Chapter 3 – The Watching Eye

7:28 a.m.

The campus cafeteria was wrapped in the strange stillness that belonged only to early mornings. The usual noise was there—spoons clinking against ceramic cups, quiet conversations drifting from table to table, the hum of vending machines in the background—but everything felt distant to Jimin.

He sat alone in the corner, staring at a bowl of rice that had long since gone cold.

Sleep had never really come.

Every time he closed his eyes, the images returned.

The hidden room.

The wall covered with photographs.

The notebook.

The symbols.

And above all, Jungkook's smile.

Not the one everyone knew. Not the polite smile he offered professors and classmates. Not the friendly smile he used around his friends.

A different one.

A smile that suggested secrets.

A smile that belonged to someone carrying a plan.

Jimin rubbed his eyes, hoping exhaustion was making him imagine things. But deep down he knew it wasn't.

What he had seen the previous night had been real.

"Wow, you look terrible."

The familiar voice startled him.

Taehyung dropped into the chair across from him, balancing a tray overloaded with pancakes, fruit, and enough food for three people.

Jimin forced a weak laugh.

"Good morning to you too."

Taehyung studied him for a moment.

"No, seriously. You look like someone who spent the whole night arguing with strangers on the internet."

"I'm fine," Jimin replied.

The lie came out naturally.

Too naturally.

For a second, he remembered the notebook.

Different kinds of lies.

Different ways people hid the truth.

Maybe everyone lied more often than they realized.

Taehyung seemed unconvinced, but he didn't push further.

Instead, he started talking about an upcoming theater project, filling the silence while Jimin nodded absentmindedly.

His thoughts were somewhere else.

They were with Jungkook.

Always with Jungkook.

---

9:15 a.m. – Room 302.

The seminar on Cognitive Behavior had already begun when Jimin entered.

Students filled the seats, notebooks open, laptops glowing beneath fluorescent lights.

And there he was.

Jungkook.

Exactly where he always sat.

Second row.

Perfect posture.

Perfect notes.

Perfect focus.

At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.

No one would ever suspect that only a few hours earlier he had been standing in a secret room filled with evidence, photographs, and unanswered questions.

Jimin stopped in the doorway.

For a brief moment, Jungkook looked up.

Their eyes met.

Something cold passed between them.

Not hostility.

Recognition.

Jungkook gave him a small nod.

Then came the smile.

The familiar smile everyone trusted.

But now Jimin could see beyond it.

He knew there was another version hidden underneath.

And that realization frightened him more than he wanted to admit.