It started with the smallest shift in her breathing. She was sitting at the edge of the bed, her arms folded tight across her chest, her nails digging into her own skin like she was trying to hold herself together. Her legs were curled up beside her, bare feet cold against the wooden floor.

I knew that look.

It wasn’t just fear. It wasn’t even doubt.

It was panic.

"Y/n..." I said gently, stepping closer.

She didn’t answer. Her gaze was lost somewhere in the past, somewhere behind the walls of this room. Maybe back at that kindergarten. Maybe in the eyes of that teacher she was so certain wasn’t who he said he was.

I kneeled down in front of her, my hands resting on her knees.

"Hey. Look at me."

She blinked, then slowly met my eyes.

"You're shaking," I whispered.

"I just... I don’t know why it feels like him," she said. "Everything checks out. I know that. I know it doesn’t make sense. But when I saw his face... those eyes... Jungkook, it felt like my heart dropped into ice."

I gently tucked her hair behind her ear.

"You think I’m losing it, don’t you?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"Never," I said. "Never. You’re not crazy. You’re aware. That makes you smart. But also..."

"Also what?"

I leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"...you're exhausted. You haven’t breathed properly since we left the school. Let me help you come back to this room. To me."

She swallowed hard. Her lips were trembling.

I tilted her chin up, eyes locked to hers. "Let me distract you the way I do best."

Before she could argue, I leaned down and kissed her. Soft. Unhurried. Like a promise. Like a tether.

She gasped slightly against my lips, then melted into me. Her hands reached up to clutch my shirt as I deepened the kiss, her tension slowly uncoiling under my touch.

I pressed my forehead against hers, whispering, "You're safe, love. With me. Always."

Just then—

"Appa? What are you doing?"

The tiny voice cut through the air like a pin popping a balloon.

I froze.

Y/n's eyes widened, and she pulled away so fast I almost lost my balance.

Standing by the doorway were Advait and Aarohi, both holding their plush toys and staring with innocent curiosity.

I cleared my throat, glancing at Y/n, who was now furiously adjusting her shirt and trying to look like she wasn’t just seconds away from losing herself in my arms.

"Ah... well," I said, standing up and brushing off imaginary dust from my pants. "Appa was just... talking to Umma."

Advait tilted his head. "With your mouths?"

Aarohi frowned. "Is that how grown-ups talk secrets? With kissing?"

I laughed awkwardly. "Sometimes, yes. When grown-ups love each other."

Y/n covered her face with both hands. "Oh god..."

Advait climbed onto the bed and looked between the two of us. "Did Umma cry again?"

I knelt down beside him, placing a gentle hand on his back. "Just a little. But she’s okay now. Because we're all here, right? We protect each other."

He nodded solemnly. Aarohi climbed up next to Y/n and hugged her tightly.

"Don’t be scared, Umma," she whispered. "If the teacher is a bad guy, Advait said we will kick his butt."

Y/n let out a tearful laugh and pulled her daughter close. "You two are braver than all the superheroes in the world."

I stood back, watching them with something thick in my chest. Love. Fierce, untouchable love. But also fear. Deep, gnawing fear. Because what if her instincts weren’t wrong?

What if Junghyun had come back, hiding behind a new name, a new face?

I wrapped my arms around all three of them, pulling them into a tight hug.

"Whatever happens," I whispered, mostly to myself, "I won’t let anything touch you. Not even a shadow."

And I meant it.

Even if it meant becoming a monster myself to protect them.

Later that day, I had just sunk into the couch with a deep sigh, one arm tucked behind my head, legs stretched out like a king on his throne, remote resting peacefully on my belly. The news had been exhausting—another business acquisition, another mafia rat trying to get clever. I’d earned this moment of peace. Or so I thought.

But the universe? The universe had other plans.

“Ummaaaa!”
“Umma, my laptop's not working!”
“Aarohi’s not sharing the charger!”
“Advait unplugged the Wi-Fi again!”

And just like that, the house erupted into chaos.

