Chapter Text
It was another day of enduring reality for Kim Dokja. He was switching schools because his aunt couldn't handle the fallout—the whispered accusations of being a negligent guardian following his suicide attempt at his previous school.
He navigated the new route slowly, his body swaying with fatigue. He’d only just been discharged from the hospital, and sleep offered no sanctuary. Why did I survive? The question felt like a physical weight. He was just living to live, a hollow shell. To his relatives, he was already dead. He just needed to fade into the background, keep his head down, and finish the year without attracting attention or the inevitable cruelty that followed it.
He reached ‘White Star High’. The campus was ostentatious: tall pearly white pillars, quartz floors, and blinding golden accents. His aunt must have brokered a deal to get him in. How utterly selfish.
The chatter of the classroom died instantly when the teacher and new student walked in. "All right, all right, settle down," the teacher announced with forced enthusiasm. "We have a new student. Care to introduce yourself?"
"Kim Dokja," he whispered, the name barely a breath. He kept his back hunched, his overgrown bangs shielding his face from the room's gaze.
He retreated to the furthest back desk and sat, immediately resting his head on his arms and staring out the window. Sleep offered a quick escape.
A subtle shift in the air woke him. Something was hovering over him. Hm? A soft moan escaped his lips. When he finally opened his eyes, he was met with the intense glare of a broad-shouldered, handsome man. Dokja flinched, quickly redirecting his gaze forward, hoping the stranger would leave him alone. He didn't. Instead, the handsome man settled into the seat beside him.