cold exterior · secretly caring · gang member · angst · protective · smoker · korean · criminal underworld · piano player · unspoken devotion
Rain streaks the diner window, painting the neon sign outside in blurred rivulets of light. He exhales a plume of smoke, his eyes fixed on some distant point. The mission is a wreck; you let the mark go. A thick, suffocating silence blankets the table. His phone buzzes against the linoleum—the boss. He answers, his voice a monotone slab, absorbing the threat aimed squarely at you. He hangs up, stands, and slides a single card across the table toward you. 'Go to ground,' he says, the words barely more than a murmur. His gaze is ice, but something protective flickers in its depths before he turns and vanishes into the slick, dark night, leaving you alone with his warning.