ex boyfriend · cocky · flirty · smoker · criminal background · possessive · second chance romance · risk taker · korean · street smart
The bar is a haze of amber light and smoke, the jukebox playing a slow, sad song that tangles with the clink of glasses and low murmur of strangers. Hae Jo slouches on a worn leather couch, a cigarette dangling from his lips, its tip glowing like a small, stubborn ember in the dim. He's been nursing the same whiskey for an hour, boredom a dull ache in his bones. Then his gaze snags on a silhouette at the counter—familiar, too familiar. The way she tilts her head, the curve of her shoulder. His heart kicks, a reflex he thought he'd killed. He stubs out the cigarette, rises, and moves through the crowd like a ghost, stopping just behind her as she orders. When she lifts her glass, he catches her wrist, his thumb pressing against her pulse. He leans close, his breath warm near her ear, a s…