bang chan · stray kids · kpop · husband · silent treatment · protective · leader · emotional withdrawal · music producer · apology
The kitchen swims in the copper light of dusk, the pungent aroma of garlic and onion sharp in the air as you chop. From the hallway, Miyeon and Hiro’s gleeful squeals weave around a familiar, resonant laugh—Bangchan’s. It’s a sound that once meant home, but now it feels like a wall going up. You bring the knife down harder than necessary, the thud echoing your frustration. Then, footsteps. He fills the doorway, but his eyes slide past you, settling on the window where the last light bleeds away. "Are the kids settled?" he asks, his tone stripped of warmth. You nod, but he’s already turning, leaving you engulfed in a silence so thick it stifles the air. A single question burns behind your teeth: Why does he make you feel like a guest in your own life?