The next morning — BREAKING NEWS
Taehyung × Y/N spotted getting cozy on stadium grass.
Yoongi and Y/N seen on cute café date.
Jungkook interrupts them angrily — love triangle?
You read the news on your phone and scream:
Y/N:
"WHAT??!! WHO EVEN SAW US?!"
Yoongi texts:
let them write. it was funny.
Taehyung texts:
i look good in the pictures.
Jungkook texts:
call me. NOW.
You throw your phone on the bed.
10:45 AM — SPORTS ACADEMY GYM
You're stretching an athlete's hamstring when the glass doors slam open.
Everyone turns.
It's Jungkook.
Hair messy.
Breathing hard.
Jaw locked like he's been running searching for you.
You mutter under your breath:
Y/N:
"Oh god… not again."
He spots you instantly and marches over.
Jungkook:
"We need to talk."
You continue your work calmly.
Y/N:
"I'm working."
Jungkook:
"I said we need to talk."
You give him a pointed look.
Y/N:
"And I said I'm working."
The athlete on the mat whispers:
"Umm… should I leave?"
You both shout:
Y/N: "NO."
Jungkook: "YES."
You glare.
He glares harder.
The athlete crawls away on his elbows to escape the tension.
Outside the gym — YOU AND JEALOUS JK
The moment the door shuts, Jungkook explodes.
Jungkook:
"Why were you sitting with Taehyung till midnight yesterday?!"
Your face goes blank.
Y/N:
"So you're spying on me?"
Jungkook:
"No! I just— happened to see— and—"
He stops because he's out of words.
And angry.
And jealous.
Y/N:
"Tae is my friend."
Jungkook:
"You talked to him more than you talked to me this whole week."
Y/N:
"We aren't friends."
He flinches like you slapped him.
Jungkook:
"…Why not?"
Y/N:
"Because you don't treat me like a friend. You treat me like—"
You stop.
He steps closer.
Jungkook:
"Like what?"
Your throat tightens.
His eyes hold too much.
You look away.
Y/N:
"Forget it."
But he grabs your wrist—
not hard, just desperate.
Jungkook:
"No. Tell me."
Y/N:
"Like I belong to you."
He freezes.
Voice low, breath shaky:
Jungkook:
"…And if you did?"
Your heart jolts —
but you say nothing.
Because you DON'T want Jungkook.
Not yet.
Not like this.
You gently pull your hand away.
Y/N:
"Don't act possessive over someone you don't even know properly."
He looks wrecked for a second.
Then angry again.
Jungkook:
"And Yoongi? You know him properly?"
You sigh deeply.
Y/N:
"Yoongi is a friend. Tae is a friend. That's all."
He clenches his teeth.
Jungkook:
"Then stop giving the media reasons to ship you two."
Y/N:
"I didn't do anything."
Jungkook:
"You sat with him, smiled at him, and let him lean on your shoulder—"
Y/N:
"Are you seriously keeping a list?!"
He shuts up.
Good.
SCENE SHIFT — LATER THAT DAY
You're sitting on the field grass with Taehyung, eating tangerines.
He feeds you one.
Picture perfect.
Taehyung laughs.
Taehyung:
"You should've seen Jungkook's face yesterday when he barged into the café. He looked like someone stole his puppy."
You sigh.
Y/N:
"He's exhausting."
Taehyung nudges your shoulder.
Taehyung:
"Just ignore him. Jealous people act weird."
Y/N:
"I'm not… giving him reasons."
Taehyung:
"You're not. He's just… Jungkook."
You laugh at that.
He gives you another tangerine slice, placing it near your lips.
Just then—
Click.
Cameras.
A reporter shouts,
"TAEHYUNG! IS THIS YOUR NEW GIRLFRIEND?!"
Taehyung doesn't flinch.
He calmly raises his hand.
Taehyung:
"No comments. We're working."
He grabs your hand and walks you away, covering your face from cameras.
Soft.
Protective.
Gentle.
No wonder people ship you two.
ENTER: RIA — THE NEW ROOKIE SPRINTER
You're back in the medical room when a girl walks in.
