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If Taehyung wasn't frozen with utter shock and pure fear, he would have dropped Bo-Bae. Luckily, the child had been startled awake by his and Sol's screams of surprise. She squirmed out of his arms and squealed, sprinting towards Hanjin. "Daddy!" She screeched, and Hanjin picked her up, twirling her around. Taehyung awkwardly fiddled with the buttons on his jean jacket. Here he was, face to face with the baby daddy of the woman who he had a complicated relationship with. Not to mention this was all occuring in the kitchen, which was inciting some post-traumatic stress. His mind wandered to the time he thought meeting Kyungsoo was scary. Ah, the good old days. Now, he had somehow gotten himself into this situation.
"Hey, bro!" Hanjin said, setting Bo-Bae down and bumping fists with her. Taehyung exchanged a look with Sol, and by the look in her eyes he could tell that she was inwardly cringing at the use of the word "bro" as much as he was. "What's up, big man?" He teased, and Bo-Bae grinned. Taehyung was mildly shocked at Hanjin's pet names for his daughter. He personally liked to go for the safe ones, like "sweet pea" and "honey," but he couldn't quite wrap his brain around Hanjin's methods. The only explanation he could come up with is that he must have wanted a boy.
"Nothin'. Wanna go play race cars?" Bo-Bae asked, practically buzzing with excitement.
"Maybe later, sport. And then we can go get some ice cream." Hanjin said, ruffling Bo-Bae's hair. Bo-Bae's little lips puffed out into a pout. "Sport" had Taehyung outwardly cringing, which earned him an elbow in the ribs from Sol.
"Please? TaeTae and Mommy and me already got some just now." Bo-Bae pleaded. Hanjin's smile faded slightly, and that's when Taehyung knew this encounter was only going to get more unpleasant from here.
"Is that so?" He asked, voice still taut with fake enthusiasm. "Okay, we can play race cars in just a moment. Let the grownups talk for a second. Run along." He said, and like that, Bo-Bae scurried off to her room. Taehyung had never seen Bo-Bae obey someone so quickly, and was surprised when it was because her father addressed her like a lapdog. One thing Taehyung had established without even conversing with the guy himself: he didn't like him. Hanjin approached Taehyung and Sol, footsteps languid and arrogant, dripping in smugness.
"So you're TaeTae, I presume?" Hanjin said. Taehyung found himself involuntarily criticizing even his vocabulary. Anyone who unironically used the word "presume" was gross.
"Kim Taehyung, actually. Nice to meet you." He said, managing politeness even though it was a struggle. Sol looked extremely concerned, and he didn't blame her. The way Hanjin was advancing made him seem like a tiger ready to pounce.
"Oh, wait a minute. You're that idol guy, aren't you?" Hanjin said, not even bothering to hide the distaste in his voice. Taehyung forced a tight-lipped smile. He often got a lot of judgment for his job, and he never let it get to him, but something about how condescending Hanjin was aggravated him more than usual. "CBS, was it?" He asked, and Taehyung chuckled, knowing full and well he knew that was wrong.
"Something like that. You know what, I actually have to go." Taehyung said, glancing to Sol before attempting to move around Hanjin, but he just moved in front of him, blocking the way. He had a good inch on Taehyung, but the shorter man didn't back down, standing chest to chest with Hanjin. "If you'll excuse me."
"You're not going to ask who I am?" Hanjin asked. Taehyung shook his head.
"I don't need to. Heard a lot about you." Taehyung explained. The shit-eating grin on Hanjin's face only widened.
"Yeah? All good things, I presume?" Hanjin asked once more. A smirk slipped onto Taehyung's lips, and the next words leave his mouth before he can help himself.
"Mm, you presumed wrong." He said. Hanjin scoffs and rolls his eyes.
"Listen, I'll let you leave. God knows you idols need more time than women these days to get ready, with all that makeup." Hanjin said, and Taehyung tensed as he pulled at the collar of his jean jacket a little too roughly to be friendly. "Good to finally meet you, Mr. Chanel." He released Taehyung's collar, and Taehyung tried to relax his muscles, taut with anger. He sent a smile to Sol, who looks pissed and ultimately annoyed with Hanjin, before slipping around Hanjin.
"Believe me, the pleasure's all mine." Taehyung said, and before he turned the corner, he added unabashedly: "And for the record, it's Gucci." He smirks, straightening his jacket. Relishing in the pissed expression on Hanjin's face, Taehyung sent a wink in Sol's direction, smirk widening
With that, he smoothly made his way out the door and to the elevator, satisfied with his first interaction with Bo-Bae's father. What he missed, though, was the blush on Sol's cheeks and the bright, giddy smile that she could hardly contain as Hansol mumbled profanities.
