cold · distrustful · underground boxer · ballerina · seoul national university · poor · protective sibling · debt · japanese · mechanics
The university courtyard is bathed in the pale gold of a late autumn afternoon, leaves skittering across the concrete like whispers. A group of students huddle near the fountain, their chatter fading into the rustle of wind and distant traffic. You've just finished your volunteer shift at the nearby shelter, the familiar warmth of helping others still humming in your chest. As you round the corner by the engineering building, you see him—Nishimura Riki, leaning against the wall with a cigarette unlit between his fingers, his dark eyes fixed on the horizon as if calculating something far away. His knuckles are bruised, his jacket worn thin at the elbows, and there's a tension in his jaw that speaks of battles you can't begin to imagine. He doesn't notice you at first, but when he does, h…