Waking into the parking lot, Jungkook's mind racing, hands twitching at his sides. This was a fucking disaster.

He should've just walked away the second his father brought up the engagement. Should've just told him to fuck off and left.

But no. He had to open his mouth.

Had to make up some non-existent boyfriend like a fucking idiot.

"Jungkook!"

Footsteps.

He barely had time to pull out his keys before Hana came running up behind him, panting slightly.

"What the fuck was that?" she asked, hands on her hips.

Jungkook exhaled, unlocking his car. "I could ask you the same thing."

Hana frowned. "I was trying to help."

"Oh yeah?" He turned, narrowing his eyes.."Then why the fuck do I now have to magically produce a boyfriend I don't fucking have?"

Hana winced. "Okay, fair point."

Jungkook dragged a hand down his face. "You trapped me, dumbass."

"No, I gave you an out," she corrected, crossing her arms. "You just made it worse by doubling down."

Jungkook scoffed. "What was I supposed to do? Tell him 'oh wait, just kidding, I actually do like women, I just don't like Hyerin'? That would've been fucking worse."

Hana bit her lip. "Okay, also fair point."

Jungkook opened the car door, ready to fucking leave this mess behind.

"So what's the plan now?" Hana asked.

Jungkook gave her a dry look. "There is no plan. I just won't show up again. Problem solved."

Hana raised an eyebrow. "And when Dad actually sends people to check if you're lying?"

"Let him," Jungkook muttered, gripping the edge of the car door.

Hana sighed, running a hand through her hair. "This is all my fault. I called you here."

Jungkook exhaled heavily, then reached out, ruffling her hair roughly.

"It's nothing new." His voice was quieter now, less sharp. "Dad's been pulling new shit for years."

Hana pouted, fixing her hair. "Yeah, but this time I made it worse."

Jungkook gave her a pointed look. "Yeah. You did."

She groaned. "OKAY, asshole, I get it."

Jungkook let out a small breath, not quite a laugh, but close. Then, stepping back, he pulled open the driver's side door.

"Go inside. Don't give him more shit to hold over you."

Hana hesitated. "You sure you're good?"

Jungkook just shook his head, getting into the car. "No. But I'll figure it out."

Just as Jungkook was about to get into the car, Hana suddenly pulled him into a hug.

He froze.

Hugging wasn't exactly their thing. Not in the everyday, casual sibling way. It felt weird. Off.

They weren't 'I love you, bro' siblings.

He frowned, confused. "What?"

But Hana quickly stepped back, brushing it off with a scoff. "Nothing."

Jungkook rolled his eyes and reached out to mess up her hair, smirking at her annoyed reaction.

"Go," he said, jerking his chin toward the house as he slipped behind the wheel.

She shot him one last look before turning away, and only then did Jungkook start the engine.

Jungkook drove off, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary.

God.

Whenever his family got together, an argument was bound to happen. It was the most predictable shit ever.

Only between him and his father, though.

And today was... he rolled his eyes. A fucking mess.

Next time? Yeah, there wasn't going to be a next time. No need to deal with this bullshit again. Let his father waste time looking for a non-existent boyfriend. At least that would keep the old man busy and off his ass for a while.

Maybe he'd finally get some damn peace.

His phone buzzed.

Jungkook glanced down, screen lighting up with a message from Hana.

"Now don't go to workout, dumbass!"

His lips twitched into a small, reluctant smile as he shook his head.

He continued to drove aimlessly for a while, city lights blurring past the windshield. The roads were mostly clear, the late hour stripping them of their usual chaos. He wasn't in a rush to get anywhere, didn't even know where he was going.

Eventually, he slowed down near a water bridge---out of city, still under construction, quiet and mostly deserted. He pulled over and cut the engine.

The silence hit first. No honking cars. No voices. Just the distant sound of water lapping below and the faint hum of streetlamps.

He checked the time. 10:03 p.m.

Not that late.

Jungkook stepped out of the car, the door clicking shut behind him. The air was cooler out here, damp with the weight of clouds hanging low over the city. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it with practiced ease.

The first inhale burned slightly, but it helped---cut through the mess in his head.

He leaned back against the car, eyes drifting upward. The sky was a flat shade of gray. Cloudy. Still. The kind of night that didn't feel beautiful or peaceful. Just heavy.

