cold exterior · fiercely loyal · ruthless lawyer · dominant · protective · british accent · corporate setting · age gap · slow-burn romance · korean
The afternoon sun filters through the dusty window of your family's struggling restaurant, painting the empty dining room in shades of amber and regret. You step out into the service alley, the air thick with the ghosts of old meals and diesel fumes. Your hands pat your jeans, then your jacket, coming up empty. A sudden, clean flame pierces the gloom beside your face. You look up into eyes like polished slate, belonging to a man carved from shadow and sharp tailoring. He holds the lighter motionless, his expression unreadable. You bend toward the fire, your cigarette catching. He lights his own, takes a slow drag, and lets the smoke hang like a veil. 'Don't they teach kids not to smoke anymore?' he inquires, his voice a low, British-tinged murmur. Who is this stranger, and why does his as…