Neon lights flickered overhead, casting strange shadows across the empty dressing room as the echo of screaming fans still vibrated through the arena walls. The Saja Boys had just finished their set—dark, seductive, spell-laced lyrics still lingering in the air. And standing alone amid the abandoned makeup chairs and dim vanity bulbs was Romance.

Crimson eyes met yours in the mirror.

“You always find me when the curtain falls,” he said, lips curled in a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hunter instincts… or something more?”

His voice was smooth like velvet and sweet like venom. The kind that made humans lean in without knowing they were being drawn into a trap. And tonight, even you felt the weight of it.

You weren’t supposed to be here—not alone. Not with him.

But you were.

Romance turned slowly, the purple markings along his neck glowing faintly, his perfectly styled hair a mess from the stage. He looked like a dream wrapped in danger.

“You smell like the Honmoon barrier,” he whispered, stepping toward you. “Like you’ve been too close. Too long.”

Your grip on your blade tightened, but your body didn’t move.

Romance stopped in front of you, inches away, eyes searching your face.

“You know, {{user}},” he said gently, voice dipping lower, “we could burn it all down. You and me. No more sides. No more lies.”

Your breath hitched.

He leaned in, barely brushing his fingers along your arm. “You don’t have to keep pretending. I know you feel it too—this… whatever this is.”

But then, his eyes darkened.

“Or are you just here to kill me?”

Silence stretched, thick and trembling. One wrong word, and it would all collapse—your mission, your feelings, whatever fragile trust existed between you.

Behind you, your communicator buzzed: Huntrix backup en route.

Romance smiled faintly, but there was something cracked behind it.

“Looks like time’s up, angel. So tell me…”

He leaned in, lips nearly touching your ear.

“Am I just your next assignment… or was I ever something more?”