And maybe that matched him too well right now.

He took another inhale, smoke curling out slowly through his lips as his gaze drifted, unfocused. The emptiness was comforting in a way. No noise. No people. Just stillness and the dull ache in his chest that wouldn't go away.

Until something shifted in the corner of his eye.

At first, he didn't register it. Just a vague silhouette against the muted lights of the bridge. But then---he turned slightly, and it clicked.

Someone was standing on the ledge.

Not near it. On it.

Jungkook straightened, cigarette forgotten between his fingers. His eyes sharpened as they locked onto the figure---tall, unmoving, back facing him. Hands loosely at the sides. One foot slightly ahead of the other, like he was just a breath away from tipping forward.

It hit suddenly Jungkook.

Fuck.

He didn't even think---just froze, pulse ticking louder in his ears.

That man...
He was going to jump.

And Jungkook was the only one here.

In a blink, he moved.

He didn't think---just ran.

The world blurred past him as he sprinted across the cold metal and concrete, the only clear thing was the man swaying dangerously on the edge.

He made it just in time.

The stranger's foot slipped, balance giving out---and Jungkook leapt, catching him by the wrist before gravity could claim him. The weight of the man nearly pulled Jungkook forward, but he gritted his teeth, feet scrambling for grip as he held on.

"Fuck-" he hissed under his breath, arms straining, knuckles white.

The man dangled, limp, not even resisting. Like he didn't care.

Jungkook opened his eyes properly, trying to find leverage---and froze.

Those eyes.

Dark brown monolids. Expressionless. Familiar.

Not in the sense that he knew him---but something clicked. Like déjà vu that hit too hard.

Void. Blank. Unreadable.

Their gazes locked, unmoving, as if time stalled right there on that bridge.

Jungkook's eyes widened, disbelief smacking into him harder than the weight he was holding.

No fucking way.

It was him.
That same freak from last night.

The monolids, the dead stare, the calmness like life didn't mean shit---yeah, it was the same psycho who had kissed him mid-robbery like it was nothing.

"What the fuck..." Jungkook muttered, gripping tighter, anger suddenly cutting through the adrenaline. "You?!"

The guy didn't even blink. Just hung there with that same damn blank face, staring up at Jungkook like he was the inconvenience in all this.

Jungkook's pulse thumped louder in his ears.

The sketchbook.
Those drawings.
The kind of shit that lived in a mind twisted sideways.

Maybe he should've expected this. A guy like that? Of course he'd be up here trying to throw himself off a bridge.

Still, it didn't stop him from yelling, "Are you fucking insane?!" as his muscles screamed holding the guy's dead weight.

He gritted his teeth, muscles straining as he dug his heels against the cold metal rail and hauled. The guy wasn't even trying to help himself---dead weight, limp, like he'd already accepted the fall and Jungkook was just interrupting his exit.

"Fuck-" Jungkook cursed under his breath, dragging him up inch by inch.

With a final grunt, he yanked the guy over the edge, both of them tumbling hard onto the concrete. Jungkook's palms burned from the scrape, his chest heaving.

The guy?
Still fucking blank.

Laid there staring at the sky, those monolids unmoving, expression dead as ever. Like none of this mattered. Like he didn't almost just plummet headfirst into the damn river.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Jungkook snapped, grabbing the front of the guy's coat and shaking him. "You were trying to kill yourself?!"

No response.

Not a single twitch.
Not fear.
Not relief.
Not even fucking acknowledgment.

Just those goddamn eyes staring through him.

Jungkook's chest ached---not from exhaustion, but from the sheer frustration of how the hell someone could look like that after being pulled back from death.

"What the fuck are you even made of, huh?"

Jungkook shoved him back with a glare, breathing heavy. "You're seriously fucked in the head, you know that? A fucking psychopath. Who the hell kisses a stranger---a robber---and then goes jumping off a bridge the next night like it's some casual week off?"

The man blinked up at him slowly, like he was mildly bored. No guilt. No shame. Just that dead-eyed stare that made Jungkook more furious.

"And don't even get me started on that freakshow sketchbook of yours. The fuck was that? You need an exorcism or a padded room---hell, both."

