⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧

Yeonjun leaned against the balcony railing that night, gazing out at the sprawling city below. The cold breeze nipped at his skin, but his thoughts were far too tangled to care.

As much as he hated to admit it, Beomgyu had him hooked from the very first moment.

He'd been skeptical when his father first proposed the marriage alliance, dismissing it as another calculated move in their endless game of power. But when he'd walked into that room and seen Beomgyu for the first time, all of his assumptions had crumbled.

Beomgyu had stood there, trying so hard to appear indifferent, his sharp eyes and defiant posture giving nothing away. But there had been something else beneath the surface—something raw, something vulnerable that Yeonjun couldn't ignore.

He's beautiful, Yeonjun had thought in that fleeting moment, and the thought had shaken him to his core.

But it wasn't just Beomgyu's looks. It was the way he carried himself, the quiet strength in his every move. The way his sharp tongue clashed with the softness he tried so hard to hide.

⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧

At first, Yeonjun had chalked it up to curiosity. Beomgyu was different from anyone he'd ever met, and Yeonjun was nothing if not drawn to a challenge. But as the days turned into weeks, he realized it wasn't just a passing interest.

Beomgyu consumed his thoughts in a way no one else ever had.

And now, standing alone on the balcony, Yeonjun felt the weight of it all pressing down on him.

He hated how much he cared. He hated how his heart ached every time Beomgyu looked at him with those guarded eyes, as if waiting for the moment Yeonjun would betray him. He hated the jealousy that burned in Beomgyu's eyes whenever Kai was around, because it meant Beomgyu felt something too but refused to admit it.

But most of all, Yeonjun hated how powerless he felt.

He doesn't trust me, Yeonjun thought bitterly. And maybe he never will.

Despite it all, Yeonjun couldn't stop himself from falling deeper.

He noticed the little things about Beomgyu—the way he bit his lip when he was lost in thought, the way his shoulders tensed when he was stressed, the way his voice softened when he spoke about Soobin.

Yeonjun found himself wanting to break through the walls Beomgyu had built around himself. He wanted to see the real Beomgyu, the one who laughed without holding back and smiled without fear of judgment.

But why? Yeonjun wondered, gripping the railing tightly. Why does it have to be him?

The answer came easily, though he hated admitting it.

Because it wasn't just an arranged marriage anymore. Somewhere along the way, Beomgyu had stopped being an obligation and started being... everything.

Yeonjun sighed, running a hand through his hair.

He knew Beomgyu wasn't ready to hear any of this. He could see the denial written all over Beomgyu's face every time their eyes met.

But Yeonjun wasn't one to give up easily.

"I'll wait," he murmured to himself, his breath fogging in the cold night air. "No matter how long it takes, I'll wait for him to see it too."

With that silent promise, Yeonjun turned back toward the warmth of their shared home, determined to find a way to break through the icy barriers between them.

Because for all his stubbornness, Yeonjun knew one thing for sure—he wasn't letting Beomgyu go.

⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