Some days, you just couldn’t handle it.

If it wasn’t work, it was school. If it wasn’t school, then it was drama. If it wasn’t drama, then it was just life in general.

Life coming to hit you upside the head again and again and again.

You couldn’t understand it—not one bit. There were times that you could keep it together, forcing yourself to not break down and cry, and yet there were times when you just couldn’t, letting everything inside of you shatter into a million pieces on the floor.

But there was always somebody that glued you back together.

Life was the biggest fear that crawled around in your heart. No matter how much you tried to escape it or shove it down, life always managed to reappear. It held you captive in its grasp, and soon enough, you would find yourself drowning not just in life, but yourself as well. With life suffocating the soul out of you, your own mind would begin to turn against you. Insignificant things seemed to grow into the size of skyscrapers. Everything seemed to startle you at every corner.

Days like this did not come often, but when they did, there was always that one person who could always tell.

That one person who would reach down, gingerly take each broken shard of you that was scared silly, and piece you back together again.

Others didn’t seem to understand the way that you functioned. You could be laughing and cheerful one minute, and one side comment, made completely without any intention whatsoever, would shut you down and sew your lips together in silence. They wouldn’t notice, though they would think you strange, yet never seemed to truly let the drastic change of your personality bother them.

But it always bothered one person, and for that, you would be forever grateful.

“Princess,” he would say. “Come here.”

You padded over to him. He sat there on the living room couch, patting the seat next to him. Eagerly awaiting you, he wrapped an arm around you as you curled yourself up, head leaning onto his shoulder for support.

Kim Taehyung.

Though both of you were goofballs and idiots together, there were times when he understood that you could not be so. Not because you didn’t want to, but because you simply couldn’t. You didn’t want to try to be funny or make weird faces or anything of the sort—no, life had taken that away from you, and the only thing that mattered to Kim Taehyung was for him to return that sense of joy back.

And so he easily complied to your ideas and your terms, the things that you knew would help you return back to your so-called “normal” state as soon as possible. He did whatever he could in order to keep you safe, away from the harms of life and your own mind. And though it was impossible to bottle the things away forever, he chose not to focus on those miniscule things.

This was because, to Kim Taehyung, your happiness was far more important.

You breathed in the warm scent of him, finding it easier to breathe when he was by your side. He soothingly ran a hand up and down your arm. There was just enough pressure in his fingertips—not too much as to make things painful, but a bit for you to not drift off into dark places. A bit of pressure to remind you that he was there.

Daddy was there.

“Is there anything that you’d like to tell Daddy?” he asked. Lilting. Soft. Deep, like beachy waves rocking you to sleep the way a crib would. “Is there something that’s bothering you, princess?”

You let your over sized shirt swallow your hands until you had sweater paws. Your fluffy socks made you feel like you were settled inside a cloud, and the last thing that you wanted was to be reminded that life was still there.

You shook your head.

“You know that’s no way to be,” Taehyung chided. He leaned down a bit, taking your chin between his finger and thumb. His eyes met yours like melted chocolate. “My princess needs to tell Daddy so Daddy can make her boo boo better, right?”

You were about to shake your head again, refusing to, but you caught that look in his eyes.

That look that reminded you that whenever you hurt, Daddy hurt, too.

“I…”

You could feel the panic rising up in your chest. Even just opening your mouth, it was hard to do. Especially when you wanted your binkie and your blankie so badly.

“Take your time, princess.” Taehyung moved his hand from your chin to your cheek, thumbing the skin right underneath your right eye. He was still leaning over so that you two were face-to-face. With this situation, there was no way that you could hide.

“Use your words like a big girl. Daddy knows you can do it.”

The simple sentence made your heart thump like crazy. He believed in you.

Daddy believed in you.

You cleared your throat quietly, averting your gaze, and whispered, “School.”

“There we go. What a good, little girl.” The praise flowed so easily from Daddy, you could barely believe that it was even for you. Taehyung smiled with a look so pleasant, you felt yourself falling in love all over again.

“And what about school, princess? Hm?”

The question made your throat clog. The memories returned back to you in a sudden bolt, flooding your mind and twisting your tongue.

Taehyung must have noticed the taken aback look that was apparent in your eyes. Immediately, he began to soothe you further, force you to not overthink everything all at once.

You found yourself being pulled to sit up straight, turned around so that Taehyung could hug you from behind. He wrapped his arms tightly around your waist, resting your head against his chest. Leaning in close, he whispered reassuring words and calming antics, breathe tickling the crest of your ear.

“Deep breaths, princess. Deep breaths. There we go, good girl.”

Slowly, you inhaled. Exhaled. Repeat.

The technique must have had some sort of effect on you, because now you were slumped in your daddy’s arms. As if you had been completely drained of your anxiety, you now mumbled words and slurred them together. Perhaps it was the combination of the pitter-patter of rain drizzling outside that was making you sleep. Or maybe it was the way that your daddy rubbed your stomach in circles affectionately, a rhythmic motion to get you to calm down.

He waited a few minutes before asking the question again.

“What about school is troubling you, princess?”

You whined unhappily and buried your face into the crook of his chest and arm. Pouting, you whispered, “Test.”

“Test?”

“Big test.”

Anybody else would have been incredibly confused as to what you were pertaining to. But Kim Taehyung knew you like the back of his hand, and the minute that those two words left your mouth, he knew exactly what you meant.

He kissed the top of your head lightly, a hand reaching up to smooth away the stray strands.

“I know that the PSAT scares you, baby. But you have nothing to be afraid of.”

“But—”

“Nuh uh uh,” your daddy interrupted, his telltale sign of warning resurfacing. Taehyung murmured his words into your hair. He wished that you didn’t have to suffer so. If there was anything that he could do about it, he would ban you from taking the PSAT altogether. If it caused you so much harm and so much anxiety, then there was no reason to have it.

Kim Taehyung knew that there was a specific part of him that was absolutely irrational. He understood that he was acting insane, but there was no part of him that denied it: if something hurt you, he wanted to discard of it right away. As your protector, your caregiver, Kim Taehyung would do anything to keep you safe. Keep you happy.

“You don’t need to worry, princess.” He kissed your head again, just because he truly couldn’t help himself. “You’re as smart as they come.”