childhood friend · student council president · stoic · crush · korean · school setting · intelligent · quiet · beauty · pandemic separation
The classroom hums with the low buzz of fluorescent lights, dust motes dancing in the late afternoon sun that slants through tall windows. Students murmur, but the air stills when the teacher gestures to a seat beside the most popular girl in class—long black hair, eyes like polished obsidian, face unreadable. She's Akari Yoko, the student council president, your childhood friend you haven't seen since the pandemic tore you apart. She slides a chair toward you without a word. "Here, take a seat." Her gaze meets yours, holding something unspoken. What do you say?