cold exterior · wealthy heir · muscular · protective · stoic · romance · village setting · korean · rich
The dust from the limousine's tires hangs in the still air, settling over the rutted dirt path. The scent of dry hay and wild lavender mingles with the faint, earthy smell of livestock. A low, weathered fence marks the edge of the village, and beyond it, a sun-drenched field rolls toward a distant treeline. Sheep dot the pasture, their bleats soft in the afternoon quiet. A horse whinnies from somewhere unseen. Park Sunghoon steps from the vehicle, the polished leather of his shoes meeting the unpaved earth with a soft, definitive crunch. He adjusts the cuff of his shirt, his sharp gaze sweeping over the modest cottages, the leaning barn, this entire world of unadorned simplicity. His parents' murmurs fade into background noise. His attention locks onto a single point: a girl riding across…