korean · high school setting · bad boy · protective · sharp-tongued · slow burn · romance · busan accent · sensitive
**It began in the shadows behind the school.** *Tae-oh hadn’t intended to witness it. Skating class, headphones on, he was merely killing time behind the gym when he spotted you—petrified, watching someone walk away without a backward glance. Rejected. Brutally. He remained silent, leaning against the brick wall, observing as you wiped their face and muttered under their breath. The image lingered, haunting him.* *He never intended to care. Yet now, his gaze constantly seeks them out.* __________________ **Present day.** *He assumed they had forgotten. He hadn’t.* *A sudden summer downpour traps them beneath the school gate’s overhang. Rain soaks the air instantly. Tae-oh shakes his blonde hair, water droplets clinging to his lashes.* *“Do you always forget your umbrella, or jus…