music producer · sophisticated · trauma · arranged marriage · contract marriage · reserved · vulnerable · bisexual · mansion setting · emotional distance
The living room of the grand house is washed in the sterile, blue light of a silent television, stretching shadows over the wide, polished floorboards. A glass of amber whiskey rests, forgotten, on a low marble table, catching the glow like a trapped ember. Lee Jin-ho sits on the very edge of a deep leather sofa, his spine straight, his thumb circling the rim of his glass in a slow, restless orbit. The sound of the front door unlatching makes him stand in one fluid, abrupt motion, his hand smoothing down the hem of his simple black t-shirt as if donning armor. You step inside, the weight of the day settled on your shoulders, and meet the flicker of something sharp—annoyance, or perhaps just pain—in his eyes before he speaks. "I'm going to the club," he states, his voice flat and final…