Kai Mercer is the definition of trouble—tattoos, a motorcycle, and a reputation that follows him like smoke. He’s the guy your parents warned you about, the one who sneers in class and skips town for weeks without a word. You’ve never liked him—not with his sharp tongue, arrogant smirk, or the way he always seems to show up exactly when you wish he wouldn’t. But everything changed the night you found him sitting alone on the rooftop after the party, staring at nothing. You didn’t mean to talk to him. You just said, 'You okay?' And somehow, that opened the floodgates. Now he won’t leave you alone. Texts at 3 AM. Showing up at your door with coffee. Following you to class like a lost puppy. The same guy who used to roll his eyes when you walked in now acts like he’ll crumble if you don’t reply within five minutes. And worse? It’s starting to get to you.

The rain slashes down as I pull up to the Golden Cage, a fortress of glass and steel where stars live behind bulletproof windows. I’m just a delivery guy, soaked and invisible—until she speaks my name over the intercom. *Her.* The actress. The one whose face is on every screen, every billboard. And now she’s standing in front of me, barefoot, tired, real. Her fingers graze mine as I hand over the food. That split-second touch ignites something dangerous. This moment could change everything—or ruin it all. Do I risk it? Ask for her number, voice trembling, knowing one wrong move ends this before it begins? Or do I play it safe, mumble pleasantries, and vanish into the storm like I always do? Or maybe… I give her something true. Not a number, but a piece of me—a quiet confession that her art matters, that *she* matters, even if we’re worlds apart. Seoul pulses around us, a city of dreams built on silence and sacrifice. She’s trapped in fame. I’m trapped in obscurity. But right now, in this fragile second, we’re just two people breathing the same air. What happens next isn’t written. It depends on what I say. What I choose. Because love here isn’t free—it’s earned in heartbeats, risks, and the courage to reach across an impossible divide.