The Kims were a tastefully extravagant family. 

You knew that from the years of attending their parties, galas and having been to their home on many occasions. The Kims were uselessly over-the-top sometimes but never hideous or tasteless. It showed in their home, with the dozen marble steps leading up to their entryway, the grand foyer, the large shoe closets, the crystal chandeliers, the stained glass doors, the grand staircases and luxurious rooms. Everything about the Kim Residence screamed luxury and generational wealth. 

With your heart pounding loudly as you walk up to the entryway, you are dressed in a nice off-shoulder dress that shows your shoulders and curves nicely. Your hair was done, make-up natural and dewy.

You looked gorgeous, you knew that but were you gorgeous enough for the Kim family?

Would you ever compare to the heights of Madam Kim?

You didn’t know and today wasn’t the day to dwell on it. You stop at the door, slightly stumbling back when they are pulled open suddenly. 

Madam Kim, your future mother-in-law and the Don’s wife, was smiling brightly behind it. 

“Omo! Nari-yah, you’re here!" 

"Ommo-nim, Hello~” You bow a little, ambling over to give her a hug and quickly let go. She pulls away and squeezes your cheek with her warm palms in a motherly way; the same way she did every time you came over to meet her daughter. 

“Give me another hug,” She beckons you into her arms again, “I missed you.” You giggle as you give her another hug. “You barely come here anymore,” She complains, and you make a guilty expression. “I’m beginning to think that you only came here for my brat daughter.”

“I’m sorry, ommo-nim,” You breathe a laugh and say apologetically, “I got busy, you know how work gets.”

“I know,” She hums, “-but I hope you are taking good care of yourself, sweetie.” You nod, whispering of course, and she says, “Let’s get inside, Joonhyung has been buzzing around all day, he can’t wait to tell you everything officially.” She pulls you in, as you nod. 

“Oh,” You straighten slightly, as if remembering something suddenly, “This is for you, ommo-nim! chocolate-and-raspberry mini-cakes!” You hand over the pretty package and pull off your jacket, handing it over to a staffer, who had come up to you. 

“From Moon’s?” She asks, running her forefinger over the crescent branding on the package, handing the dessert over to the staffer and looking at you expectantly. You nod, understanding where the conversation was going. 

“Yeah,” You say in a small voice, “Epiphany,”

“How are they?” She asks, expectantly leaning in and almost whispering to you. 

“They are doing great,” You murmur back, a happy expression on your face, “Hwan is happy and healthy, is graduating kindergarten—”

“Is he?” She presses a hand to her chest, and gushes out, “He must have grown so much over the years," 

"Yeah, he’s this tall now,” You gesture vaguely to resemble the little boy’s height, sitting on the chaise to take off your shoes, “—the burger truck did well, so they are opening a joint in Gangnam,” You smile good-naturedly, slip off your stilettos, and slide into their soft slippers.

“Gangnam?” She asks impressed, and you instantly supply more information. You stand up, and walk into the hallway as she leads you to the office wing. 

“Yeah, she was able to buy the lot next to their bakery there and the plan is to open the burger place as a part of it, so that she can manage them better.” You add happily, “If everything goes well, they’ll expand. But that’s not for a while. But she’s happy; very happy, things are looking great for her!" 

Madam Kim sighs in a reminiscing way, a motherly smile lighting her face, "I’m glad she found happiness, even if it’s away from all this,” She wipes away at the tears forming in her eyes. “—us.” You rub her arm comfortingly.

Saera and Hwan will always be a touchy topic for the Don and Madam. She was their first child after all.

She gives you a watery smile, takes a shaky breath as if to calm herself down and beams at you. “Let’s go and find the Don,” You agree, walking deeper into the mansion, vaguely remembering where the Don’s Office was.

You and Jangmi usually stayed away from the office wing and you knew that your ignorance about the office and other rooms in the wing was encouraged.  

Young ladies need not know about the details of Bangtan’s work.

Your anxiety had lessened considerably as you chatted with Madam Kim like any other time, but the second she announced your arrival to the Don, at the door of his office, your heart rate spiked again. 

“Yeobo, Nari is here,” Madam Kim lets the Don know, ushering you inside the office. 

“Hello, Abeo-nim!” You greet the older man, bowing and smiling politely. His face lights up in delight and he opens an arm out for his wife, who instantly loops her arm around his waist and presses a kiss to his cheek. 

“Ah hello, Nari-yah,” The Don smiles back happily, as he looks at you. “Come on in, sit down.” He gestured to the couch side of his table, “Namjoon will join us in a minute.” You nod, sitting down and crossing your legs to look as graceful and calm as you could.

“I’ll have to leave, dear,” Madam Kim says apologetically, giving a gentle pat to your cheek. She was trying to comfort you, and you knew it. Maybe because at this point, your fear is plain dancing on your face. You nod, trying to smile back. 

You could only imagine how many times she’s seen women come in here with similar expression to yours and had to comfort them. She knew what it felt like to be in your place first-hand and understood the fear, the uncertainty and the anxiety that came with it.

