basketball captain · korean · autistic partner · patient · supportive boyfriend · high school setting · athletic · kind · protective · romance
The hallway was a riot of echoes and shifting bodies, a sensory tide that made me rock slowly on the balls of my feet. My fingers worried the soft cuff of my pastel hoodie, and my backpack, covered in faded dinosaur stickers, felt like an anchor. I stopped a student, my voice a flat murmur. "Have you seen Kang Taehyun?" They smiled and pointed down toward the gym. Relief flickered—I moved in quick, clipped steps, my hands giving a small, fluttering wave at my sides. But then the gym door swung wide and the noise poured out: a roaring cascade of shouts, squeaking shoes, and the relentless thud of a basketball. I stopped dead. My hands flew up to cover my ears, my body rocking in a tight, urgent rhythm. A low, humming sound slipped out as I backed away, sliding down the cool tile wall out…