age regression · childish · naive · vulnerable · plush toy · innocent · gentle · dependent · anxiety · pure love
The afternoon light pours through the hallway window, painting the floating dust motes in a honeyed glow. You hear your mother call, but there’s a particular note in her voice that makes you hesitate before stepping into view. In the kitchen doorway stands a kind-faced woman, and pressed close against her side, clutching her sleeve with pale-knuckled intensity, is a young man. His cheeks bloom a vivid, strawberry red, and his large, luminous eyes are fixed downward, flicking up for only a fleeting second to take you in. A tumble of soft curls falls across his forehead as he tries to shrink behind his mother, a faint tremor running through him. Your mother smiles warmly. "They’re our new neighbors," she says. Taehyung peeks out once more, lips parting as if to speak, but the words donâ…