Jungkook stood at the table, his perfectly printed blueprint spread out before him, radiating the energy of a commander about to lead his troops into battle. Unfortunately, his "troops" looked more like a disaster waiting to happen.
Taehyung sauntered in late, as usual, lazily crunching on a bag of chips. He didn’t seem the least bit fazed by Jungkook’s death glare.
“You’re late,” Jungkook growled, clutching his clipboard like it was a weapon.
Taehyung shrugged nonchalantly, popping another chip into his mouth. “And you’re still uptight. Balance restored.”
Jungkook’s eye twitched. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Obviously not,” Taehyung replied, pointing at the crumbs he had somehow managed to scatter across Jungkook’s blueprint. “You’ve got bigger problems now.”
Before Jungkook could launch into what was sure to be a long rant about disrespect, the rest of the "sundial squad" began trickling in.
Hoseok shuffled in, his hair a mess and dark circles under his eyes. “Do we have to do this today? I was up all night playing video games. My hands still hurt.”
Seojin entered next, sipping loudly on yet another bubble tea. “Did someone say manual labor? Because I didn’t sign up for this.”
Behind her, the engineering crew arrived, immediately breaking into a heated argument over who got to use the glue gun first.
“I called dibs!” one shouted.
“No, I called dibs!”
“Why do you even want it? You’re terrible at gluing!”
“I’m not terrible! The glue sticks are just defective!”
Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, “This is my personal hell.”
“Alright, listen up,” Jungkook said, slapping the blueprint onto the table with more force than necessary. “Today, we’re focusing on the base.”
Taehyung leaned over, inspecting the design with mild interest. “Does that mean we can sit on it when it’s done?”
“No,” Jungkook snapped, glaring.
“Then what’s the point?” Hoseok muttered, leaning back in his chair.
“The point,” Jungkook said through gritted teeth, “is to rebuild the sundial so we don’t all get expelled!”
Taehyung smirked. “I don’t know. Expulsion sounds less stressful.”
Seojin slurped her drink loudly. “He’s got a point. This sounds like way too much effort.”
As Jungkook painstakingly explained the plan, one of the engineers decided to test the glue gun. Unfortunately, they failed to check where the nozzle was aimed.
“Whoops,” the engineer muttered as a stream of glue shot across the table, landing squarely on Jungkook’s precious blueprint.
Jungkook froze. Taehyung burst out laughing.
“Guess the blueprint’s... stuck with us now,” Taehyung quipped, earning himself a death glare from Jungkook.
Hoseok groaned. “This is gonna take forever, isn’t it?”
“Oh, definitely,” Seojin replied, already halfway through her fourth bubble tea.
~
Taehyung wasn’t deterred for long. Within minutes, he found another piece of the sundial—a curved fragment this time—and balanced it on his head like a crown.
“Kneel before your Sundial King!” he announced, striking a dramatic pose.
Seojin didn’t even look up from her bubble tea. “I’d rather kneel before the professor and beg for forgiveness.”
Taehyung ignored her, waving an imaginary scepter (aka a broken stick). “Jungkook! As my royal advisor, I demand you lighten up!”
Jungkook stormed over, snatched the “crown” off Taehyung’s head, and tossed it back onto the pile. “I demand you grow up.”
Hoseok piped up from the corner, where he was pretending to help. “This is starting to feel like one of those sitcoms where everyone’s useless except one guy.”
“Yeah,” Seojin agreed, pointing at Jungkook. “And guess who’s the only guy?”
Jungkook shot them both a withering glare. “If you’re not going to help, at least don’t encourage him!”
Taehyung grinned, clearly enjoying himself. He picked up another piece—a circular one this time—and started rolling it across the floor like a hula hoop.
“Look, I’m testing durability!” he declared as the piece wobbled dangerously.
“You’re testing my patience,” Jungkook muttered, lunging to grab it before it hit a table leg.
But Taehyung was too quick. He grabbed the piece back and held it over his head like a trophy. “The Sundial Olympics! Gold medal in chaos!”
“Give me that!” Jungkook shouted, jumping to snatch it.
Unfortunately, Taehyung underestimated the sheer force of Jungkook’s determination. The two collided, and the piece flew out of Taehyung’s hands, hitting Hoseok squarely in the back of the head.
“OW! What was that for?!” Hoseok yelped, spinning around.
“Collateral damage,” Taehyung said solemnly.
Jungkook groaned, burying his face in his hands. “We’re never going to finish this in time.”
“Sure we will,” Taehyung said, clapping him on the shoulder. “We’ve got teamwork, determination, and... uh... a lot of spare glue.”
“I hate you,” Jungkook muttered.
“Love you too, buddy,” Taehyung replied with a wink, grabbing another sundial fragment and spinning it like a top.
Continue. ......
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Fated Foes
FanfictionJeon Jungkook and Kim Taehyung have been enemies for as long as they can remember, their families' rivalry shaping their entire lives. Their constant bickering quickly escalates into something deeper. As they compete in games and challenges, their a...
