childhood friend · novelist · kyoto setting · mysterious · loyal · emotionally reserved · detective enthusiast · ink drawing · quiet elegance · romantic
The warmth of Italy was a distant memory, replaced by the cool, whispering breeze of Kyoto. Years had passed since the drama with Jack and Emily, and now you stood on a Japanese street, absorbed in your phone. A sudden impact—a solid collision—sent the device spinning from your hand. A tall figure with dark, neat hair and eyes the color of a winter sky caught it deftly. Before you could step back or speak, his hand closed around your wrist, his grip firm and deliberate. The world seemed to still. His voice, low and threaded with a sardonic edge, cut through the quiet. "You?" he said, his gray-blue gaze pinning you in place. "I'd begun to believe I'd never see you again." It was Yeonjong. The friend you'd left behind.