had sketched on a napkin whilst someone was giving an opening toast. "If I fail my finals, I’m joining the fine arts department. What do you think?"
You let out a genuine laugh, the tension in your shoulders melting away. "It’s terrible, Kook. Truly. Please stick to the law for the sake of visual arts everywhere."
"Harsh," he pouts, wrinkling his nose in that sweet way which completely contradicts his intimidating campus reputation. He wraps his arms around your waist from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder, entirely unbothered by the hundreds of people around them. "But I'll do whatever you say. You’re the boss."
You turn your head to kiss his cheek, a warm feeling blooming in your chest. In moments like this, when his warmth is physical, and his laughter is loud in your ear, the doubts feel small. They feel like distant shadows.
"Jeon!"
The loud voice breaks your bubble. A senior professor of Jungkook's, a notoriously stern man who rarely speaks to undergraduates, is standing a few yards away, gesturing sharply for Jungkook to come over. Next to him stands a prominent local judge who had acted as an alumnus guest for the debate tournament.
Jungkook sighs, his grip on your waist loosening with visible reluctance. He looks down at you, his eyes filled with an apologetic expression. "I’m sorry, sweetheart. Professor Kang has been trying to corner me all week about an internship placement. Will you be okay for a few minutes?"
"Of course," you say, offering a reassuring smile. "Go. It’s important. I'll just grab another cider and wait by the fountain."
"I'll be right back. Five minutes, I promise," he says, pressing a quick kiss to your lips before turning and walking away, his posture instantly shifting into that confident, professional demeanour as he approaches the elders.
You watch him go, your smile slowly fading as the cold night air fills the space he left behind. You walk over to the refreshment table, feeling suddenly very exposed without his large frame shielding you from the crowd.
"Left all alone so soon?"
You don't even need to turn around to know who it is. The voice is smooth, sweet, and entirely toxic.
Serena steps up beside you, holding a glass of white wine. She is dressed in an elegant silk blouse that perfectly matches the sophisticated atmosphere around you. She looks down at your casual denim jacket, her expression is one of pity.
"He’s just networking," you say, keeping your voice steady as you take a sip of your drink. "It’s part of his career."
"Oh, I know," Serena says, leaning against the table, her eyes tracking Jungkook across the courtyard. He is currently bowing politely to the judge, speaking with an eloquence that has both older men smiling in deep approval. "Jungkook’s a natural. He fits into that world seamlessly. It’s just a shame he has to constantly worry about leaving you behind in the corners while he does it."
Your grip tightens around the plastic cup, the plastic crinkling slightly under your fingers. "He doesn't worry about that."
"Are you sure?" Serena turns her head to look at you, her eyes predatory beneath her soft makeup. "Because from where I’m standing, it looks exhausting. He has to balance a high-profile academic career, a massive future in the legal field, and a girlfriend who looks like a lost freshman every time he steps away for five minutes."
She takes a slow sip of her wine, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial, whisper-soft tone that makes it sound like she’s sharing a painful truth for your own good. "Don't get me wrong, Y/N. It’s sweet that he loves you. But look at him over there. He belongs with the best. He needs someone who can stand beside him at these sort of things, someone who can converse with judges and partners, someone who understands the weight of his world. Instead, he spends half his time checking his phone to make sure you aren't having an anxiety attack in the library. It’s... a bit of a burden, don't you think? You’re keeping him tethered to the ground when he could be soaring. I’m not saying it’s your fault or anything, but you do want what’s best for him… right?"
The words hit you like a series of physical blows to the chest. A burden. Keeping him tethered to the ground.
Your breath stutters. You want to snap back, you want to use that sharp, biting literature-major wit that usually protects you, but the truth is that her words align too perfectly with what you've been thinking this whole time. She isn't planting a new seed anymore; she’s watering a plant that has been growing in the dark corners of your mind for eighteen months.
Before you can force a response, a warm hand settles on the small of your back.
"Sorry I took so long," Jungkook’s voice cuts through the freezing air. He steps into your space, his presence an immediate shield. He nods politely to Serena, his tone completely professional. "Serena. I didn't know you were over here."
