Chapter 1
DISCLAIMER⚠️
This is a fictional story set in the 1990s, inspired by the royal traditions and culture of Rajasthan.
Kim Taehyung is portrayed only as a fictional character and has no connection to his real-life personality or personal life. All characters, events, and relationships are fictional.
Disclaimer
English is not my first language, so there may be grammatical or language mistakes. I am still learning and improving my writing. Please be kind and enjoy the story. 🤍
-Behind the Veil....🥀
Amer had always been a place where the past refused to disappear.
The massive walls of the old palace stood beneath the golden Rajasthan sun as they had for generations, their sandstone glowing beneath the afternoon light, their enormous courtyards carrying the footsteps of people who had lived and died under the same family name, and behind those walls lived a family whose traditions were treated not as traditions at all, but as laws that nobody dared to question.
For the Rathore family, reputation was everything.
A man's honour was protected by his word.
A woman's honour was protected by her veil.
And the most precious woman in that entire household was twenty-two-year-old Y/n Rathore, the Princess of Amer.
She was the only daughter in the family.
The only girl among the younger generation.
The one everyone loved.
The one everyone watched.
And, without knowing it, the one person in the palace who was living a life completely different from the one her family believed she was living.
Every morning, Y/n woke before the rest of the palace became completely alive.
Her room was on the upper floor of the old haveli, with carved windows overlooking the gardens, and the first thing her grandmother had taught her since childhood was that a woman of their family never stepped outside her room without properly covering her face.
“Y/n.”
Her grandmother's voice came from the doorway.
Y/n immediately reached for her odhani.
“Ji, Dadi.”
“Your veil.”
Y/n quickly pulled the translucent fabric over her head and lowered it across her face.
Her grandmother entered and adjusted it herself, pulling the fabric slightly lower.
“Like this,” Dadi said sternly. “How many times do I have to tell you? You are not an ordinary girl. You are a Malhotra.”
Y/n smiled beneath the veil.
“I know, Dadi.”
“You know, but you forget.”
“I don't forget.”
“You always say that.”
Dadi turned toward the dressing table and picked up a pair of earrings.
“Wear these today.”
Y/n looked at them.
“Dadi, these are very heavy.”
“You are going to be married one day. You must learn to carry jewellery.”
Y/n's smile disappeared slightly.
Marriage.
That word had become a shadow following her everywhere.
It appeared during breakfast.
During family gatherings.
During festivals.
During conversations between her parents.
Even when nobody directly mentioned it, Y/n could feel it waiting somewhere nearby.
She knew what her family expected.
A suitable Rajput family.
A respectable husband.
A grand wedding.
A life inside another household where she would continue the traditions she had been raised with.
But there was one thing her family didn't know.
There was already someone in Y/n's heart.
Someone who could never be accepted.
Someone who was standing outside the palace gates every single day.
Someone who was not a prince.
Not a nobleman.
Not even Indian.
His name was Kim Taehyung.
And to the rest of the world, he was simply the Rathore family's special bodyguard.
To Y/n, he was everything.
Six years earlier, nobody in Amer had known the name Kim Taehyung.
He had arrived in India quietly.
There had been no grand introduction.
No family background that people could discuss.
No explanation about why a Korean man with extensive combat training had suddenly appeared in Rajasthan.
He had been twenty-six then.
Quiet.
Cold.
Observant.
Almost impossible to read.
And six years ago, he had saved Y/n's father's life.
Nobody in the family knew exactly what had happened that day.
They only knew that an assassination attempt had been made.
There had been confusion.
Gunshots.
Panic.
And before anyone could understand what was happening, Taehyung had stepped between the danger and Y/n's father.
He had saved him.
After that day, Y/n's father had trusted him completely.
He had offered him a permanent position as the family's special bodyguard.
Taehyung had accepted.
And he had remained.
For six years.
Nobody questioned it anymore.
He had become part of the palace.
The guards respected him.
The servants trusted him.
Y/n's father treated him almost like a son.
But there was one thing nobody knew.
Taehyung wasn't protecting the Malhotra family's daughter only because it was his duty.
