Chapter Text
Just one more drop.
That’s what Jungkook had told himself— sixteen drops ago.
But curiosity? It doesn’t listen to reason. It doesn’t care that the sun’s long gone or that his flashlight is flickering in warning. Sometimes, curiosity doesn’t just kill the cat—it lures a twenty-year-old biology student deeper into a pitch-dark forest with promises of glory and rare arachnids.
Jeon Jungkook had always been that kid. The one crouching in the mud with a jar in hand, whispering to beetles like they were old friends. The one who knew the Latin names of spiders before he learned multiplication tables.
And it made sense—his father led research on rare species, his mother hosted a popular animal show. Jungkook didn’t just grow up around animals. He belonged with them. From ants and frogs to the extinct woolly mammoth, he’d memorized entire encyclopedias and childhood books about them. Bugs, in particular, held a place of pride. He had been the bug kid growing up, carrying around jars, zip lock bags, and a magnifying glass. Instead of being grossed out, his parents encouraged it.
So of course he’d major in Biology at one of the top universities in the country. Of course his room back home looked more like a terrarium than a bedroom. Of course he’d follow a mysterious text message about a rare, possibly undocumented spider deep into a forest past 9 PM.
Because this wasn’t just about passion. This was his calling. Jungkook was a dedicated biology major. More than just dedicated—obsessed. Especially with animals, the weirder and crawlier the better.
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“You guys go ahead! I want to look around some more!” Jungkook called out, waving his flashlight vaguely toward his friends. They were standing at the edge of a trail, already anxious to leave. Jin, perched on a fallen tree like a reluctant fairy-tale prince, groaned dramatically.
The three of them had entered the dense Hanwol Forest hours ago. A few days earlier, Jungkook had received an anonymous text on his burner phone—yes, he had one just for entomology tips—about a rare spider species believed to have gone extinct in the wild.
“Jungkook-ah, I swear,” Jin whined, swatting at an invisible bug. “If something jumps out at me, I’m suing you and the spider.”
“I’m filing the paperwork right now,” Hoseok added, though his grin betrayed him. He was older, but not by much, and far too fond of Jungkook’s reckless determination to leave him unsupervised in a haunted-looking forest.
But Jungkook wasn’t listening anymore. His eyes had locked on a shimmer just beyond the next tree. A barely visible thread glinting in the flashlight beam. His breath caught.
There it was.
The web.
“I found it!” Jungkook shouted at the top of his lungs. The two older heads turned around, jumping and walking across the forest to get to the younger. The three of them leaned in together, staring at the very thin but beautiful web.
It was a big one, hanging from one tree to another 3 feet away. Shining under the moonlight. And that was when they had seen it. The spider.
“Araneus Oscorpeus”
Shimmery, near-transparent body, with a venom said to paralyze for hours and, if folklore was to be believed, induce visions.
Bingo.
The spider made its way down the web. Going towards the center to feed on its prey. And that was Jungkook’s time to capture it and so he did.
It felt like the biggest possession Jungkook had ever claimed. And just like that, the Spidey (that is the name he gave); claimed the highest spot in his museum of exotic species. Being on a merit scholarship, he got one of the bigger dorms, providing the space for his interest on a larger scale.
The summer was going to be epic.
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It wasn’t until the second week of his summer break that Jungkook had picked up Spidey to understand its biology and why it is so unique in its own way. Having rich parents made it really easy for him to own a laboratory with some really sick equipment.
“Alright, let's get you settled in Spidey.” Jungkook coos at him and settles him down in another jar.
He then walks across the room to get some chemicals that were stored away. After wearing the proper safety equipment, he began his experiments. Almost all of it was on the webs, to learn about its features and bonding state. What makes it so tensile, so strong and so durable.
Jungkook had forgotten to eat too, already too immersed in his experiments. He kept the tiny creature fed while barely eating something.
🕷♡
The third day when he had mixed a few chemicals, just out of curiosity in some proportions and accidently dropped onto the jar, which created a hole in it and a drop fell on the spider.
It glowed.
Jungkook noticed it.
And so the drops began.
Drop by drop, the chemical reacted with the tiny creature.
Another drop.
Another drop.
Another drop.
As Laozi said
‘There is no greater offence than harboring desires. There is no greater disaster than discontent. There is no greater misfortune than wanting more.’