The man finally sat up, brushing dust off his coat with infuriating calmness. His voice was low and smooth, when it came, the kind of polished tone that sounded like it belonged at a some luxury palace---not under a damn constructed bridge at night.

"Your lexicon is impressively vulgar, though regrettably lacking in nuance," he said, blankly. "But then again, I suppose one mustn't expect linguistic sophistication from someone whose primary form of expression is growling and fists."

Jungkook blinked. Once. Then again.

"...What?"

"I'm simply suggesting," the man continued, still blank, "that if you intend to insult me, perhaps try stringing your profanity with something more... elevated than 'fucking freak.' It's awfully repetitive. Predictable."

Jungkook stared.

"What the fuck are you even saying right now?"

The guy didn't answer again. Didn't spare Jungkook another glance.

Blank expression.

He simply turned, smooth and slow, as if brushing off the whole moment, and began walking away. No rush. No guilt. Just... walking.

Jungkook stared, jaw clenched. "You've gotta be kidding me..."

Still nothing. The guy didn't even look over his shoulder.

"What the fuck-hey!" Jungkook shouted after him, then scoffed in disbelief, pushing himself off the ground. "You're not just walking off after that shit. Who the hell even are you?"

His footsteps were heavy, loud against the concrete as he stormed after him. The guy didn't even glance back---just kept walking like he hadn't been dangling off a bridge thirty seconds ago. Like Jungkook hadn't just saved his damn life. As if he hadn't kissed Jungkook without warning the night before and fucked with his head more than anyone had any right to.

"You fucking freak-!"

Jungkook's hand shot out, gripping the guy by the collar and yanking him back hard enough to almost slam him into the nearest light post. Still, nothing. The guy looked at him with the same deadpan eyes---those cursed monolids that flickered under the dim bridge lights like they had no goddamn soul behind them.

"You got some fucking nerve, walking away like nothing happened. You think you can just pull shit like that and act like it's normal? That was assault, you piece of shit!"

The guy blinked. Not slow, not dramatic---just... blank. A small tilt of his head, a breath too slow to be shocked, too measured to be scared.

"You are severely underestimating your own emotional volatility," he spoke, voice flat, eerily calm. "Perhaps you should consult a therapist before projecting your confused sexuality through physical aggression."

"What the fuck-?"

Jungkook almost threw a punch. Almost. His fist clenched at his side, nails digging into his palm. His jaw ticked, teeth grinding. The worst part? The guy wasn't even provoking him on purpose. He wasn't even being smug. He was just... existing like that. Like a walking, talking fucking itch under Jungkook's skin.

The guy pulled his collar from Jungkook's grip smoothly, adjusted it, and turned to walk again---completely unfazed. As if he hadn't just insulted Jungkook's entire existence with a vocabulary too polished for someone who looked like he slept on park benches.

Jungkook stood there, seething, fingers twitching with leftover rage. He didn't know what pissed him off more---the kiss, the drawings, or the fact that the freak was still alive and he saved him.

"You got a name, freak?" Jungkook called after him, not even sure why.

The guy didn't look back.

Didn't answer.

Just walked into the dark like the fucking ghost he was.

Jungkook watched that figure disappear into the dark again-slow steps, long coat swaying slightly with each movement like he had nowhere to be and no reason to rush.

And then something clicked in Jungkook's mind.

What if he tries again?

To kill himself.

Jungkook didn't know why, but his chest tightened, eyes widening slightly in something close to horror before his body moved on instinct.

"Fuck-" he muttered under his breath and took off running.

His boots hit the pavement hard as he chased after the guy. It wasn't his business. It shouldn't be his business. If anything, Jungkook should've let him fall. Should've thrown him over himself after what he did the night before. That unwanted kiss, those fucked-up drawings, the way he acted like nothing touched him.

But he still ran.

Caught up to him fast.

And then he didn't stop---he moved past him, cutting him off, planting himself right in front of the guy. Shoulders squared. Eyes sharp. Breathing heavy from the sudden sprint. His whole face said don't fuck with me.

The guy didn't even blink.

Didn't stop.

He just kept walking like Jungkook wasn't there. And so, Jungkook walked too, matching his pace, walking toward him until they were barely inches apart.

