Everything changed when Jungkook came back from the military.

It wasn’t just the discipline in the way he moved now — it was the weight he carried, the silence that followed him. His body had changed too. Broader shoulders, heavier muscle, strength packed onto him like armor. A new tattoo stretched from his right shoulder across his chest, dark and unfamiliar against skin you thought you knew by heart.

For a while, the piercings were gone. Then one by one, they returned — silver back in his lobes, the glint at his lip like nothing had ever changed.

He stepped out of the bathroom, hair damp, towel draped loosely around his neck. An oversized black shirt clung to his frame, sweatpants low on his hips. Familiar. Almost comforting.

Then you saw them.

Blue and purple bruises blooming along his neck. Down his collarbone. Faint marks, unmistakable.

Your chest tightened.

You knew you hadn’t done that.

Jungkook caught your stare in the mirror. For a split second, something flickered in his eyes — not guilt, not pride. Just distance.

“What?” he asked quietly.