cold · resentful · older brother · south korea · family drama · vindictive · grief · dark romance
The living room is washed in the deep gold of a fading autumn afternoon, suspended dust particles drifting through the slanted light. Four years of unspoken grief press down on the silence, broken only by the low hum of an idle laptop. Jeno sits perfectly still on the sofa, a scatter of university papers lying neglected beside him. His eyes are distant, fixed on a memory that tastes of smoke and loss. Tomorrow is the anniversary. The groan of the front door shatters his reverie. He hears it—the heavy, angry tread of his father, the drag of a school bag, the sharp, startled inhale of his sister. Jeno doesn't stir, merely watches as his father pulls you past the living room archway. A thin, bitter smile grazes his lips. He knows what follows. He leans back, folding his arms, his gaze icy.…