He had been protecting her long before he understood what she had become to him.
“Princess.”
Y/n heard the familiar voice behind her.
She stopped walking.
Her heart immediately recognized it.
She turned slightly.
Taehyung stood several feet away.
His expression was as emotionless as ever.
He wore the dark uniform he usually wore while working, his posture straight, his eyes scanning the courtyard before finally settling on her.
Y/n lowered her gaze immediately because several servants were nearby.
“Ji?”
“Your father wants you in the library.”
“Okay.”
Taehyung nodded.
Then he walked away.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing suspicious.
Just a bodyguard speaking to the daughter of the house.
But as he passed her, his fingers briefly brushed against the edge of the book she was holding.
A tiny folded piece of paper slipped between its pages.
Y/n didn't react.
She waited until she reached her room before opening it.
There were only four words.
Tonight. Old garden. Midnight.
Her heart immediately began beating faster.
That night, the palace slowly became silent.
One by one, the lamps in the corridors were extinguished.
Doors closed.
Servants disappeared into their quarters.
Her parents retired to their rooms.
Dadi had reminded her twice to sleep early because she had a household lesson in the morning.
But Y/n waited.
She sat near her window, watching the moonlight spread across the gardens.
At exactly midnight, she quietly stood.
She covered herself with her odhani, opened the door, and stepped into the corridor.
Every step was careful.
Every breath was quiet.
She knew exactly which floorboards creaked.
Which corridor was empty.
Which servant slept near the eastern staircase.
And which door led to the old garden.
She had learned all of it because of him.
When she finally reached the garden, she saw him standing beneath an old tree.
Taehyung.
Waiting.
The moment he saw her, his expression hardened.
“You're late.”
Y/n smiled.
“I had to wait for everyone to sleep.”
“You should have come earlier.”
“I tried.”
“You always have an excuse.”
She moved closer.
“And you always get angry.”
“I don't.”
“You do.”
“No.”
Y/n smiled beneath her veil.
“You are angry right now.”
He stared at her.
Then his eyes softened for only a moment.
Only she could see it.
Only she ever noticed.
“Come here,” he said quietly.
She stepped closer.
He lifted her veil slightly so he could see her face.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
The cold man everyone feared was standing in front of the one person who could make him forget how carefully he guarded his emotions.
“You shouldn't keep coming here,” he murmured.
“You called me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you angry?”
“Because you came.”
Y/n frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does to me.”
He looked away.
“You don't understand how dangerous this is.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don't.”
“Then explain it.”
Taehyung looked back at her.
“Your father trusts me.”
“I know.”
“He treats me like his own son.”
“I know.”
“If he finds out about us…”
He stopped.
Y/n finished the sentence for him.
“He'll hate you.”
Taehyung's jaw tightened.
“He won't just hate me.”
Y/n stepped closer.
“Then take me away.”
He immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“You didn't even think.”
“I don't need to.”
“You always say no.”
“Because the answer is no.”
“Why?”
“Because I gave your father my word.”
Her eyes became wet.
“And what about me?”
Taehyung remained silent.
“What about the promise you made to me?”
He looked at her.
Y/n's voice became softer.
“I can't marry someone else.”
“You don't know what you're saying.”
“I know exactly what I'm saying.”
“Your family will choose someone for you.”
“Then stop them.”
“I can't.”
“You can.”
“No.”
“Then take me away.”
His eyes darkened.
“Y/n.”
She stepped even closer.
“I can't live without you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Those words always affected him.
No matter how many times she said them.
No matter how hard he tried to remain cold.
Because Taehyung knew something Y/n didn't.
He could live without many things.
He could live without comfort.
Without family.
Without a home.
Without knowing what tomorrow would bring.
But the thought of losing her had become something he could no longer imagine surviving.
His hand moved toward hers.
He held it tightly.
“Don't say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because one day I might believe you.”
“I want you to believe me.”
He looked at her.
“I love you.”
Silence.
The words hung between them.
Taehyung had never been a man who said what he felt easily.
But with Y/n, silence often said more than words.
He pulled her gently into his arms.