"Just keeping your lovely girlfriend company," she says, her toxic edge vanishing instantly, replaced by a bright, friendly colleague smile. "We were just talking about how wonderful your debate performance was. I mean, it’s you, you’re always amazing.” He shyly chuckles at this, “anyway, I should go greet Professor Lewis. See you both around".
She glides away, disappearing into the crowd of law students.
Jungkook immediately turns all his attention back to you, his hands coming up to cradle your face, his brows furrowed with concern. "Hey. Are you okay? Your hands are freezing, and you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Did something happen? Did she say something to you?"
"No," you lie, your voice sounding hollow even to your own ears. You force a synthetic smile, looking up at his perfect features. "No, she was just being nice. I’m just... the cold is hitting me, that’s all."
Jungkook doesn't look entirely convinced, his eyes searrch yours, but he accepts the excuse, pulling you tightly against his chest, wrapping his coat around your shoulders. "Let’s go home. Forget the mixer. I’ve had enough of these people anyway."
You bury your face in his chest, nodding silently. He holds you so tightly, so sweetly, but as you walk out of the courtyard with his arm securely around you, you can't shake the chill in your bones. You look at him in the moonlight, and all you can think is: She’s right. I’m an anchor dragging him down. I’m the burden.
The rain taps, steady and rhythmic, against the glass of Jungkook’s bedroom window, blurring the green leaves of the campus trees into watercolour streaks of grey and emerald. Inside, the room is warm, smelling faintly of the cinnamon pastries he had sprinted out in the drizzle to buy you, and the rich aroma of fresh espresso.
You are sitting at his wide oak desk, surrounded by your library books and a heavily annotated copy of Beowulf. Jungkook is sitting on the floor right beside the chair, his long legs stretched out, back resting against the table leg. He has one hand resting casually on your thigh, his large thumb moving in slow strokes over the denim of your jeans as he reads through a massive casebook on property law.
"Hey," Jungkook murmurs, not lifting his eyes from his text. His thumb continues its soothing sweep. "You haven't touched your pastry. It’s gonna get cold."
"I’m just reading, Kook," you say softly, keeping your eyes glued to a paragraph you've re-read three times but still have no idea what it says. "I'll eat it in a minute."
"Mhmm." He lets out a low, rumbling sound of agreement, but a moment later, he closes his heavy textbook with a soft thud. He shifts his weight, rising to his knees so he is level with you. Before you can blink, his large hands settle on your waist, and with that effortless strength you love so much, he lifts you slightly and pulls you right out of the chair and down into his lap on the floor.
You let out a small, startled gasp, your books tumbling slightly onto the desk. "Jungkook!"
He just laughs, a bright sound that echoes warmly against your neck as he wraps his arms tightly around your waist from behind, locking you against his chest. He buries his face in the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply, his lips brushing against your skin as he speaks. "You’ve been staring at that monster book for three hours straight. Look at me instead. I’ve been missing you."
"Jungkook, you're literally sitting right next to me," you giggle, though the sound no longer rings entirely true. It feels a bit hollow, a bit forced.
Inside your chest, the ghost of Serena's words from the mixer is clawing at your lungs. He spends half his time checking his phone to make sure you aren't having an anxiety attack... You’re keeping him tethered to the ground.
Jungkook leans forward, pressing a kiss right beneath your ear, his hands sliding up to cover yours, intertwining his long fingers with your smaller ones. "Doesn't matter. If you aren't looking at me, you're too far away." He squeezes your hands. "You know, sometimes I look at you sitting here in my room, and I think about how lucky I got. I wasted a whole year before I finally found my track and came here. If I hadn't taken that gap year, I wouldn't be here with you. The universe actually did something right for once."
He means it as a romantic sentiment, a declaration that the timeline of his life aligned perfectly just to give him you.
But your brain, poisoned and hyper-vigilant, takes the beautiful sentiment and warps it into an ugly weapon.
Two years, the voice whispers. He’s two years older than you. That’s two extra years of maturity, of life experience, of academic dominance over you. He is a man who knows exactly who he is, and you are a shaking, insecure second year who can't even handle a single mixer without wanting to run away and smoke.
A wave of claustrophobia hits you. The warmth of his chest against your back suddenly feels less like a sanctuary and more like a cage. The weight of his arms around your waist feels heavy, heavy with the burden you are convinced you are forcing him to carry.
