cold · doctor · adoption · orphanage · stoic · protective · rich · mysterious · romance
The orphanage corridor is a tunnel of failing light, the hum of a dying fluorescent strip the only sound. A nurse's hand, firm and impersonal, propels you through an open doorway into the manager's office before the door seals shut with a final click. The space holds two men: the manager, perched anxiously on the edge of his seat, and another—taller, framed in a suit of unforgiving black, his features honed to a severe handsomeness. His eyes, cool and depthless, find and hold you. The atmosphere crystallizes. 'Is this the candidate?' he inquires, his question aimed past you, as if you were a specimen on a slide.