Upon entering the cafe, Seokjin did notice Taehyung.

He saw him the moment he opened the café door. The silver hoops, the unmistakable loud laugh, the way Taehyung's whole presence seemed to command the space around him without even trying. But Seokjin chose to ignore it, it didn't even bother him that he was there.

He stepped inside with Yoongi, the soft chime of the door punctuating his resolve. He was not going to let Kim Taehyung occupy more space in his head than he already did.

Seokjin looked around. "Huh," he muttered, eyebrows slightly raised. "I've never been here before."

"It's new," Yoongi said, brushing a hand through his jet black hair. "Just opened last week. I only found it 'cause I got lost trying to avoid campus food."

Seokjin snorted. "You? Avoiding campus food? Bitch, please ~ I barely see you get out of the class after the class ends, and when I come back, I see you sleeping your days away."

Yoongi rolled his eyes. "That's because I value my peace. Campus food is a warzone, have you seen the line? the people? it reaches the entrance door, do I have the time to wait? nope! do I want to avoid people? absolutely." Yoongi said and crossed his arms, Seokjin laugh, "yes, yes, dearest you value your peace now let's eat I don't want to be late to our next class~" Seokjin said and let Yoongi choose to where they seat.

The café was cozy, dimly lit with warm tones, and smelled like basil and freshly baked bread. Yoongi led them toward a small table near the window, and, as luck would have it, not far from where Taehyung and his friends were seated.

Seokjin noticed immediately. Of course he did.

And yet, he pretended not to.

He sank into his chair, stretching once and letting out a soft yawn. "God, I'm running on 3 hours of sleep," he muttered.

"Maybe if you stopped treating your notes like a 3 AM art project, you wouldn't be complaining every single day." Yoongi said, raising an eyebrow.

Seokjin smirked, a spark of sass breaking through his usual calm. "And I can't believe you're still alive on your one hour of sleep." Yoongi chuckled and hit Seokjin gently on the head with the menu.

Seokjin and Yoongi were always like this, exchanging sharp jabs and sarcastic comments over the smallest things, like two old married people who had memorized every quirk and flaw but couldn't stop teasing each other anyway. It was a rhythm they both found oddly comforting.

"They weren't perfect," Seokjin replied to what he said about perfecting his notes, rubbing at his eyes. "They were barely readable..."

"Readable my ass," Yoongi scoffed. "Bro, your notes are printed neater than actual textbooks, my 4-year-old niece could read them without even squinting." Seokjin giggled and felt shy when he got complimented by Yoongi, "thanks, I got mad skills." Seokjin boastfully said and flipped his nonexistent long hair. 

The server then came with a small notepad to take their order, Seokjin ordered a basil and mozzarella panini, Yoongi a grilled beef sandwich and iced Americano. As the server left, Seokjin leaned his cheek into one hand and drummed his fingers on the table, trying his best to ignore the loudmouth in the room.

Taehyung's laugh rang out clearly, a bright, unmistakable sound that seeped through the chatter and clinking of cups.

Seokjin didn't look at first.

But Yoongi noticed the sudden stillness in his friend's posture.

"Hey," Yoongi said quietly, nudging Seokjin's ankle under the table. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Seokjin said with a shrug. "Just... déjà vu."

Yoongi squinted at him, he leaned his back against the wooden chair. "Didn't you say that already?"

Seokjin blinked, then gave a half-smile. "Guess it really is déjà vu."

Yoongi studied him for a moment longer before nodding slowly and taking a sip of water. "You've been weird lately."

"I'm always weird," Seokjin said, the corner of his mouth lifting faintly.

"No, I mean... distracted. You don't get distracted. And that's weird coming from the top student of SNU and let's not forget, the golden boy of fencing."

Seokjin exhaled and rolled his eyes, "can't a perfect student be imperfect for one day?" Seokjin muttered, then added, his frustration slipping through—enough to leave Yoongi slightly taken aback. "And for the record, I don't even like fencing. My mom made me do it. Thought it looked cool and elegant or whatever. Truth is, she just wanted to brag to her so-called friends that her son fences and wins tournaments."

"Sheesh, sorry, did I hit a nerve?" Yoongi said, quickly apologizing after realizing what he said.

Seokjin chuckled and shook his head.
"Don't worry, Mr. Min. I'm not angry. I'm just really tired," he said, giving Yoongi a small smile.

But deep inside, Seokjin wasn't okay. He was feeling emotionally drained. All the pressure was on him, and he didn't know how to escape the difficult life his mother had forced him into, his thoughts spun in an endless loop of expectations and responsibilities, dragging him down.

Then, unexpectedly, a burst of laughter from nearby cut through the heaviness. It was Taehyung's laugh, loud, warm, and effortless. For a moment, it felt like a crack of sunlight through a stormy sky. The sound wrapped around Seokjin like a soft shield, pushing the weight inside him just a little further away.

Seokjin found himself almost smiling, his troubled thoughts loosening their grip without him realizing it.

From the table just a few feet away, Taehyung was joking with his friends, doing gestures to help with his stories.

"Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time I lost my phone, I'd be richer than the dean," Taehyung teased, throwing his head back with exaggerated frustration.