And maybe Jungkook should have paid more attention in his philosophy class rather than day dreaming about insects. He should have been attentive and not day dreaming about getting his neck wrapped by Namjoon’s bicep. Maybe he should have learnt to be more disciplined.
Being discontent is poisonous and lethal and that is exactly what happened to Jeon Jungkook once he reached the twenty first drop of the chemical.
The spider started shaking, the color changing from a black to a very different shade of violet. Next thing, the container blew up in the air, the glass shards going everywhere. Jungkook covered himself and when he opened his eyes, his work station was quite a place. Spidey had stopped moving, its legs ever so slightly twitching. Jungkook leans in, staring at the creature. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears.
Don’t touch anything with your bare hands.
This was one of the first rules his father had taught him. And today he did exactly the opposite of that. Jungkook poked a finger at it, and by some miracle avoided its fangs. He thought it was dead. And that is when Spidey got back on his feet and Jungkook took a few steps back startled by it. And then Spidey stopped moving again, lying still.
Maybe it was finally dead.
Jungkook thought.
He stepped forward again, making the same mistake twice. Spidey did not move.
Great! So now Jungkook had killed a member of the most venomous spider to exist and was touching it with bare hands.
Luck is not always on one's side. And it was definitely not on his side that time. His fingers touched Spidey’s fangs and it stung. Jungkook stepped back, the tip of his finger bleeding slightly and the Spider finally died.
After panicking and securely locking Spidey in a jar, he walked away.
He immediately took the antidote, thinking everything was going to be okay.
Little did he know that his whole life was going to turn upside down. He wouldn’t just be Jeon Jungkook but something more.
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-On the other part of the city-
Kim Taehyung didn’t like being bored.
At 23, he was Seoul’s most flamboyant billionaire. CEO of V Tech Industries. Maker of advanced surveillance drones, luxury hovercrafts, and the occasional chaos-inspiring robot dog.
Genius? Yes.
Villain? Technically.
Flamboyant? Unapologetically.
With a lot of money comes great power. And hence this evil side being born. Afterall he can’t be the only good guy. Being a little bad is also fun. And that is how, he wakes up everyday with the same question in his mind.
‘How can I destroy the city?’
And everyday he fails.
But the determination in him is worth applauding for.
Kind of ironic.. that his father is the police commissioner and Taehyung is the one disturbing the peace of the city.
Taehyung loves to piss him off too. It's just he still doesn’t know that it is his own son creating trouble.
Even after he had secured his desired University and a full scholarship for it, he hadn’t stopped there. While being there, he graduated early, 2 years to be exact. He was smart, he knew that and he also knew the capabilities he held.
Yoongi, his best friend and partner in crime, had always made sure that his face was never visible while also removing any evidence from the camera. He was aka the Tech Guy.
With the help of him and his best friend Jimin, Taehyung had successfully made himself into a villain and the most hateful guy in the city. The crazy side to all of this? There was a fan page dedicated to him and his shenanigans. There were no photos of him but everyone knew V. There were people who loved it. The most famous of them being pranking a powerful minister at one of his press conferences by releasing helium into the air. Even the reporters laughed along and the news released after was worth it.
V.
Short and easy on the lips.
There wasn’t much to think when it came to who had done it. The 23 year old Kim Taehyung, CEO, son of the police commissioner and the villain of this story was the big news of the country and the person that no one has seen.
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It all starts a few days later, when Jungkook finds himself crawling across the ceiling. The effect was slow, at first all he could do was hold stuff, a basketball thrown his way? He held it, tried to throw it but it was stuck. Namjoon and Hoseok found it odd.
Some days he would wake up and find chunks of web on his ceiling and some on his table and almost anywhere. It took him three days to figure out how the thread came out and then it was anything but experiments that followed.
The first day after Spidey had bit him, he had buried the little guy, organized a proper funeral, upset about hurting the little creature. He buried it in his back yard, putting a tiny plant over his burial spot. He had even prepared an obituary and called his friends out.
It had been the first time something like that happened. Killed an animal that is.
Two days later, he was producing webs from his body and there was not anything that hinted at a change in him. Just that one time he had vomited.
And now his senses were heightened and he was able to crawl on vertical walls and ceilings.
Slowly and steadily he learned how to use his skills and enhance them. With abilities came responsibility. Jungkook designed a suit for himself. Going for his two favorite colors red and blue. And just like that Spiderman was born.