𝑪 𝑯 𝑨 𝑷 𝑻 𝑬 𝑹 𝑭 𝑰 𝑭 𝑻 𝒀 𝑻 𝑯 𝑹 𝑬 𝑬
"HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO GET TAEHYUNG IN A DRESS?" Jimin stood beside Venus, sipping carefully on his champagne as he looked across the way at Taehyung who was talking to some of his long-time patrons. He was indeed wearing a dress. White with puffy sleeves and a long skirt that went down to his calves. Over top, he wore a makeshift, brown, suit vest, wrapped around his waist to bring it together. Gold ring, accompanied by a gold necklace as well as a gold chain that connected the arms of his glasses around his neck. Maybe what Taehyung liked most was the fact that it had pockets. He couldn't imagine how women felt constantly having to hold something in their hands because they didn't have any pockets in their dresses.
Venus smiled softly. "I didn't. It was his idea to wear the dress." She was the one wearing the suit, a matching one in the shade of coffee brown. She had taken off the suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves to her elbows. "He looks nice in it, doesn't he?" Taehyung seemed to enjoy wearing it, gently swaying subtly to make the skirt of the dress flow around him.
Jimin agreed with a hum. "I do love a man who practices positive masculinity." Good to know Jimin's wild fantasies of Taehyung we're still alive and well. Venus wasn't as threatened by it as she initially was in the beginning. Jimin was a jokester, a flirt. He just liked constantly pining over something or someone, but he hasn't slept with anyone other than Hoseok, Yoongi, or Jungkook for a while now. He doesn't need to. Jimin felt far more content now with another boyfriend to take occupancy in his heart, a job, and he had picked up knitting. "Bad bitches knit and I'm the baddest bitch out there." He made Yeontan a sweater for his first project as the weather was beginning to grow colder.
"Venus," Hoseok, Yoongi, and Jungkook come, all dressed up in various colored suits. "You look amazing in these." Quite the tame compliment for a man who's offered a foursome to her twice but it was appreciated all the same. Hoseok gently hugged her, soon followed by Yoongi.
Jungkook's eyes remained trained on the ground, staring at his shoes while roaming the gallery like it consisted only of marble flooring. "I'm sure you look great, Noona. But I don't think I'll be able to physically look at any of the paintings." He didn't want the way he looks at Venus to be tainted by the fact that he knows what her naked body looks like. It wasn't anything personal, it just made him uncomfortable.
Venus chuckled. "That's alright, Jungkook. In all honesty, I'd rather you not look at it." She can't imagine how awkward that would be. That's why she told Jin and Namjoon not to come. Jimin...he's probably seen 20 times worse so she wasn't worried about him.
Beyond the broad shoulders of the four men in front of her, Venus spotted Taehyung gracefully making his way over, dress swaying softly. Even wearing a dress, he walked with such power and demanded respect. No one even dared to question his masculinity because it wasn't based on the way he dressed, but the way he carried himself.
"Do you mind if I steal her from you for a moment?" Taehyung asked Jimin, tilting his head gently to the side with the warm, ocean-deep voice that always gets him what he wants. Starstruck and flustered, Jimin quickly nodded and stepped out of the way. "Of course."
Taehyung offered out a hand to Venus. "Come on, princess. You need to stop hiding in this corner." She's been avoiding everyone for fear of judgment. He wanted to have her on his arm, to show her off with an unmeasurable amount of pride. She was the goddess placed on a pedestal. Everyone should be lining up to kiss her feet.
Venus takes his hand and pulls him closer. "I'm quite comfortable in this corner, Tae." She doesn't want everyone's eyes on her like that. She'd much prefer to leave all the glory to Taehyung and be a quiet observer.
Jimin encourages her to go. "Go look pretty in front of everyone. You have just as much to do with his as he does." She deserves just as much of the credit. None of this would have been possible without her there to be his muse. He pushes Venus out of her corner forcefully, making her leave her safe space to go with Taehyung. They even had coordinating outfits so that they could show themselves off to everyone.
