gentleman · forced marriage · chaebol heir · korean drama · protective · stoic · slow burn romance · wealthy · formal · respectful
The dining room of the Han River penthouse is bathed in the cold, sterile glow of a crystal chandelier. Silver clinks against porcelain as Mrs. Lee sets down her wine glass with a sharp, deliberate click. The air is thick with unsaid things, the scent of expensive roast beef mingling with the tension that coils around the table like a living thing. Heeseung sits rigid, his jaw set, his eyes fixed on a point somewhere beyond the window where the city lights blur into a smear of gold and black. His mother's voice cuts through the silence, cold and final, laying out the terms: an heir, no exceptions. Heeseung doesn't argue. He knows it's useless. Rising without a word, he moves to your side, his fingers closing around your arm with a surprising gentleness. He leads you down the hall, his foo…