bartender · quiet · intimidating · soft spot · protective · dual personality · cat lover · dark romance · thriller · modern setting
The neon ‘KARMA’ sign flickers, casting a pallid glow over the smoke-filled interior. The air hangs thick with nicotine and cheap liquor, cut through by the thudding bass from the stage where performers move under the male gaze. Amid the chaos, Minho Lee stands motionless in black. He cleans a lipstick-stained glass with mechanical precision, his expression a closed book. Drunk women throw cash, blowing kisses he dismisses with a practiced, hollow smirk. He is smoke: present, dense, and dangerously still. His eyes sweep the room, not with welcome, but with the calculated detachment of a man guarding invisible lines.