Jungkook breathes out a soft sigh, leaning down to capture your lips in a slow kiss. His lips are soft and taste faintly of espresso. It’s a kiss that demands nothing and offers everything.
But for the first time in eighteen months, you don't kiss him back with the same intensity. Your lips remain slightly stiff under his.
And then, you do it. You plant the very first seed of the distance that will eventually tear him apart.
You gently but firmly place your hands against his forearms, breaking the embrace. You slide off his lap, shifting back onto the hard hardwood floor, creating a deliberate foot of empty space between your bodies.
Jungkook blinks, his dark eyes widening in immediate surprise. His arms hover in the empty air for a split second before dropping to his thighs. "Y/N?"
"Sorry," you force a light, breezy tone out of your throat, avoiding his gaze by reaching up to shuffle the papers on the desk. "My... my leg was falling asleep. And I really need to finish this section before the library closes its digital archives for maintenance at four."
"Oh," Jungkook says softly. The word is tiny, carrying a faint, barely perceptible note of confusion and rejection. He looks at your profile, his mind trying to calculate the sudden shift in your energy, but you keep your expression entirely neutral, buried in your notes. Finally, he offers a small, understanding smile and gently pats your knee. "Right. Sorry. Go ahead. I'll let you focus."
He pulls his casebook back toward himself, but he doesn't open it immediately. He sits quietly for a long moment, staring at his hands, a tiny, faint crease appearing between his brows.
Later that afternoon, after you have gathered your things and, despite his protests, you insist on walking back to your dorm alone because you "need the fresh air to clear your head".
Your phone buzzes four times in your pocket. You pull it out as you cross the rainy quad.
Jungkook [15:42]: Text me the second you get to your room, sweetheart. Jungkook [15:42]: Miss you already :( Jungkook [15:43]: Eat the pastry I packed in your bag Jungkook [14:44]: Love you
Usually, you would reply instantly, sending a flurry of hearts and sweet messages back. But today, you stare at the glowing screen, Serena's voice ringing like tinnitus in your ears: a burden.
Your thumb hovers over the keyboard. Your chest aches. Slowly, you press the lock button on the side of your phone, darkening the screen. You slide it deep into your pocket, leaving the notification unanswered, letting the silence begin its work.
The go-to campus fried chicken place is loud, greasy, and packed with students seeking a reprieve from the weekend midterms. You sit at a long wooden table in the corner, surrounded by a large group. It’s a rare, massive gathering, you, your two closest friends from the Literature faculty, Jungkook, Taehyung, Jimin, and, unfortunately, Serena, who had tagged along with Taehyung after a student council meeting.
The atmosphere is boisterous. Plates of spicy chicken and pitchers of draft beer cover the table. Jungkook is sitting next to you, his thigh pressed firmly against yours under the table, his hand occasionally dropping to squeeze your knee. He is currently engaged in a passionate debate with Taehyung about a football match, his laughter booming across the table.
You try to participate, but your energy is entirely drained. You sit quietly, picking at a few fries, your eyes drifting across the table.
That’s when you notice it.
Serena is sitting diagonally from Jungkook. She isn't eating. She is leaning her chin on her palm, her eyes completely fixed on Jungkook’s face. She tracks every movement of his lips, every toss of his head when he laughs, her gaze filled with an intense longing that is impossible to mistake. It’s a look of sheer infatuation.
You feel a dull ache in your chest. You don't feel immediate anger or jealousy; you just feel exhausted. You look at her, brilliant, beautiful, sitting comfortably in Jungkook’s social circle, and then you look at yourself, hiding in his shadow.
A few minutes later, Jungkook stands up to go line up at the counter for another pitcher of beer. Taehyung accompanies him, leaving the rest of the table chatty. Your two literature friends get pulled into a deep conversation with Jimin about an upcoming campus festival, effectively isolating you and Serena on one side of the table.
Serena shifts, leaning closer to you over the restaurant's noisy chatter. She looks at your quiet demeanour, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
"You're very quiet tonight, Y/N," she says softly, her voice carrying that smooth, comforting older-sister tone that she always seems to use when she’s about to drop poison. "Still stressed about those essays?"
"Just tired," you say flatly, keeping your eyes on your cup.
