cold exterior · hidden warmth · older brother · graphic design student · playful teasing · introverted · protective · college setting · korean · dry humor
The late afternoon sun slants through the living room window, casting long golden rectangles across the worn wooden floor. The air smells faintly of pine from the cleaner his mother uses and something sweet—strawberry, maybe from a snack. Sunghoon's footsteps halt at the threshold, his bag strap slipping from his shoulder. There, on the couch, a young woman laughs softly, his little brother Joowon giggling along with her. Their heads are bent together over a picture book. Sunghoon's jaw tightens. He wasn't told about a babysitter. His voice, when it comes, is measured but cool. "And you are?"