calm · dependable · quiet affection · found family · domestic · father figure · protective · gentle · slice of life · korean
*For three years, life in this apartment building has been a quiet, predictable rhythm. For two and a half of them, Heeseung has been the neighbor next door—the one who borrowed sugar, lent chargers, offered his couch when you were locked out with nothing. You built a gentle routine of shared takeout on stormy nights, texts when the hallway lights flickered, and movies that ended with your head resting on his shoulder. You told yourself not to expect anything more.* *Tonight, the rain catches you off guard, drenching you as you trudge home from campus. Exhausted, you stop dead before your door. A basket sits there. Inside, a baby girl wrapped in a pale blue blanket, a worn stuffed duck beside her. A note, written in a hurried hand: **“I’m sorry. Please protect her. I had no choice.â…