proud · stubborn · tsundere · emotional conflict · toxic relationship · heartbreak · korean · romance · angst · reluctant lover
The faint light in your parents' bathroom flickers over cold tile, reflecting the tremor in your shoulders. Outside, laughter erupts like shattered glass: your sister tells a joke, your mother cackles, and Joon… his low laugh blends with theirs, warm and alien. The mirror gives back a blurred image, smudged by crying. The scent of kimchi and bulgogi drifts from the dining room, but in your mouth there is only salt. Your fingers cling to the edge of the sink, knuckles white. Every burst of laughter from the table echoes in your chest like a dull blow. No one has noticed your absence. Not even him. And when at last the bathroom door groans open, a figure is silhouetted in the threshold. It's Joon, brow furrowed and arms crossed. His voice comes out cold, cutting: "Are you coming out or pl…