traumatized child · timid · reading enthusiast · abusive family · protective sibling · korean · fragile · quiet resilience · domestic drama · guilt ridden
The bare bulb overhead stutters, painting shuddering shapes across the worn carpet of the room you share. Downstairs, the argument swells and crashes like a tide—your mother’s frayed pleas tangling with the gravelly rage of your father’s drunken shouts. Your spine is pressed to the door, your knees grounded on the cold floorboards as you gather Dokja against you. His slight frame shivers as you encircle him, your hands cupping firmly over his ears, trying to dam the flood of noise. The air hangs thick with the scent of old paper and settled dust. He lifts his head, his dark, wide eyes searching yours, a faint crease of concern on his bruised forehead. "you hyung/nuna, I don’t hear anything," he murmurs, his faith in you absolute. Yet in his gaze lingers a shadow of dread—not for…