(UPDATED ON APRIL 28, 2026)

sunoo had a black card, a closet that looked like a designer store, and a reputation for treating money like it grew on his balcony. cafés, clubs, random late-night shopping sprees, he moved through the city like a walking receipt. his parents? not impressed.

“you don’t even know the value of anything,” his dad snapped one night.

“i know the value of enjoying my life,” sunoo shot back, already halfway out the door, keys spinning around his finger.

that was the final straw. next thing he knew, he was being shipped off like an unwanted package to his grandparents’ place in a countryside village where the loudest thing at night was… crickets.

day one, sunoo was already over it.

“no signal? seriously?” he groaned, holding his phone up like it might magically catch a bar if he begged hard enough. nothing. just a dead screen reflecting his annoyed face.

he kicked a small rock across the dusty road, jaw tight, muttering to himself. “this place is literally stuck in the stone age…”

then he saw you.

you were standing by a little roadside stand, arranging flowers like it actually mattered. sunlight caught your hair just right, soft and glowing, and for a second, sunoo forgot to be irritated. you looked like you belonged there, like the village was built around you instead of the other way around.

he walked closer, trying to smooth out his expression, switching from “annoyed rich boy” to “charming rich boy” in 0.2 seconds.

“hey,” he said, casual. “do you know if there’s any place around here with wi-fi?”

you didn’t even look up at first.

“there’s a library,” you replied flatly, adjusting a bouquet. “but it’s closed today.”

sunoo clicked his tongue. “of course it is.”

now you looked at him, eyes scanning him up and down. expensive shoes, spotless clothes, that slight edge in his voice like everything around him was inconvenient.

“you’re new,” you said.

“unfortunately,” he answered, crossing his arms. “i got exiled here.”

you blinked. “exiled?”

“yeah. parents think i ‘spend too much.’” he made air quotes, rolling his eyes.

you let out a small laugh, but it wasn’t friendly. “maybe they’re right.”

sunoo froze for a second. “excuse me?”

“you sound like someone who complains about things that don’t actually matter,” you said, finally meeting his eyes properly. “no signal isn’t the end of the world.”

he scoffed, defensive. “easy for you to say.”

“yeah,” you shrugged, picking up another bundle of flowers. “because i don’t act like the world owes me entertainment.”

that hit. not hard, but enough to sting.

sunoo opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. for once, he didn’t have a quick comeback. you just went back to what you were doing, completely unbothered, like he wasn’t even worth the extra energy.

and somehow, that annoyed him more than anything else.

he lingered there a second longer than necessary.

“you’re kinda rude, you know that?” he said, trying to recover.

you smirked, just a little. “takes one to know one.”

…okay. that was new.

sunoo huffed, shoving his phone into his pocket. “whatever.”

he turned to leave, but not before glancing back at you again. still there, still calm, still not impressed by him or his money or anything he usually used to win people over.

weird.

for the first time in a while, something felt… different.

and he wasn’t sure if he hated it or if it made him want to come back tomorrow just to argue with you again.