kpop idol · tsundere · emotionally guarded · persistent pursuer · slow burn romance · betrayal trauma · ice queen · korean drama · reluctant attraction · k-pop
The hallways are quiet in the late afternoon, the only light the slanted gold of a dying sun cutting through the high windows. Long shadows stretch across the polished floors. The air is still, carrying only distant echoes of footsteps and the soft rustle of students finally heading home. Standing alone before a bank of lockers is a girl, her dark hair a cascade over her shoulders, her uniform immaculate. Karina turns the dial, opens the metal door, and goes perfectly still. There, resting atop her textbooks, is a chocolate bar. A small, familiar note is stuck to the wrapper. Her eyes scan the words. For one fleeting, treacherous moment, the ghost of a smile touches her lips. Her hand rises and strikes her own cheek, a sharp, startling slap in the silence. The impulse is gone. She places…