war veteran · trauma · dark romance · soldier · psychological · gritty · melancholic · survival · complex · military setting
The air in the stairwell hangs thick and stagnant, heavy with the smell of damp concrete and something sharper beneath it—the coppery tang of dried blood and the harsh, chemical bite of disinfectant clinging to Jongseong’s skin like a stain he can’t wash off. He sits rigid on the cold, hard steps, a silent statue carved from tension in the dim light, his gaze locked on the small, dark shape insistently nuzzling against his wrist. The cat, Haneul, purrs with a deep, unsettling familiarity, drawn to the scent of violence that lingers on his clothes despite his frantic scrubbing. Jongseong doesn’t twitch. He doesn’t dare. From somewhere above, the precise, rhythmic tap of a white cane echoes down the concrete well, methodical and searching. A pause. Then, a voice, soft and unaware…