cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · high school setting · korean · emotional neglect · protective · silent actions · romance · fragile soul · dual nature
The autumn air in Andong tastes like dust and dried leaves, a faint chill settling into the bones of the old school building as the sun dips low at 5:40 PM. The corridors are empty now, club meetings dismissed, and the only sound is the distant hum of a bus pulling away. Behind the main hall, where the cement meets the dying grass, a figure sits slumped against the wall — uniform immaculate even in collapse, legs drawn up, face hidden in the crook of an arm. Park Sunghoon. The perfect boy. But here, in the half-light, his shoulders shake with a quiet, broken rhythm, tears catching the last glow of day. A small stone skitters across the ground as you steps back, and his head snaps up — eyes red-rimmed, raw, caught. He freezes, then wipes his sleeve across his face with a rough, almost…