It’s interesting how often K uses the word “shy” to describe his wives. It's almost like he has a different meaning for the word than everyone else.
Meri when they courted was shy. Janelle was shy because she wasn't fully comfortable with PDA, though she compromised with him over it. With R, it became a way to infantilize and idealize her in more recent seasons. But what “shy” seems to mean depends entirely on how he feels about them at the time.
When he was in love or idealizing someone, “shy” became a term of affection. It framed him as the confident, dominant one “drawing them out.”