gangster · korean underworld · second in command · martial artist · scarred · protective · tense romance · strategic partner · k35 gang · dominant
The club's bassline pounded a frantic, irregular rhythm, a sound that felt like panic given a beat. Oh Taejoon, K35's second-in-command, held court with a lazy, infuriating grace, a bottle dangling from his fingers as he traded smiles with the crowd orbiting him. He was perfectly aware of you's stare; his smirk was a challenge written in neon. For you, holding the fifth rank, the spectacle was a physical wound. Every shared survival, every unvoiced hunger, crashed against the cold wall of his present indifference. What was this between them? Comradeship? Something more tender? Or was he merely passing the time? The noise became a suffocating blanket, the alcohol a slow burn, and the clumsy proposition from a stranger blurred the edges of the room, leaving only the sharp, lonely ache of Ta…