Jungkook groaned.

He was in immense pain after the robbery last week. Not only was he dealing with a massive secret, but he also had a grade two concussion. Even his spider powers weren't helping him out. It felt as though his brain was tearing itself apart from the inside, and it made him wince as he used the back of his pen to insert orders into the machine.

He wasn't Jungkook right now. He was Park June, a waiter at a diner that was going for a vintage style but failed miserably. The 50s theme was a nice touch, and the decorations had a sense of authenticity to them. There was a jukebox in the corner, checkered floors, double doors to the kitchen that looked like something straight out of a 50s movie, and booths that had bright red cushions.

After years of working there, he was seen as the best waiter there. He trained all the new guys, and he hoped one day he could score a job at a better place so he could make more tip money. That was one thing he hated about America: tipping culture. He wished he could go back to his birthplace. Not that it mattered, he was only in Busan for a year before his parents moved to America due to business-related reasons.

Huh. It was funny, really. Jungkook hadn't thought about his parents in a long time. He hadn't seen them in a long time. As he finalized the order he just put in on the machine, he decided to indulge in his desires. There wasn't a large part of him that missed his parents. They weren't bad parents, just not the best. He had money when he was with them. Maybe part of him was glad he was making a living for himself, away from any judgmental eyes. Jungkook preferred not to think about his mother and her past with addiction. It made him feel sick.

"뭐라고요 (what did you say)?" a female voice said from behind him. Jungkook shifted and saw his co-worker, Yejun, running a hand through her hair, her phone pressed against her ear. There were muffled voices. Then, she threw her phone down and buried her face in her hands.

"괜찮아요 (are you okay)?" Jungkook asked. She huffed and didn't answer, storming past him and tying her thick, dark hair into a ponytail. He decided not to comment on the strands of hair that fell in her face.

Yejun rushed away with her notepad, plastering a smile on her face as she took her table's order. Jungkook needed to get out there, but he hesitated. Their diner was one of the most popular in town. Sometimes, he hated it. It got busy far too often. Sure, that meant more tip money, but they had cheap food. Even on the busiest day, the bills were cheap enough that twenty percent of a bill was five bucks. And that was if he got lucky and the customer gave him twenty percent. On cheap food, Jungkook noticed the customers were less likely to leave twenty percent. It was more like ten.

Jungkook finished his order and left the kitchen. The double doors swung open for him. Before he could get very far, the hostess came up to him and announced he had a new table. He just got a new table two minutes ago. Great, another busy day with Jungkook wanting to bang his head against the wall.

Jungkook managed to force a grin as he went to the next table. The window allowed the light to shine in just enough, and Jungkook saw a single man sitting there with his hands folded together. It was like he was waiting for someone. Maybe Jungkook should have waited, but the hostess said it was a party of one, not two.

"Good evening, I'll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get you started off with something to drink, or are you waiting for someone?" Jungkook asked, making sure his voice was as sweet as possible.

The man in the booth shifted his head to meet Jungkook's eyes, and Jungkook swore the man looked as pale as sugar. His lips were thin, his hair dark and long as it draped down his neck. His eyes were sweet and the same color as Jungkook's, his nose smooth like the rest of his face.

"If I'm going to survive today, I need coffee. I'm not waiting for anyone, it's just me today," the man said. Then, he paused. "What's your name?"

Jungkook did a small bow, chuckling by the end of it. "Park June, at your service."

"Seoul?"

"Busan, you?"

"Daegu."

"Nice to meet you," Jungkook said. "I'll go get you the best coffee we have."

The man pointed to Jungkook's co-worker. "She seems a bit off."

"Just a little. Think she got some bad news today, not sure what." Jungkook kept his smile on his face. "I'll go make sure she didn't poison the coffee."

The man snickered, Jungkook taking it as permission to leave. He went back to the kitchen and got the pot of coffee that didn't look poisoned. He swooshed the liquid around, the chefs staring at him like he had ten heads. Jungkook set it down and acted like he was in pain, kneading his poor hand.

