Slow Bloom: A Story Between Desks
The first laugh
It was a quiet Wednesday, the sky threatening rain and the classroom unusually dull. The heater made a faint buzzing sound in the corner, and half the students looked ready to fall asleep during homeroom.
Taehyung, however, was wide awake—carefully balancing an eraser on the edge of his pencil.
Kookie/ Bunny
Jungkook side-eyed him. “You’re bored.”
Taehyung/ V
“Observant,” Taehyung said without looking up. “Let me concentrate. This is an art form.”
The eraser fell with a thud.
Jungkook rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched just a little.
Later that day in the science lab 🧪
The class was paired up again—this time for a lab experiment involving magnets and a lot of random wires. The teacher handed out instructions, which Taehyung ignored completely.
Taehyung/ V
“You read, I build,” Taehyung said, already snapping the magnets together like Lego blocks.
Kookie/ Bunny
Jungkook, slightly annoyed, began reading out the steps. “No—wait—you’re doing it wrong.”
Taehyung/ V
“No, I’m doing it artistically,” Taehyung said with a grin.
Ten minutes later, their wire cluster sparked dramatically and the magnet shot across the table, landing in Jimin’s water bottle.
Jimin/ Chim
Jimin choked. “WHOSE ELECTRIC GRENADE WAS THAT?!”
Taehyung/ V
Taehyung blinked. “Science.”
Jungkook stared in disbelief—and for the first time in front of everyone…
Not the quiet nose-breath kind.
A full laugh, head down, teeth showing.
Taehyung/ V
Taehyung looked at him like he’d discovered a new planet. “That sound—do it again.”
Kookie/ Bunny
“Shut up,” Jungkook said between laughs, swatting his arm. “You’re insane.”
Taehyung/ V
Taehyung grinned. “And you laughed.”
Kookie/ Bunny
“I’m never letting you touch magnets again,” Jungkook said, still trying not to smile as they opened their lunchboxes.
Taehyung/ V
Taehyung shrugged. “What can I say? I create chaos.”
They sat in comfortable silence, the kind that no longer felt heavy. Jungkook found himself leaning back against the wall, letting the breeze hit his face. It felt like the kind of moment that doesn’t need to be labeled.
Taehyung/ V
Taehyung nudged him with his foot. “You gonna eat that or just let the wind stare at it?”
Jungkook rolled his eyes but handed over half his sandwich.
Kookie/ Bunny
“Only because you’re too weird to feed yourself properly.”
Taehyung/ V
Taehyung took it with a soft smile. “Thanks, Mom.”
Kookie/ Bunny
“Shut up,” Jungkook said, but he didn’t stop smiling either.
Jungkook wrote one line in his journal:
“He made the day feel shorter.”
He didn’t know what that meant yet.
But for the first time since moving to Seoul, the idea of “tomorrow” didn’t feel like something to dread.
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