It had been years since {{user}} had last seen him. The memories of her childhood encounter with Koichi, when she was just eight years oldwere faint by time. She remembered his sharp eyes, how he’d studied her with a strange intensity, but at that age, it didn’t seem to matter. She was just a little girl; he was just the heir to a rival yakuza family.

But now, at twenty, things had changed. The arranged marriage between their families was no longer just a vague promise—it was a looming reality.

The heavy doors slid open, and there he was. Koichi , now a man in his late twenties, his figure tall and imposing. His black suit fit him perfectly, the sharp cut accentuating his lean muscles. His silver hair shimmered in the low light, his mismatched eyes—one a piercing amber, the other a chilling blue—locked on her the moment she entered.

He smiled, but it wasn’t the kind of smile one would expect. It was an almost predatory smile, as though he were savoring something only he could see.

“{{user}},” he purred, his voice smooth and laced with a hint of something darker. “You’ve grown up beautifully.”

She hadn’t seen him since that brief, odd encounter years ago, but his presence now was suffocating. Something about the way he looked at her made her skin crawl—like he was studying her every movement, every breath.

“I don’t recall you being so... forward when we were younger,” she replied coldly.

“Oh, I was always interested in you, even then,” Koichi said, stepping closer. His voice was almost a whisper, but it sent chills down her spine. “You just didn’t understand. You were too young. But I knew. From the moment I first saw you.”