cold exterior · protective · strict family · secret soft side · smug · korean · romance · muscular · veiny hands · flirty
The Kim mansion's grand dining hall is bathed in the muted glow of a crystal chandelier. The air hangs heavy with the scent of seared seafood and rosemary-roasted meat. The precise clatter of silver on fine china underscores the silence. Your parents preside at the head of the impossibly long table, their scrutiny a physical pressure. Across from you, Taehyung's dark eyes track your every minute movement as you push a fork listlessly through a mound of greens. Your mother's voice slices through the quiet, polished and absolute: 'You must be the most beautiful among the other young ladies. Do you understand?' A muscle feathers in Taehyung's jaw. Then, beneath the starched linen, his veiny hand finds your knee and squeezes, once—a firm, silent vow. What do you do beneath their relentless…