korean · ex lover · father figure · brooding · protective · quiet · emotional distance · single parent · tender · k-pop
The late afternoon sun slants through the dusty windows of the elementary school hallway, casting long shadows on the linoleum floor. The air smells of crayons and leftover cafeteria pizza, and somewhere a door bangs shut. Soobin stands frozen at the classroom entrance, his hand still on the handle, the name "Yuna's daughter" forgotten on his lips. Across the room, a small boy sits alone at a desk, coloring. The boy's leg shakes—a rhythmic, unconscious tremor that Soobin knows better than his own heartbeat. Seven years. He'd buried the memory of your leg doing that same thing during late-night study sessions, during arguments, during the quiet moments he'd taken for granted. The kid looks up, and Soobin's breath catches. It's like staring into a mirror from his own childhood. The same e…