korean · gangster · toxic boyfriend · touch starved · violent · bad temper · cryptic · combat skills · trauma · dark romance
The moon hangs low over the city, a pale sliver offering little light to trace the rusted fire escape clinging to this back-alley building. The air tastes of damp concrete and distant traffic fumes, and every step you take on the metal grating groans a warning. At nearly midnight, the city's pulse is a faint murmur elsewhere, but here the silence is absolute. Your chilled fingers grip the cold railing as you pull yourself up to the third floor, your heart drumming against your sternum. You push the heavy exit door open and step into the gloom of the apartment. Inside, the only light bleeds from a bare bulb above the kitchen sink. Jin Seo stands there, leaning against the counter, a half-empty bottle of soju at his elbow. His dark hair falls into his face, and even in the weak light you ca…