"It'll be okay," Taehyung assured her. "When have I ever let anyone disrespect you?" Never, that's the answer. He always defended her no matter what. People do look down on him, fine, he doesn't need their approval, but when they start demeaning Venus, the one person who's better than all of them, that's when he gets offended.
Most of the people here were long-time supporters of Taehyung, but there were a few who simply came to talk down to him. He learned a while ago to avoid certain people and only speak to those he knows support him, especially with Venus beside him.
For the most part, Venus remained quiet and attempted to go unnoticed, but Taehyung always brought the conversation around to her. He introduced her as his girlfriend and his muse. He looked so proud too, staring at her with the brightest grin and fond eyes. Most cooed at how visibly in love with her he was. Maybe there was just something so cute about an extroverted man showing off his introverted girlfriend. Even further, an introverted man becoming an extrovert whenever it came to bragging about his girlfriend.
Eventually, Taehyung lead her away so they could be alone. He made his way through the portion of the museum rented for the gallery. The rest of the museum was closed down and sectioned off so guests wouldn't wander, but Taehyung blatantly ignored the red velvet ropes that blocked off entrances to other parts of the dark museum.
"Taehyung, are we supposed to be back here?" Venus looked around anxiously, scared that a security guard will come and tell them to go back. Taehyung shook his head. "You worry too much, princess." He takes his dress and pulls up the shirt just slightly so it wouldn't get caught under his knees.
Venus watched as Taehyung got down on one knee in front of her. "It's a new month." He reminded her, shoving his hand into the pocket of his dress to pull out a small, black, velvet box. "I wanted to propose away from everyone so you didn't feel pressured into saying yes." That's the last thing he wanted. She was already anxious as it was, he didn't want her answers to be swayed by the burning gazes of over 50 people.
"I didn't propose properly last time so I hope this will sway you." His nervous laughter made Venus smile as he quickly cleared his throat. "Venus De Rosa." He began with a warm smile. "Words cannot describe how deeply in love with you I am. 'I love you' isn't enough. I look into your eyes and I see my future. I see you as my wife, starting a family with you, growing old with you. I want that for us and I want to give you my entire self. I can't see myself with anyone but you."
Venus placed her hand over her mouth as Taehyung opened the box and revealed the twinkling diamond ring that completes her promise ring. It was gorgeous, not too flashy but not underwhelming even in the slightest.
"So I ask you, Venus De Rosa, will you marry me? Please say yes because I don't think I can find new words to tell you every single month when I propose." The joke was to relive the tension that weighed in his chest. He wanted to marry this woman and give her everything.
A laugh escaped Venus' lips, tears rolling down her cheeks. She nodded fervently. Even if they haven't been dating for very long, Venus couldn't tell herself she wasn't ready to marry this man. "Yes!" She gasped. "Of course, I'll marry you!"
Taehyung nearly dropped the ring as he got up and immediately scooped Venus up off her feet. Their lips found each other, kissing each other like it was their first. Their first kiss as fiancés. Their hearts slammed into their ribcage, beating so loud it drowned out the aching silence around them. Taehyung twirled her around before gently setting her down on her own two feet.
Between soft giggles and eager kisses, Taehyung slipped off her promise ring and put it with the engagement ring. The diamond fit neatly in the middle of the ring, finally completing each other to create the full picture. He placed the completed rings on her finger and kissed Venus once more. "I love you, Ms. De Rosa."
"I love you more, Mr. De Rosa."
"Impossible."
*.✧ Kᴀʏs Eɴᴅɪɴɢ Nᴏᴛᴇs
This is the last chapter of S&S! I'm so excited yet so sad. This passed by so fast. I'll miss the original version for what it was, but I prefer this version a lot more to that one because my writing has improved. I'm kinda going thru all my books and re-writing them to keep them updated with my current writing style.
The next chapter will be the epilogue and then finally the end of the book. 😭
Also, this is what Taehyung's dress looks like:
I just wanted to put him in a dress 🤷♀️
Thank you all for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed and I wish you all a wonderful day/night.
사랑해
~Kay ʕ ꈍᴥꈍʔ