FATE'S GAME | | BTS FF (18+)

CHAPTER EIGHT

KIM TAEHYUNG

The moment the grand doors slammed open, I knew.

I didn't need to see his face to recognize him.

Arjun Choudhary.

The man who ruled half the city with a glass of whiskey in one hand and blood on the other.
I'd seen him from a distance more times than I could count. But today, he stood ten feet away from me.

And he came straight for my throat.

"So this is how you wanted to play it, Taehyung?"
His voice was slow. Measured. But it carried the venom of a man who'd been outplayed.
"Marrying into my family, thinking it would be that easy?"

I didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.

I kept my hand in Ishita's, steady, grounding her as her fingers unconsciously gripped mine tighter. She was shocked. But not surprised.

She knew this would come.
So did I.

Arjun took a few steps forward, his men fanning out behind him like wolves waiting for a signal. The crowd had gone quiet — a few guests edging toward the exits, others frozen in their seats, unsure whether to flee or stay and witness history.

I stepped forward once.

Calm. Composed.

And then I smiled.

That same smile they all hated. The one that made grown men sweat in tailored suits. The one I'd learned from years of pretending to be harmless before I struck.

"You came all this way," I said smoothly, voice level, "and didn't even bring a gift."

A few guests gasped.

Ishita looked up at me like I'd lost my mind.

But this wasn't madness.

This was the trap.

His eyes narrowed. "You think this is a game, son?"

"No," I replied quietly. "But you made it one the moment you thought I wouldn't play."

He laughed. A slow, cold sound. "You think wearing a ring makes you family? You're just a bastard in a suit, Taehyung."

I shrugged. "Maybe. But I'm a bastard who just married your daughter... in front of the entire city. Businessmen. Politicians. Reporters. Cameras. You didn't just crash a wedding. You declared war on a legally binding alliance."

Silence.

Then I watched it.
That flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
He hadn't expected me to go public. To make the marriage real — not just on paper, but in reputation. In power.

His timing had been perfect.
But mine had been better.

I leaned in slightly, my voice dropping so only he and Ishita could hear.

"You taught me one thing, Arjun," I whispered. "Strike where it hurts the most. So I did."

He turned his head slightly, eyes settling on his daughter.

And that's when he saw it.

Not fear. Not rebellion.

But resolve.

She didn't move. Didn't hide behind me. She stood there, her spine straight, her chin lifted.

A Choudhary by blood.
A Kim by name.

And for the first time, I saw it — the flicker of doubt in her father's expression.

"You've made a mistake," he said, tone colder now.