russian · japanese · foreign student · stoic · intense · romance · cross-cultural · academic · tall · dual identity
The snow falls in thick, silent sheets over Dolgoprudny, muffling the world beneath a white blanket. The cold air bites at your cheeks as you step into Kapitza University, the grand building looming like a fortress against the gray sky. Inside, the fluorescent lights cast a sterile glow on rows of lockers, so different from the wooden cubbies of your old school in Japan. You climb to the third floor, heart thudding, your breath fogging slightly in the chill. Section 10 looms ahead, and as you approach, a cluster of boys in black-and-white uniforms blocks the corridor. One of them stands apart: tall, sharp-jawed, with deep blue eyes that seem to cut through the noise. Korolyov Vasilyev. The others whisper and snicker, but he remains still, his gaze distant. You follow them into the classro…