“Sir, you’d like to be driven home today?” His chauffer asked from behind the wheel as Taehyung climbed into the back of his Merc, cold air shut out once he closed the door.

“Yes, I’m not in the right mind to drive.” Taehyung finalized as he clicked on his seatbelt, signaling to the driver he wasn’t in the mood to talk, and so he ignited the engine instead of pressing further.

Taehyung sighed out once the car began moving, watching the world pass him by emptily as he folded his arms, defeated. Taehyung’s entire figure was downcast, mind floating around aimlessly as he constantly recalled the argument throughout the day.

He knew he shouldn’t have gotten so pissed and raised his voice, it was only because he’d had a terrible day, and you just caught him at the wrong time.

Your accusations did sincerely hurt him, though, because he was insulted you could think so lowly of him, that if only you knew how adamantly he rejected the woman before you came in.

If only you knew how utterly wrong everything you claimed was, that you were different to him, and always have been.

Taehyung exhaled tiredly once again, settling on a new motive for today considering you must already be home.

“Mr. Kang, could you take a right from here?”

“But sir, that’s not the way-”

“I know, we’re making a stop before I go home.”

Your eyes fluttered open at the sound of your door clicking open, without knowledge of the time as you registered the luminous moonlight from outside the balcony doors bleeding in, a scattered reflection filling the room’s darkness.

You stirred in your bed, a little annoyed having your much needed sleep disturbed, and you grumbled with a fatigued voice.

“Mrs. Seo, I told you I’d come downstairs if I was hungry-”

“I’m not Mrs. Seo.”

Your eyes cracked all the way open, lightyears away from sleep now hearing Taehyung’s low voice reverberate in your shared bedroom. You didn’t know why he was here, convinced he would’ve spent the rest of today elsewhere or locked up in his study. You decided to ignore him instead, your back faced towards him as you remained in a laid position. 

You heard him shut the door behind himself, the soles of his shoes contacting the floor as you heard the odd rustling of something in his hand.

He seemed to have made his way over to the bed, placing something of possibly paper down as the telling sound of him shredding off his suit jacket met your ears. You could make out more rustling as he seemed to have grasped the other item again, nestling it onto his empty side of the bed and sitting down on the edge himself.

It was unmistakable the scent that caught your nose, the familiar smell bringing your mind temporary peace.

Peonies. 

The bed had dipped under his weight, causing you to curl yourself up knowing he was there, the tension thick. There was silence, the sound of nothing filling your room until he eventually spoke.

“Did I wake you?”

“Yes.”

He fiddled with his fingers for a bit. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t speak to me.”

You heard him exhale tiredly, addressing you again. “Ari..”

“Didn’t I just tell you not to talk to me?”

Taehyung placed his elbow on his knees as he clasped his hands over his lips, answering you. “I know, but I want to talk to you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Just hear me out, please. Just this once. It’s all I ask.” Taehyung practically beseeched, his voice sounding like the honey you’ve heard before. 

And it made you acquiesce.

“Look, I’ll make this clear. Because of my work, I’ve never had time for dating, so I’ve slept with women casually.” Taehyung clarified, speaking pacifyingly. “But I’ve never once allowed a woman to come to my home, you’re the first one to ever lay in my bed.”

Your eyebrows perked up, shocked by the unforeseen confession.

“I haven’t slept with anyone ever since our engagement, and I did absolutely nothing with that woman in my office.” Taehyung paused, thinking about his next statement.

“I would never cheat on you, I’m not the type.”

Taehyung then took a deep breath, almost readying himself to reveal this. “You know, you’ve always talked about how we didn’t choose each other, so it makes you believe I’m stuck with you against my will or something. But you don’t know, Ari… I did choose you.”

Your eyes widened in bewilderment, clutching your hands to your chest as you listened carefully.

“You probably know my father gave me an ultimatum about you. But what you don’t know is that ultimatum was only for meeting you, not choosing you.” Taehyung relayed pointedly, your eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

“My father was only pressuring me to get married. Yes there was an incentive marrying you specifically because I felt like I owed your father for our deal, but I still could’ve said no. I could’ve met someone else and moved on.” He breathed out, moving to his next sentence.

“But after I met you, Ari, I didn’t want to settle on someone else. I wanted to choose you because you were different, you weren’t like any other woman I’d met.” Taehyung confessed, his voice hesitant though determined to prove his point.

“You were never some less-than heiress to me. I saw you as someone admirable. Someone strong enough to defy the status-quo us heirs are forced to live in, and I’ve never once regretted my decision.”

Taehyung was grasping his hands together harder now, unfamiliar with being so candid though oddly okay knowing it’s you. “So I don’t like when you say I only think of you as charity, as a woman I don’t want, because I’ve never thought of you that way.” He stressed, tone persuasive.

“You’re you, and that makes you different.”

