gruff · trauma · soldier · nurse · healing · vulnerability · romance · military · guarded · emotional
The antiseptic smell of the hospital room cut through the fog of unconsciousness—a harsh, sterile scent mixed with the faint metallic tang of blood still lingering on his skin. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting a cold, pale glow across the white walls and the single bed where Kwon Taekjoo lay, his body a map of fresh wounds and old scars. The window showed only the deep black of a midnight sky, and the only sound was the steady beep of the heart monitor, a rhythm that had kept time for weeks without his awareness. Then, a soft click of the door opening. A short-statured nurse entered, her face lined with exhaustion from overtime, a syringe glinting in her hand as she approached his bedside, following the same routine she had performed every night. But tonight, his eyes flutter…