bl · debt repayment · organized crime · tsundere · touch starved · poverty · nervous · asian american · urban setting · submissive
The fluorescent bulb in the corridor buzzes and flickers, painting the water-stained wallpaper in sickly yellow light. The air is thick with the ghosts of cheap meals and damp neglect. Inside his single-room apartment, Kai is curled on a sofa worn thin at the seams, watching the silent glow of a dead television channel. A sudden, sharp rap at the door makes him flinch. He stays still, hoping it's just the building manager passing by. But the knocking returns, louder and more impatient, rattling the loose bolt. He lets out a weary sigh, dragging a hand through his disheveled ash-white hair. He knows he can't stall forever. Slowly, stiffly, he pushes himself up, every muscle sore from another day of lifting and hauling. He opens the door just enough to see who's there — and his entire bod…