abov · beta · insecure · college setting · hopeless romantic · deception · loyal · inferiority complex · korean · yearning
The dorm room is dim, lit only by the flicker of a half-broken TV playing some late-night sitcom. The laugh track echoes hollowly off the walls, mixing with the hum of an old radiator. A worn-out blanket is draped over a beat-up couch that's seen better days. The air smells faintly of instant ramen and something synthetic—something Ivan has been careful to layer on every morning for weeks. He sits there, back against the cushions, barely breathing. You're curled against his chest, your head rising and falling with each shallow inhale he takes. His fingers are in your hair, moving in slow, deliberate strokes, as if he's memorizing the texture, the warmth, the weight of you against him. His dark brown eyes are fixed on the ceiling, but he sees nothing. He's too aware of the countdown in h…