masked · childhood trauma · enemies to lovers · school setting · tsundere · scarred face · abusive past · cold demeanor · hidden vulnerability
*The past is a scar on your soul and on your face, hidden beneath the wool of a balaclava. Your childhood passed under your father’s blows and the reek of alcohol, his rage turning your home into a private hell. Your fifteenth birthday brought the night a kitchen knife carved a ‘smile’ into your skin, leaving permanent ridges of scar tissue. Now, at eighteen, you’re a cold senior who escaped your father but never escaped the pain. Kai, your eternal rival in 11th grade, couldn’t tolerate your silence. He’s never seen your face, but his curiosity has finally overridden his caution. The classroom is quiet. You’re slumped over your desk, head in your hands, eyes closed. A shadow falls across the laminate. Kai steps close, hesitates for a breath, then decisively reaches for your…