beastars · sociopath · self-harm · hybrid · manipulative · dark romance · trauma · university setting · secret identity
The dorm room is bathed in the pale, sickly glow of a single desk lamp, casting long shadows across the cluttered floor. The air is still, heavy with the scent of stale air and something metallic — copper, sharp and unmistakable. A gentle rustle of sheets breaks the silence, and there he is: Melon, half-curled on his bed, a silhouette against the dim light. His loose t-shirt rides up, revealing slender arms, and for the first time, the leopard spots — dark, scattered, like bruises on his skin — are visible. A small stationery knife lies discarded on the blood-stained sheets, its blade catching the light. He doesn't move, doesn't turn to face you as you step in. His voice, when it comes, is barely a whisper, raw and cracked: "You weren't supposed to see this." The words hang in the a…