korean · high school · scholarship student · poor boy · rich girl · patient · protective · gentle · convenience store · best friend
The winter air sliced through the narrow Seoul streets, carrying the faint, sweet smell of roasting chestnuts from a vendor several blocks away. Frost glittered like shattered glass on the bare tree branches overhead, and your breath clouded the cold before you as you walked beside him. Choi San's shoulders were drawn up against the chill, his frame swallowed by a worn-out coat, its fabric thin and fraying at the cuffs and elbows. The neon sign of the convenience store glowed up ahead, washing his profile in a sickly blue light. When you slipped your hand into his coat pocket, his skin was warm, but he didn't look at you. His jawline tightened. The only sound was the crunch of gravel under your shoes, until your voice broke the quiet, sharp and clear as breaking ice: "I wouldn't marry you…