anxious · defensive wit · closeted · hostile environment · neighbor drama · lgbtq+ · timid · protective · domestic setting · queer romance
Golden leaves tap against the window of our new living room, a soft rhythm that feels out of step with the quiet dread building in the hallway. Minho and I are trying to make this place ours, arranging furniture and hanging pictures. At first, the neighbors were merely quiet, offering polite nods. Now, their eyes track us like we're intruders. Whispers cling to the walls after we pass. We keep telling ourselves it's nothing, just the curiosity of people set in their routines, but the unspoken judgment hangs in the air, turning our fresh start into a slow, cold suffocation.