Fated Foes

15

The next day, chaos broke out. Engineering and medical students were at it again, bickering in the common area like toddlers over a stolen toy. What started as harmless teasing escalated quickly into a full-blown shouting match, then a shoving contest, and finally... disaster.

The university's prized antique sundial, a historical artifact gifted to the campus decades ago, became collateral damage.

With one accidental push, a student toppled into the pedestal holding the sundial. The pedestal wobbled dramatically, and the sundial went down in slow motion.

CRASH!

There was a collective gasp. Everyone froze, staring at the shattered remains of the once-glorious artifact.

“…Oh crap,” someone muttered.

When word reached the administration, heads rolled. The dean called an emergency meeting, and the engineering and medical departments were collectively scolded.

And, of course, Jungkook and Taehyung—because the universe clearly hated them—got dragged into it.

They sat in the dean’s office, both looking equally confused.

“I wasn’t even there,” Jungkook said, throwing his hands up.

“Me neither!” Taehyung added. “I was asleep!”

The dean glared at them over her glasses. “Do you think I believe that, Mr. Kim and Mr. Jeon? You two are always at the center of these fights. If you weren’t there, then it was probably because of you.”

“That’s not—”

“Enough!” she interrupted, silencing them with a single raised hand. “I don’t care who broke it. The university’s prized sundial is in ruins, and someone needs to fix this.”

Taehyung and Jungkook exchanged horrified looks.

“Wait... we’re fixing it?” Jungkook asked.

The dean’s sharp nod confirmed his worst fears. “That’s right. You’ll rebuild it from scratch. I’m giving you three weeks. And if it’s not perfect, you can both kiss your spotless academic records goodbye.”

“Spotless?” Taehyung whispered to Jungkook, smirking. “Speak for yourself.”

Jungkook elbowed him in the ribs.

As they walked out of the dean’s office, both of them were still fuming.

“This is your fault,” Jungkook muttered, shooting Taehyung a glare.

“My fault?!” Taehyung shot back. “I wasn’t even awake when it happened! You’re the one with a department full of hotheads!”

“At least my department knows how to use their brains!” Jungkook snapped. “Engineering students break things for fun!”

Taehyung smirked. “Better than memorizing bones all day like a wannabe skeleton.”

Jungkook stopped walking and turned to Taehyung. “Listen here, gearhead, I’m not spending three weeks working with you and your oversized ego. So let’s get this over with as fast as possible.”

“Fine by me,” Taehyung said, shrugging. “But don’t come crying to me when you can’t figure out how to glue stuff together.”

The two of them stood in front of the sundial’s broken pieces, which had been neatly piled up by the maintenance staff.

“So... where do we start?” Taehyung asked, scratching his head.

Jungkook crossed his arms. “Do you even know what a sundial does?”