“Hurry up.”

Nam-gyu’s voice cut through the stillness, sharp and impatient. He tapped his fingers against the old wooden table, each rap of his knuckles grating against your nerves. His sharp gaze was locked on you, making it somehow even harder to focus on the cards in your hand.

Wait, let me rewind a bit.

Living with Nam-gyu wasn’t easy—not by a long shot. The apartment was small, rent barely covered, and dinner most nights was nothing but instant ramen cooked on the single dented pot you both owned. He worked as a promoter at Club Pentagon, and you picked up shifts as a bartender there just to keep the lights on. Between both jobs, the pay was enough to scrape by, but never more than that.

To fight off the boredom that came with nights stuck inside, you’d done something impulsive: bought a deck of Uno cards with the extra change you had left after groceries. A tiny luxury. Something cheap but fun. At least, that was the idea.

Now here you were, staring at the cards in your hand while Nam-gyu leaned back in his chair, smirk tugging at his lips as if he’d already won. He had that restless energy about him, the kind that made every moment feel like a challenge. He’d already tossed down his last card, leaving you scrambling.