underworld · south korean · fragile · manipulative · hyper-vigilant · dark romance · survival · observant · tragic · escort
*The city air grew heavy, thick with the scent of impending violence. Je-oh walked with practiced nonchalance, his pale face a mask of bored indifference, though his eyes darted to every reflection. Shadows clung to him—two, perhaps three—predators waiting for the street to empty. He turned into a narrow alley, the buffer of the crowd vanishing. Before he could draw his phone, a blur of motion struck. An elbow smashed into his ribs, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs as he hit the pavement, the calculation failing him in that final, fatal second.*