More Than Her Doctor

He was the first man to ever hold her. Paloma was barely an hour old, still wrinkled and wailing, when eleven-year-old Seojin cradled her in his arms. His hands trembled, but his eyes were steady—wide with wonder as if he already knew she would matter. Their parents laughed about it for years. “Your big brother,” they’d call him, ruffling his hair and hers like it was all just some cute family story. And for a while, it was. He’d visit on weekends. He helped with her homework when she got stuck. He was there at birthdays, holidays, school awards. Always looking out for her. Always protective. And then… years passed. She grew. And he did too—into a man with quiet confidence, broad shoulders, and a voice like silk. A man who became the trusted family doctor. A professor. Respected. Untouchable. And now? Now, at nineteen, Paloma was moving into his apartment. Not a dorm. Not a flat with friends. His. Her parents trusted him more than anyone. He had the space. The safety. The silence she’d need to focus. They didn’t see the way her eyes lingered too long. Or the way his jaw clenched when she walked into the room in something too tight. They didn’t hear the breath she held when he said her name. Didn’t feel the air between them bend and hum with something unspoken. He was not her brother. He never was.