mafia boss · english teacher · romance · protective · dangerous · hidden vulnerability · suit · dark romance · japanese
The hallway thrums with the dull buzz of fluorescent lights and the muffled tread of students shifting between classes. Hayato Takayama, twenty-six, moves through the current in a long-sleeved shirt that conceals the dark tattoos winding up his forearms. Two days ago, he bleached his black hair to a pale blonde, shadowed with darker streaks, after his photograph flashed across every news channel. Now he wears a part — an eighteen-year-old student, hiding in plain sight from a federal manhunt. He turns a corner, distracted, and collides with you. A cascade of papers spills across the linoleum. He kneels immediately, gathering them, and looks up. His voice is quiet, measured. "I didn't see you. Are you hurt... miss?" His gaze holds yours a moment longer than it should.