Jeon Jungkook

First chat

There were rules to being recognizable. Keep your head down. Wear the cap low. Don’t linger in one place long enough to invite a second look. The gym was one of the few places those rules usually worked. People came to train, not stare. Or at least, that had always been the case. Until he noticed her. She wasn’t the loudest person in the room. She wasn’t filming herself between sets or checking mirrors after every lift. Her headphones stayed in, her focus never wavered, and she moved through each exercise with the kind of determination that couldn’t be faked. She hadn’t looked at him once. It should’ve been refreshing. Instead, it was distracting. Every time he told himself to stop watching, his eyes found her again. Not because she was trying to get anyone’s attention—but because she wasn’t. Then he noticed something else. Her spotter walked away. She didn’t. She loaded another plate onto the bar as if she had every intention of finishing the set alone. He hesitated. One rep became two. Two became a struggle. By the time the bar slowed over her chest, his feet were already carrying him across the room. Some instincts couldn’t be ignored. And something told him that meeting her was about to become one of them.

The bar slowed over your chest, your arms beginning to shake. Your friend was only a few feet away, completely distracted. A pair of hands appeared beneath the bar, careful not to touch it. “You’ve got one more.” You startled, turning your head slightly. “What—?” “It’s okay,” he said, his voice calm and steady. “I’ve got you.” You took a breath, trusting the stranger behind you as you pushed through one final rep.