You could’ve been choking if it weren’t for the fact that you were laying down, storming emotions now dissipating once soaking in his confessions.

“And there’s genuity behind my words, I’m not a deceitful or manipulative man who makes empty promises. I should’ve been more clear from the start about my past with women, and today you just.. caught me on a bad day. Nothing went right at work, and I was stressed. I’m sorry I took it out on you.. I didn’t mean to do that.”

There was something almost devastating laced in Taehyung’s voice, like he was reprimanding himself for his own behaviour, and it automatically made you feel extremely guilty.

You were way too quick to make assumptions about Taehyung, jumping to conclusions that were far from the truth and now it dawned on you you only made Taehyung’s day 100x worse. You should’ve been there for him as comfort, some sort of solace so that his day wasn’t so mentally draining, but you instead accused him of terrible things with no proof and aggravated everything.

The guilt made your head spin, rising into a seated position and turning over to in fact see a bouquet of peonies beside you, eyes nearly watering he even remembered your favourite flowers when you were so awful to him.

He was seated a few inches away with his head in his hands, clearly distressed and troubled, and you despised you were partly the reason for it.

How could you have so easily blamed Taehyung? You didn’t even register the fact that when you did walk in, Taehyung didn’t even look like a culpable man, he seemed rejective of the woman.

And now you were spiraling, thinking this entire argument was just your dumb mistake. How could you have let yourself turn into some jealous maniac and make him go through this?

You felt incredibly apologetic, regretful, but now seeking to comfort him like you should’ve against the odds of his awful day, should’ve understood and heard him out.

You shuffled over to Taehyung on your shins, his broad back to you. If he noticed your presence behind him, he didn’t make it obvious, remaining leaned over onto his knees tiredly

You pressed your dainty palm to his back, swallowing as you contemplated if you could do something more intimate. Your hand remained still, battling the decision to move closer to him until Taehyung suddenly shrugged off your touch, voice firm.

“I don’t need comfort, I’m fine.”

You felt slightly discouraged, though remained determined to reach him. “I should’ve been there for you on such a stressful day.”

“I can handle my stress on my own, I don’t need anyone.” Taehyung stated blankly, though you didn’t feel like listening to him.

In an irrational action, you moved forward and tentatively draped your arms around Taehyung from behind, your chest flush against his back. Your small arms caged around his, chin coming to rest on his shoulder as Taehyung’s resistant voice reprimanded you.

“Ari, I said I don’t need-”

“No, this is my fault. I’m so sorry I said those awful things to you, you didn’t deserve that, you didn’t deserve that at all.” Your voice was solemn as you hugged around him tighter, Taehyung holding one of your wrists to loosen your grip.

“That’s fine, but I don’t need help, I can handle stress by myself.” Taehyung was trying to undo your hold around him though you only embraced him closer in response, one of your hands hooking onto his shoulder as the other enclosed his biceps.

You didn’t understand why you felt so adamant about doing this, but you found your face nuzzling into his neck to just reach him, to speak to him in earnest.

“You don’t have to.. Taehyung.” You said, clutching onto him for dear life. “You don’t have to do everything on your own, you have me.”

“I don’t need your pity, Ari. I’m fine, let go of me.”

“No, I’m not going anywhere, I’m here.”

“I don’t need help.” Taehyung stressed, trying to loosen your grip again. “Just let me go-”

“No, I’m not letting you go, Taehyung.” You grasped him as hard as you could, tenacious in never leaving him alone.

“I don’t want to let go.” Your voice became soft, almost endearing as you snuggled further into the junction of his neck and were met by the scent of his cologne. It was just like him, masculine and soothing, and it wasn’t long before you released a relieved breath, glad that you had him so near, glad that your fight was so useless now.

Taehyung fought his inner turmoil trying to reject your hold, though he felt so entirely warm in your touch he ultimately relaxed, accepting it, a calming breath leaving his body. He sensed the storm in his mind dissipating, the cold ice of his habitually lonely thoughts melting away underneath your hug.

It made him bask in you, sinking into your comfort as his one hand held your forearm, and the other came up to cradle the back of your head, lightly ruffling the soft tresses of your hair with a smile. He almost allowed tears to prick at his eyes, never having felt such a moving sense of support from anyone.

Maybe Taehyung felt the hug of his mother when he scrapped his knee at a young age, maybe the embrace of his little cousins whenever he visited them, and maybe sometimes when his friends provided their own version of comfort through sincere text messages and a momentary hug.

But never in his life has Taehyung allowed another woman to simply hug him like this, and he found every reason in the world to think it’s okay if it’s you.

Because everything he said today was true, you’ve always been different, and there’s nobody quite like you.

Taehyung swallowed his emotions down thinking he didn’t want to ruin a pure moment like this with sadness, your warmth alleviating the stress along with his negative thoughts. 