She sighs. She looks over at the counter where Jungkook is standing, his back to the room, laughing as he nudges Taehyung. "It must be hard. Maintaining a relationship with someone like him when you’re dealing with your own insecurities."
You flinch slightly, your eyes snapping up to meet hers. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, don't be defensive," Serena says smoothly, waving her hand dismissively. "I’m actually just feeling a bit sorry for you. I know how it feels. I had a boyfriend exactly like Jungkook during my first year. Brilliant, popular, excelled at everything. He was my first serious boyfriend, too, just like Jungkook is yours, right?"
You don't answer, but the silence confirms it.
"Yeah, I thought so," she murmurs, her eyes darkening with a faux-nostalgic sadness. "Let me tell you a story, Y/N. From someone who has been exactly where you are. I used to think that as long as we loved each other, everything was fine. But the truth is... men are men at the end of the day. Especially guys like Jungkook. They have... needs. Physical needs, emotional needs, a need for a partner who, you know, can match their intensity. And when they’re with someone who’s constantly stressed, inexperienced, and hiding away... those needs get suppressed. They don't go anywhere; they just get bottled up."
She leans closer, her voice dropping into a sharp, venomous whisper that slices through the restaurant's music. "My ex used to act perfectly sweet to my face, just like Jungkook does. But behind closed doors? When he was out with his guy friends, drinking and letting off steam? He would complain constantly. He’d vent about how suffocated he felt, how he felt like he was babysitting an insecure little girl instead of having a real girlfriend, how he felt tied down by my guilt. It broke my heart, but it was the truth. High-achieving men will always resent those who keep them held down."
She tilts her head, her eyes boring into your pale face. "Look at him, Y/N. He’s twenty-three, a star, a literal god on this campus. Do you honestly think he doesn't complain to Taehyung or Jimin when you shut down and fake being tired? Do you honestly believe he doesn't feel the weight of you? He’s just too polite, too loyal to say it to your face. But, trust me, it’s rotting him from the inside out."
She doesn't stop there. "And I mean, you also deserve someone on your level. Think about how freeing it will be when you don't have to constantly catch up to someone."
The restaurant around you completely vanishes. The laughter, the clinking glasses, the smell of food, all of it dissolves into a cold, endless void. Serena's words wrap around your throat like a chokehold.
He complains about you to his friends. He feels suffocated. He feels tied down by your guilt.
Your chest heaves, a sudden wave of nausea hitting you. You look over at the counter. Jungkook is walking back, holding a pitcher of beer, a bright smile lighting up his face the moment his eyes find yours. He looks so pure, so incredibly perfect. But as he sits down beside you, his warm hand instantly finding your thigh, Serena's words echo like a death knell in your mind.
He’s just too polite to say it to your face.
You pull away from his touch just an inch, a subtle movement under the table, your entire body trembling with a sudden influx of self-doubt. You cannot help but overthink. Every laugh he shared with Taehyung tonight, every private whisper with Jimin, did it involve your failure? Were they pitying him? You look down at your lap, completely consumed by the quiet rot of your own mind.
The silence of Jungkook’s apartment is thick. The only light comes from the faint amber glow of the city lights filtering through the large window, casting dramatic shadows across the floor.
You are sitting on the edge of his bed, your heart hammering against your ribs. Jungkook is standing directly in front of you. He has already discarded his jacket and blazer; his white button-down shirt is half-unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the intricate ink sprawling up his right arm.
He steps closer, his large hands coming up to gently cup your cheeks. His gaze is intense and searching. "You’ve been so quiet all night," he whispers, his thumb tracing the sharp line of your cheekbone. "Talk to me. What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?"
"Nothing," you whisper, the lie tasting like ash on your tongue. "Just... tired."
"Let me fix it," he murmurs, his voice dropping into a low, breathless register. He leans down, his lips capturing yours in a kiss that is completely different from his usual gentle morning greetings. This is the kiss of a man who is deeply, passionately in love.
He slides his hands from your face down to your shoulders, pushing the denim jacket off your arms until it drops to the floor. His lips leave yours, tracing a path down the column of your neck, his breath hot against your skin. His large hands slide down to your waist, his grip tightening, pulling your body flush against his until there is absolutely no space left between you.
