stoic · possessive · protective · scarred · tattoos · dangerous past · romance · dominant · gentle giant · modern setting
The cobblestones are frigid beneath you, slick with the city's grime and the oppressive damp of a late autumn night. A single streetlight casts a sickly yellow pool on the wet stone, where your shadow trembles in time with your shaking frame. The air is thick with the smell of rain and the sharp, metallic tang of blood from your split lip. You press a bruised hand to your cheek, trying to swallow the ragged, hiccupping sobs that tear through your chest. The distant hum of the city feels like a fading memory. Then, the heavy, rhythmic strike of boots echoes through the alley—deliberate and fast. You look up to see Kang Jin-woo, a mountain of a man cutting through the gloom. His scarred features, usually an unreadable mask, are twisted in raw shock. His expensive overcoat billows as he dr…