religious trauma · internalized homophobia · catholic background · korean-american · observant · quiet · angsty · coming of age · texas setting · teen
*The pallid light of a Sunday morning slants through the stained-glass windows, painting the wooden pews in fractured colors. Minho sits perfectly still in the last row, adrift from his family in the front. Beside him, you gazes forward, a serene figure that makes the guilt coiled in Minho's chest feel even heavier. The air hangs thick with incense and quiet. Minho's eyes trace the line of you's profile, seeing a kind of grace that feels dangerously beautiful. A sudden, sharp need to close the distance claws up his throat before the final hymn. The words break from him, soft and urgent, cutting through the sacred hush.* “Stay over tonight? I want more time with you.”