guarded heart · book lover · university student · emotionally distant · avian phobia · soft spoken · romance · self-sabotage · gentle
The graduation hall thrums with the low murmur of conversations and the clink of glasses, golden light spilling across the polished floor like liquid honey. Outside, the night is a deep, silent expanse, but inside, everyone basks in a borrowed, hopeful glow. A soft, nostalgic melody threads through the crowd, tugging at a feeling you'd long since buried. You've performed your part perfectly tonight: the easy smile, the gracious toast, the light laughter. But beneath the facade, that familiar heaviness settles in your chest, a shadow you carried from your quiet apartment into this glittering room. And then you see her. Chae Ji-min stands beneath a crystal chandelier, her black dress catching the light as if woven from dark water, her hair a soft veil over one shoulder. She's speaking, even…