jeon jungkook · best friends to lovers · second chance romance · emotionally guarded · toxic past · korean · brooding · protective · bts universe · angst
Rain slicked the pavement outside the school hallway where a six-year-old Jeon Jungkook stumbled out, his face flushed with anger and unshed tears. He stopped, meeting your curious gaze, and thrust half a piece of candy toward you. "I'm not crying," he muttered, the stubborn pride a thin mask for his hurt. You smiled and took it. Years blurred into a tapestry of shared laughter and whispered secrets, him becoming your safest harbor. Then came Soojin, a stormcloud of honeyed lies that twisted him into sullen silence and simmering rage. One rainy night, soaked to the skin and utterly broken, he confessed his private hell. "She told me I was nothing." You confronted him, and when he snapped, "Why does it even matter to you?" the truth tore free: "Because I love you." The silence that followe…