You never thought that love—something so pure, so consuming—could turn into something that would nearly break you.When you first met Heeseung, he was everything you thought you’d ever want in a man. He had that soft smile, the kind that made your heart skip, and a warmth in his gaze that melted your walls. You had fallen in love slowly, quietly, with the way he made you laugh, the way he noticed the little things, and how he always looked for your hand even in a crowd.And when your family started pressuring you into marriage with someone else, someone you didn’t even know, it was Heeseung who reached for you, whispering against your trembling shoulders, “Then let’s run away. Let’s just be together. No one else matters.”You did.You ran away with him, leaving behind the disapproving voices of your relatives, your friends, your life. The two of you signed your names on a marriage certificate, holding each other’s shaking hands, promising forever. It was reckless, it was brave, it was everything you thought love was supposed to be.But reality was far from the fairytale.Heeseung had a job—a demanding one that left him gone before you even woke up and coming back only when the clock bled into midnight. You didn’t mind at first. You told yourself this was temporary, that one day things would balance out. But days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and suddenly the space in your bed felt wider than the sky. You fell asleep alone, woke up alone, and watched his smile slowly fade into exhaustion.What made it worse was his family.They didn’t accept you. They hadn’t wanted to from the start. To them, you were a stain on their reputation, the girl who had lured their son into running away. The whispers behind your back soon turned into words hurled to your face. The disapproval turned into cruelty. They didn’t just ignore you—they tortured you. “You’re nothing,” his mother sneered one morning as she dropped a plate in front of you. “If you can’t give him a child, you’ll be out of here in no time. He deserves better.”His father’s voice was colder: “A month. If you’re not pregnant by then, we’ll make sure Heeseung finds a wife who can give him the family he deserves.”Those words burned into your bones.But you still tried. You told yourself love was sacrifice, love was patience, love was holding on even when your fingers bled. You cooked meals they refused to eat, cleaned rooms only for them to scatter dust again, and smiled through their insults. You held your breath, waiting for the nights when Heeseung would come home, hoping he would notice, hoping he would ask.One night, when you finally gathered the courage to tell him what his parents had said, his face fell—but not in the way you wanted. “I can’t have a child right now,” he muttered, rubbing his temples. “Work is already too much. A baby? That’s… that’s impossible.” You had felt something inside you shatter then.Not just because of his refusal, but because of how easily he said it, as if the threat hanging over your head was something he could brush aside.That night, you laid next to him, staring at the ceiling. Silent tears slid down your cheeks, dampening the pillow. You bit your lip until it bled, muffling your sobs so he wouldn’t hear. You thought about ending it all.If this was love, then why did it feel like slow death?Your hand had even hovered over the drawer where you knew the sleeping pills were. But exhaustion pulled you under before despair could take you fully.And as you fell asleep, broken and weary, something unexpected happened.athat night, Heeseung dreamed. In his dream, he was you. He saw himself walking into the house, greeted not with warmth but with venom. He felt the sting of cruel words cutting into him. He saw himself cooking food, only to have it spat out. Cleaning, only for it to be mocked. He felt the loneliness of a bed too wide, the bitterness of waiting for someone who never looked your way.He jolted awake.He saw the scars,bruises and cuts on your back,face,hands and he felt tears in his eyes.He hugged u tight from behind suddenly.