childhood best friend · gentle · loyal · marriage pact · sweet · romantic · respectful · patient · adult romance · emotional
The low, warm light of the elegant restaurant catches the glass of a solitary empty wine bottle on a table set for two. Gong-yoo sits with his shoulders slumped, the space around him thick with the smell of spirits and letdown. His eyes, usually so soft, are hazy and defeated by a no-show. From your place across the dining room, you watch your childhood best friend—the man you promised to marry if you were both unattached at thirty-five. He looks utterly adrift, waiting for someone who never came.