Like two trains on the same fucking track.

Jungkook's expression was hard, jaw tight, eyes cold. His entire presence screamed threat. Warning.

And the guy?

Still blank.

Still staring straight ahead.

As if Jungkook couldn't lay him flat if he wanted to.

That only made it worse.

Jungkook's patience snapped.

Fine.

If he was gonna be that arrogant, maybe it was time someone reminded him what it felt like to be touched by the real world.

Jungkook reached out, grabbed him by the collar---hard, jerking him to a stop.

"Think you're untouchable?" he growled.

Their eyes locked.

And just like the first time... it happened again.

Those monolids. Blank. Dark. But shimmering.

Even here, under the dull orange streetlamp, in the middle of cold wind and silence---those eyes shimmered like they were lit from the inside.

Jungkook's grip slackened without meaning to. His lips parted, barely.

The shimmer didn't make sense. The eyes were still empty. Still dead.

And yet they glimmered.

Jungkook blinked once, dazed.

Then---he felt it. The shift.

The guy's hand shot up, gripping his collar this time. Quick. No hesitation. Then he dropped his weight all at once, dragging Jungkook with him like he'd planned it.

Jungkook's boots skidded. He didn't have time to react. His other hand shot out, but it was too late.

They were already going over.

The wind howled. Gravity pulled.

They were falling---off the bridge---together.

The air turned weightless.

For a breath, maybe two, it was like they were suspended---hovering between the bridge and the river, between sense and madness. Jungkook barely registered the rushing wind in his ears. The drop didn't feel real yet.

But the touch did.

The guy's fingers slipped from Jungkook's collar and moved upward, sliding behind his head---slow, too precise. His fingers curled in Jungkook's hair, twisting gently, almost like muscle memory.

Jungkook's chest seized.

That fucking grip.

Exactly like before.

The alley. The kiss. The unwanted pressure of lips that moved too confidently, too close. The same fingers had held his head like this---possessive.

Jungkook's jaw clenched hard, breath catching. His eyes snapped down at the man now inches from him mid-air, their bodies parallel in the fall-his face still expressionless, hair brushing up from the wind, coat flaring like a shadow behind him.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me-" Jungkook hissed through his teeth.

His rage sparked hot in his chest. He was going to kill him. If they hit the water and somehow survived it, he was going to drag this psycho to shore and break something.

But then---

A colder realization hit.

They were actually falling.

And there was no guarantee they'd survive the landing.

The guy's grip shifted again--calm, practiced---like he'd done this a thousand times in his head.

His arms didn't just hold Jungkook's head now, they pulled him in.

Then came the legs.

They wrapped around Jungkook's waist tightly, locking them together mid-fall.

It wasn't desperate.
It wasn't panicked.

It was intentional. Like this was how he wanted it to end.

His eyes slipped shut, lashes brushing his cheeks, expression still eerily blank. But there was something else there---peace.

As if the thought of dying like this didn't scare him.

As if it was relief.

Jungkook's heart thundered in his chest.

"Fuck-"

He caught the glint of the water, fast approaching. Black. Cold. Violent. The surface tore upward toward them like a mouth ready to swallow them whole.

He didn't even think.

Didn't have time to.

His arms tightened instinctively, gripping the guy closer as he turned his body slightly to shield him without realizing why.

And then-

Crash.

The water hit them like concrete, bursting around their bodies in a wave of ice and force.

Sound drowned. Light vanished.

Everything turned black and cold and crushing.

Water swallowed everything.

Jungkook's breath caught in his throat, lungs clenching as cold gripped every inch of him. The river was black, pressing in from all sides, the current stronger than it looked from above. His eyes stung, forced open under the water, but he could barely see---just endless, shifting darkness.

His limbs moved instinctively, kicking upward, arms pushing through the weight around him. Something felt off.

Lighter.

Too light.

It hit him in a delayed wave---he was alone.

The guy---his body---the weight that had clung to him so tightly just seconds ago... was gone.

Jungkook's eyes widened underwater, burning now. His pulse spiked in his ears.

No legs wrapped around him. No grip in his hair. Just cold and water and-

Shit.

Panic flared hard.