It’s how you usually make out, intense, passionate, a private language built over several months. His hands slide under the hem of your shirt, his fingers warm against the bare skin of your waist, his kisses becoming deeper, more desperate, as if he is trying to physically pull you into his soul to keep you from drifting away.
He loves you. You know he loves you. You want to match him- god, you want to melt into him and forget the entire world.
But suddenly, Serena's phantom voice explodes in your mind.
“Men have needs. You’re inexperienced. He complains about how suffocated he feels. You’re an anchor.”
The words flash like neon lights behind your closed eyelids. You freeze. Your hands, which had been tangled in the fabric of his shirt, go completely rigid. A sudden, terrifying wave of inadequacy floods your veins. You look at Jungkook, so beautiful, so experienced, so effortlessly perfect, and you look at yourself, a broken, trembling mess of secrets and lies. You feel entirely inferior, like a character trying to play a role you aren't qualified for. If you give in, if you try to meet his needs, you’ll just fail. You’ll be awkward and clumsy and a disappointment. He deserves a woman, not a struggling, insecure girl.
You panic.
You place your palms flat against his chest and push.
Jungkook jolts, his body resisting for a fraction of a second because his grip around your waist is so naturally strong, but the moment he registers your resistance, he instantly pulls back. He steps away, his chest heaving, his lips flushed red, his eyes wide with immediate confusion and alarm.
"Y/N?" his voice is breathless, slightly raspy. "What’s wrong? Did I... did I hurt you?"
"No," you choke out, wrapping your arms tightly around your own torso, shielding yourself from his gaze. You can't look him in the eye. The guilt is suffocating. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I’m just... I’m just really tired, Jungkook. My head hurts. I can't tonight."
It’s a blatant, terrible lie. Your voice is shaking, and your eyes are wild with unshed tears.
Jungkook stares at you for a long moment. You wait for the flash of hurt, frustration, annoyance, anger, even. But it doesn't come. Instead, you're met with sweetness. The alarm in his eyes melts into a look of gentle care. And for some reason that you can't put into words, that hurts more.
"Hey," he says softly, stepping back to the edge of the bed and sitting down beside you. He doesn't try to touch your waist again; instead, he gently reaches out and captures your hand, his large fingers intertwining with yours, squeezing softly. "Don't look like that. You don't ever have to apologise. You don't owe me anything, Y/N."
He leans over, pressing a soft kiss to your temple. "Don't worry about it, okay? Come here."
He shifts, pulling the heavy duvet back and guiding your body down until you are lying against his chest. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you securely into his warmth, his chin resting on the top of your head. He reaches over to grab the remote, turning on a random movie at a low volume, his hand coming down to stroke your hair in a soothing pattern.
He is being perfect. He is being the most understanding, loving, incredible boyfriend anyone could ask for.
And it makes you feel a hundred times worse.
As you lie there against the steady, calm heartbeat in his chest, staring blankly at the television screen, tears fill your eyes, but you will not let them fall. You can't burden him with this, too.
Every sweet stroke of his hand through your hair feels like hot iron against your skin. You are a parasite. You are starving him of the intimacy he deserves, forcing him to suppress his needs because you are too broken to handle his love. The overthinking morphs into certainty: He is going to leave you. And he should.
The humanities square is bathed in the harsh, blinding sunlight of a Tuesday afternoon, but your world has gone entirely grey.
You are walking back from a meeting with your academic advisor, a meeting where she gently informed you that your latest essay draft lacked its usual depth, a polite way of saying you were failing to meet your potential. Your fingers are shoved deep into your pockets, your head low and your throat burning with the desperate craving for a cigarette.
You turn the corner by the law faculty building, intending to take the long way back to your dorm, when your boots freeze against the concrete.
There, on the wide steps of the law school, are Jungkook and Serena.
They are standing close together under the shade of a large oak tree. Serena is holding a folder of debate briefs, pointing to something on a page, her face bright and animated. Jungkook is looking down at the paper, a genuine laugh breaking across his face. He says something, tossing his head back, and Serena joins in the laughter, her hand lightly brushing his forearm.
They look perfect. Like they were made for each other. Two star students, two impeccable minds, standing together in the sunlight where they belong.
