Issues • Kim Taehyung x Reader

i.

Taehyung's fingers intertwined nervously before he set them on his lap, only to pick them back up a second later and play with his fingers.

"Kim Taehyung?"

He stood up immediately, forcing his hands to his sides, and the secretary gave him an understanding smile. "She's ready to see you now. Just go down this hallway and take the second door on the left. Knock before you enter, please."

Taehyung nodded, mumbling a "Thanks" before following her instructions and rapping his knuckles against the solid oak door second on the left. After a moment, the door opened inward, and he was face-to-face with a young woman.

She smiled at him. "Please, have a seat," she said, gesturing to one of two comfy-looking chairs that were facing each other. Taehyung nodded and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees while his right foot tapped against the ground.

The woman closed the door before sitting directly across from him, picking up a clipboard from the desk behind her and smiling at him again. He was pretty sure by this point that smiling was part of their paycheck and almost certain a requirement for their career. She uncapped a pen and wrote something at the top of the paper, he couldn't see what. Probably his name. Then she set the pen down on the clipboard and made direct eye contact with him, still smiling. "Hi, Taehyung. I'm [Name]. Are you comfortable with a first-name basis? I've found that it helps you relate better. Less formal that way, and the last thing I want is for you to let some preconceived notion of formality prevent you from being honest and letting me help you."

He nodded, sitting up straight but still tapping his foot, his right hand playing with the arm of the chair. "Taehyung is fine."

She smiled like she was pleased. "Great. Now, let me just explain a few things. The door you knocked on is solid, as are the walls. Each room is soundproofed, and everything you say is confidential. None of it leaves this room without your consent, which you are free to give at any time. The only time I would be forced to compromise your confidentiality is if I perceived that you wished harm on others, in which case I would have to contact the authorities, or yourself, in which case I would contact medical assistance. But those are absolute worst case scenarios. Hopefully, you'll find these sessions to relieve some of the negative emotions you may be experiencing through a positive, healthy outlet." She paused, giving him an embarrassed smile. "I know that probably all sounds impersonal and pre-recorded to you, but I like for my patients to understand that I have their best interests in mind and that I'll do everything I can to help them resolve the problems they bring to me. So, Taehyung. Let's start with you. First off, what goals do you have for these sessions?"

Taehyung swallowed, looking up before looking down again. "I...I want to be able to find peace. I just feel overwhelmed lately, and anxious...and...I want to be happy in the relationships that I'm in."

[Name] nodded slowly. "Those are good, solid goals to have. Try to keep them in mind every session, okay? Having a goal is a great way to stay centered. Now, focus on staying calm, but why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? I'd like to get to know Kim Taehyung, and I want you to introduce me." Another patient smile.

Taehyung nodded absently. "Kim Taehyung. 28. Married. No kids."

"Take a deep breath, Taehyung. You don't have to speak in bullet points. My job is to listen to whatever you say so just relax and be yourself."

"I'm..." He inhaled deeply and exhaled. Relax, V. "I'm Kim Taehyung. I'm 28 years old. I had a career as a singer and dancer instead of attending a normal university, but I got married when I was 20, and I haven't done either of those things since then."

She nodded. "Tell me about your career. Did you enjoy it?"

He nodded and his foot stopped tapping as a smile unconsciously graced his face. "I loved it. I loved the actual work of it all, but I loved being part of a tight-knit group, too. They were like a second family to me."

"And what happened when you got married?"

His smile dropped. "I..." His fingers started scratching against the chair again.

[Name] reached out and put her hand over Taehyung's, stilling his fingers. "It's okay. Take a deep breath. Don't panic. Just let yourself relax." She took her hand back.

He took a deep breath. "I...I got married when I was 20, like I said. I'd dated her for a couple of years at that point, so she knew all the guys I danced with. She had told me that she was okay with it, that she liked me being a part of it. Well, anyway, we'd been dating for three years when she started dropping hints that she expected something, and the guys went along with it, joking about picking out a ring. I thought that it was something I was supposed to do. Everyone seemed to think that I should propose, and I guess somewhere along the way, I got to thinking that too."

"So it wasn't your idea?"

He hesitated before shaking his head. "I was the last one to think about it. But every time I went into a room, they'd all look at me expectantly or ask when I was going to pop the question, so I went out and bought a ring and proposed. The guys were all happy for me, and my wife - my girlfriend at the time - was ecstatic. I think she'd always dreamed of getting married and being a wife. I was just happy that everyone else was happy."

"And then what happened?"

Taehyung had to remind himself to take another deep breath before he got jumpy. Then he went on. "Then I just started losing control."

"Of what?"

He shrugged. "Of me. Of my life. One day, I was a pop idol. The next day, my wife told me that I didn't need to dance anymore, that it was time to focus on a real career so I could support my family. But I told her that dancing was my career and that it was what I loved to do, but she started complaining about money. So I told her that if she was concerned about money, she shouldn't have made me propose to her so soon when neither of us had a big bank account, and then she went off on me about how she hadn't made me do anything and that I'd proposed out of my own free will..." He rubbed his neck. "So I quit what I was doing, but I couldn't afford to go to a university, so I had to pick up a couple of part-time jobs just to cover rent for the apartment. As soon as I'd saved up a bit, she suggested moving into our own house, so I had to work even more." He rubbed his palms against his face.

"And how does your wife contribute to your income? Does she work?"

He shrugged. "She works part-time somewhere, but she doesn't put in a lot of hours. Mostly, she stays home to cook and clean and be the perfect wife, but she just makes me feel trapped and claustrophobic."

[Name] wrote a bit on her clipboard before tapping the pen against her lip. "Do you miss the members of the group you danced with?"

"BTS? Yeah," Taehyung said, clasping his hands together. "We were really close. One of them was even my best friend. But I haven't been able to see them in years. Their careers took them places my wife stopped me from going."

"Then I have the first little project for you," [Name] said, smiling at him as he looked up.

"What?"

"You're going to get back in touch."