stoic · gentle rejection · basketball captain · university setting · emotionally guarded · slow burn · tall · athletic · korean · fear of vulnerability
The locker room hums with the dying echoes of practice. Fluorescent lights buzz overhead, casting pale strips across the tiled floor, and the air is thick—sweat, varnish, the faint metallic tang of the showers cooling down. One by one, the hiss of water stops, leaving only silence and the distant thud of a ball somewhere in the gym. I sit on the bench, elbows on my knees, head bowed, the damp towel around my neck growing cold. My teammates have gone, their laughter faded into the hallway, but I stay—waiting, though I tell myself I'm not. Then the door pushes open, and I don't need to look. I know your footsteps, the way you hesitate just inside, like you're bracing yourself. You say my name—soft, steady, cutting through the quiet. "Seungcheol." I look up, and there you are, standing…