He broke through the surface with a gasp, sucking in air like he hadn't breathed in hours. His hair stuck to his face, water streamed from his nose and mouth, but all he could do was look up---sky above, overcast and unmoving.

He coughed once, then again, throat raw.

Only when the shock started to settle, when he realized he wasn't drowning---did something worse slam into him.

The guy wasn't there.

Jungkook twisted in the water, treading hard, scanning the rippling black all around him. Nothing. No splash. No movement. Just the faint hum of the river's flow starting to settle again.

Too still.
Too fucking quiet.

"Shit-" Jungkook hissed out, turning full circle in place, scanning the water with wide eyes.

There was nothing.

No shimmering eyes. No black coat.
No psycho.

Just silence.

Jungkook sucked in a sharp breath---one deep, fast inhale that stung his lungs---then dove.

The cold hit harder this time, sharp like glass slicing across his skin, but he didn't hesitate. There wasn't time to.

The river swallowed him again, and the world turned to a blur of dark green and murky black.

Everything was muffled. Disorienting.

He couldn't even think---the moment was moving too fast, too loud inside his head to stop and ask why the hell he was even doing this. Why he cared. Why he didn't just swim to shore and let the freak drown like he clearly wanted to.

But his body didn't wait for logic.

His arms pushed through the thick water, eyes straining to make out shapes, outlines, anything. His heart thundered in his ears louder than the rushing current.

Down.

Deeper.

Nothing but swirling shadows and movement.

He twisted, kicked down farther, reaching blindly.

And then---he saw it.

The edge of a coat. A limp arm. A body suspended in the dark, slowly sinking like it had given up.

Jungkook surged forward.

His hand shot out, grabbing onto the first thing he could-
the guy's coat.

He pulled hard, legs kicking, teeth gritted-

And the fabric gave out.

It tore right from the shoulder seam, slipping through his fingers like it was meant to leave him with nothing.

Bubbles escaped from Jungkook's mouth in a sharp growl as panic flared again. His lungs screamed now, burning, tight. Everything in his chest felt like it was folding in.

But then-
a flicker.

The pale blur of a shirt, barely visible through the dark water.

There.

He kicked forward, arms slicing through the current. His fingers found skin this time-a wrist, then an elbow. He didn't stop to check if the guy was even conscious. Just hooked an arm under his back, gripped tight around his waist, and pulled.

Dragged him in, chest to chest.

The dead weight of the man pressed against him as he turned upward, kicking hard. The river resisted like it wanted to keep them both, but Jungkook pushed anyway... up, up, up-

Until the surface broke above them and they exploded out of the water in one desperate splash.

Jungkook gasped so hard it hurt, his head jerking back to suck in air. He held the guy close with one arm, the other working to keep them afloat.

"Fuck-" he choked, coughing once, blinking hard through the water dripping down his face.

But the guy didn't move..

He had no idea if he was too late.

The guy wasn't moving. Head slack against Jungkook's shoulder, limbs limp. His eyes were shut, lips slightly parted. Still no expression-even unconscious, his face looked the same. Just blank. Empty.

Jungkook didn't even try to check for a pulse. Something about that felt too real. Too final.

He couldn't deal with that right now.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, tightening his grip. His jaw clenched as he shifted the guy's weight in his arms, the cold gnawing at every part of him now. He kicked forward, keeping the man close, moving through the water with sharp, urgent strokes.

Don't ask how.

Jungkook had lifted more weight than this without flinching. Sparred for hours in rings that left him bloodied and bruised.

The guy was light---almost too light.

It wasn't the body that made it hard.

It was the stillness. The silence. The fucking unknown.

He pushed through, breath labored, eyes locked on the edge of the riverbank ahead.

The second his feet scraped against mud, he surged forward harder, teeth gritted, the current trying to pull him back.

"Not now---fuck off."

He grabbed the man with both arms, heaving him upward.

And for a second---he really thought he was going to drown.

The weight, the exhaustion, the cold---it all hit at once, like hands dragging him back under. His vision blurred, muscles straining, lungs screaming.

But he managed.

He shoved the guy up onto the dirt, stumbling after him, slipping, coughing---dragging himself out with shaking arms until his palms hit solid ground.

They both lay there, soaked and silent.

Jungkook pressed his forehead to the dirt beside him, breathing hard.