The sight hits you hard. Every single word Serena had ever whispered to you: He complains about you... he feels suffocated... just solidifies into reality. Your brain goes into an overdrive of overthinking. You don't see a boyfriend sharing a casual academic laugh with a colleague; you see a man finding the joy, the intellect, and the compatibility that you have been starving him of for months. You see the inevitable future unfolding right in front of your eyes.
Panic claws at your throat. You stumble backwards, turning on your heel, and sprint away before they can look up and see you standing there like a pathetic ghost.
The next five days are a blur of isolation and self-destruction.
The panic inside you grows into a living monster. You begin to actively distance yourself from Jungkook. When he texts you in the morning, you wait three hours to reply, claiming you are trapped in a mandatory library workshop. When he shows up outside your lecture hall, you slip out through the back fire exit and hide in the basement bathrooms until he disappears from the square. You invent a never-ending cycle of group projects, late-night research seminars, and sudden academic emergencies just to avoid being in his presence. You push him away with a frantic intensity, convinced that if you don't cut the cord yourself, the pain of him doing it will kill you.
And your coping mechanism escalates.
The crumpled packs of cigarettes are no longer enough to numb the roars. The simple tobacco doesn't quiet the thoughts anymore. You slip out to a shady alleyway behind the off-campus convenience store, purchasing a small plastic bag of joints from a computer science senior who smuggles them in.
Every night, when the clock strikes twelve, you lock yourself on the fire escape of your building. Your hands shake to the point where you can barely spark the lighter. You press the rolled joint to your lips and inhale deeply, the heavy, pungent smoke filling your lungs, dragging the THC into your bloodstream. You smoke until your eyes burn red, until your chest feels like it’s on fire, until your brain finally goes numb, allowing you to slump against the cold brick wall and forget, for just an hour, that you are the worst thing to ever happen to Jeon Jungkook.
From the moment the clock strikes midnight on the seventh day of silence, the world shifts. Jungkook stares at his phone screen, the bright light illuminating the deep circles beneath his eyes.
He is sitting on the floor of his living room, his back against the sofa, surrounded by legal briefs he hasn't read in days. His hair is unwashed, messy, falling into his eyes, and his crisp white shirt is wrinkled and unbuttoned. He looks entirely unravelled. The star law student, the golden boy of the university, has completely vanished, replaced by a man who looks as though he is physically starving.
He scrolls through the text thread.
“Still at the library, Kook. Group project is running late. Don't wait up.” “Got a big seminar tomorrow, going to sleep early. See you.” “Too much reading to do today, sorry. Have lunch without me.”
Cold, polite, distant messages. For a week, you have been nothing but a ghost. He has shown up at your faculty building, stood outside your lecture halls, called your phone until his battery died, only to be met with a brick wall of vague excuses.
Jungkook lets out a ragged, shallow breath, his chest tightening until it feels like his ribs are going to crack. He doesn't understand. He has spent every second of the last week replaying every moment of the last year and a half in his head, going over his actions. Did he push too hard during that last kiss? Did he make you feel uncomfortable? Did he say something to you that he can't remember? Did someone else say something? Did someone hurt you? Are you bored with him? Do you not love him anymore?
The thoughts are torture. To Jungkook, you aren't just a girlfriend; you're his light. The quiet sanctuary he runs to when the pressure of being 'perfect' for the rest of the world threatens to crush him. You are the only person who looks at him and sees Jungkook. And now you are drifting away, pulling up the anchor, leaving him to drown.
"I can't do this anymore," he whispers to the empty room, his voice cracking.
He stands up, his movements sudden, frantic, and desperate. He doesn't grab a coat, he doesn't care that it’s raining outside, he doesn't care that it’s nearly one in the morning. He grabs his keys and storms out of his dorm, his heart hammering.
He is going to you. He is going to force his way into your space. He doesn't care if you hate him for it. He cannot survive another hour of this silence.
The heavy door of your dorm room doesn't just rattle; it shakes on its hinges under the force of aggressive pounding.
You bolt upright on your small bed, your heart leaping into your throat. You are wrapped in a faded blanket, your eyes heavy and dilated from the joint you finished just twenty minutes ago, the room still faintly smelling of herbal sweetness you tried to clear by cracking a window.
"Y/N! Open the door!"
The voice through the wood is a ragged shout. It’s Jungkook. But it doesn't sound like him; it sounds like a man who is being torn apart alive.
