In a quaint neighborhood not far from Seoul, two neighbors, Seokjin and Y/n, live side by side. Despite their close proximity, their families have harbored a long-standing feud that has kept them at a distance. Seokjin, a warm and kind-hearted soul...
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★
You gaze out your bedroom window, catching a faint glimpse of the house next to yours. You've lived beside the Kim family for years and you still have never exchanged words with them. It was a long-standing rule in your household that you were to never speak to the Kim family. The reasons behind it were vague, ranging from them being terrible people to them bringing bad luck to your family name. Whatever the reason, it was something your parents' have been insistent about.
"They're a bunch of crooks–all of them!" You father would say every time you brought up the topic. His face would turn a shade of red reserved only for the rare temper tantrums he'd throw.
You wouldn't push the topic beyond that, blindly accepting his response without further question. Though, it did pose some issues on your end since the Kim family had a son around your age. You both attended the same school since you were toddlers. You remember him being on the friendlier side since you both were usually in the same class together, and yet, you never interacted with him.
From what little you knew about Seokjin, you were certain he didn't fit the description your father provided. Seokjin was kind, quite popular amongst your peers if you were being honest. Though, you think it's because his family had built quite a fortune with their business. In spite of that, Seokjin was usually friendly to everyone around him. You recall in middle school that he brought presents for the entire class just before christmas break. He even had the decency to hand one to you, despite the established "no talking" rule that your respective families have drilled into your heads.
Even with his kind, yet indifferent gestures he imparted towards you throughout the years of attending school together, you never had a decent conversation with him. No "hellos" in the hallway or nods of acknowledgement towards one another. It took some effort on your part to refrain from encountering accidental run-ins with him. You would walk in the other direction if you saw him or simply ignore his existence all together if the former weren't an option.
You both simply existed in a close proximity. It didn't bother you since you weren't in a rush to befriend him. You wouldn't even know what you would tell your parents if the opportunity were to pop up. You just accepted that Seokjin would be one of those people you'd know from afar.
It all was going according to design, until it wasn't. You weren't certain if fate had anything to do with it, but despite your best efforts, fate had decided to intertwine your lives in a way you had never anticipated.
★
Seokjin slides into the open seat beside you, wearing a bright smile while saying, "It looks like we're partners for the assignment."
The assignment in question was to do a collaborative presentation about ancient societies that utilized astronomy into their daily lives. You had felt the task didn't require a partner, you had to abide by the instructor's rubric, which included partnered assignments at the end of every lesson.