“I have dinner to look at and—” She glances at her husband and gives him a nod, “I’ll send for Namu again,” and leaves keeping the doors wide open.

You didn’t register the nickname tacked on, until the Don grinned at you, “That’s Namjoon’s nickname,” You tilt your head, “Namu.” He clarifies and your eyes widen in response. Quickly recovering from your shock, you give him a small, unsure smile in answer.

What a cute name for a terrifying gangster.

“Saera started it, but now, all of us call him that. You can too, I’m sure he will have no problem.” You blink owlishly at him, wondering if you were hallucinating due to anxiety.

Was that possible?

You wisely choose to remain silent as the Don sits down on his chair. He takes off his glasses and looks at you in a studying manner. 

“Do you know why you are here?”

“Abeo-nim, that sounds like a trap,” You grin, keeping your tone cheerful. “Should I know why I am here?" 

"Well,” He tilts his head, as if contemplating his answer, “-we all know Youngjin isn’t the most secretive when he gets excited,” You laugh at his response, nodding your agreement.

“I’ll pretend to be oblivious,” You whisper in a conspiring tone, making him grin. “You can have your fun,” He laughs, when you hear footsteps. 

“Ah, my son is here,” The Don says, his tone and his face clearly showing his pride for his son. You shift a little in your seat, straightening your back, your body wanting nothing but to turn around and watch the man you are marrying saunter into the room, but you stay put. 

Dignity is far more important than useless curiosity.

“Come in, Namjoon.” The Don says, “We were waiting for you, take a seat." 

"I hope I am not too late,” Namjoon says amicably, his deep voice almost making your jaw slack. You don’t remember his voice being that deep.

When was the last time you heard him? Did he go through puberty again recently?

You were left wondering as he comes closer, and takes a seat next to you, very close to you but you don’t point it out.

“Not at all, Nari didn’t mind at all.” The Don smiles, almost mischievously, “Did you, dear?”

A wave of refreshing scent hits you then; you are almost sure it’s his cologne- refreshing, clean and vaguely earthy.

“No—” You sputter, trying to sound like the intelligent woman that you are.

“See, no harm done.” The Don cuts you off, casting a teasing glance at his son. “How do you want me to do this? Should I do this all old-fashioned Bangtan style or a simple announcement?” He asks, looking at you expectantly. 

Was this the norm?

Were every couple asked this question or was it just for you two?

Is this segment of every Bangtan member this chill and bizarre or was it a special change for you two?

You know something felt out of place, but that didn’t stop you from answering back in a teasing way.

“I’d like the whole authentic Bangtan experience, samchon, so the old-fashioned way is for me.” You say politely, your cheekiness making an appearance. “Jangmi wasn’t happy at all, I wanna see what all the fuss was about." 

And it was true.

Jangmi wasn’t happy in the least with how her engagement to Taehyung took place. She said her Dad was all too serious and he behaved like he didn’t know them at all. She said that his demeanor added to the awkwardness between her and Taehyung. You had laughed and she had promptly pointed out that you would go through it too. You had shut up after that.

"Okay, but you asked for this,” He sighs, almost dramatically, and gestures for you to get up, “If you two could stand up,” The two of you oblige.

Your relationship with the Don and Madam was great.

Madam Kim was more like your mother than your own but you had to admit after Jangmi left, you did stop coming by. You got busy with work and the rare times you saw them at parties, you stayed away because Namjoon was with them.

The Don treated you like another daughter of his, with you being his best friend’s daughter and because once Jangmi and you became friends, the two of you did come as a set.

So, anytime Jangmi got anything from her parents, you got one too. Anytime your father bought you something, he bought it for Jangmi too. If you had a brother, you were almost sure Jangmi would probably marry him. You were like a daughter to them and you treated them like they were your parents, but with much more respect and maybe, a tiny bit of fear.

The Don clears his throat and begins.

“I, the Don of Bangtan, Kim Joonhyung, on the this glorious day of spring, hereby approve and accept the matrimonial union of Kim Namjoon, son of Kim Joonhyung and Kim Najung—” He gestures to Namjoon and then, gestures at you, “-and Baek Nari, daughter of Baek Youngjin and Shin Sook. Does the lady, Baek Nari, accept the intention?” He asks and gives you a questioning look.

“I do.” You say, almost whispering. You don’t fail to notice how your throat was tightening in a way that you were sure to bring tears soon. You fought against it, taking a deep breath and spreading your lips in a wide smile.

He beams at you and turns to his son, “Does the man, Kim Namjoon, accept the intention?”

“I do,” Namjoon replies, all too easily. You wonder if he feels anything similar to how you were feeling or if this was just a duty of his to Bangtan.

“I hereby declare Kim Namjoon and Baek Nari betrothed.” He announces, and beams at the newly engaged couple. 

“Usually, you will exchange your engagement rings in here, but since we are planning on an engagement party for you, we’ll have to skip that and just move to dinner.” His voice is light and he smiles at the two of you.

