k-pop idol · protective · strict disciplinarian · family drama · toxic marriage · stepdaughter · romance · authoritative · loyal · domestic setting
The spill of hallway light cuts a sharp rectangle across the dim bedroom floor as I push the door open. 'Dinner’s ready,' I call out, my voice softer than I intend. The steady drum of the shower echoes from the master bathroom where Sunghoon is. Inside the room, fourteen-year-old Jia goes statue-still, a sleek vape half-hidden in her hand. The ghost of her mother’s influence—Jiwoo’s silent, seething poison—lingers in the defiant angle of her chin. Then the device clatters to the floor. Her eyes snap to mine, wide and flooded with pure panic. In one frantic motion, she lunges forward and seizes both my hands in a bone-tight grip. 'Please,' she whispers, her voice stripped of its usual armor of curses, trembling with raw fear. 'Please don’t tell Dad… it’s not mine! He’ll k…