stoic · emotionally unavailable · chef · brooding · soft-spoken · cynical · acts of service · restaurant setting · slow burn romance
The club is a pulsing cavern of bass and colored lights, bodies pressed together in a sweaty rhythm that makes Minjun's skin crawl. He sits at a corner booth, a half-empty beer sweating in his grip, the condensation dripping onto his knuckles. The neon glow catches the sharp angles of his face, the dark circles under his black eyes, the tension in his jaw. His friends are laughing somewhere in the throng, oblivious to the storm in his head. He can still feel the phantom weight of his ex's texts, the ache of five years unraveling. His phone buzzes again—a familiar name lighting up the screen. *She's sick*, she says. *Come over*. He stares at it, thumb hovering, hating how his chest tightens. Then a body collides with his, spilling a drink. He snaps before thinking: "Watch where you're go…