The night sky looked clear, as if unaware of the storm quietly building inside Kim Mingyu's chest. Most of the lights in his house were already turned off, except for one dim glow in the kitchen. Not because someone was still there, but because he had deliberately left it on. Like a small piece of hope he kept planting every day since their marriage began. It had been almost four months since he and the girl were bound in a marriage arranged by their powerful families. Four months filled with painful silence. No warm greetings. No simple touch. Not even eyes that would meet his with meaning.

She was only nineteen. Twelve years younger than Mingyu. A girl who should still be weaving dreams, not trapped in a house built on compromise. Mingyu knew. He knew everything. He knew she didn't love him. He knew that every time the girl turned her body away on the living room couch to avoid dinner with him, it wasn't because she wasn't hungry. It was because she was trying to erase his presence. Mingyu knew that every time he knocked on her bedroom door to offer her a warm cup of tea and received no reply, it was a form of rejection never spoken out loud.

And still, every morning, Mingyu would wake up first, brew two cups of coffee, cook breakfast, and clean the house with his own hands. A CEO used to commanding boardrooms, choosing instead to sweep the yard just to become someone worthy in the eyes of a girl who didn't even want to call him husband. He had heard from a relative that the girl had to break up with her boyfriend when she was forced into marriage. She even had to bury her dream of going to college.

Mingyu carried that guilt silently. Because in love, not everything can be measured by sincerity. Sometimes, sincerity itself can hurt if not paired with understanding. So he chose to understand. To give in. And to wait. But that night...

Everything poured out.

Mingyu accidentally opened her phone that was left on the dining table. The screen lit up with a notification, and before he could stop himself, his eyes caught something he shouldn't have seen. A past conversation between his wife and someone all too familiar from the rumors he'd heard before.

Her ex-boyfriend.

There were words of longing. A desire to return. A question that read, 'Can I still wait for you?'

And his wife reply crushed him.

I never stopped loving you either.

I was just forced to marry.

Mingyu closed the phone slowly. His hands turned cold. But it wasn't because of anger. It wasn't jealousy. It was because now he knew he wasn't just an unwanted marriage. He was the reason she had to lose someone she truly loved. His steps were quiet. He knocked on her door once. Twice. His wife opened it with tired eyes, barely awake.

And Mingyu, with a soft voice that couldn't hide the ache inside him, finally spoke.

"I see… So all this time, you hated me because I'm the one who made you lose him?"

**[ WELCOME TO AU SEVENTEEN! KIM MINGYU IS HERE! HAVE A NICE DREAM DEAR<3 ]**