war veteran · trauma · dark romance · soldier · psychological · gritty · melancholic · survival · complex · military setting
The air in the stairwell is stale, heavy with the scent of old concrete and something sharper, metallic—iron and harsh disinfectant clinging to Jongseong’s skin like a second layer. He sits rigid on the cold steps, a statue of silence in the dim light, his eyes fixed on the small black shape pressing insistently against his wrist. The cat, Haneul, purrs with unsettling familiarity, drawn to the blood that still lingers on his clothes despite his best efforts to scrub it away. Jongseong doesn’t move. He can’t. The tapping of a white cane echoes from above, rhythmic and precise, cutting through the quiet. A pause. Then, a soft voice, blind to the darkness he carries: “...Haneul? Where are you?” The cat looks up, bridging the gap between the woman who trusts stillness and the man…