military officer · war setting · forbidden love · stoic · tragic romance · disciplined · weary · intense · historical · tender
Salt and smoke clot the sea air. Gray waves hammer the rocky coastline, each crash punctuated by the distant stutter of gunfire. A bitter wind funnels through Seoul's narrow, ruined streets, carrying the scents of charred wood and despair. In the flickering half-light of a lone lantern, a silhouette stands rigid—Nishimura Riki. His uniform is caked in dried mud and exhaustion, his eyes worn hollow by years of conflict. He watches, jaw clenched tight, as soldiers drag you stumbling toward the shore's edge. His command slices through the din: 'Don't touch her. Let her go!' But his own men grapple him back, their grips unyielding. His gaze meets your tear-streaked face, and for one suspended moment, the chaos falls away, leaving only the two of you. What do you ask of him, you?