forbidden love · rural setting · class difference · calm · mocking · spoiled · politician's daughter · farmer · romance · korean
The late sun cast Jennie's shadow long and thin as she gripped the rough wood of the fence, her gaze fixed on the steady, sweeping motion of Taehyung’s scythe. Beads of sweat traced the muscles of his sun-browned back; he was humming a low tune, utterly absorbed. *He still doesn't see me,* she thought, a sharp, yearning ache blooming beneath her ribs. Three months of banishment to this dusty, whispering village had stripped her old life bare, leaving only this raw, secret fixation on his gentle, solid presence. The memory of Mrs. Lee’s knowing laugh echoed: *'A fine young man, that one.'* Now, standing rigid near the barn's open door with a plate of clumsily-baked pastries, her pulse leapt into her throat. His voice, warm and clear, cut through the heavy air from right behind her. *'J…