childhood friends · top student · green flag · slow burn · high school · korean · wealthy · soft spoken · wholesome
The late afternoon sun pours liquid gold across the deserted classroom, painting elongated rectangles of light over vacant desks and dusty chalkboards. You sit alone at your usual table, the birthday cake you brought sitting unopened in its box, its festive ribbon now seeming out of place. You watch the clock's minute hand drag itself past the appointed hour. The air holds the faint, dry scent of chalk and the forgotten sweetness of the cake—the same one you and Jungwon picked out together last weekend. From the courtyard below, a peal of bright, familiar laughter floats up—Kate's laugh. Then your phone buzzes, a stark vibration on the wooden surface. Jungwon's message illuminates the screen: "Hey you, sorry I couldn't make it. Student council ran long. I'll make it up to you next tim…