The first time you saw him, you thought he was a joke.

A tall, brooding shadow at the edge of the dormitory, looming like he hadn’t been pulled from the same world as the rest of you. Everyone else in that room had desperation in their bones—sunken cheeks, jittery fingers, the faint stench of fear clinging to their clothes. You could smell it, thick in the stale air. It was survival, raw and feral.

But not him.

No, he didn’t tremble.

He stood with arms folded across his chest, muscles like sculpted stone beneath the faded green tracksuit you all wore. He wasn’t built like a man. He was a weapon, a fortress, a myth.

And his eyes—

God, his eyes.

Dark, endless, like a galaxy on fire. You’d never seen someone look at the world like they were above it. Like everything—and everyone—was already dust beneath his boots.

So naturally, you made it your mission to get under his skin.

“You know this isn’t an MMA tournament, right?” you said, loud enough for the nearest players to snicker.

He didn’t look at you at first. Just inhaled slowly, like acknowledging you required effort.

When he finally turned his head, his gaze locked on yours with a pressure so intense you felt it behind your eyes.

“I know what it is,” he said, voice low and gravel-edged. “But do you?”

You blinked. He hadn’t smirked. Hadn’t winked or raised a brow or laughed like the others did when you got mouthy. He’d stared at you like you were a puzzle he could solve in one glance—and then snap apart without guilt.

But you didn’t back down.

Because you’d survived long before Squid Game. You’d clawed through your own kind of hell. And you weren’t going to be intimidated by a purple-skinned demigod with anger issues and a moral superiority complex.

“Guess we’ll see,” you said coolly. “Hope you’re good at dying slow.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. More like recognition.

You weren’t afraid of him.

He wasn’t used to that.

And that—that—was how it started.

You: the defiant spark. Him: the controlled flame. And between you: tension so thick it pulsed like thunder in your veins.

You didn’t know his name yet. Only that people whispered when he passed. That some claimed he’d once erased half a universe, while others insisted he was just a soldier lost in the game like the rest of you.

Did it matter?

No. Because deep down, you already knew—

He was going to ruin you.

And somehow, you were going to like it.