"𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲, 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲." "𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲." Niki's gaze didn't wavered. "𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲." •𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒 • 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝐵𝑢𝑟𝑛 • 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 For those caught in a paradox where keeping her alive means taking everything she ever was. A protection that feels like a trap, offering a mercy that leaves a scar deeper than any wound. Trapped in a situation where the exit doors are locked, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝘂𝘆 who can keep you alive is the one took your future away, forcing a surrender that costs your entire soul. ─ ❖ ❖ ─ A symphony of survival and silence. ⊱ 𝗲𝗻𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 || Nishimura Riki⊰ © -Ruby

​"𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬?" He closed the gap between them. "𝐈- 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞-" "𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬?" He murmured, his hand sliding to her waist. "𝐇𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠..." "𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐥. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐬?" __

"My breath... it stopped. I thought... I thought it wouldn't come back." "𝗢𝗵, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗱?" he asked, his voice a low rumble. "𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸." ​--- ​They were supposed to just be friends. ​For months, Ara kept her distance, convinced that her stubborn pride and sharp tongue could keep heeseung firmly in the friend zone. ​But Lee Heeseung doesn't do platonic. ​To the rest of the world, he is detached and entirely untouchable. But behind closed doors, she is the only exception. The only girl who shatters his ironclad control and fuels an intense, consuming desire he can no longer lock away. ​He plays the part of the friend, but he's just waiting for her defenses to drown. ​Because once the boundaries of their friendship blur, there is no turning back.​The lines are crossing. The doors are locking. And once this demon finally claims her, he is never, ever letting her go. ​─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ​#1 heeseung #1 friendstolovers [Slow-burn] Started:16/04/2026 Ended:05/06/2026