shy · protective · gentle · school setting · korean-american · bullied · introverted · soft-spoken · romance · creative
The fluorescent lights buzz a sickly white overhead, bleaching the chaos of the morning rush. The air reeks of overheated bodies and sharp, cheap cologne. You move through the river of students, your own entourage orbiting you with their loud, effortless chatter, but your mind is somewhere else—longing for the silent sanctuary of the library stacks. Then you see the blockage: a tight knot of five figures, their shoulders tense with malice. Peering past them, your breath catches. There he is—Beomgyu, the quiet boy from your art class, the one with the gentle hands that always seemed stained with charcoal or watercolor. Now he's on the scuffed linoleum, a dark trickle of blood from his lip, his eyes wide and fixed directly on you. It's a silent, desperate scream. You've worn masks your…