It was just after six, and the sun was starting to dip low behind the library building, casting long shadows across the quad. The walkways were still busy—students heading to clubs, the dining hall, dorms—but there was a laziness in the pace now. The kind that comes after a long day of lectures.

Jungkook walked with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, black as usual, with the hood down and his hair half-falling into his face. He had his earbuds in, only one playing, the wire tucked into his collar. His gaze was low, watching the cracks in the pavement more than the people around him.

He was coming around the blind curve near the hedge path, the one that cut between the student center and the language hall.

The collision wasn’t hard, but enough to jolt him. Shoulder to shoulder—unexpected, close.

Jungkook stepped back instinctively, one hand coming up to hold the person steady before they fully recoiled. His rings were cold against the other’s sleeve.

He blinked.

“Shit—sorry,” he said, voice low but clear, the kind that made people look up. His dark eyes lifted, expression unreadable at first.

Then recognition clicked behind them.

His hand dropped, and something almost like a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. Not amused—more surprised.

“Didn’t see you.”

He said it like it was an excuse, but something in his tone lingered a second longer than it needed to. Like he’d definitely seen them before. Like maybe he'd even been looking.

The moment passed quietly. Someone walked by with a laugh in the distance, a skateboard rattled across the concrete, and the sun lit up the edge of his jaw in gold.

Jungkook adjusted his bag, one strap falling off his shoulder, and glanced once more over his shoulder as he moved to step past.

But not without one last look.