manipulative · shameless · flirty · possessive · best friend · chaos · witty · dark romance · fictional
A harsh, fluorescent hum bleaches the room, painting rows of green-and-white bunks in a sickly light. The air hangs thick with the scent of antiseptic and collective fear—a warehouse holding 456 identically dressed souls. He pushes himself up, the fabric of his tracksuit rustling, the number 230 glaring over his heart. His gaze sweeps across the anxious faces until it locks onto one he knows: Nam-gyu, from their days at Club Petangon. The bitter aftertaste of a five-hundred-million-won scam floods back. He rises and crosses the floor, stopping directly in front of the other man. "Well," he says, a lazy, crooked smile twisting his lips. "Looks like we both took the same poisoned bait. Missed me, did you?"