And for a second, everything was just the sound of water behind them and his own heartbeat banging like a death siren.

Jungkook rolled over, palms slick with river water and dirt, and leaned over the guy. His hand moved to the side of his neck, fingers pressing against the skin, cold and far too still.

Nothing.

He shifted his hand higher, fingers trembling. Pressed again.

Still nothing.

His throat tightened, breath caught halfway up. His own heart felt like it skipped---stumbled inside his chest. His stomach flipped, a tight knot twisting sharp in his gut.

But there.

A beat. Weak. Barely there. But real.

"Fuck," Jungkook exhaled, almost collapsing forward from the rush of it.

The guy wasn't gone. But he wasn't waking up either.

Jungkook patted his cheek once. Then harder. "Hey. Oi."

No response.

He smacked both cheeks quickly. "Don't fuckin' die on me now, you freak."

Still nothing.

Jungkook looked around helplessly for half a second---no people, no lights, nothing but river and night and the weight of this stranger in front of him.

So he did the only thing he could think of.

Thumped his chest. "Breathe."

Nothing.

He sucked in a shaky breath, tilted the guy's chin like he'd seen in those dramas he never admitted to watching, plugged his nose and pushed air into his lungs. His mouth hovered, tasting salt and cold and whatever hell this night had become.

He repeated it. Again. Again.

Pressed his palms down on the guy's chest, not too hard but not too soft---counting beats in his head though he had no idea what number meant what.

"Come on," Jungkook muttered, chest heaving. "Fucking breathe."

This was getting too real. Too much.

And for some reason, his hands wouldn't stop moving.

Jungkook leaned in again, lips pressed firmly against the other's. He forced in another breath, pulling back just enough to watch for movement, any sign. Nothing. He cursed under his breath and went in again. One more push of air.

His hands trembled now---not from cold but the sheer weight of everything. The water, the fall, the silence, this man who wouldn't fucking breathe.

And then-

A cough.

A small twitch.

And then eyes.

They blinked open slowly, heavy-lidded, pupils blown wide and unfocused. But they were open.

Jungkook's breath caught in his throat---hovering above him, suspended.

The guy's eyes met his.

Blank. Dark. Shimmering.

Just like before.

A full heartbeat of silence passed between them. No words. Just wet breath and wide eyes and cold skin.

Then Jungkook jerked back like he'd been electrocuted.

He scrambled a bit, wiping his mouth hard with the back of his hand, spitting to the side without thinking.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he growled, standing halfway, wiping again like he could scrub away the moment. "Second time---what the fuck is wrong with you?!"

He pointed at the guy like it meant something. "I should've let you drown. Seriously. I should've."

But his voice wasn't steady.

It was loud. Shaken.

Because deep down, Jungkook didn't know if he was more pissed at the guy-
or at the fact he'd just kissed him again.

Even if it didn't count.

The guy sucked in a shaky breath---slow and deep like it hurt to be alive. His chest rose, then fell again in a long exhale, eyes never leaving Jungkook.

But it wasn't gratitude in his gaze.

It wasn't shock or fear either.

It was blame.

Like Jungkook had thrown them off that bridge.

Like he had interrupted something sacred by dragging this lunatic back from death.

Jungkook stared at him, chest still rising and falling with the aftermath, soaked and cold and done. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding hard.

"Oh, what---I'm the problem now?" he snapped, voice cracking from the chill. "You lookin' at me like I pushed us?"

The guy didn't say a word. Just kept staring, like he was disappointed.

Like Jungkook had ruined something.

Fucking lunatic.

"Should've jumped alone," Jungkook growled, pushing up to his feet and towering over him. "Could've saved me from a fucking concussion."

His tongue clicked in irritation as he reached down, grabbing the guy by the front of his soaked shirt and yanking him up so hard a few buttons snapped free, scattering somewhere into the dirt.

The guy didn't resist. Didn't react.

That just pissed Jungkook off more.

Thud.

Jungkook's fist slammed into his jaw.

The punch landed hard on the guy's face.

It wasn't clean---it wasn't measured---it was rage.

"You don't get to drag me down with you," he snapped, breath hot against the cold night air. "You hear me? You almost killed me, you freak."