Bright smile.
Baby-pink hair tie.
Sports uniform hugging her toned build.
Ria:
"Hi! I'm Ria. New national rookie sprinter."
She grins.
"And a big fan of Jungkook-sunbaenim."
Ah.
Of course.
Y/N:
"Hello. I'm Y/N—"
Ria:
"I know! You're Jungkook's physio."
She beams.
"You're really pretty. No wonder he—"
She stops suddenly, blushing.
Y/N:
"No wonder he what?"
Ria:
"Ah, nothing!"
She giggles.
Uh-huh.
Suspicious.
But you continue your assessment of her knee.
She talks.
A lot.
Ria:
"And Jungkook-oppa trained me yesterday!! He said I have potential! He adjusted my running posture!! He complimented my timing!!"
You blink.
Jungkook?
Training someone?
Smiling?
Complimenting?
To a GIRL?
Interesting.
Y/N:
"That's nice."
Ria:
"He even gave me his jacket because I was cold."
Your hands freeze mid-air.
Oh.
So THAT's what he was doing instead of resting.
Ria:
"Do you think he likes girls who run fast?"
Y/N:
"…probably."
She squeals.
Meanwhile — Jungkook enters the room
Ria brightens.
Ria:
"Oppa!!"
Jungkook waves at her gently.
VERY gently.
Then he notices you.
His smile disappears instantly.
Jungkook:
"…You're still here?"
Y/N:
"I work here, yes."
Ria grabs Jungkook's arm.
Ria:
"Oppa, let's train later! I'll show you my sprint timing!"
Jungkook (soft):
"Hmm. Sure."
YOUR EYES WIDEN.
Soft??
He said it softly??
To HER???
Wow.
Okay.
Good for him.
Y/N:
"My work here is done."
You pack up and move to leave.
Jungkook steps aside without looking at you.
For the first time, he ignores you.
And strangely…
It stings.
NIGHT — YOONGI CALLS YOU
Y/N:
"Hello?"
Yoongi:
"You sound dead."
Y/N:
"Busy day."
Yoongi:
"Wanna get ramen?"
You hesitate.
Yoongi adds softly:
Yoongi:
"You okay?"
And you nod subconsciously.
Y/N:
"Yes… I'll come."
You don't see Jungkook watching from the balcony above
as you walk away with Yoongi.
Hands in pockets.
Jaw clenched.
His voice cracks when he finally murmurs:
Jungkook:
"…Why does she walk away from me so easily…?"
8:10 AM — TRAINING FIELD
The sun isn't fully up,
but Jungkook and Ria are.
Running.
Laughing.
Training.
Together.
You stop walking when you see it.
Ria sprinting.
Jungkook correcting her posture.
Ria jumping in excitement.
Jungkook smiling — that soft smile he NEVER uses on anyone else.
Not even you.
You don't feel jealous.
Not exactly.
It's something else.
Something uncomfortable.
A weird squeeze in your chest.
Annoying. Disturbing. Irritating.
Y/N:
"…Whatever. Let him live."
You try to walk past them, head down.
But of course—
Jungkook:
"Y/N."
You freeze.
You turn around slowly.
Y/N:
"Yes?"
He walks toward you, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Jungkook:
"You're early."
Y/N:
"You're earlier."
Before he responds, Ria runs to you with the biggest smile.
Ria:
"Unnie, did you see? Oppa taught me a new sprint start!"
Y/N:
"That's nice."
Ria beams and leans close, whispering:
Ria:
"I think he really likes training with me."
Your eyebrow twitches.
Just a little.
TRAINING CONTINUES
You try to ignore them.
You sit on the grass with your tablet, checking athlete reports.
But every time Jungkook shouts,
"Good job, Ria!"
or
"That's perfect!"
Your eye involuntarily shifts toward them.
Ugh.
Annoying.
Taehyung appears out of nowhere and sits beside you.
Taehyung:
"You're staring."
Y/N:
"I'm… observing."
Taehyung:
"Your jaw is tight."
