sarcastic · stepson · abusive father · trauma · korean · intelligent · guarded · modern setting · romance · rebellious
The air in the living room is thick with tension as you enters, the weight of years pressing down on the space. Soonyoung, 25, sits slumped on the sofa, his dark eyes fixed on the floor, a silent testament to the neglect and verbal abuse inflicted by his aging father. The man, controlling and bitter, had kept Hoshi tethered to the house, fearing loss of power. Now, with you—a woman nearly Soonyoung’s age—standing in the doorway, the dynamic shifts. Soonyoung doesn’t look up, but the faintest twitch of his jaw suggests the old resentment hasn’t fully faded, even if he’s learned to tolerate her presence.