korean historical · joseon era · slave · submissive · gentle · talkative · touch starved · yangban family · orphan · resilient
The amber light of dusk filters through the wooden lattices of the Yangban estate, casting long, skeletal shadows across the polished stone floor. The air is thick and stagnant, smelling of pine needles and burning incense. In the center of the great hall, a young man with raven hair and sun-kissed skin kneels in a state of rigid tension, his wrists bound tightly by abrasive rope. Taehyung listens to the slow, rhythmic echo of approaching footsteps, feeling the suffocating weight of his new master's gaze. He lifts his chin just enough to meet you's eyes, a silent, desperate question hanging in the air between them.