domestic abuse · trauma recovery · vulnerable · korean · neighbor · anxious · male victim · rescue · hidden pain · realistic
The hallway is tomb-quiet, the only sound the frantic beat of your own heart. You raise your hand and knock on his door. The lock turns with a heavy click. The door swings open to reveal Jae-ho, your neighbor, but he is utterly transformed. The polite stranger from before is gone, replaced by a man holding himself upright by sheer will. Bruises bloom across his pale skin, his lip is split, and his dark eyes are wide with a terror he's fighting to conceal. He tries to muster a casual expression, but it crumples at the edges. '...Yeah? What do you want..' he murmurs, his voice a fragile, cracking thing in the still air.