Jinwoo laughed, "Man, you'd probably still lose the money too, you're a total spender when it comes to claw machines dude!"

Taehyung grinned. "Hey, I'm just preparing for my future as a professional spender"

They all laughed together, the easy friendship filling the space with a lightness Seokjin hadn't felt in a long time.

Seokjin glanced toward them again, and for the first time in days, he felt a strange flicker of something like hope. Maybe chaos wasn't always something to fear.

Taehyung was laughing loud, leaning back in his chair as his friends traded stories. The afternoon sunlight hit his face just right, and for once, everything felt easy. They joked and teased like they always did, no worries, no expectations, despite the heavy-work load in their department.

He was so caught up in the moment, he didn't even notice the figure that had just entered the café. 

Not until Jinwoo, sitting beside him, nudged his elbow sharply.

"Hey, Tae," Jinwoo whispered, nodding his head over his shoulder. "Look who's just walked in and is sitting a few feet behind you."

Taehyung turned slowly, his eyes scanning the café until they landed on Seokjin.

Taehyung's heart skipped a beat.

He hadn't expected to see Seokjin here, especially not this close, his eyes shifted to the guy sitting in front of Seokjin, the sharp one with silver piercings, a choker tattoo, and a permanent scowl. The one that looked like he didn't smile easily even if you crack the funniest joke.

Taehyung raised an eyebrow and tried to play it cool, though a flicker of something, was it annoyance? jealousy?, it twitched behind his calm expression.

"Well, well... I thought Seokjin didn't have any friends. Never thought I'd actually see him talking to someone who isn't a textbook," he said with a mocking grin, masking the fact that it bothered him more than he'd admit. His friends laugh, but that soon was followed by an unexpected burst of laughter coming from Seokjin.

Seokjin burst into laughter, clear, bright, and completely unexpected. It was the kind of laugh that filled the space around him, easy and unguarded.

Yoongi, sitting across from Seokjin, remained stoic, but his eyes softened as he looked at Seokjin, clearly fond of the rare moment.

Jinwoo and the others were visibly shocked.

"Wait, that's Seokjin laughing?" Jinwoo whispered, disbelief heavy in his voice. "I never thought he could laugh like that."

Taehyung blinked, surprised. He'd only ever known Seokjin through his polite but distant smiles—or more often, the cold, annoyed looks Seokjin always gave him. This was different, something real, and a thought lingered in his head, wishing that could have been him sitting in front of Seokjin, basking in the sweetness of joy.

Yuri, who was sitting in front of Taehyung, nudged him with a sly grin. Taehyung had been her long-time crush, and she figured this moment might be the perfect chance to break the ice between them.

"Do you think those two are dating?" she asked quietly, nodding toward Seokjin and Yoongi. "They're way too close for me."

Taehyung frowned, shaking his head and didn't even glance at her. "Who knows?"

He glanced again at the guy sitting with Seokjin, noticing the sleepy eyes and calm expression. "Hey, Jinwoo, who's that guy with him? The one who looks like he hasn't slept in days?"

Jinwoo shrugged. "That's Min Yoongi, my brother said those two are always together plus the social butterfly Jung Hoseok, whose always running everywhere, I think I see Hoseok more than my brother, he's everywhere man."

"It's odd that social butterfly isn't with them right now." Yuri added and took a sip on her lemonade.

Taehyung nodded slowly, curiosity bubbling up. "Huh. He doesn't seem like the type to be friends with someone like Seokjin, you know what I mean, Seokjin is too uptight..."

"Exactly," Jinwoo said with a grin, Jinwoo then glanced at the others and smirked at them before looking back at Taehyung. "don't tell you got a lil' crush on Mr. perfect over there?" Jinwoo teased. 

Taehyung threw his head back and laughed, shaking his head exaggeratedly.
"Me? Crush on Seokjin? Nah, come on. Seokjin's way too uptight for me. I'm more about fun not perfect notes and fake smiles." He smirked, clearly mocking the idea. "Besides, if I had a crush on him, don't you think I'd be smoother than this?"

Seokjin heard it, loud and clear, the fork in Seokjin's hand paused mid-air. A breath caught in his throat. Then he blinked, his smile disappeared, and pushed the bite into his mouth anyway. His head had turned subtly toward the sound, his eyes narrowing for a moment. The laughter had cut through the haze of his thoughts.

Yuri rolled her eyes and laughed softly. "Yeah, right. That's exactly what someone with a crush would say." Yuri said to Taehyung

The group chuckled, the teasing energy light and easy, oblivious to their surroundings, Taehyung who unknowingly hurt the person who almost thought could become friends with him. 

Seokjin's lips pressed into a thin, barely noticeable line. A flicker of something unreadable flashed across his face,  surprise, maybe?, or a reluctant acknowledgment. But just as quickly, he turned his gaze back to the table, refusing to let the comment sink too deep, Seokjin refused to admit that he was hurt from what Taehyung said.

Yoongi noticed the shift and glanced at him, "are you okay? does the food taste bad?" Yoongi asked him, Seokjin cleared his throat, and hide the pain with a smile.

"No. it taste fucking amazing I could die with a smile..."