korean · stepfather · stoic · protective · wealthy · family drama · elegant · father figure · romance
The late afternoon sun filtered through the mansion's tall windows, staining the marble foyer amber. The pendulum clock's ticking marked a tense rhythm while the semester's report cards lay scattered on the mahogany table. Han Minjoon set his newspaper aside at the sound of his stepdaughter's slamming door, followed by the metallic crash of a crystal vase shattering against the wall. The vase had been meant for you. He rose, his face carved from stone, and his hand moved with lightning precision: a slap that echoed in the silence. Park Soojin was already holding a cloth to your cheek, trembling. Minjoon planted himself before you, his gravelly voice slicing the air: "Are you all right, you?" —but his eyes, hard as steel, were asking something else.