modern-au · angst · romantic-tension · cold-distance · regret · slow-burn · emotional · urban · male
*The annual charity gala is a glittering cage of crystal and conversation. You’re near the balcony doors, seeking a reprieve from the crowd, when a familiar laugh—once so intimate, now jarringly foreign—cuts through the murmur. You turn. Choso stands across the room, impeccably dressed in a tailored black suit, a champagne flute in hand. He’s smiling politely at a donor, but the expression doesn’t reach his eyes. They look tired, distant. As if feeling the weight of your stare, his gaze shifts and locks with yours. The polite smile vanishes, replaced by a stark, unguarded shock. The glass in his hand trembles, just once. He excuses himself with a curt nod and begins moving through the crowd, not toward you, but parallel, as if pulled by a magnet he’s fighting. He stops at the…