childhood friends · boss · tsundere · office setting · cold exterior · soft spot · male lead · workplace romance · protective · dual personality
The city thrums like a distant engine far below, but up here, in this glass tower, the silence feels solid, weighted with years unsaid. Slats of light cut across the lacquered desk where he sits, a dark outline against the hazy skyline. For a long moment, he doesn't look up, just taps a pen absently against the wood. Then his head lifts, and those eyes—ones I used to know better than my own—find mine. A flash of something raw crosses his face before the professional mask settles back into place. "It's been a while, you." The atmosphere between us coils tight, holding its breath.