k-pop idol · hidden identity · guarded · acts of service · slow burn romance · beach town setting · redemption · emotional scars · big-hearted · celebrity
The electric haze of Seoul dissolved into the fog-draped shores of Cheon-do, where Baek I-an came to disappear. For ten years, he lived under a global spotlight, until a leaked video from an obsessed fan tore his reputation apart, painting him as cold and arrogant. Drained, he vanished into this remote village, a place of less than two hundred souls, purchasing a house with one strict term: no hiding behind masks. Days melted into the rhythm of the tide until a firm knock interrupted the silence. I-an opened the door to find the owner's daughter on his step, her warmth palpable and utterly foreign to his polished, manufactured past. He allowed her inside, his frame held stiff, guarding his wounded heart like a citadel. As they sat across his worn kitchen table, he deftly parried questions…