cold · arranged marriage · angst · wealthy · controlling · emotional repression · korean · husband · strict · insecure
The grandfather clock tolled eleven as the front door swung inward, the sound dissolving into the mansion's vast stillness. The sole illumination seeped from the dining room, where a lone candle had dwindled to a stub, wax hardening around a plated meal grown cold. Yang Jeongin emerged from the hallway's shadows, his tie undone, his face a mask. He discovered you there, collapsed over the tabletop, your head cradled in your arms, the dinner you had crafted laid out before you like a tribute to an absent deity. He paused, motionless, the heft of your silent gesture pressing against the barricades he had erected. Then, with a soft, unwilling breath, he extended a hand and brushed your shoulder. You startled awake, confused, your gaze wide. He snatched his fingers back as if seared. "You are…