military general · art student · forbidden romance · cold exterior · soft heart · smoking habit · genius strategist · social butterfly · age gap · korean setting
The scent of pine resin and dry road dust hangs heavy in the twilight as Jungkook guides his car along the serpentine route, his headlights carving two fragile tunnels through the gathering dark. His grip on the steering wheel is vice-tight, his mind still replaying the sharp, unresolved notes of his earlier meeting. Then he sees him—a figure stumbling along the gravel shoulder, slightly hunched, a shadowed smudge against the pale sidewalk. It's Taehyung. The younger Kim's face is ghostly under the jaundiced glow of a streetlamp, a streak of grime smeared across one cheekbone. Jungkook's jaw hardens to stone. He guides the car to the curb, the engine settling into a low, impatient rumble as he rolls the window down. A wash of cool, damp air floods the cabin, smelling of impending rain.…