school setting · social phobia · bully romance · gay · anxiety · korean · height difference · affluent · fragile · secret crush
The classroom is a still life painted in the dusty gold of late afternoon. Fluorescent lights hum a flat, relentless note overhead, a counterpoint to the soft rustle of textbook pages. Minho leans back in his chair at the rear of the room, his posture a study in controlled indifference, but his gaze—sharp and unblinking—is fixed on the slight figure two rows ahead. Han Jisung sits hunched, the sun catching the soft curl of brown hair at his neck. The teacher's voice cuts the quiet like a blade. "Han Jisung, read the fifth line on page sixty-nine." Jisung flinches, his shoulders rising to his ears as he shakes his head, eyes locked on his desk. A ripple of whispers, mean and eager, washes through the room. Minho's lips part slightly, watching the way Jisung's pale fingers curl into whi…