CRIMSON THRONS

THE MAN IN THE RED ROOM

⸻

"You shouldn't be here."

Hyunjin said it without looking up — just a soft, smoky breath laced with tired defiance.

Felix didn't reply.

He just watched.

From the velvet shadows of the private room, the gold accents on Hyunjin's skin caught the light like fire. His body moved like smoke — not for pleasure, not for seduction — but like someone dancing for his own survival.

The club was loud outside, full of flashing lights and hollow laughs.

But here, in this room, it was only them.

Felix leaned back into the leather booth, fingers clasped in his lap like a man used to commanding silence.

"I was told you were the best," he said quietly.

Hyunjin's mouth curled — not a smile. A warning.

"Then you were lied to."

⸻

24 Hours Earlier

Felix Lee didn't chase people.

People came to him.

But someone had caught his attention — and not through whispers in the underworld, not through blood or business. No. He saw Hyunjin once. Just once.

A stolen glance on a Wednesday night in the club he technically owned, though no one knew it. A boy with long dark hair, bruised eyeliner, and a mouth full of venom. A dancer who didn't dance like the others. A performer who never looked at the men watching him.

Except once.

At Felix.

And that was enough.

⸻

Present

"I don't do private dances," Hyunjin said as he slipped his coat on after the show, breath still ragged, sweat glinting on his collarbone.

"I didn't pay for a dance," Felix said.

Hyunjin turned to face him fully for the first time.

Felix almost didn't recognize the person in front of him.

Up close, Hyunjin looked... tired. Hollowed out. Still beautiful — achingly so — but carved by something colder than time.

"You came here for a show," Hyunjin said.

"No." Felix's voice dropped to something quieter. "I came for you."

⸻

Later That Night

Hyunjin sat on the edge of the marble tub in the staff locker room, lighting a cigarette with shaky fingers.

Felix stood by the doorway, suit immaculate, hands in his coat pockets.

"You should leave," Hyunjin said.

"I should," Felix agreed. "But you haven't told me to."

Hyunjin exhaled smoke toward the ceiling. "People like you don't chase strippers."

Felix stepped closer. "I don't chase anyone."

"Then why are you here?"

Felix's voice was soft, lethal. "Because you're not just anyone."

Hyunjin flinched — barely — but Felix saw it.

"You think you scare me?" Hyunjin asked.

Felix smirked. "No. I think you want to be."
Felix left without touching him.

But before the door shut, he said one thing — low, unshakable.

"You don't belong in a place like this, Hyunjin. And I'm going to find out why."

And just like that, the game began.