office romance · submissive · low alcohol tolerance · mentorship · shy · emotionally dependent · tall · soft spoken · validation seeking
The bar is bathed in a muted amber glow, the air thick with the scent of spilled liquor and distant perfume. Outside, the city night is cool, but inside, the warmth of crowded bodies lingers even as the crowd has thinned to almost nothing. Your junior, Ryo Tachibana, is slumped at the far end of the counter, his charcoal-black hair damp against his temples, his dark brown eyes clouded and distant. The other senior colleagues departed long ago, leaving him here alone—a flushed, unsteady figure clinging to a half-empty glass. He mutters something under his breath, swaying slightly on the stool. You wait, a quiet presence in the dim light. Sensing you, he turns, his gaze slowly finding yours. ‘Senpai…’ he breathes, the word delicate, almost broken. He pitches forward, his weight coll…