She rested her forehead against his chest.
For a while, they simply stood there beneath the moonlight.
No palace.
No family.
No rules.
No reputation.
Just them.
Their relationship had never been simple.
It had begun quietly.
A conversation here.
A meeting there.
A stolen moment in the palace garden.
Then slowly, without either of them realizing when it happened, those moments became necessary.
Y/n began looking for him whenever she entered a room.
Taehyung began noticing when she was unhappy before anyone else did.
If she was sick, he knew.
If she had cried, he knew.
If she was angry, he knew.
And if she disappeared for too long, he became restless.
Sometimes he would wait outside the palace until she appeared at the window.
Sometimes Y/n would secretly ask him to take her somewhere outside Amer.
He would disguise the trip as security duty.
A temple.
A quiet market.
A distant garden.
Sometimes she simply wanted to sit somewhere where nobody knew she was a princess.
And Taehyung always took her.
But he never forgot who he was.
He was still her father's bodyguard.
That fact remained between them like an invisible wall.
One evening, Y/n had failed to meet him.
Taehyung waited.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
An hour.
She never came.
By the time she finally reached the old garden, he was already there.
His expression was colder than usual.
“You're late.”
“I couldn't come.”
“You could have sent someone.”
“I couldn't.”
“You could have found a way.”
Y/n stared at him.
“You're angry.”
“Yes.”
She moved closer.
“I had to stay with Dadi.”
“You could have told me.”
“I didn't get a chance.”
“You always get a chance.”
She frowned.
“You're being unreasonable.”
“And you're careless.”
“I am not careless.”
“You are when it comes to me.”
Y/n fell silent.
Taehyung looked away.
His anger wasn't really anger.
It was fear.
Fear that something had happened to her.
Fear that she had been discovered.
Fear that the one secret he had protected for years had finally begun to break apart.
Y/n reached for his hand.
His fingers immediately closed around hers.
“You were worried?”
He didn't answer.
“You were worried about me.”
“Don't make me repeat myself.”
She smiled.
“I knew it.”
He sighed.
“You make everything difficult.”
“And you love me anyway.”
He looked at her.
“Yes.”
The answer came so quietly that she almost missed it.
Their nights together became their only freedom.
Sometimes they spoke until dawn.
Sometimes Y/n simply rested beside him while he remained awake, watching the door and listening for footsteps.
There were nights when their closeness became deeper, when the boundaries between longing and love disappeared and they surrendered to the feelings they had been hiding from the world for years.
Nothing outside that room mattered then.
Not the rules.
Not the palace.
Not the family name.
Not the future waiting for them.
They belonged only to each other in those stolen hours.
And afterward, when morning approached, Y/n would quietly fix her clothes and veil while Taehyung watched her in silence.
“You're staring.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because I have to remember your face before you hide it again.”
Her expression softened.
She moved closer and whispered,
“You can always see me.”
He touched her cheek gently.
“That's the problem.”
“Why?”
“Because now I don't know how to stop.”
She smiled.
“Then don't.”
But outside their secret world, life continued as usual.
One afternoon, Y/n sat with her mother while she learned how to prepare traditional sweets.
“Your hands are too delicate,” her mother said.
Y/n smiled awkwardly.
“I'm trying.”
“You must learn.”
“Why?”
Her mother looked at her.
“Because one day you will have your own household.”
Y/n's hands stopped.
“Ma.”
“What?”
“I don't want to talk about marriage.”
Her mother sighed.
“You cannot avoid it forever.”
“I don't want to marry.”
“You will.”
“I won't.”
Her mother frowned.
“Y/n.”
“I mean…”
She lowered her voice.
“I don't want to marry someone I don't love.”
Her mother stared at her.
“Love comes after marriage.”
Y/n looked down.
“That may be true for some people.”
Her mother didn't notice the meaning behind her words.
But someone else did.
From the doorway, Taehyung had heard everything.
His face remained expressionless.
But his hands tightened around the file he was carrying.
That evening, Y/n found him in the corridor.
“You heard?”
“Yes.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.”
“You're lying.”
He looked at her.
