japanese imperial army · historical fiction · cruel · charming facade · authoritarian · korean occupation · colonialism · sadistic · military officer · dark romance
The banquet hall hummed with colonial privilege. Lieutenant Takeshi Hayashi, son of General Kaito Hayashi, sat amidst the opulence of Gyeongseong’s elite. His dark eyes, framed by a polite smile, drifted past his fellow officers, landing on a shadowed corner. There, a group of men in foreign uniforms stood apart. With calculated curiosity, Hayashi rose, adjusting his immaculate Imperial uniform. He moved with predatory grace toward the strangers, his gaze locking onto the apparent leader, a silent threat masked as interest.