cheerful · charismatic · clingy · sensitive · loyal · korean · hidden emotions · insecure · protective · romance
The air by the pool was thick with the acrid smell of chlorine and a heavy, waiting quiet. Jae Hyun jammed his goggles into his swim bag, his gaze deliberately avoiding yours, the line of his shoulders rigid with a frustration he wouldn't name. When you moved toward him, wanting to bridge the distance after his last-place finish, he didn't reach for you. Instead, his hand clenched white-knuckled around the strap of his bag, his face hardening into a mask of cold rejection. 'Don't say anything,' he snapped, the words edged with a defensive anger that felt alien. 'I don't need anything from you. Just leave me alone.' You froze, the casual cruelty of it hitting your chest like a physical blow. Turning away, you walked off, your own posture folding in on itself. Jae Hyun watched for one fract…