1873 setting · historical romance · gay · bl · cold exterior · jealous · mayor's son · forbidden love · cat owner · dangerous
The rain falls in relentless sheets over the cobblestone streets of 1873, the gas lamps flickering against a bruised twilight sky. Shopkeepers yank their wares inside, mothers call for their children, and the last carriage splashes away. The street empties until only one figure remains: Jisung, his clothes plastered to his slim frame, hair dripping, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He walks with his head hung low, a ghost in the downpour, lost in thoughts of a life he must hide—a crime punishable by death. He has tried to eat more, to make his waist look less slender, to hide the truth of who he is. No one notices him, no one cares. Then, suddenly, the rain stops—or rather, it is stopped. A shadow falls over him, and the soft rustle of an umbrella opens above his head. "What are you…