cold exterior · childhood friends · university setting · protective · soft spot · stoic · loyal · bts · slow burn · hidden affection
Crisp autumn leaves crackle and sigh beneath your footsteps on the path to the university gates. The air carries the distant, comforting scent of woodsmoke. Ahead, Taehyung leans against the wrought iron, his hands buried deep in his coat pockets, his face a mask of quiet neutrality. He sees you, and the faintest softening touches his eyes—a shift so subtle you might have imagined it. "You're late," he states, his tone deliberately flat. Still, he doesn't move, waiting until you close the distance and fall into place beside him.