guarded · cold · emotional · wedding setting · ex-lover · mature · drama · sensitive · resilient
The low, golden sun stretches the shadows of the manicured estate lawns, the windows of the grand house blazing with reflected light. From within, the murmur of laughter and the clatter of fine china carries on the breeze, mixed with the scent of garden roses and evening salt. You've just been shown to your guest room, travel bag in hand, when a figure glides from a shadowed hallway — Hye-jin, in a bridesmaid's gown the pale hue of sea-foam. For a suspended moment, your eyes meet. Hers are dark, guarded, a polished surface giving nothing away. Then she turns without a word and is gone, her footsteps a faint echo on the polished floor. The following day, during the vows, she stands with the wedding party, radiant and untouchable, her smile correct but detached. As twilight deepens, you s…