You unclench immediately.
Y/N:
"It's called being professional."
He chuckles.
Taehyung:
"It's called being bothered."
You smack his arm.
Taehyung:
"Okay, okay. Don't kill me."
He offers you a tangerine.
You take it.
THE ACCIDENT — Y/N GETS HURT
It happens fast.
You stand up to get water from the cooler.
Just then—
two junior athletes collide while running diagonally across the track.
One loses balance—
slips—
and crashes straight into you.
Your ankle twists sharply.
Y/N:
"Ah—!"
You collapse to your knees.
The world blurs for a second.
And then—
you hear Jungkook shouting.
Not normal shouting.
Panicked.
Broken.
Terrified.
Jungkook:
"MOVE! MOVE! OUT OF THE WAY!"
Within seconds he's beside you, kneeling, grabbing your arms, eyes wide and frantic.
Jungkook:
"Where? Where does it hurt? Y/N— look at me. LOOK at me."
You wince, trying to breathe.
Y/N:
"My ankle… twisted."
Ria steps toward you.
Ria:
"Oppa, I can help—"
Jungkook:
"NO."
His voice cuts like a blade.
He doesn't even look at her.
"Don't touch her."
He scoops his arm around your back, supporting you with a trembling hand.
Jungkook:
"Why weren't you watching where you were walking? Why weren't they watching?! Why—"
You glare through the pain.
Y/N:
"Can you not yell right now?"
He shuts up instantly.
His voice softens so drastically it shocks even Taehyung.
Jungkook:
"Okay. Okay… I'm sorry. Just… don't cry."
Y/N:
"I'm not crying."
A tear falls.
You hate him for noticing.
He lifts you in his arms — bridal style — in front of everyone.
Y/N:
"Jungkook—!! Put me down—"
Jungkook:
"No."
Y/N:
"I can walk—"
Jungkook:
"No, you can't."
His jaw is locked.
His eyes are dark.
His grip on you is too tight — like he's scared you'll disappear.
Taehyung follows behind, carrying your bag.
Ria stands alone on the track, staring at the scene…
…and something in her expression shifts.
MEDICAL ROOM — JUNGKOOK WON'T LEAVE YOU ALONE
You sit on the treatment bed while Jungkook kneels in front of you,
holding your ankle with steady yet shaking hands.
Y/N:
"I can do this myself."
Jungkook:
"I won't let you."
You roll your eyes.
He fixes the ice pack gently.
Y/N:
"You're overreacting."
His eyes snap up to yours.
Jungkook:
"…You scared me."
Oh.
That quiet, cracked tone hits your chest.
You look away quickly.
Y/N:
"I'm fine."
He whispers—
Jungkook:
"You could have been really hurt."
You don't respond.
Because something about the look he gives you
makes breathing feel… difficult.
EVENING — RIA CONFESSES
You're organizing bandages when Ria walks in, fidgeting with her hands.
Ria:
"Unnie… can we talk?"
You nod slowly.
Y/N:
"What's wrong?"
She bites her lip nervously.
Ria:
"I… I think I like Jungkook-oppa."
You freeze.
Y/N:
"Oh."
Ria:
"But… I don't know what to do. Should I confess? Should I wait? Should I—"
Y/N:
"Ria, he's your senior. And your teammate. Don't rush."
Ria:
"But you're close to him too. So I wanted your advice."
You almost laugh.
Y/N:
"I'm not close to him."
She tilts her head.
Ria:
"But he carried you today. And he shouted for you. And the way he looks at you—"
You cut her off.
Y/N:
"Ria. Don't read into things that aren't there."
She nods slowly.
Ria:
"So… if I confess, you won't mind?"
You swallow. Hard.
Y/N:
"Why would I mind?"
Ria smiles in relief.
Ria:
"Okay! I'll try my best then! Wish me luck!"
She hugs you and runs out.
You sit down slowly…
A strange, sharp ache blooming in your chest.
You press a hand over your heart.
Y/N:
"…Why does this feel weird?"
You don't have the answer.
Not yet.