Taehyung suddenly positioned himself on the bed to face you, his eyes meeting your glistening ones he couldn’t ever resist. Your arms remained loosely draped around him, meeting his eyes with an expectant look. Taehyung’s hands set around your face, a palm against your cheek as the other brushed hair behind your ear.

“I’m sorry.” He said, his eyes darting almost adoringly all over the pretty features of your face.

“I’m sorry, too. I was just.. scared of what would happen to your name, if people found out.” You apologized, only left to swim in the warm brown of Taehyung’s eyes.

He smiled gratefully, finding your consideration for his reputation endearing of you. His gaze began switching between your doe-eyes and the plush of your lips, moving closer as he lost thought. He held your face, inching closer as his breathe tickled your skin the more proximal he became.

You drew closer as well, closing your eyes as you felt Taehyung’s lips softly press against yours. You sighed into his kiss, thinking you’ve never once felt such a tender touch in your lifetime, reflective in the way you caught his lips in yours.

Taehyung opened up his mouth to kiss you fervently, the sweet sound of your lips meeting each other making you feel fuzzy. Your grasp on his shirt tightened the more the heat picked up, relishing in the taste of him as he worked against your mouth passionately.

Taehyung then laid you down onto the bed slowly, your back meeting the cold of the sheets as he climbed on top of you. One of Taehyung’s hands faltered from your face to encase the side of your ribcage, causing you to arch as his other palm held your cheek.

He began kissing you with something more hungry, something more ardent. Small groans were leaving you as a result of your core lighting up, Taehyung’s hot mouth swallowing your every sound. Your hands slid up his neck to meet the tresses of his fluffy hair, fingers tugging as it seemed to turn him on.

With a satisfied groan from his mouth, he pressed his thigh into your now pulsing entrance, his hand on your waist smoothing over your clothes until he eventually slipped his warm palms underneath your blouse. The sensation made your breath hitch, melting into Taehyung’s pleasurable touch until a sudden intrusive thought filled you with fear. The ghost of someone else’s uncaring, cold hands made you practically freeze up underneath him. 

You remembered Kiseok out of nowhere, mind frenzying and you quickly pushed Taehyung off your lips, eyes scared.

He looked down at your alarmed expression and immediately apologized. “Shit, I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“No, no! It’s not you, it’s-it’s me. I just remembered.. I just felt, I-” You tried to say a coherent sentence but your brain was spazzing out, hands smacking over your mouth to stop your babbling.

Taehyung could read you in an instant, connecting the telling dots.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” He questioned, soft eyes looking into yours.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I just remembered something and I freaked out, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry-”

“Hey,” Taehyung’s thumb began massaging at your skin underneath your clothes. “It’s okay, it’s not him, Ari. It’s me.” Taehyung’s dulcet voice spoke pacifyingly, soothing eyes gazing into your near panicked ones. “It’s just me.”

You don’t know washed over you, but knowing it was Taehyung, the Taehyung you’ve had the wonderful privilege of getting to know, the kind Taehyung who nursed your wounded cheek and protected you on multiple occasions, the Taehyung that told you he loves snow and promised to take care of you. Knowing it was him, his touch warm and tender, rather than piercing and rushed like you’ve felt before, there was no reason to worry, no reason to push him away.

You smiled as he returned your grin, your hands meeting his chiseled jaw to pull him back down to your lips, Taehyung happily complying.

He returned for more kisses, mouthing at you until sucking at your bottom lip until he teasingly bit at the plushy flesh and pulled them by his teeth. The way he looked at you was purely devilish, practically smirking with his eyes as he popped off your mouth, and you ignited with something akin to fire.

You tugged him back down harshly and his tongue began poking at your mouth, yours opening up completely and he slithered inside, your tongue tangling with his ardently.

Your wet muscles tasted each other in a delicious tandem, his hips grinding against you and your body moved in near lethal synchronicity with his, the hand underneath your blouse traversing your bare skin arousingly.

Your breaths were catching up on each other until Taehyung disconnected, lips flushed pink with blown out eyes as he regarded you with something indistinguishable, your own eyes giving away adoration as you looked at him.

Taehyung returned by shoving his lips to the underside of your jaw, moving to your pulse point to suck more of his desire onto you, reviving his marks from yesterday. He nearly ate at your skin, mouthing tirelessly until you were squirming underneath him and more of his purple marks blossomed across your neck.

You could tell he liked marking.

You gasped out in pleasure, lewd sounds escaping your mouth as your hands hugged his head to your neck. Hips bucking up into his senselessly, a pleasurable groan left the back of Taehyung’s throat as his hardening length pressed your center.

Taehyung’s mouth began canvasing down to your collarbones, kissing and licking them hotly before he shifted his weight onto his shoulder and suddenly exclaimed, grimacing in pain.
_______________________________________________

Hello 👋. How y'all doing 😁
I hope you liked this story and book (and me-)
Vote comment 😁
Love you 😙