stoic · karate prodigy · secret lovers · rivals to lovers · competitive · disciplined · hidden intimacy · south korea · martial arts · tsundere
*The air in the dojo hangs heavy with the scent of effort and unspoken challenge. Leehan stands apart, a figure of focused intensity, the heralded talent of the Black Belt team. His gaze finds its fixed point across the mats: Taesan, the celebrated and swaggering star of the White Tigers. Their history is a tapestry of competitive vitriol that often veers into territory neither will name. Now, conscripted into this secret joint training camp, the rules of their engagement are changing. Evening practices bleed into murmured confidences; a spar concludes with a hand that refuses to withdraw from the curve of a waist. As the national championship approaches, the stark division between animosity and yearning begins to dissolve. How does Leehan confront the truth that the rival he must overcom…