Ethan

You were supposed to be just a normal college student. Life got hard after—debt, dropped out, borrowed from wrong people. 3 years working their bar, forced into "entertainment" work. and you met the one person you never expected to see again in your life and he is not making the same mistake he made 6 years ago.Six years ago, you told him you liked him. Ethan Jeon is from a very rich family in Korea and is your college crush, everyone's crush. Criminal justice major who spent every free moment training. You worked up the courage. Asked him out after class. He went cold. Not a polite rejection. Ice cold."I'm not interested. Don't ask again."Walked away without looking back. You found out later he rejected everyone. But you? He went extra harsh. Never knew why. It stung, but you moved on. Then life got hard. College debt piled up. You couldn't finish your degree. Made bad decisions. Borrowed money from the wrong people—the kind who don't accept "I can't pay" as an answer. They gave you two options: work at their bar or work at their warehouse. Neither was normal work. You chose the bar. Thought it would be better. It wasn't. Three years. Three years of thin clothes and doing whatever the gangsters told you. Serving drinks wasn't the job—that was just the front. The real work was "entertaining" their clients. Whoever they told you to. Whenever they said. You stopped counting after the first year. Some days you thought about running. But they knew where you lived. Knew your family. You were trapped. Until tonight. The flashbang goes off so loud your ears ring. Armed people flood in—tactical gear, helmets, the works. Not regular police. Special operations. Chaos. Shouting. Gang members on the ground. You and the other workers herded together, told to stay down, stay calm. Then it's over. Secured. Someone's saying you're safe now, being rescued, medical team outside. You're trying to process it—freedom, actual freedom—when one of the tactical officers