Taehyung learns a secret about South Korea's golden boy and uses it to his advantage.
AUDEAMUS (lat.) - let us dare
Brand new to the world of celebrities, Kim Taehyung, an ambitious fashion designer, wants it all. He is ready to do anything to have...
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♡ ˎˊ˗ TO KIM TAEHYUNG, Seoul still feels like a dream.
As the deepening blue kisses the golden horizon, the city comes to life. Ever awake, ever bright, ever alive with a beating heart and a soul of a dreamer, it steals Taehyung's attention more often than it should. Too many times he finds himself staring through the window of his apartment motionlessly, admiring the lights he wishes he could touch.
Someday, he will.
"Mr Kim."
Blinking himself out of his momentary daze, Taehyung turns around to meet the eyes of a young woman.
And god, she's stunning. She holds her head high, a light smile painting her lips red. Long hair cascades over her right shoulder in fiery red waves, shiny and smooth, threaded with beads to match her jewellery. Her face is smooth, without a crease on her skin, even as she smiles at him. Even her outfit is perfect, undoubtedly chosen by her and her alone because her signature style is all over it - simple and clean, but elegant: crisp white trousers and white suit jacket, the top beneath it decorated with glistening roses. Blood red.
"Miss Hwang," he greets, letting himself smile back at her.
Victoire Hwang, the daughter of the CEO of Hwang Group, is already one of the best fashion designers South Korea has to offer. Taehyung looks up to her, in his own little way, though their experiences cannot be compared. Her family is successful and influential, the fashion industry of both Korea and France in the palm of its hands. His mother and her strawberry farm in Jipyeong could not hold a candle to their grandeur and power. He has a long way to go before he gains a reputation even remotely similar to hers.
She also happens to be engaged to the man whose face decorates a poster or two in Taehyung's old room, back at home, far away from Seoul and this life.
She doesn't seem to mind his excitement, entirely focused on his hand dancing over the glass of warm whiskey he's spent the last half an hour all but playing with. Her eyes flit back up to his. "Did you enjoy the show?"
Taehyung knows that's his cue. He forces his smile to slip, bites it back.
His actual smile throws people off, he's been told, with his crooked teeth that he quite likes and his round cheeks. He tries to raise the corners of his lips enough for his happiness to be seen, but not for the skin around his eyes to crease or his cheeks to appear all chubby.
"It was quite something," he confesses. Usually, he'd get into it with a tone so eager the woman would flinch, yet he tries to keep his voice level, his smile subtle. "It was as expected of you, Miss Hwang. The new collection is probably your most elegant one so far. The models were professional, as always. I'm impressed, but not at all surprised."
There's something about the way she looks at him. She doesn't know he realises it, but he sees it for what it truly is. She's analysing him, deciding whether to write him off as a naïve little rookie, annoying and obnoxious with his chaotic speech and lack of manners, yet easy to manipulate, to use to her advantage or a calculating, precise and dangerous candidate for something bigger, competition.
