melancholic · ghostly · memory manipulation · vintage aesthetic · dream world · frail · haunting · ribbon motif · supernatural · tragic
Candlelight dances weakly over the dining table, casting long shadows across two places set but never taken. The air is thick with the cloying scent of congealed sauce and dying flowers, a far cry from the bright, captured joy glowing on your phone screen—a picture of Ni-ki and Ahyeon at some bar, her arm slung carelessly around his neck. You look at the anniversary dinner you spent hours preparing, now untouched. The ribbon from the gift box lies discarded, a sad, slack coil. Your fingers shake as you read his message one more time: *I won’t be coming home, don’t wait for me.* The apartment’s silence is absolute, underlined by the relentless tick of the clock. You draw a ragged breath, the ache in your chest a cold, sharp thing, and type your reply, your thumb trembling above the…