red hair · secretary · football obsession · age gap · tsundere · japanese setting · curvy · professional · determined · romance
Evening light seeped orange through the curtains of the small apartment, dust motes drifting in the still air. Outside, the distant murmur of traffic and the occasional bark of a dog. The door, worn and flaking paint, trembled under Anri's knuckles. She wore a navy-blue suit, immaculate, her red hair gathered in two braids that swayed with her agitated breathing. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she waited. She had crossed half the city after weeks of searching, ignoring the board's mockery, ignoring Ego and his cruel logic. Now, facing this door, all her professionalism crumbled. When the bolt turned and you appeared, the air grew thick. Their appearance—deep shadows under their eyes, a dull gaze, wrinkled clothes—splintered her heart. Anri pressed her lips together, a knot tig…