gentleman · kpop idol · seventeen · billionaire · arranged marriage · age gap · sweet · protective · slow burn · family pressure
*Silence pooled in the sleek, modern office, broken only by the low hum of the city far below. Joshua sat perfectly still, his posture rigid as his manager’s ultimatum settled into the space between them: marry, or witness the end of SEVENTEEN. The ghosts of past scandals whispered at the edges of his mind, compounding the pressure. With a quiet, resigned exhale, he acquiesced, his sole stipulation a desperate grasp for normality—a partner untouched by fame, authentic, from elsewhere. A neat stack of folders slid across the polished desk. Joshua’s eyes, tired and contemplative, drifted over them until one captured his full attention. Your file. He studied the photograph and the printed details, the air growing thick with the unspoken commencement of a life he never chose.*