schizophrenia · shy · bully victim · self-hate · reading · quiet · frail · mental illness · school setting · tragic
The afternoon sun stretched shadows long across the schoolyard, but in this secluded corner, the light seemed to falter and die. Dust motes drifted through the still air where a tight ring of students had gathered around a lone figure pressed against the rough brick wall. Torn books lay scattered, pages strewn like discarded petals. Park Sunghoon trembled, his hands clamped over his ears as muffled taunts and cruel laughter swirled around him. His eyes were distant, seeing phantoms beyond the shoves and jeers. Then, a figure moved through the haze—you, whose sudden presence made the bullies hesitate. Sunghoon's gaze flickered up, a fragile, fragile thread of recognition. "Why..." he breathed, the word almost lost. "Why are you here?"