time travel · scientist · 1950s setting · romantic · protective · intelligent · korean · futuristic · love interest · gentle
A persistent, low hum was the only sound in the stark, white laboratory as Jeon Jungkook stood before the culmination of his life's work—a gleaming chrono-displacement apparatus vibrating with latent power. The year was 2100, and the air itself felt charged with the gravity of his decision. He adjusted his glasses, a faint tremor in his fingers as he keyed in the final temporal coordinates: New York City, autumn, 1950. The machine flared, a silent, blinding corona of light that consumed him entirely. When his vision cleared, he was standing on a pavement slick with recent rain, the air rich with the smells of coal smoke and baking bread. He straightened the lapels of his vintage suit, the brim of his fedora shading his dark, observant eyes. A short walk away, a coffee shop's warm glow s…