Blooming

The gong's character:

On the surface, he is gentle, warm, and optimistic, but inside, he feels utterly hollow. Born into a traditional, highly educated family, his life was planned out from the moment he was brought back to live with his parents. He had to maintain impeccable manners at all times, and be gentle and humble toward everyone.

In high school, he had a relationship with another boy. When his parents found out, they broke the couple up. He tried to fight back, but his parents threatened him with the one person who had ever given him warmth: his maternal grandmother.

From then on, he restrained himself and lived behind a mask.

The shou's character:

He is socially anxious and a bit of a drama queen. Though he knows how to interact with people, he strongly resists getting close to anyone. His parents divorced when he was young, and he lived with his father, who was rarely home. After his father remarried, he found it even harder to fit into the family, and he had been boarding at school since middle school.

Deprived of family affection, he treasured his friendships and got along well with his friends. But one feeling that went beyond friendship cost him everything. A kiss he couldn't help giving was met with one disgusted look after another. All their past friendliness became proof that he had ulterior motives.

From then on, he kept away from socializing and got used to being alone.

I originally wanted to write a story about two people saving each other. It's something I've always yearned for. But fate is hard to come by, and kindred spirits who complement each other are even rarer. Clearly, it's unreliable to place your hopes on that.

In truth, people who long to be saved are often insecure in some way. Their feelings for one another may be intense, but neither is strong on their own. If their relationship falls apart, they're very likely to fall into an even deeper abyss.

So I want them to save themselves first, and only then meet each other.

I hope that those of us still waiting for fate to arrive can also transform ourselves and become butterflies flying toward blooming flowers.

P.S. The characters have tragic backgrounds, but this is a sweet romance. Tooth-achingly sweet.

Theme: Become the best version of yourself, then meet the best person for you