“You shouldn't say things like that in front of your mother.”
“I couldn't lie.”
“You have to.”
“Why?”
“Because our secret depends on it.”
Y/n's eyes filled with frustration.
“How long are we going to hide?”
He had no answer.
"Suniye...."
That word always made him pause.
She never called him Taehyung.
Not even when they were alone.
To everyone else, he was Mr. Kim.
To her, he was simply—
“Suniye.”
A word filled with respect, affection, and a kind of intimacy that belonged only to them.
Taehyung stepped closer.
“Don't ask me that.”
“I want an answer.”
“I don't have one.”
“Then make one.”
He looked into her eyes.
“I'll protect you for as long as I live.”
“But will you ever choose me?”
His silence hurt more than any answer.
Y/n turned away.
Taehyung caught her wrist gently.
“Y/n.”
She didn't look back.
“I chose you a long time ago.”
She finally turned.
“But you never said it.”
“I am saying it now.”
He pulled her close.
“I chose you.”
Her eyes closed.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Then-
A sound came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
They immediately separated.
Y/n pulled her veil over her face.
Taehyung stepped backward.
A servant appeared.
“Princess, your father is looking for you.”
Y/n nodded.
“I am coming.”
The servant left.
Taehyung looked at her.
“Go.”
She nodded.
But before leaving, she whispered,
“I love you.”
He answered without hesitation.
“I know.”
That night, Y/n's father called a family meeting.
Everyone gathered in the main hall.
Y/n sat beside her mother with her veil covering her face.
Taehyung stood near the entrance.
Her father looked unusually serious.
“There is something we need to discuss.”
Y/n's heart sank.
Her father continued.
“I have received a proposal.”
The room became silent.
Y/n's fingers tightened around the edge of her dress.
Her father looked at her.
“It is from a very respected family.”
Her mother smiled.
Dadi nodded approvingly.
But Y/n couldn't breathe.
Taehyung's face remained completely still.
Only Y/n noticed the subtle change in his eyes.
Her father continued.
“The family will visit us soon.”
Y/n's world seemed to stop.
She looked toward Taehyung.
Their eyes met.
And for the first time in years, she saw something in his expression she had never seen before.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For her.
Then her father said something that made the entire atmosphere change.
“And there is one more thing.”
He looked directly at Taehyung.
“I need you to accompany me tomorrow.”
Taehyung straightened.
“Of course, sir.”
Y/n lowered her gaze.
Nobody noticed the way her hand trembled.
Nobody except him.
Later that night, Y/n stood alone in her room.
She couldn't sleep.
The marriage proposal kept repeating inside her head.
Someone knocked softly.
She knew who it was before the door opened.
Taehyung entered.
He closed the door behind him.
Neither spoke.
Y/n's eyes immediately filled with tears.
“They're going to marry me.”
“I heard.”
“I don't want anyone else.”
“I know.”
“Then take me away.”
He stepped closer.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
He stopped.
She stared at him.
“Because what?”
For the first time, Taehyung looked genuinely shaken.
Y/n's eyes filled with tears.
“I can't do this.”
Taehyung stepped toward her.
“Y/n.”
“I can't marry someone else.”
“You don't have to decide tonight.”
“But they will decide for me.”
“I won't let anyone hurt you.”
“That isn't enough.”
He looked at her.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Take me away.”
His answer came immediately.
“No.”
Her tears finally fell.
“You always say no.”
“Because I have responsibilities.”
“And what about your responsibility toward me?”
He went silent.
She stepped closer.
“I am not asking you to protect me from a stranger.”
She touched his chest.
“I am asking you to choose me.”
His eyes closed.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he opened them again.
“I already chose you.”
She looked at him.
“Then why won't you take me?”
“Because I cannot destroy your family.”
“And if my family destroys us?”
He had no answer.
Y/n leaned against him.
He held her.
Neither of them noticed the figure standing far away beyond the garden wall.
Someone was watching.
Someone had been watching for several minutes.
And whoever it was did not leave immediately.
Instead, the figure slowly stepped backward into the darkness.
To be continue....🖤🥀
