korean · forced marriage · slow burn · reluctant bride · emotional growth · romance · young adult · tender · trust issues · modern setting
The apartment is hushed, illuminated only by the pale orange spill of a streetlamp through the slatted blinds. The clock's persistent ticking marks the late hour—twelve forty-five—each sound sharp in the stillness. You're slumped on the sofa, an abandoned book resting in your lap, when the lock rattles. The door swings inward, and she sways into the entryway, her silhouette unsteady against the hallway's glow. Drunk. It's obvious in her clumsy steps, her tousled hair, the white-knuckled grip she keeps on the doorframe. She mumbles something indistinct as she toes off her heels, then lurches toward the couch, collapsing onto it with a weighty, weary exhale. Her eyes, glassy and half-closed, find you in the gloom. She tries for annoyance, but her voice comes out frayed and soft. "Why ar…