Illusion | Taekook

7

Another school day had ended quickly. Time seemed to be flying past in Jeongguk's eyes, not because he kept himself occupied—although he did—but because he was constantly spacing out and overthinking the smallest, most insignificant details that did not matter, as well as the impending reminder that he had to make everyone around him proud. It was a habit that was beginning to affect him negatively. The thinking was fine, however, it should not be able to bother him or influence the way he acted around others, that people like Hinata, who was caring and kind-hearted, began to catch on as well.

Jeongguk had his priorities set straight from the start, that he knew. He wanted to reach number one, be the top at everything he did and live to fulfil his expectations all his life but was it normal to have a non-stop reminder at the back of his head every time he was on the verge of being unsuccessful? The feeling transcended education or sports; it was part of his daily life to be reminded that he was failing.

Maybe, it was a good thing for him. It could be set as a reminder that failure was never an option for him, but at the same time, Jeongguk wanted to breathe properly. He wanted to live without those nagging thoughts, without stress or worries pumping through his veins like second nature.

Jeongguk wanted a break.

But a break was for weak people.

And Jeongguk refused to be weak.

About to walk home, he almost forgot about his swimming session. If he were to skip on their last day of training, harsh repercussions would surely follow, so Jeongguk tried to ignore how his muscles ached, how he had a migraine or how all he wanted to do was sleep. It was clear that he was not in the best position, but Jeongguk was someone who always pushed himself to complete everything. Even if the result would be disastrous, he did not care at all.

"Wait up, Jeongguk." Hinata's familiar voice shook him out of his thoughts. "Let's go together, okay?"

"Alright."

Walking side by side, the blond sent him a wry smile. "So, how was it with Taehyung?" He raised a brow while grabbing the taller's arm energetically. "I hope you didn't just stare at him for the whole hour because that would have been a damn shame. You know, you're lucky he's even giving you the time of his day to go to the library together."

"I know that. I'm already beating myself up over what I've said. I don't need a reminder," Jeongguk grimly said, picking up his pace to reach the locker rooms.

"Ah, but you do. I don't want you acting this way to somebody ever again in the future, especially to somebody you don't know. That just screams asshole behaviour. And we all know you're a big ol' softie at heart."

Jeongguk shoved the blond away. "Ah, cut it out already."

"Tsundere behaviour makes my heart burst! What a flawless performance from the star of our show,"

After entering the locker rooms again, Jeongguk immediately moved to an area at the very far right of the room. Being in here made him feel uneasy, as it reminded him of a strange headache that had suddenly appeared. He did not want to think of the incident as it would only make him anxious and remind him of the excruciating pain that had come along with it, so he tried his hardest to keep it out of his thoughts as much as possible. However Jeongguk was an overthinker, so it was impossible to fully ignore it.

Although he was striving to outshine everyone in the swimming team, Jeongguk needed to take it easy and not push his body to its limit. For whatever reason, he was feeling oddly faint that day, and exerting himself would not have any good consequences.

"Good luck for today, Jeon," someone said to him.

That was rare. People in this team usually avoided Jeongguk due to him never engaging in conversations with any of them—which was mainly because of his anger over how none of them was skilled in swimming. Jeongguk loved to swim, but he loved winning more and being in an unaccomplished team where nobody even tried to so much as put any effort in, provoked him to end.