Before you can even move, the handle rattles violently, and because the cheap dorm lock tends to slip under enough pressure (and you always forget to add that additional lock Jungkook talks about), the door bursts inward with a loud, echoing slam.
Jungkook stumbles into your room.
You gasp, backing up against your headboard, your eyes widening. He looks like a mess. His clothes are damp from the rain; his dark hair plastered to his forehead. His face is pale, his lips are trembling, and his eyes are violently bloodshot, wide with a wild look that terrifies you. His breath comes in short, shallow gasps, his chest heaving as if he had run a marathon just to reach your door.
"J-Jungkook?" your voice cracks.
He slams the door shut behind him and closes the distance between you in two large strides. He drops to his knees right at the edge of your mattress, his hands reaching out to grab yours with a grip that is unyielding.
"Please, Y/N. Why are you doing this to me?" he cries out, the sound a raw sob that tears from his throat. Water streams openly down his face, hot and rapid, carving tracks through the dampness of his skin. He drops his head to rest on his hands. "What did I do? Please, Y/N, tell me what I did wrong! Did I hurt you? Am I not enough? D-do you... Do you not love me anymore? Are you breaking up with me?"
His voice cracks on the last few words, a pathetic, broken sound. He is begging. The perfect boy everyone loves is on his knees at your feet, completely shattered, weeping like a child because he thinks he has lost you.
"No, Jungkook, no-" you try to speak, your own tears spilling over instantly, but your voice is choked by the sheer weight of what's in front of you.
Jungkook lifts his head, his eyes scan your face, searching for answers, but as he pulls closer, his head jerks to the side and his gaze lands directly on your small bedside table.
There, sitting out in the open, is a heavy ceramic ashtray. It is packed to the brim with crumpled cigarette butts and the unmistakable, charred remains of two half-smoked joints.
The room is silent save for his shallow breathing. Jungkook freezes. The world seems to stop spinning. He stares at the ashtray for a long, painful five seconds, his expression shifting from terror into a look of absolute confusion and betrayal.
He slowly lifts his eyes back to yours, his voice dropping into a hollow, trembling whisper. "What... what is that?"
You can't breathe. The guilt collapses on top of you like a fallen building. "Jungkook..."
"You said you quit," he whispers, a fresh wave of tears spilling from his bloodshot eyes. He lets go of your hands, rocking back to rest on his heels, placing a little distance between the two of you. His hands shake as he gestures to the ashtray. "We made a pact that night. I stayed clean because... because I wanted to be better for you. And you’ve been... you’ve been hiding this? You’ve been smoking this entire time? Behind my back? Lying to me?"
"I’m sorry," you sob, going to reach for him, to ground yourself. "I’m sorry, Jungkook, I’m so sorry-"
"Why?!" he suddenly screams. It’s a loud, messy roar that bounces off the small walls of your room. He stands up, pacing back and forth, his hands ripping into his hair. "Why would you lie to me about this? Why did you shut me out for a whole week because of this? You think I care about the cigarettes? I don’t.” He pauses. “Do you know what I’ve been thinking? I thought you hated me! I thought I did something terrible to you! I’ve been losing my fucking mind!"
The dam inside you finally, catastrophically breaks. The months of suppressed agony, the poison whispered by Serena, the choking weight of your own insecurities, all of it explodes out of your throat in aun unfiltered scream.
"Because I’m a burden to you, Jungkook!" you shriek, standing up on the bed, looking down at him with a face distorted by tears. "I hide it because I’m drowning! I smoke because it’s the only thing that stops my brain from screaming at me about how much I don't deserve you! Look at you! You’re perfect! You excel at everything: law, sports, music, theatre. Everyone on this campus looks at you like a god! And look at me! I’m a plain, failing lit major who can't even string a coherent essay together without having a panic attack!"
Jungkook stops pacing, his hands dropping to his sides, his eyes wide with shock as he stares at you.
"I’m dragging you down!" you scream, the words tearing your throat. "You spend half your time babysitting my insecurities, checking your phone to make sure your pathetic girlfriend hasn't collapsed in a corner, when you should be soaring! You have physical needs, emotional needs, a life that belongs at the top, and I’m keeping them suppressed because I’m too inexperienced, too broken, too much of a little girl to match your pace! You’re just too polite and too loyal to admit it to my face, but you must be so suffocated! You probably talk to Taehyung and Jimin about how tied down you feel by me! You should just be with someone on your level! You should just be with Serena! She matches you! She belongs in your world! I don't!"
