Don’T Mess With My Strawberry Milk

Prologue: The Ghost Boss Doesn’t Bleed

The city slept, but the underworld never did.

Neon lights flickered over wet streets, rain washing sins into gutters that had seen too much. Somewhere downtown, a deal had gone wrong. Somewhere else, a man had disappeared. And at the center of it all stood Leo—the man everyone feared but barely knew.

They called him the Ghost Boss.

Not because he was dead.

Because he made others disappear.

No social media. No photos. No real name anyone could trace. Even his enemies weren’t sure he existed until it was too late. People said he walked through gunfire like it was bad weather and smiled while cities burned behind him.

Leo liked the rumors.

Fear was cheaper than bullets.

“Boss, the docks are clear,” Jin said, stepping carefully over a body. “West crew’s done.”

Leo didn’t look at the corpse. He didn’t need to. He already knew. He adjusted his gloves instead, the leather smooth and spotless despite the chaos around him.

“Too easy,” Leo muttered.

Jin laughed nervously. “You say that every time.”

Rain fell harder, hitting the shipping containers like impatient fingers. The docks smelled like oil, metal, and fear. Somewhere far away, a siren wailed, but it sounded bored—as if even the police knew better than to show up.

Leo walked forward, long coat swaying behind him. His shoes didn’t splash. He hated splashing.

“Did anyone see my face?” he asked.

Jin swallowed. “No, Boss. Same as always.”

“Good.”

A sudden crack split the air.

Pain exploded through Leo’s side.

For half a second, the world froze.

Jin shouted, “SNIPER—!”

Another shot rang out, hitting a container inches from Leo’s head. Leo reacted on instinct, twisting, pulling his gun, firing once.

Silence followed.

The sniper never fired again.

Leo exhaled slowly. His heart didn’t race. It never did. He looked down at his side, annoyed more than alarmed.

Blood.

Dark and warm.

“So damn inconvenient,” he said.

Jin rushed to him. “Boss! You’re hit!”

“It’s nothing.”

But when Leo took a step forward, his vision blurred. The dock lights doubled, then tripled. His body felt heavy, like gravity had suddenly remembered him.

Jin’s face went pale. “Boss… you’re bleeding bad.”

Leo leaned against a container, annoyed at himself. He hadn’t miscalculated. He hadn’t been sloppy.

But even ghosts could get grazed.

“Get the car,” Leo ordered. “Now.”

Jin hesitated. “You need a doctor.”

“No hospitals,” Leo snapped. “You want my face on the news?”

Another step.

The ground tilted.

Leo clenched his jaw. He refused to fall here. Not in front of men. Not in front of death.

Then everything went black.

The Ghost Boss didn’t remember falling.

He remembered dreaming.

A soft voice.

Warm hands.

The faint smell of strawberries.

“Hey. Hey. Don’t die.”

The voice was gentle, almost annoyed. Like someone talking to a stubborn cat.

Leo tried to open his eyes.

Failed.

“Seriously,” the voice said. “If you die, I’m calling the cops, and I really don’t want that.”

Leo wanted to laugh.

No one talked to him like that.

He forced his eyes open.

The first thing he saw was pink.

Pink curtains. Pink walls. Pink—was that a teddy bear?

“What… the hell…” he rasped.

“Oh! You’re awake.”

He turned his head.

She stood near the window, holding a carton of strawberry milk with both hands. Small. Soft-looking. The kind of girl who would apologize if you bumped into her.

She looked at him like he was a mild inconvenience.

“Don’t move,” she said. “You’ll open the wound.”

Leo stared at her.

This girl.

This random, fragile-looking girl—

Had saved him?

“Where am I?” he asked.

“My apartment.”

“…You brought me here?”

She nodded. “You were bleeding out in an alley.”

“You should’ve run.”

She frowned. “You would’ve died.”