I tilted my head slightly, watching from the corner of my eye as my two adorable devils—Advait and Aarohi—zoomed around the living room like tiny, hyperactive missiles. Their hair was a mess, their school notebooks flying, pencils clattering to the floor, and poor Aarohi was holding her laptop upside down like it was some kind of alien artifact.

“I said no, Advait! No phone until you finish your English assignment!”
“And Aarohi, I don’t care if you forgot your Google password, homework first!”

Her voice was firm, commanding—even over the sound of animated explosions on the TV. My lips quirked slightly. Damn, she was hot when she took control like that.

I kept my eyes on the screen, pretending I wasn’t enjoying watching her play drill sergeant to our kids. Meanwhile, she was out here holding the entire household together with one exhausted sigh and a rubber band holding her messy bun.

“Jungkook,” she snapped, not even looking at me. “Do you seriously not hear any of this?!”

“Hear what?” I mumbled lazily, tapping the remote. “They’re learning. It’s educational. Builds survival skills.”

“Survival—?!” she glared. “They're hanging off the curtains!”

I risked a glance.

Sure enough, Advait had somehow climbed onto the dining table, trying to balance with one foot while reaching toward the phone she’d tucked above the fridge. Aarohi was tugging at his shirt and screaming like she was in a WWE match.

I turned back to the screen. “Let them. Builds strength.”

And then—

Click.

The TV went dark.

I blinked. My world stopped spinning.

“Did you just…?” I sat up, stunned.

She stood in front of the television, remote in her hand, face set in the kind of expression that meant I was one sarcastic comment away from sleeping on the couch for a month.

“Get. Up.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want a husband without abs,” she said, crossing her arms. “You're going to gain fat sitting there all day watching your stupid show.”

I stared at her.

“You’re attacking my abs now?”

“They used to be legendary, Jungkook,” she said dramatically. “Now they feel like mashed potatoes.”

I clutched my chest. “Excuse me?! You dare disrespect these god-given abs? Have you forgotten who I am?!”

“Yes. A legend. Of laziness.” She tossed the remote on the couch and pointed at the kids. “Now either help them or do fifty pushups.”

“Fifty?!”

“Seventy if you keep arguing.”

I threw my hands up. “You’ve become a tyrant.”

She gave me that fake smile that said ‘I dare you to challenge me.’

“Fine, fine, calm down, Commander,” I muttered as I stood. “But for the record, I still have abs. You just haven’t been paying attention to them lately.”

She snorted. “Trust me, I notice everything. Including the midnight ice cream raids.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You spy on me?”

“I’m your wife. It's called surveillance.”

“More like betrayal,” I muttered and walked toward the chaos zone.

“Advait!” I called out. “Get down before you break your bones and my wallet with hospital bills.”

“Appa! Aarohi won’t share the charger!”

“Because it’s mine!” Aarohi shouted back.

“Why do you even need the phone, huh?” I asked, crouching beside them. “You're 8. What are you doing? Day trading?”

“She was watching slime videos on YouTube!” Advait tattled.

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Yes, you were! You paused it when Umma walked in!”

I stood up and pointed at both. “Listen, both of you. Homework now. Or I’ll lock all the phones, laptops, chargers, iPads, and... and even the fridge.”

Aarohi gasped. “Not the fridge!”

“That’s what I thought.” I nodded. “Let’s go.”

My wife leaned against the wall, watching with a little smirk, and said, “Wow. The mafia boss finally took down two kids.”

I walked over to her, sliding my arm around her waist. “You better be careful. You keep mocking me and one day, you’ll wake up with me doing pushups shirtless at the end of our bed. Just to prove a point.”

“Oh, is that supposed to be punishment?” she whispered, raising an eyebrow.

I grinned. “You tell me.”

She shook her head, chuckling as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “You’re still a dork.”

“And you,” I leaned in to kiss her forehead, “are the only woman crazy enough to handle this circus.”

“Correction,” she whispered, “I run this circus.”

Damn right she did.

And I’d happily be the abs-less clown if it meant watching her rule it every day.