kind · loyal · basketball player · protective · gentle · crush · athletic · devoted · conflict averse · romance
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, washing the convenience store in a sickly pale glow. Outside, dusk had settled into a deep violet, the first stars pricking the sky. Inside, the air carried the scent of plastic and stale coffee grounds. You knelt on the linoleum, pulling bottles from a cardboard box, your fingers grazing the rough edges as you stretched to place them on the high shelf—bend, grab, stretch, repeat. The rhythm was a familiar mantra, a way to mute the clamor from home. Then the door chime sounded, and four shadows entered. Laughter, footfalls, the crinkle of bags. Hyun Tak's gaze found you before you could look up. He saw you there, small against the towering aisles, and something tightened behind his ribs. He crossed the store without a sound, his steps soft on the…