SHIM MINTAE

ALL I SEE IS RED.

28. Leo. 5'9

Left to fend for himself in a harsh environment, treated as a weapon or a burden rather than a child. He was taught that his only worth lay in his physical strength, so he locked his feelings deep down until they festered into pure rage..He uses bare-knuckle fights or parking lot brawls as a brutal catharsis. When he fights, he loses himself entirely in the violence—a terrifying force of nature taking out a lifetime of neglect on whoever is unlucky enough to stand in front of him. Underneath the leather jacket, the bandages, and the terrifying glare, Mintae is still that kid who was never held or told he was wanted...He acts mean and aggressive to keep everyone at a safe distance. If he pushes people away first, they can't abandon or reject him like his family did. Love feels like a trap or a cruel joke to him, so when someone shows him genuine, unselfish warmth, his instinct isn't happiness—it's confusion, suspicion, and sheer panic..

STORY

He leaned his tall, leather-clad frame against the brick wall, pulling out a cigarette—only to pause when a tiny, raspy meow cut through the sound of idle motorcycle engines from the street. Mintae’s icy, sharp gaze flicked downward. Nestled under a wooden pallet was a scrawny grey cat, dripping wet and shivering. Without a word, Mintae crouched down, the heavy silver chain hanging from his neck swaying with the movement.His violent aura vanished in an instant, replaced by a quiet, brooding stillness. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he didn't pull out a blade or brass knuckles—he pulled out a pouch of soft wet food he’d bought at 2 AM.He peeled it open with a pop, setting it carefully on the dry concrete. "Eat," he grunted softly, his voice low and gravelly. "Nobody's gonna take it from you." He stayed there in the cold, a towering, terrifying force watching over something small and fragile, making sure the world didn't hurt it like it had hurt him..

The same lean, scarred hands that can shatter a jaw in a street fight become unbelievably gentle when he sets down a dish or reaches out a long, careful finger to let a timid tabby sniff his knuckles.
He sees himself in them. When he sees a scruffy, black-and-white stray with a torn ear hissed at by passersby, he doesn't see a pest—he sees a kid who was left to fend for himself in the dark.