When You Look at Me Like That | Taekook

Episode 1 - The New Kid

The first time Jeon Jungkook saw Kim Taehyung, he didn’t think much of it.

New kids came and went at Oakridge High, usually nervous, quiet, eager to fit in. But this one… this one was different.

Taehyung walked into homeroom with paint-stained fingers and a satchel slung over his shoulder like he didn’t care about the whispers. His curls were messy, his uniform slightly too big, and his eyes — god, his eyes — were wide and curious, like the world still surprised him.

He introduced himself with a small bow.
“Kim Taehyung. I transferred from Busan.”
That voice — soft, low, like honey in the cold.

Jungkook didn’t look up from his phone.
Or at least, he pretended not to.
Because something about that voice made his chest feel… weird.

At Oakridge, Jungkook didn’t need to try. He was the Jeon Jungkook — star quarterback, top of the food chain, cold-hearted heartbreaker with a resting glare that kept people from getting too close. And he liked it that way.

He didn’t talk much.
Didn’t date.
Didn’t let anyone in.

So when he caught himself watching Taehyung walk across the cafeteria later that day — tray balanced awkwardly, looking for a place to sit — he immediately turned away.

He had a reputation to maintain.

But then someone tripped Taehyung.

It was subtle — a stretched-out foot under the table, a laugh disguised as a cough. Taehyung stumbled, tray crashing, lunch splattering across the tile. The cafeteria erupted with snickers.

Jungkook stood up.

No one noticed at first. But when the quarterback stalked across the room, eyes locked on the guy who’d done it — Jay Park, junior linebacker — the laughter died.

Jungkook didn’t yell. He just looked at him.

“Pick it up,” he said, voice low and lethal. “Apologize.”

Jay blinked. “It was just a joke—”

“I wasn’t asking.”

Jay bent down.

Taehyung just stared, wide-eyed. “You didn’t have to—”

“I know,” Jungkook said quietly, grabbing a napkin and handing it to him. “But I wanted to.”

And just like that, the coldest guy in school turned his back on the crowd — and walked with Taehyung to an empty table by the window.

He didn’t say anything else.

But that day, every student in Oakridge High realized something terrifying and new:

Jeon Jungkook had picked a favorite.
And it was the quiet boy with paint on his hands and stardust in his smile.