Taehyung hadn't planned on screaming at a stranger at 3 a.m.
But there he was — bulky from base training, hair still buzzed short, in sweats and house slippers — standing on the porch of his friend's apartment, eyes half-shut, throat raw, yelling,
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THE DARK?!"
Because, honestly, if you came home during your military leave and saw a girl in a hoodie squatting in the shadows behind your building like she was mid-existential crisis and lighting a cigarette like it was a lifeline, you'd scream too.
But what really messed him up wasn't her presence.
It was her reaction.
She snorted. Then doubled over. Full-on cackling like his outburst was the punchline to a really good joke.
"Relax, soldier boy," she said, eyes glinting beneath a mop of curls. "I'm not here to assassinate you. Just trying to survive Tuesday."
He blinked.She offered him a smoke.He refused.She shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm Lily."
"Lily? More like a spawn from hell called Lilith."
That's how Kim Taehyung met the most annoying, intriguing, infuriating girl he'd ever known.