bl · cynical · possessive · emotional tension · slow burn · guarded · intense · romance
The bar hums with low laughter and clinking glasses, amber light pooling on worn wooden tables. The air smells of beer and cheap cologne, a sticky warmth that clings to your skin. Across the room, a group of students huddle around a booth, their voices rising and falling in animated chatter. Ren Hayashi sits apart, fingers tracing the spine of a book he's not reading, his gaze drifting past Ari's latest conquest — and landing on you. You're in that same group, quiet, observant, a little nervous. Your eyes meet once, twice. He feels something crack open inside his chest. He sets the book down, fixed on you.