Chapter Text
"Everyone sees the thorns, but only one boy is allowed to taste the fruit."
All started as a game of social strategy, but for one, it quickly became an obsession.
At Sunshine High, rumors spread faster than the morning bell, and Nicholas was the school’s favorite urban legend. A name whispered in fear. With his sharp, piercing gaze, silver rings, and a perpetual scowl, he is the "Unstoppable Delinquent."
BUT
Nicholas didn't choose the delinquent life; the delinquent life (and his genetics) chose him.
Nicholas was born with naturally sharp, intense eyes. If he was just daydreaming about what to have for dinner, people assumed he was plotting a murder. He wore his tie loose, kept a couple of silver rings in his ears, and preferred a black oversized hoodie over the standard school blazer. He was naturally shy and quiet. In high school, "quiet" is often misinterpreted as "calculating" or "dangerous.". His ”Aesthetic” definitely doesn’t suit the place and that’s how the Delinquent Life begins.
His reputation wasn't built on bad deeds, but on a series of hilarious—and unfortunate—misunderstandings.
One morning, a freshman was crying because he lost his lunch money. Nicholas approached him, looking towering and dark in the hallway. He wordlessly reached into his pocket, pulled out a 10-dollar bill, and shoved it at the kid’s chest.
"Here, kid, go eat. Don't cry." he abruptly leaves before the freshman can react
YET, the school’s tale being told is "Did you see Nicholas? He was cornering a freshman and forcing him to take hush money!". If you wonder why both sides don't refute? The freshman is too foggy from crying to respond to Nicholas's kindness while Nicholas isn't a good-deed digger kind of person.
In another tale, Nicholas was often seen behind the gym with a group of older, rough-looking guys (who were actually just his cousins who worked at a local bakery). They were huddled in a circle, looking serious.
Actually they were just discussing the best temperature to bake sourdough bread.
YET, the school’s tale told a different story, "Nicholas is the middleman for a local gang. They’re planning a takeover.". If you wonder why Nicholas stays silent? Because Nicholas poorly understood the nuance behind the word “Local Gang”, he just thought that his cousin was indeed just a group of boys from this neighborhood.
In some worst tale. During a math lecture, Nicholas stared intensely at Mr. Han for forty minutes without blinking. Mr. Han actually started sweating and stumbled over his equations.
Turns out, Nicholas was trying to figure out if Mr. Han’s toupee was slightly crooked (and…it was). Since his seat is in the back of class and his sight isn’t that good, he struggled for forty minutes which led into new tales."Nicholas threatened a teacher just by looking at him. He’s untouchable.". If you wonder, why doesn't he give up figuring it out? The answer is purely because he is sensitive about fashion and an easily distracted kind of person.
Because of these rumors, the social hierarchy at Luna High treated him like a radioactive element.
The students will part like the Red Sea when he walks down the hall, terrified of a boy they believe spends his nights in back-alley brawls. If he dropped his pen, three people would scramble to pick it up and hand it back with shaking hands, terrified of a boy they believed would explode if something bothered him (and the fear makes them miss a quiet thank you from Nicholas).
The Teachers aren't any better. They gave him a wide berth, assuming he was a "troubled youth" who just needed space. Heavily judged him by his “aesthetic” and quietness.
Meanwhile the Real Nicholas. He spent most of his time feeling lonely and confused. He just wanted to go to the rooftop, eat his strawberry bread, and draw in his sketchbook—which was filled with flowers and kittens, not gang signs. He doesn’t care a bit about the rumors since he can’t give up his aesthetic and he is too lazy to explain himself to people who refuse to hear. So he decided to just play along in silence. “No one bother me and I don’t need to bother others, Cool”
The only person who didn't buy the act was EuiJoo.
At Sunshine High, where rumors spread faster than the morning bell, Euijoo was the school’s favorite living Angel. Unlike Nicholas who became a legend by accident, Euijoo became one by design.
EuiJoo entered Sunshine High with a clear objective: Total Social Control. He knew that in a school of chaos, the person who looks the most "perfect" holds the most power.
EuiJoo curated his look before he even stepped through the gates. He chose a clean, tidy, sweet aesthetic. While other boys had messy hair or wrinkled shirts, EuiJoo's uniform was always crisp, smelling faintly of citrus and expensive laundry soap. He practiced a specific smile in the mirror—one that reached his eyes but remained polite. It was designed to make teachers trust him and students depend on him.
In a school where seniors usually bullied underclassmen, EuiJoo flipped the script. He was the freshman who bowed the lowest, spoke the most formally, and was always the first to volunteer for the "boring" tasks.
It makes the seniors didn't see him as a threat; they saw him as their "favorite junior." He became the bridge between the grades, a position of immense social intelligence.
Another attempt to gain power is becoming a Student Council member, but becoming one as a freshman is nearly impossible at Sunshine High, but EuiJoo didn't wait for an election—he created a necessity.
Early in his first semester, the cafeteria was a mess of line-cutting and spilled food. EuiJoo didn't complain to the teacher. He stood in the middle of the chaos, smiled at the rowdiest seniors, and said "Sunbaenim, your uniform is too nice to get stained. Why don't I organize a rotating schedule so everyone gets their food faster? I'd be happy to manage it for you."
As luck would have it, Euijoo has a brilliant brain. He solved the problem in three days. The faculty noticed. By the second month, the Student Council President personally invited EuiJoo to join as a "Special Assistant," bypassing the usual two-year waiting period.
At school, EuiJoo’s behavior is a masterclass in performance art. In Front of Teachers, He is the "Dream Student." He listens intently, offers to carry books, and maintains a perfect GPA. Teachers treat his word as law.
In Front of Peers, He is the "Peacemaker." He breaks up fights with a gentle hand and a "let's all just be friends" tone.
On rare occasions, the "Mad Man" hiding deeply inside EuiJoo might appear when someone pushes too far—like a bully picking on a weaker student. EuiJoo would lead them into a quiet hallway, his smile never wavering, but his eyes would go dead cold.
"You’re ruining the school's harmony," he’d whisper, his grip on the bully's wrist just a bit too tight. "And I don't like it when things are messy. Do we understand each other?". The bully would leave pale and shaking, unable to explain why the "Angel" had just terrified them.
And the only person who chose to witness that side of Euijoo was Nicholas.
THE CAST
Nicholas I 2nd Grade I The Senior
- Public Image : The Cold Delinquent.
He is also called "The Silent Reaper". Tall, sharp-featured, and perpetually shrouded in a black hoodie. Rumors say he once hospitalized five guys with a single look. He never speaks, which people interpret as "calculating his next victim."
EuiJoo I Freshman I The Junior
- Public Image : The Perfect Junior
He is also called "The Golden Angel". The Student Council’s pride. He is polite, charismatic, and has a smile that makes teachers forgive anything. He is the "perfect junior" who mediates conflicts and maintains school harmony