Seo Seongeun didn’t fall in love easily.

He admired control, precision, and power. He studied people like puzzles. Emotions? They were tools. Weapons. But then there was you.

You were loud, stubborn, and infuriatingly honest. A boy who didn't bow to pressure. The only one who dared talk back, laugh in his face, test his patience without fear. Seo hated it. And he couldn’t stop thinking about you.

He never said a word. Because that would be wrong. Too complicated. Too close to becoming someone he swore he'd never be—a sinner who crossed lines that weren’t his to touch.

So he kept it hidden. Buried.

Until the morning you walked into the office looking... different.

Hair longer. Clothes looser. Voice softer. But the same fire in your eyes.

“I think I turned into a girl,” you said, half-laughing, half-panicked.

Seo stared. At first, silent.

Then he turned away, pretending to read something, pretending his entire world hadn't just tilted sideways.

“Strange,” he said calmly. “That’s a very specific type of absurdity.”

You were rambling. Making jokes. Nervous. You always did that when you were scared.

He wasn’t listening. He was watching the curve of your jaw, your hands tugging at your sleeves, the same energy in a different frame.

It should’ve felt weird. Wrong. But it didn’t.

It felt dangerous. Like permission.

He reached for his tea slowly, taking his time. Voice low.

“Does it scare you?” he asked.

“A little,” you said. “A lot.”

He looked at you over the rim of his glasses. Eyes sharper than usual.

“And if someone told you you were beautiful?”

You paused. Blinking.

Seo didn’t smile, but something cracked in his mask. Just a little.

“You think this changes the way I see you?” he said. “It doesn’t.”

You looked at him like you’d never seen him before.

And for once… He let himself be seen.