If there was one thing Jungkook was bad at, it was pretending he was in pain. His spider powers allowed him to hold onto hot and cold objects for much longer than the average person. That coffee pot was fresh. It should have hurt to hold for longer than a few seconds, yet it didn't. Somehow, Jungkook doubted he'd ever get better at that.

Yejun came back and stole the coffee pot, pouring some into a container that looked like a Hydroflask. She shut it, downed some, winced at how it burned her throat, then shoved the pot back in Jungkook's hands.

"Fun day?" he asked.

She mumbled curses that switched between English and Korean, tightening her ponytail before tossing her Hydroflask under the metal counter that held the machines they were supposed to plug orders into. She left as quickly as she came, Jungkook shifting his attention to the chefs. They shrugged. Jungkook brushed it off and went back to his table with the pot and a mug.

"You're quick," the man said, Jungkook setting the mug down and filling it.

"I like to think I'm an above-average person," Jungkook replied, flashing the man a charming smile he hoped didn't make him look like a bunny. "Do I get to know your name, or are you leaving me in suspense?"

"Yoongi. Min Yoongi. I'm visiting from out of town."

"Let me guess," Jungkook said, stroking his chin with his index finger. "Maine."

"Do I look like a person who likes fish and snow?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"New York," Yoongi said with a huff.

"I thought you just said you didn't like snow."

"Why do you think I'm here? Hoping to go down further south, maybe visit some distant cousins in Florida. New York got tiresome for me," Yoongi said, leaning back in the booth and taking a sip of his coffee. He made a 'mmm' sound, smacking his lips together. "This is great. I might have to come back here every week to get this coffee. You work every day?"

"Every day except Sundays. Normally I do day shifts, but they needed help on nights today. Yejun and I are a pair. She might come over and interrogate you."

"Girlfriend?" Yoongi asked. Jungkook grimaced without meaning to. "Oh boy. Exes?"

"No, I just..." Aviva flashed through his mind, and he tightened his hold on his notepad. "Don't do relationships. Or friendships, really. Bad memories."

Yoongi downed a bit more of his coffee, placing it on the table. "Then I won't pry, but it might be nice to have friends. Why don't you give it a try while I'm in town?"

"I can't tell if you're desperate or genuinely like me."

"Desperate. I want a discount on coffee, so you're stuck with me."

"How charming," Jungkook said, snickering and flipping open his notepad. "Alright, tell me what you want before I take away your coffee supply."

Yoongi shot him a dirty look, sliding the coffee pot to the other side of the table despite how Jungkook kind of needed it for other customers. "Get me a crispy chicken sandwich. Do you guys have any good sides? Like... I don't know, tangerines?"

"Who the hell would have straight tangerines as a side?" Jungkook asked, Yoongi still glaring. "Geez, looks can kill. I'll go see what I can find, but normally we just do fries for chicken sandwiches. You want everything on it?" Yoongi nodded, Jungkook throwing his notepad in his pocket. If Yoongi was this easy, Jungkook wouldn't mind him becoming a regular. Jungkook didn't even need to write it down. "I'll be back if I find tangerines, good sir."

"You're hilarious."

Jungkook strolled away with a smile on his face, punching in Yoongi's order and tapping his fingers against the metal beneath him. The doors swung open, Yejun heading over to him and letting out a small breath.

"My sister's in town," she said.

"She's back from Seoul already?" Yejun stayed quiet, Jungkook sighing and resting a hand on her shoulder. He gave her a gentle massage, but he knew it wasn't much comfort. "Tell her to come tomorrow. I'll wait on her so you can conveniently ignore her for most of the shift."

"You'd do that?"

"Sure."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Buy me a case of banana milk."

"Gladly. I'll buy some rat poison too. Hope I don't accidentally spill it on your milk," she said, giving him a fake smile and patting him on the back as she went by. He ran a hand through his hair and watched her go. She had the most gorgeous dark hair, a thin frame with a hint of muscles from the times she went to the gym. He saw her there a few times, but she said she'd rather lick the sweaty gym ground than work out with him. Jungkook observed her for a few beats longer, his hand falling to the phone in his pocket. Yoongi said to make friends.