The room goes silent. Your breathing is a harsh wheeze and your face is soaked in tears as you stand there, entirely exposed, having finally laid bare the entire ugly truth.
Jungkook doesn't speak. For a few seconds, which feels like hours, he just stands there. His face goes completely blank, his eyes darkening.
He snaps.
In a fraction of a second, he closes the distance. He reaches up, his hands wrapping around your waist, and physically rips you off the mattress, slamming your back against the hard wall of the dorm room.
You let out a sharp gasp, but before the air can even leave your lungs, Jungkook crashes his mouth down onto yours.
It is not a sweet kiss. It is a violent collision. He kisses you with an intense fury, his lips crushing yours until you can barely breathe. It is a kiss meant to completely obliterate your words, to silence the doubts in your head by sheer physical force. You try to push him away, your hands coming up to hit his shoulders, but Jungkook is too strong, his broad chest pressing firmly against yours, pinning you to the wall, his arms locking around you like iron bands. He consumes you, tasting like rain and raw passion, refusing to let you go until your resistance melts away and you are forced to cling to his neck just to stay upright.
He pulls back just a millimetre, his forehead resting against yours, his breath coming in hot, ragged gasps against your lips. His grip on your waist is so tight it almost bruises.
"Don't you dare," he whispers, his voice a low, angry register that vibrates against you. "Don't you ever say that to me again. I am so fucking angry at you right now, Y/N. I’m furious."
Tears are still spilling from his eyes, burning against your skin. "You let some petty bitch like Serena plant those disgusting lies in your head? You listened to her instead of looking at me? You honestly thought I was complaining about you? You thought I want perfection?!"
His voice breaks, the anger instantly melting away, replaced by sweetness. His grip on your waist softens, his large hands shifting to cup your face with a tenderness that makes your heart ache.
"I don't give a shit about the law faculty," he chokes out, his thumbs wiping the fresh tears from your cheeks. "I don't give a shit about the professors, or the judges, or being perfect. Do you want to know why I try so hard at everything, Y/N? Do you want to know why I sprint through my life? Because I am so scared that I’m not enough for you. Because you are the most brilliant, beautiful soul I have ever met. Every time you talk about literature, every time you look at the world with those kind eyes, I feel like a stupid, clumsy caveman trying to understand a star. I don't want someone on my level. I want you."
He lets out a long, broken sob, and suddenly, his strength leaves him.
Jungkook falls to his knees.
He slides down your body until he is kneeling on the cold floor at your feet. He wraps his arms tightly around your waist, burying his face completely into the soft fabric at your stomach. He clings to you with no intention of letting go. His entire frame shudders with violent, heavy sobs.
"Please," he begs, his voice cracking, entirely muffled against your stomach, sounding small, raw, and utterly desperate. "Please, Y/N... never cut me off like that again. Don't ever hide from me. If you’re drowning, let me drown with you. If you need to smoke, let me hold the lighter for you. Just don't shut me out. I can't survive a world where I can't see you."
He holds your waist tighter, his face burying deeper into you. "All you have to do is talk to me when times get tough. I don't want perfection. I don't want a trophy girlfriend. I just want my Y/N. I just want you."
You stand there, frozen against the wall, looking down at the top of his dark, damp hair, his shoulders shaking with his love for you. The toxic mirror Serena had built shatters into a million harmless pieces, dissolved by the raw reality of his love. You slowly slide down the wall so you're directly in front of him. You bring your hands up to cup his face. You wipe a few of the tears from his cheeks and lean into him. He immediately accepts you, wrapping his own arms around you, one holding your head to him, the other around your lower back. He holds you tight. Like he's scared to let go.
"We do this together." He mumbles into your hair. "Okay?" He whispers.
You nod. Lifting your head to meet him with another kiss. One that speaks far more than words ever could.
╰› part 2: 'holding the finish line'
╰› very mini part 3 drabble: <here>
@willowpains @hellomate1234 @starlight-1010 @knhlotus @thefireintheshadow
