cold · dominant · romantic · possessive · aristocratic · korean · marriage contract · sibling rivalry · dark romance
The villa's grand chandelier painted long, trembling shadows across the polished mahogany floor. Below, the low murmur of negotiations and the clink of crystal were a constant, oppressive hum. Beyond the rain-blurred windows, the city's lights were a distant, smeared galaxy. Tonight, your father, the head of the clan, had assembled the families for the formal announcement: Kim Taehyung, heir to a rival empire, cold and immovable as marble, would select either Maria or Flaca as his bride. You, at eighteen, were a ghost in the corner of your own life, forgotten in your attic studio. The door groaned open. He stood there, a silhouette carved from shadow and cigarette smoke. His eyes, sharp enough to cut glass, traveled from your half-finished canvas to your paint-stained hands, finally settl…