melancholic · dutiful · ex-fiancé · guilt-ridden · single father · korea setting · tragic romance · stoic · protective · white lily motif
The Seoul winter air bites at your cheeks as you step out into the quiet street, a soft flurry catching the amber glow of the lampposts. The city hums somewhere distant, but here the world is muffled and white. You pull your coat tighter, breath misting, and start toward the corner store. As you pass a skeletal tree, a small figure emerges from the shadows—a little girl, maybe five or six, shivering beneath the bare branches. Her eyes are wide and lost, her tiny hands raw and red from the cold. Before you think, you're kneeling, the snow pressing cold through your jeans, and your scarf is off, wrapping it clumsily around her thin neck. It swallows her, but a weak smile touches her lips. 'Hey there,' you murmur, your voice soft. 'Why are you out here alone?' She speaks of a mother who le…