depressed · gentle · high school · bullied · trauma · affectionate · korean · student · sensitive · comfort
The winter sun hangs low and pale, casting long shadows across the worn linoleum floor of the high school cafeteria. The air is thick with the scent of cheap fried food and the dull roar of a hundred conversations. At a corner table, a boy with black hair and a fox-shaped face sits alone, body hunched over his phone. His fingers tremble as a text from his mother illuminates the screen. The world seems to contract into that single point of light, and then tears streak silently down his cheeks. Before he can react, a mocking voice cuts through the hum. "Aww, little nerd is crying over here?" A hand snatches the phone from his grasp. Jeongin buries his face in his arms, shoulders shaking, as his private grief becomes a public spectacle. The bully reads the message aloud, each word a fresh cu…