Fated Foes ||toptae||

31

The next day, armed with their foolproof "go left, go right" plan, Taehyung and Jungkook were determined to avoid any more chaos. The day started off smoothly enough, with both carefully coordinating their movements through strategic texts.

Jungkook: "Where are you now?"
Taehyung: "Library. Avoid east hallway. Wooshik’s on the hunt for snacks and drama."
Jungkook: "Got it. West side it is. Jimin’s ranting about gym bros—he’s distracted for now."

Things were going great—until lunchtime.

Jungkook was standing in line at the cafeteria, feeling confident. His friends were busy picking seats, leaving him to grab the food. The line moved forward, and just as he grabbed a tray, a familiar deep voice spoke behind him.

“Why are you here?”

Jungkook froze, his tray mid-air. He turned his head slowly, like he was in a horror movie, and locked eyes with Taehyung, who was holding a salad bowl and looking equally horrified.

“What are you doing here?” Jungkook hissed.

“I told you, left side! You’re on my turf!” Taehyung whisper-shouted.

“This is the left side,” Jungkook retorted.

“It’s my left, not your left!” Taehyung snapped back.

Before they could argue further, they heard a voice behind them.

“Hey, isn’t that Taehyung?” Jimin said, squinting.

“And isn’t that Jungkook?” Wooshik added from the opposite end of the cafeteria.

Taehyung and Jungkook exchanged wide-eyed looks of panic. Without a word, they abandoned their trays and bolted in opposite directions like criminals caught in the act.

Taehyung stormed into his dorm room, still fuming. He pulled out his phone and texted Jungkook furiously.

Taehyung: “Your LEFT is the SAME as MY LEFT. How do you not know directions???”
Jungkook: “Excuse me, I’m not a GPS! You’re the one who picked this confusing plan!”
Taehyung: “You’re lucky I didn’t get caught! Wooshik would’ve dragged me into a three-hour debate about basketball!”
Jungkook: “Oh, please. Jimin made me sit through a lecture on why iced lattes are superior to cappuccinos. Do you know how much emotional damage that caused me?”

Their argument escalated into an all-caps war until Taehyung accidentally sent a voice note instead of a text.

In the voice note, Taehyung could be heard ranting, “I swear, if I have to deal with one more crisis because you don’t understand basic spatial awareness, I’m going to—”

Jungkook’s reply came immediately.

Jungkook: [Voice note] “You’re yelling, but you were the one standing in MY cafeteria line! Don’t forget, I gave you that ointment, so technically, you owe me your face.”

Taehyung burst out laughing despite himself.

The next day...

The universe wasn’t done messing with them. Both Taehyung and Jungkook showed up at the gym at the same time. Jungkook was already on the treadmill when Taehyung walked in, sporting his usual confident stride.

Their eyes met across the room.

“You’ve GOT to be kidding me,” Taehyung muttered, turning on his heel.

Unfortunately, Wooshik spotted him. “Taehyung! Over here!”

“Why is he here?” Jimin asked, spotting Jungkook on the treadmill.

The two friends began walking toward each other, unaware of the glares Jungkook and Taehyung were exchanging behind their backs.

Desperate, Taehyung made a beeline for the exit, but Jungkook had the same idea. They collided near the door, both scrambling to get out first.

“Move!” Taehyung whispered.

“You move!” Jungkook shot back.

Before they could resolve their stalemate, the gym trainer appeared. “Ah, Taehyung and Jungkook! Perfect timing. We need two volunteers for partner yoga.”

Both froze, the color draining from their faces.

“I’m out!” they said in unison, bolting out of the gym to the sound of their friends’ confused calls.

Back in their dorms...

Taehyung: “New plan: No more public spaces.”
Jungkook: “Agreed. Let’s just stay in our dorms forever.”
Taehyung: “Or, hear me out, we could fake being sick for a month?”
Jungkook: “Genius. I’ll start coughing tomorrow.”