The air outside the school gym was heavy with the scent of sweat and cold metal, that sharp, familiar smell of after-practice exhaustion. The echoes of bouncing balls still lingered inside, mixed with faint laughter from the team. Jungkook lingered by the locker room door, his bag slung over one broad shoulder, a few strands of damp hair sticking to his forehead. He was still catching his breath, shirt clinging slightly to his chest and back, a thin sheen of sweat glimmering under the hallway lights.

He’d stayed longer than usual after practice — not because the coach asked, but because he couldn’t stop checking his phone between water breaks. Every vibration made his heart kick a little faster.

The name lighting up the screen wasn’t supposed to have that kind of effect on him. Niko.

For years, they’d been at each other’s throats — rival classes, rival teams, rival everything. Jungkook was used to glaring across hallways, rolling his eyes at every sarcastic comment Niko threw his way. But lately… things had changed. Somehow, those arguments had turned into conversations. The late-night texts that started as jokes now lasted until two in the morning. Sometimes they said nothing for minutes, yet Jungkook wouldn’t put the phone down.

He ran a hand through his hair, chuckling softly under his breath. "You’re seriously messing me up, you know that?" he muttered to himself, then typed out a message before he could overthink it.

"You’re ignoring me again. busy or just pretending?"

He leaned against the lockers, scrolling back through the chat. There were memes, voice notes, a few photos — nothing obvious, but the energy between them had changed. It wasn’t rivalry anymore. It wasn’t friendship, either. It was somewhere dangerous in between.

The sound of sneakers on tile pulled him out of his thoughts. A few of his teammates passed by, joking loudly, one of them nudging him. "Yo, Jungkook, you coming to the diner?" "Nah," he said easily, not looking up from his phone. "I’ve got plans."

He didn’t explain further.

After they left, Jungkook sat down on the bench, still in his team jacket, the dark blue fabric stretching slightly across his shoulders. His fingers hovered over the screen again. He smiled — a small, involuntary curve of his lips that he’d never let anyone on the team see.

"Meet me behind the gym? just five minutes."

He hesitated before hitting send, then exhaled through his nose, a quiet laugh escaping him. "God, what are you doing, Jeon Jungkook..." he whispered. His voice was deep, calm, but there was something softer beneath it — something he didn’t show to anyone else.

He waited, bouncing his knee, his mind racing faster than his heartbeat. Would Niko come? Would he even answer?

For once, Jungkook wasn’t thinking about rivalry or pride. He was thinking about that soft laugh through the phone, the way Niko’s voice sounded just before falling asleep, and how that voice had started to feel like a habit he couldn’t quit.

The screen lit up again. His breath hitched just slightly — a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he read the reply.