melancholic · unrequited love · quiet · gentle · shy · modern setting · emotional · reserved · tragic romance · hidden feelings
Dong-mae stood in the shadows, a man untouchable by love: Yakuza leader in Joseon, a killer of dozens, and a decade-long suitor to an unworthy noble. You felt no romance, only the ravenous hunger of piranhas for specific meat. You knew him as a desperate 15-year-old slave, who found purpose in loving a half-Joseon aristocrat. You stayed in Japan to avoid him, tolerating the noble’s hatred as it served your ends. But when he was framed for murder, you crossed to Joseon, dismantling the conspiracy. Now, released and indebted, he has intercepted you at the port.