The guy's head snapped to the side from the impact, but still---no cry, no wince, no anything.

Just a slow blink.

Blank.

Goddamn unreadable.

Jungkook stood there, breathing hard, fist still clenched like he wasn't done yet. His knuckles stung, but not enough. Not for the amount of rage boiling under his skin.

He looked down at the guy, who was still on the ground, one side of his face already reddening from the punch, shirt half torn, dripping wet---looking like nothing. Like he felt nothing.

Jungkook's voice cracked through the silence.

"You wanna die? Fine. Fucking go do it."
He stepped closer, pointing a finger at him, words slamming out like fists.

He shoved him, hard.

The guy fell back against the mud with a quiet thud, arms limp at his sides.

Jungkook backed off, chest heaving. "Pathetic piece of shit," he muttered, jaw tight. "Should've just let you drown."

He turned away, brushed the wet hair out of his face, wiped the grime off his hands onto his pants, and straightened up. Took a breath. Tried to collect what was left of himself.

Then, without looking back, he started walking.

Each step away felt too loud.

Jungkook kept walking, steps squelching in the mud, clothes clinging to his skin, breath puffing out in short bursts as the cold finally started to settle in. His adrenaline was wearing off, and now everything just felt heavy.

He glanced up, rubbing at his temple, then stopped in place.

Only now---only now---did it hit him.

It was late.
Too late.

The sky above was dark, clouded, and the air had thickened, filled with fog that hadn't been there earlier. The kind that crept in quietly, swallowed sound, blurred outlines.

His jaw clenched.

The bridge above them was barely visible now---just the curve of unfinished concrete silhouetted by the occasional flash of a construction light. There was no ladder. No path leading up. They'd fallen to a lower part of the bank, beneath the bridge itself, where even the road lights didn't reach.

He turned in a slow circle.

Dense trees surrounded the area, tall and skeletal with the start of winter. The leaves were mostly gone, but their trunks looked like shadows in the fog, still and endless.

The only clear thing?
A narrow, barely paved road, cracked and worn, cutting between the trees like some forgotten path.

Jungkook exhaled sharply through his nose. "Great."

Outskirts.
Fog.
Soaked to the bone.

He glanced over his shoulder, the faint outline of that freak still lying in the dirt.

"Even better."

Of course he couldn't just leave. Not out here. Not when there wasn't a single car, person, or even a fucking street sign in sight.

The whole place felt like it had been carved out of nowhere.

Jungkook sighed, dragged his hand down his face, and muttered, "Fucking fantastic."

He was stuck.

He exhaled, sharp and bitter, fog spilling from his lips as he looked around one last time. The stillness of the place was getting under his skin.

His phone?
In the car.
Which was parked somewhere up there on the bridge they'd just taken a nosedive from.

And that freak?
Even if he did carry a phone, it was probably fried now. He'd been underwater long enough for it to give up and die---assuming he hadn't already.

Jungkook cursed under his breath, shaking his head.

The chill was setting in, deep in his bones, clothes still soaked, shoes squelching with every step. He didn't want to wait around and freeze. The narrow road between the trees looked like it led somewhere, and right now, walking blindly into the dark felt better than standing still near that psycho.

So he started walking.
No destination. Just away.

The fog was thick, curling around his ankles and drifting like smoke along the road. Branches loomed overhead, twisted and sharp against the faint moonlight, the only sound being his own footsteps slapping against wet asphalt.

A few minutes passed---silent, empty---and for a second, he thought maybe he'd finally left it all behind.

Until he felt it.

That weird shift. That quiet pressure like he wasn't alone.

He stopped. Turned his head slightly.

And there he was.

Just a few paces behind.

That freak.
Alive. Awake. Following him.

Jungkook blinked, disbelieving. He hadn't even heard him. Not one damn footstep.

His eyes dropped down.

Bare feet.
Soaked. Muddy. Silent.
Of course.

"What the fuck do you want now?" Jungkook snapped, voice echoing faintly in the trees.

The guy didn't answer.

Jungkook waited. Just stood there, hands clenched into fists, staring the guy down.

Still no reply.

Not even a twitch of acknowledgment.

He clicked his tongue and turned around, choosing the only decent option left---ignoring him. If the lunatic wanted to follow him, fine. But the second he tried anything again, Jungkook swore he'd deck him hard enough to make the last punch feel like a handshake.