“Ah, are you done, yeobo?” You hear Madam Kim come inside the room. She glances around at all of you, beaming brightly.

The Don nods in reply, “Won’t you congratulate the newly engaged couple, love?”

“Oh yes, yeobo!” She lands a playful slap to Namjoon’s arm, making him roll his eyes playfully, “Congratulations, Namu, sweetie,” She turns to you, “I can’t wait for you to officially join the family! We did a great job at finding the next Madam Kim!” She beams, practically vibrating in her place due to overwhelming happiness.

“You mean I did a splendid job, right, yeobo?” The Don corrected his wife, but shut up once the Madam sent him a sharp glare.

“We did, yeobo.” She repeated again and the Don nods in submission. If you weren’t so caught up in your own emotions, you’d have laughed at the Bangtan leader cowering under his wife’s withering glare, “Great then. I’m sure you are starving from all the nervous fiddling. Let’s go have dinner!”

Dinner was a far simpler affair than you thought it would be.

The menu was jajangmyeon and braised beef ribs. You were expecting wagyu steak and expensive wine to be honest. A simple meal of black bean noodles wasn’t something you thought RM would enjoy. It looked like you were the one with the expensive taste with your braised beef ribs and fancy dessert selection.

“We’ll have the engagement party in two weeks and—” The Don says, taking a sip of his wine, “your wedding in three months.”

The two of you nod, knowing there wasn’t much you could say that would change anything in the chain of events. The party would be in two weeks and wedding in three months at the country’s best venue with an invite to some of the most influential and powerful people of the continent.

“Do you want any help with your dress, dear?” Madam Kim asks you, “I know Mi is your shopping buddy, but because she isn’t here, can I tag along?”

“Yes, ommo-nim!” You say, a little too excited. Your father was going to make your mom go with you, atleast with Madam Kim’s presence your mother would let you be. “Actually.. please take over her spot as my shopping buddy!”

“Can I?”

“Of course, ommo-nim! I’m going to be left in the company of my mother anyway,” You barely roll your eyes and the lady smiles at you, “—we all know my mother has the horrible taste when it comes to clothes.”

“I hate to agree, dear,” Madam Kim sighs, “—but she pulls it off! None of us would look good in the deep purple sequin dress she wore for the Jang’s anniversary party but Sook stunned everyone at the event.”

“Yeah,” You agree in a small voice, remembering the purple dress. The dress had been outrageous and awful but your mother had pulled it off. Her face made up for any flaw the dress might’ve had.

“Joon can get his tuxedo with us too,” She said turning to her son who was quietly eating. “You two can spend a little time with each other that way,”

“I’m busy, Omma.” He says almost uncaringly, “Besides, I already have plenty of well-fitting suits.. I don’t want to waste my time getting another one.”

“But this is your engagement, Namu!” Madam Kim says like that should explain everything there is to her request.

“I know, you can just choose one for me—” He was cut off, rather abruptly by his mother who didn’t look like she would back down anytime soon.

“Fittings don’t work that—”

“They know better than to mess up my engagement suit—” You had to agree. No one who knows Bangtan would even mistakenly mess up the Bangtan son’s tuxedo.

“That’s not my point—”

“I don’t see any other—”

You didn’t see any other reason too. He was a grown man who could go and get a tuxedo without his mother nagging at him. Why Madam Kim was adamant about his company was beyond you. It’s not like he’d have any valid opinion on your clothes and he would just get bored and probably give mean comments.

“I want you two to spend time together before your engagement—”

“We have our lives to spend time together,”

You wished you could happily agree to his words but you were on Madam Kim’s side. You wanted to know Namjoon atleast a little before your wedding, even if it wasn’t the deep, emotional conversations. You wanted the two of you to be atleast friends before you became husband and wife.

“I know, so why not start—”

“Enough!” You jump, startled at the Don’s loud voice. “If Namjoon doesn’t want to join you for the shopping trip, yeobo… then he doesn’t have to.” He raised his palm, as if to say no more arguments, watching Madam Kim slump back into her chair and turned to Namjoon, “And since you are not busy today, I think you will have no problem taking my daughter-in-law home. Right, Namjoon?”

Namjoon sighed and agreed, “Yes, Abeo-ji.” Madam Kim beamed at her husband, who shot her a discreet wink, as if to say I’ve got you.

“Well, that settles it.” The Don says calmly, as if he hadn’t put a loud stop to an argument between his wife and son. “Nari-yah, I heard you brought desserts…?”

You swear you are an intelligent, civilized woman.

You really do think so, but right now as you fidgeted with your heel straps, you didn’t feel all that bright.

How embarrassing was this?

Your fiancé was standing next to you, watching curiously as you try to tug at your straps from its fastenings. You didn’t have this problem when you put them on, but now, the strap was refusing to stay put. You could just walk with it open of course, but there’s a huge chance of you falling face first or atleast spraining your leg. You d