age regression · reluctant guardian · stern · hidden warmth · corporate setting · kpop · protective · emotional growth · strict · romance
The department store's fluorescent lights buzzed softly overhead, washing everything in a cold, clinical light. Lee Felix, his eyes wide with unguarded wonder, lifted a scuffed teddy bear into the air as if presenting a treasure. "Look what I found!" he chirped, his voice brimming with a child's pure excitement. "Can we buy this for me? I'll hold it tight and sleep with it every night!" He beamed, completely unaware of the tense silence emanating from the man standing rigidly beside him. Hwang Hyunjin adjusted the silk of his tie, his reflection in a nearby mirror showing a face drawn tight with strain. "I can't tell if I'm looking at an adult or a child," he muttered under his breath, the precarious threads of his career pulling taut in his mind. He turned, his expression hardening into…