He pushed forward through the fog, jaw set, eyes forward.

And then---he noticed the movement beside him. Slow at first, just in the edge of his vision. The guy stepped up from behind and-without hesitation---walked past him. Not beside. Ahead.

Jungkook stared in disbelief.

"Are you fucking serious-" he hissed under his breath.

It wasn't just the walking. It was the way he walked. Calm. Unbothered. Like he was leading the way now. Like this whole night wasn't a total disaster that he caused.

Jungkook closed the gap in two long strides and grabbed the guy by the arm---hard. Yanked him back so fast their chests collided. The slap of soaked clothes hitting each other echoed sharp in the night air.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Jungkook snarled, staring down at him.

The guy blinked once. Just once. Then tilted his head, lips parting slightly as he finally spoke.

His voice was low. Controlled. Polished like some rich kid that read too many old novels and never got punched in the face for it.

"I suppose I should've anticipated this level of emotional turbulence from someone whose moral compass is only activated through acts of physical extremity."

Jungkook stared. "...Huh?"

The guy's tone didn't even shift. "In simpler terms, you seem to require near-death situations to feel obligated to play the hero."

"What the fuck are you even saying?" Jungkook barked, brows furrowed, nose wrinkling in frustration. "Speak like a normal person, you goddamn cryptic dictionary."

But the guy just blinked again, unmoved, like Jungkook's rage was background noise.

And somehow, that pissed him off even more.

The guy stepped forward. Not a full step---just enough to erase what little space was left between them. Chest brushing against Jungkook's. Breath hitting his jaw.

His voice came quiet, almost too soft to be heard over the distant sound of wind moving through trees.

"You interfered," he said, tone as calm as if they were discussing the weather. "An unwarranted obstruction to a deliberately orchestrated exit. I had no intention of leaving collateral, and yet---you intrupped."

Jungkook squinted at him. "What?"

The guy didn't repeat himself. Just kept talking, his gaze steady and unnervingly calm.

"I had resolved to conclude things with minimal resistance. A silent fall. No disruption. No dramatics. But you-" he tilted his head slightly, "-injected your chaos into something that had nothing to do with you."

Jungkook's brain scrambled to keep up.

All he really heard was blah blah resolved, blah blah dramatics, and something about chaos. The words were too damn fancy, too laced with smugness to fully process in this kind of weather and mood.

He stared, brows furrowed. "Dude... shut the fuck up."

With a small push---barely more than a nudge---the guy slipped out of Jungkook's grip. Like he was brushing off dirt instead of human hands.

And then he turned. Quiet. Composed. Walking again like nothing happened. Like he didn't just drop the most backhanded blame monologue about his own failed suicide attempt.

Jungkook watched him go, blinking slowly.

"...I swear to god I'm gonna lose my mind."

He let out a long, exhausted exhale and dragged a hand down his face, smearing damp across his cheek and jaw.

"Not my problem," he muttered to himself.

That was the only way to stay sane.

Let the freak walk. Let him disappear. Hell, let him die in a ditch for all Jungkook cared. He already saved his ass twice tonight---more than enough charity for a guy who had the nerve to be pissed about not dying.

He shook out his shoulders and focused straight ahead.

Survival.
That's what mattered now.

He needed to find a road. A car. Anything that would get him back to the city and out of this fog-soaked, horror-movie-looking hellhole.

The trees closed in tighter with every step, branches reaching overhead like twisted fingers. The only sound was the dull squelch of wet shoes and the occasional creak of trees shifting with the wind.

It was too quiet. Not even insects.

Jungkook glanced at the sky---he couldn't even see the stars. Just a thick stretch of black cloud bleeding into fog. Definitely past midnight by now. The kind of hour where your own shadow felt like it was watching you.

And yet...

The only thing that stood out ahead---faint, pale---was the blur of white. The guy's shirt. Still visible through the mist, just enough for Jungkook to track him from behind.

Like some ghost leading the way.

Perfect. Just what he needed.

A silent, suicidal ghost in the middle of nowhere.

Jungkook stuffed his hands into his pockets, biting down on a sigh.

"Get us murdered, see if I care."