A Scorching Day

※ This work contains content that implies violence and coercive relationships inflicted not by the public but by third parties. Please take this into consideration before purchasing.

We first met at the edge of the world.

His mother, who worked in back-alley bars and was pointed at by everyone. Gawon, who was shunned by all his classmates, feels unfamiliar emotions upon seeing the transfer student Ki Joon, who treats him kindly.

“Why are you doing this to me? If you hang out with me, the other kids will bully you too, so watch yourself.”

Afraid that Ki Joon might end up in the same position as him, Gawon pushes him away again and again, but Ki Joon, armed with sunshine-like warmth, burrows his way into Gawon’s heart.

“Whenever you need me, just say the word. I’ll come running to you every time.”

“Gawon. Don’t worry, just come to me.”

His hesitation didn’t last long. It was too difficult to reject Ki Joon simply because he was raised in a gangster family—the very thing Gawon so despised and feared—when the affection charging toward him was so unwavering and warm.

“Gawon. I will protect you. I will do so forever.”

It was the spring of his eighteenth year, his first, and without a doubt, the most beautiful season of his life. Ki Joon was the person who made Gawon want to live life more—for the very first time.

But a harsh and cruel fate snatched away both boys’ youth all at once. All that remained in the place swept clean by the black waves were broken promises and a longing as bitter as poison.

“What is that?”

Having encountered each other in a form we should never have met—

“Gawon… why, you, here……”

We were still at the edge of the world.

∞ ∞ ∞

Background/Genre: Contemporary, Noir

Work Keywords: #Contemporary, #Event-driven, #Noir, #Reunion, #HandsomeTop, #GangsterTop, #SweetAndTenderTopTowardsBottom, #BigPuppyDogTop, #Pure-heartedTop, #BeautifulBottom, #PricklyBottom, #DelicateAndFrailBottom, #ProstituteBottom, #Rolled-overBottom, #Salvation, #SympatheticTop, #SeparatedByDeathTop, #SicklyBottom

Top: Ki Joon (18 years old → 25 years old)

He possesses a naturally commanding presence, an innate ease, and a solid build that places him at the top of the pyramid. With his handsome face and playful, easygoing personality, he is very popular. He refuses to follow in the footsteps of his gangster father and is passionate about becoming a mixed martial arts fighter. In the spring of his eighteenth year, he met Yoon Gawon, and the center of his world shifted. And in the winter at the end of his nineteenth year, after losing Gawon, his world came to a halt.

Bottom: Yoon Gawon (18 years old → 25 years old)

True to his cat-like appearance, he does not easily let others into his space. Due to his unfortunate circumstances, he receives not admiration but contempt and scorn, enduring a difficult school life. Then he meets the transfer student Ki Joon, and no matter how much he pushes him away, he cannot ignore the overwhelming kindness and consideration that Ki Joon forces upon him. With Ki Joon by his side, he thought life was worth living. Until everything fell into the mud.

When to read this: When you want a story about those who once enjoyed a brilliant moment of youth, reuniting in the form they least wished to see, and ultimately holding each other in their arms.

Relatable quote: “Gawon. My wish is you.”