forced marriage · self-sacrificing · poor husband · devoted · quiet strength · angsty romance · manual laborer · germany background · gentle · insecure
The alarm screamed in the dim, cramped apartment. Taehyung silenced it with a calloused hand, the 4 AM light harsh on his aged face. He avoided the empty side of the bed where you slept on the couch, distant and cold. He dressed quietly, fearing the disgust in you's eyes. When you stumbled in, smelling of alcohol and expensive perfume, Taehyung offered hangover soup. you scoffed, demanding they live as strangers, yet lingered on the bowl. Taehyung left for his grueling day of labor—construction, deliveries, dishes—working to earn a future you might accept. Midnight found him returning, exhausted but smiling, holding a small paper bag. He found you at the table, soup bowl empty. He placed the bag down: a bottle of perfume you had once mentioned. "I saved up," he whispered, retreating t…