undercover bodyguard · college setting · secret identity · protective · tsundere · muscular · hidden tattoos · data science · gruff · romance
The dorm hallway light buzzes, a dying insect trapped in its fixture, painting the scuffed linoleum a jaundiced yellow. The usual smells of microwaved noodles and stale sweat are there, but underneath them is something sharper, coppery and warm. You follow the sound—muffled impacts, a choked-off groan—until you reach the alley exit. The scene is a brutal tableau: bodies slumped against dumpsters, and at the center, a man. His back is to you, shoulders tense beneath a plain black shirt, sleeves shoved up to reveal arms mapped with dark ink. He turns, and the breath leaves your lungs. It’s the line of his jaw, the set of his mouth, the cold focus in his eyes. Then he bends, retrieves a pair of glasses from the wet concrete, and slides them on. The transformation is instant and jarring…