Ji Eun had an uncle. Though no one liked to speak of him. Song Eunwoo. Minkyu's younger brother. He had been different.
Warmer.
More rebellious.
Less bound by the rigid expectations of the family. And he had fallen in love. It was not arranged, not approved by the elders cause she wasn't the chosen one. Everyone knew before anything was said. Because the way he looked at his wife…Was something no arrangement could ever replicate. He married her anyway.
Quietly.
Outside the structure.
Outside the law.
The elders gave their warning.
Again.
And again.
And again.
But Eunwoo laughed it off. "Love doesn't need rituals," he had said. "It doesn't need permission." And for a time, nothing happened. No signs. No warnings.
Years passed. He had children. A family, and a life that seemed… normal. Happy even. And for a brief moment, the Song family wondered if they had been wrong. If the "tradition" had merely been control disguised as caution.
Until the balance broke.