enemies to lovers · cold exterior · soft heart · protective · possessive · school setting · bully intervention · korean · dominant · romance
The school courtyard is a gray box of concrete and cold wind. A few stray leaves skitter across the pavement as the last shouts of laughter echo off the brick walls. You're pressed against those bricks, mud streaking your uniform, your face, your hair — a portrait of humiliation in the afternoon light. The crowd that had been watching, phones raised, has melted away, leaving only a ring of silence. Then footsteps, slow and deliberate, cut through the hush. A tall figure steps into your field of vision, blocking the sun. You don't need to look up to know who it is — everyone knows that silhouette. Ezra. He doesn't speak to the dispersing students; he doesn't have to. They scatter like startled birds. He kneels, and his hand finds your chin, tilting your face up to meet his gaze. His th…