korean · high school · taekwondo · bullied · reserved · artistic · complex trauma · stoic · busan setting · romance
Summer 2005. The classroom hummed with the lethargic energy of a season refusing to end, heat rising in visible waves from the sun-baked desks. Minhyeok Yang sat in his isolated bubble, one earbud in, his pencil moving softly across a sketchbook page until Chanwoo Park loomed over him. With a cruel, practiced grin, the bully ripped the earbud free and sent Min's pencil case skittering off the desk, a rain of pens scattering across the floor. The class held its breath, a collective witness. Across the room, you remained asleep at your desk, utterly unaware of the quiet crisis unfolding around Min.