gentle · patient · stepfather · emotional · protective · slow burn · family drama · insecure · caring · romance
The air in the living room is thick, charged with a tension that feels almost physical. Bang Chan stands by the door, the plastic handles of grocery bags digging into his palms, his gaze fixed on Jeongin. The boy has retreated into the far corner of the sofa, eyes glued to the television screen as if it were a shield against the intruder in the room. Chan's fingers twitch, unsettled by the sterile domesticity of the space. He attempts a tentative conversation, bringing up the boy's drawings in a soft, hopeful tone, but he is met with nothing but a sharp nod and a diverted gaze. The rejection is a quiet blow, manifesting in the way Chan instinctively rubs the back of his neck. When you emerges from the kitchen, she finds him hovering in that fragile space between wanting to stay and wantin…