° ᴛᴜɴɴᴇʟ ᴠɪsɪᴏɴ ° || ʏᴏᴏɴᴍɪɴ sʜᴏʀᴛ sᴛᴏʀʏ ✔️

°one°

The start of a new school year brought pleasant weather, temperature of a little over 17°C, a subtle breeze, a cloudless sky, and just about the warmest and most welcoming sunlight I ever had the privilege of walking beneath.

I was quite fond of how school started this time of year--it always seemed to shed a hint of positivity over the students, the teachers, pretty much every individual I laid my eyes who wasn't, of course, in the process of sneezing or putting on a face of discomfort due to allergies. And even many of those people still seemed to have about them an air of satisfaction. I hadn't met a great number of students who didn't love the jubilance and 'buddy-buddy' atmosphere that seemed to settle throughout the entirety of the first week, voices everywhere agog and simply bursting with animation at the thought of recruiting new souls who shared their passion or desired to do so--club activities, is what I'm referring to.

And even though there were an abundance of options and opportunities to start something new, my feet always led me to the same place.

The basketball club was where I met my closest friends, three eccentric fellows who happened to be second years like me. We'd all gone to the same middle school. We'd spent these past four years of our lives bonding as teammates, as friends. I truly was grateful for all of them.

"You owe me a one-on-one next week, remember that, ChimChim," Jungkook said with a smirk, using his physical advantage to trap me in a headlock and tousle my fire truck red hair. That was how everyone always described it. They could see me from miles away, they claimed, and losing me in a crowd would be virtually impossible. Sometimes I was unsure as to whether or not they were complimenting or making fun of me. Either way, I wasn't too bothered by it. I quite liked my hair.

"You're in for a bad time, Jungkook," I uttered in a low voice, tempted to viciously bite the bare skin uncovered by his sloppily rolled up sleeve. Seokjin and Hoseok, who were standing idly by, started to chuckle at the sight, turning their heads simultaneously in opposite directions, as if intentionally synchronized. Honestly, it was no wonder they were so often mistaken as brothers, or even twins. Things like this happened uncannily often.

As for Jungkook, he was a bit different than the three of us, and people often wondered why it was we got along so well. Sure, he was taller than me (like most people), good at basketball, and he was a real looker at that. But unfortunately, however, what he exceled in other things he lacked in academic skill.

I couldn't count the number of occasions when Seokjin had to sacrifice his free time in order to tutor the big idiot, and even with his help Jungkook was still handed back plenty of test papers with grades that were less than desirable. Miraculously enough, he somehow managed to pass every one of his classes. By the skin of his teeth.

There was only one downside to this year, and that was the fact that one of us had been put into a separate class--not for any strange or particular reason, thankfully, but nonetheless I couldn't deny it was a little disappointing not having the four of us all in the same classroom as we'd been these past four years. Alas, "2Seok" would be torn apart by an unfortunate coincidence, and how heartbreaking it was to witness their exceedingly dramatic farewells to one another. Honestly, though--anyone who didn't know the context behind this exaggerated performance would most definitely have been taken aback at the sight of the two boys embracing and in a fit of forced tears.

"We'll see you at lunch in the cafeteria, Jin!" I called out to him, waving my hands in the air as he finally managed to peel himself away from Hoseok and trudge gloomily to his classroom. To remind us he wasn't as miserable as he was letting on, Seokjin threw a smile our way just before disappearing from our sights. Hoseok let out a sigh of discontentment.