Photograph in the dark

The dorm was quiet. The kind of quiet that pressed against Jungkook’s ears, louder than noise.

Taehyung was on his bunk, camera balanced on his chest, clicking through the day’s photos. The glow of the small screen lit his face in shifting shades of blue.

Jungkook rolled over, trying to ignore it, but his curiosity tugged harder than sleep.

“What do you even do with all of them?” he asked finally, voice low in the dark.

Taehyung hummed. “Some I keep. Some I print. Some I forget.”

“And the rest?”

There was a pause, the faint sound of another click. “The rest… I hide.”

Jungkook frowned, sitting up. “Hide? Why?”

Taehyung shifted, then leaned over the edge of the bunk. His arm dangled, camera swinging just inches from Jungkook’s face. “Because some moments aren’t for the world. They’re just mine.”

Jungkook hesitated, then reached up. Their fingers brushed as Taehyung let the camera drop into his hand. The touch was brief, electric.

The screen flickered. Jungkook scrolled. Blurry crowd shots. Candid smiles. A crooked lamppost.

And then—him.

The train station photo. His profile half in shadow, eyes distant, sunlight cutting across his face.

His breath caught. “Why… keep this one?”

Taehyung’s voice was quiet, close. “Because it feels honest.”

The words hit harder in the stillness of night. Jungkook’s chest tightened, caught between confusion and something dangerously close to longing.

He shoved the camera back, almost too quickly. “You’re weird.”

Taehyung chuckled, rolling onto his back. “Maybe.”

The lamp clicked off. Darkness swallowed the room again, but Jungkook lay awake long after, heart racing with the image burned into his mind—

Not the photo.

The way Taehyung had looked at him while saying it.

Saturday mornings in the dorm were chaos. Doors slamming, laughter echoing down the hall, someone burning toast in the communal kitchen.

Jungkook just wanted cereal. Simple. Quiet.

Instead, he found Taehyung perched on the counter, hair messy, oversized shirt slipping off one shoulder, munching dry ramen straight from the bag like it was normal.

“You’re a menace,” Jungkook muttered, pouring his cereal.

Taehyung crunched loudly. “And you’re boring.”

“Boring is safe.”

“Safe is boring.” Taehyung grinned, shaking the ramen crumbs like confetti. “See? Balance.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched before he could stop it.

---

Later, back in the dorm, Taehyung sprawled across Jungkook’s bed without asking, flipping through his textbooks.

“Yah!” Jungkook tugged at his arm. “Get off.”

“Comfy here,” Taehyung said lazily, refusing to move.

“You have your own bed.”

“Yours smells nicer.”

Jungkook froze. Heat climbed his neck. “W-what does that even mean?”

Taehyung smirked, rolling onto his back, hands tucked behind his head. “Means you should study faster. I’m not moving.”

Something in Jungkook snapped. He grabbed a pillow and whacked him square in the chest.

Taehyung gasped dramatically, clutching his heart. “Betrayal.”

Jungkook hit him again, laughing now despite himself.

Soon, the room was a blur of flying pillows and muffled shouts, both of them breathless with laughter until Jungkook collapsed against the wall, cheeks aching from smiling.

Taehyung lay sprawled on the floor, hair wild, grin wide and unguarded.

For a moment, Jungkook forgot to breathe.

It wasn’t just the laughter. It was the way Taehyung looked at him afterward—eyes bright, soft, like Jungkook had handed him something precious without realizing it.

Jungkook turned away quickly, pulling the blanket over his face. “You’re impossible.”

“Mm,” Taehyung hummed, still smiling. “And yet, you’re still here.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***