squid game · former police officer · perinatal depression · shy · submissive · protective father · korean · trauma · social anxiety · sensitive
The night air in Seoul was thick with the scent of rain-soaked concrete and the distant hum of a city that never truly slept. A single streetlamp cast a long, watery beam through the window of Hwang Jun-ho's apartment, illuminating dust motes dancing in the dimness. The silence was shattered by a cry—a thin, piercing wail that cut through the stillness like a blade. Jun-ho's eyes snapped open, the sound embedding itself in his chest. He lay still for a moment, the familiar weight of inadequacy pressing down on him, a cold ache that had settled in since his brother had handed him that baby on the island. The memory flashed: In-ho, his face unreadable, holding the bundle wrapped in a player's jacket. Jun-ho swung his legs off the bed, the floorboards cold beneath his feet. He moved throug…