Chapter Text
Chapter 1. In the Hour of Doom, a Golden Light Appears
Taehyung was seated in class frantically searching through his backpack for an assignment that was due to be handed in in less than 10 minutes.
His Art History professor, Professor Jung Seohyun, was known to be a hard ass who didn’t take any excuse when it came to work, he’d given out.
You could have broken your ankle, had an acute case of diarrhea or gotten amnesia, but if you hadn’t given him prior notice, you might as well count that as a failed grade. Taehyung’s case didn’t fall in any of these scenarios.
Rather it fell under, one of the most hated by Professors, categories. He had forgotten to bring it. To anyone who had the misfortune of being a teacher, this was an overused, abused and reused excuse that simply translated to ‘not doing the assignment’.
Taehyung could feel himself breaking into a sweat as the prospect of failing this task, which accounted for 30% of his final grade, loomed ahead of him like the certainty of death. He’d spent the better part of the past 2 months working on this project just to forget to put it in his bag the day before he was meant to submit it.
He didn’t know which god he’d angered for him to make such a stupid mistake. They hit him right where it hurt, like a punch right in the gut. He couldn’t afford to fail this, or any other unit for that matter, since he was a scholarship student. He needed to maintain a constant GPA of above 3.8 or risk losing his scholarship. And then he wouldn’t be able to pay the tuition fees on his own, which meant he would have to drop out of school and find a job at a convenience store, working the dead shift while fending off drunkards and creeps, eating expired kimbap and yoghurt, because his salary was too little to afford a proper meal and the only way he could continue to make his art was through artistically arranging the shelves.
He felt like he was about to collapse in a puddle of tears and snot as this bleak future flashed across his mind. He couldn’t let that happen!
Just as he was considering making a run for it and retrieving the booklet from his room, all the way across the campus, the door to the lecture hall was pushed open and his own personal grim reaper made his way in.
The chatter from his classmates immediately died down as everyone sat up in their seats and faced the podium, where Professor Jung stood. The first words out of his mouth were the proverbial nails to Taehyung’s coffin. “Good morning, I am sure that everyone completed the project assignment I gave you. Bring them down one row at a time and sign against your name on this sheet of paper to confirm your submission,” he said as he placed a couple of sheets on the table next to the podium.
Taehyung could feel all fight leave his body as he accepted his fate. Unshed tears burned his eyes as all the effort he’d put in this assignment seemed to go down the drain. The sleepless nights, gallons of coffee and energy drinks consumed, missed dates and hangouts so that he could work on it, the mental and physical exhaustion, all for nothing.
He shrank down in his seat as he watched people descend to the front and hand out their own assignments, that they had remembered to carry, unlike him who had signed his own fate of working a dead-end job for the rest of his life. Too tragic.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, the last row finished handing in their papers. He sunk lower in his seat wishing the ground would swallow him whole and spit out his shriveled carcass at Professor Jung’s feet, maybe then he would be shown a little mercy. But alas that was not meant to be because in the next second Prof. Jung was calling out his name. Taehyung could feel his anxiety rising as all eyes turned towards him. Some were pitying, others mocking, and others held amusement.
“Kim Taehyung, I’m seeing a blank space where your signature should be. I’m going to assume you missed it while handing in your paper and not anything else”. Taehyung’s heart was beating a mile a second. “Ah so this is how it feels to have a heart-attack” was the first thought that came to mind. He stared at the professor with wide unblinking eyes that radiated fear and anxiety. Prof. Jung pushed the glasses on his nose lower so that he could glare at his student with the most intimidating teacher-like look. “Where is your assignment Mr. Kim?” he asked in a stern note. Taehyung gulped as he opened his mouth to answer, “I forgot to bring it.”
The words were said in a barely whisper. Prof. Jung’s eyes sharpened as he looked at his form that was half-hidden under the desk with how low he sat. Just as the professor was about to start hailing curses upon his head, Taehyung was saved by a knock on the door. “Come in,” Prof. Jung called out.
The door opened and in stepped a figure that had everyone’s eyes widening and hearts racing. In a contradictory move to everyone else, Taehyung’s heart automatically calmed down at the sight of this person.
Jeon Jungkook had to be the most popular student on the campus. He was a tall imposing figure that was seemingly always dressed in black. He had long fluffy hair that curled against his ear, tattoos on his arms, neck and torso, piercings on his ears, right eye and the right corner of his mouth. He was muscular and looked the picture of intimidation whenever he walked around with his face a blank mask.
Despite that, he was well-loved by both faculty and students. Hailed as a genius computer science student, musical prodigy, athletics champion an artistic genius, and he was also involved in social and community welfare. He was the “golden” campus god.
He was also Kim Taehyung’s boyfriend.