Maybe it was time he tried that.

~~~

"Hey honey, I had yet another boring, stressful day."

Jungkook grinned as he stared out his apartment's window, leaning against the wall and rubbing his fingers over the metal pressed against his ear. It was too late to do any Spiderman work, and his heart panged at the thought of not being able to go out and fight crime. On any other day, he wouldn't care. He had to open tomorrow morning, and he closed tonight. If he wore himself out, he'd probably collapse and die. After the bank incident, Jungkook needed to be in top shape. He was bested by a random thug. How embarrassing was that?

"Yejun's sister is in town again," Jungkook said, plopping down on his bed and letting the mattress creak. "Guess I gotta deal with that tomorrow, but at least it'll add drama to my incredibly boring life." Jungkook paused, his lips pressing together as tears welled up in his eyes. "I really miss you, Avi. I know you said you're only one call away, but I..."

Jungkook broke off and stared at the spider suit hanging in his closet. The wooden walls of the wardrobe were slanted, showing off the dark patterns of Jungkook's uniform. He could see the tears. It was the same suit he had worn for years. The same one he wore six years ago, on that fateful night that changed his life.

"How's Jin?" he said instead, his tears falling when, as always, he didn't get a response. "Is he doing okay where you are? Are you two doing wheelies and laughing over some nerdy science shit?" Jungkook laughed as moisture coated his face, him tucking his knees against his chest. "I hope you guys are happy, wherever you are. You deserve it. And Avi? Can you tell Jin I'm sorry? Just... please tell him I'm sorry."

Jungkook froze for a moment, unable to form words. It was like his tongue was glued to the bottom of his mouth, the thing swelling until it threatened to burst. "I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow, honey. I love you."

He hung up. Every night he had called Aviva only to go straight to voicemail. He left messages. Too many to count. It was stupid, really. It was an unnecessary risk to reveal he was alive, but he didn't care. Calling Aviva was the last remnant of his old life he had. If he contacted any of the others, he'd have to hear their voices again. If he heard Jimin's voice again, Jungkook wasn't sure he'd be able to stop himself from rushing back home. God, Raven must have given birth to their child. Jiven's little boy or girl was probably running around their backyard while those two lovebirds shared a beer on their back porch.

Jungkook slid his phone into his sweatpants' pocket, falling back on the bed and staring up at the white ceiling. His apartment smelled of sweat thanks to the mat Jungkook had on the floor in the corner. His apartment was about as big as two college dorms. It had a tiny kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. The mat was for Jungkook's home workouts, and he had to admit he wasn't very good with cleaning it. He didn't have the motivation to clean.

Could he go out and investigate the portal? Probably. Did he want to? No. There was part of him that wanted to let it go. The last time he got involved in a huge plot, his girlfriend passed away and her dad became Jungkook's first and only kill. However, there was something drawing him to the portal. It was like something was calling his name-

'Buzz!'

Jungkook took out his phone and saw the text. He had Aviva as his only contact until today, when he gave Yoongi his number. The man had texted him, asking if he wanted to meet after Jungkook's shift tomorrow morning. Jungkook hesitated, staring at the text as the cursor blinked at him to reply. He hadn't had friends in six years. He isolated himself as to protect everyone around him. As soon as he had friends, they were at risk. If even one person found out Spiderman's identity, then everyone Jungkook knew and loved was in danger. That was why he left.

He left his entire life behind. He left his memories of walking in on his mother high on heroine, his memories of Jimin teasing him for being Spiderkook, his memories of Taehyung asking Jungkook how he felt about Aviva, his memories of Angelina opening up to him while they sat on the grass in front of their old high school lab. He left it all behind to protect them. In a way, it was also to protect himself. Was it worth dragging another person into Jungkook's mess? Had the loneliness gotten to him? Jungkook bit his lower lip and gazed at the cursor.

Then, he typed out 'Sure' and hit send.