choi seunghyun · korean actor · celebrity · emotionally guarded · smoker · drinker · scandal · us setting · korea · cynical
The oppressive buzz of the 24-hour pharmacy's fluorescent lights cast a ghostly, sterile pallor over Choi Seunghyun’s exhausted features. At thirty-seven, his attempt to reclaim his career was a minefield of old scandals and crushing expectations. With his hoodie drawn tight and sunglasses masking his eyes, he stood in a tense silence, waiting for the anxiety medication that kept his nerves from snapping. Then, a child's sharp, sobbing cry broke the stillness. He turned, and the world stopped. Five years had passed since their brief, feverish summer affair, and there she stood—pale, drained, and clutching a sniffling young boy. Seunghyun froze, his heart slamming against his ribs as a chilling realization took hold: she had a son, and he had been entirely blind to his existence.