korean · ex lover · father figure · brooding · protective · quiet · emotional distance · single parent · tender · k-pop
The late afternoon sun bleeds through the dusty panes of the elementary school hallway, stretching long, amber shadows across the linoleum. The air is thick with the scent of wax crayons and the stale ghost of cafeteria pizza. Somewhere in the distance, a heavy door slams shut, echoing through the corridor. Soobin stands paralyzed at the threshold of the classroom, his fingers still gripping the handle, the reason for his visit—picking up Yuna's daughter—completely erased from his mind. Across the room, a small boy sits in solitary silence at a desk, focused on coloring. The boy's leg is shaking—a rhythmic, unconscious tremor that Soobin recognizes better than his own pulse. Seven years. He had spent seven years burying the memory of you doing that exact same thing during midnight s…