Monday arrived with heat still clinging to the air, but lighter—like summer hadn't completely let go.
The bell rang.
Students groaned as the teacher entered, followed by a boy.
Jisoo froze.
The uniform.
He knew that uniform.
Clean. Crisp. Expensive. The kind of uniform people stared at, not wore.
Seungmin.
His chest tightened.
Why would someone like him be here?
This school was old, cracked, noisy. Nothing like the world Seungmin belonged to.
For the first time, Jisoo felt ashamed of where he studied.
The teacher smiled. "Class, this is our new student. His name is Seungmin. Please treat him well."
She turned to him. "Would you like to say something?"
Seungmin bowed.
That was it.
No name. No greeting. No voice.
He walked to his seat—five rows away from Jisoo—and sat down quietly.
Even from that distance, Jisoo could see him clearly.
Too clearly.
The bruises were faint but still there.
Something twisted inside Jisoo.
He didn't know when it started, but jealousy crept in like rot.
Days passed.
Seungmin started to wear their school uniform. He still looked delicate. He way Seungmin carry the uniform with grace and elegance that made jisoo ever more jealous of him and that jealousy kept on growing.
Two weeks left until midterms.
Seungmin never spoke.
Never answered questions. Never joined group work. Never even looked annoyed when teachers scolded him.
People whispered.
"Is he mute?"
"Maybe he's slow."
"Why does he look so dead?"
Jisoo watched him from afar, pretending not to care. Because that's all he could do.
But he cared.
Too much.
One afternoon, chaos filled the classroom. Laughter, shouting, desks moving.
Jisoo tripped.
He fell forward.
His arm brushed against Seungmin's.
The contact lasted less than a second.
Seungmin looked up.
Those eyes empty, tired, painfully distant met Jisoo's.
Then Seungmin stood up.
Without a word, he removed his upper shirt.
Jisoo's blood drained from his face.
Is he… doing this because of me?
The thought stabbed deep.
As if to clean himself.
Seungmin walked out.
Jisoo's chest burned.
He ran after him.
The washroom was quiet except for water running. He entered and saw seungmin stood at the sink, scrubbing his shirt aggressively, knuckles red.
Something sticky clung to the fabric juice from the fall.
Jisoo stood at the doorway, voice shaking.
"Do you think I'm dirty?"
No answer.
That silence snapped something inside him.
Jisoo stormed forward, grabbed Seungmin's collar, and slammed him against the window.
"Answer me!"
Seungmin grabbed his wrists not fighting back, just holding them.
He looked straight into his eyes.
That look
Not fear.
Not anger.
Nothing.
Jisoo lost it.
"Why the hell are you looking at me like that?" he shouted.
"You think I'm creepy? Poor? Disgusting?"
Still no reply.
Jisoo's fist moved before his brain did.
The punch landed hard.
Made seungmin collapsed to the floor.
Reality hit.
Harder than the punch.
And Jisoo ran.
When Seungmin returned to class, the bruises were impossible to hide.
People stared.
Then they looked at Jisoo.
Jisoo wanted to disappear. His whole day went like this. Everyone looked at him with disappointment.
Even the night, he didn't sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Seungmin on the floor.
The next morning, Seungmin's face was worse.
New bruises.
Fresh ones.
Jisoo's stomach dropped.
He didn't do this.
And Jisoo knew exactly who did.
During break, Seungmin stayed in the classroom as usual.
Jisoo walked up to him.
"Can we talk?"
Seungmin stood.
They went to the washroom.
Silence.
Jisoo stared at the floor, hands shaking.
And seungmin waited.
Finally, Jisoo broke.
"I'm sorry."
No response.
"I'm really sorry. For yesterday."
His voice cracked.
"I'm sorry your father beat you because of me."
Seungmin stiffened.
"I know he did," Jisoo continued, crying openly now.
"I know he punished you because you didn't fight back. I'm sorry."
Seungmin looked confused.
Not angry.
Not scared.
Confused.
Then—slowly—he spoke.
His voice was rough. Unused. Like it hadn't been spoken in a long time.
"It's fine."
Jisoo looked up sharply.
"You… you can speak?"
But he avoided his eyes.
"It's not your fault," he added quietly.
Then he walked away.
Leaving Jisoo standing there.
Relieved.
And somehow… broken.