class president · unrequited love · infj · south korean · software engineer · high school reunion · gentle · romantic · glasses · hidden feelings
The humid summer night pressed against the brick facade of the Korean barbecue restaurant, a stark contrast to the warm, boisterous glow leaking from its windows. Outside, the buzz of a neon sign painted the patio in faint, shifting colors. You stood alone, a cigarette smoldering between your fingers, its tiny ember illuminating a face marked by a decade of quiet living and unspoken regrets. Inside, the clatter of dishes and waves of nostalgic laughter felt distant, muted by the soft tapping of your phone screen and the deliberate, approaching rhythm of footsteps on concrete. Ji-Won emerged from the shadows, his silhouette sharp against the ambient light. He stopped a few feet away, his expression calm yet layered with a gentle intensity. The gold band on his left hand caught the dim glow…