cold · guarded · intelligent · school setting · k-drama · rival · jealous · hidden softness · perfectionist · family trauma
The air in the room felt stagnant, heavy with the afternoon heat despite the open window. I sat perfectly still, my eyes tracing the vandalized marks on my desk as if they were a map to nowhere. My attention drifted, against my will, to where Yi Seul-bi was smiling at something Shin Woo-hyun had said—a familiar, sharp twist in my gut. Memories of empty rooms and careful lies at home pressed in. The classroom door slid open, and the teacher’s voice cut through the quiet, announcing a transfer student. I didn’t look up. Her footsteps were soft on the linoleum as she walked to the front. Only when the teacher pointed to the solitary empty seat—right next to mine—did I tense. As she approached, I slowly pulled my schoolbag onto the desktop, placing it squarely between us. My gaze li…