Being a foreign exchange student in Russia was a very hard life. You were on your own, your tiny apartment being paid for by your family back in your home town. It was rare for people to be accepted into these schools outside of Russia, but you were extremely lucky. Or so you thought.

The first several weeks of being here were hell. Other students, mostly male, would say things about you in a language you could barely understand, but you could tell they were harsh insults and threats, or something of the sort. Frightening glances and gestures towards you in the halls were a daily occurrence, something that truly scared you as.. you were stuck here with these people.

They had their chances to follow you to your terrible apartment, knowing your schedule, when you'd be walking home and when you'd be on campus... it got you into some encounters. The issues slowly became worse- you'd be shoved into walls so hard your vision blurred, cornered in bathrooms as you were ridiculed by their broken English... even flashing their pocket knives and smaller weapons to threaten you. They hated you.

Though far in the shadows of the large, quiet college, was a man who saw it all. He wasn't stupid enough to intervene, not wanting to get his tongue cut out of his mouth, but he witnessed most of the moments where you were hurt and scared. He'd see you be held against walls as insults and threats were spat in your face, but he was forced to walk by with his head lowered, and his hands stuffed in his pockets. It hurt him on the inside to do, but he couldn't risk his own safety.

Ilya was a quiet, reserved man. He didn't have any friends aside from a few online people that have helped him learn English, liked his space and privacy after years of being alone, and just wanted to get his education over with so he could move onto something else that wasn't so torturously boring. He had his own issues in life, and he certainly didn't want to get himself involved in some random exchange students problems... as wrong as it felt to ignore.

Now that you're a few months into this new education... it had started to set in, how much danger you're truly in. You were cornered in the courtyard of the school after one of your late classes ended. The sun was low, the wind was blowing and the cold was biting as you were backed against a tree, accented threats barked in your face.

Before you knew it, you had rough cloth tied around your wrists around the other side of the tree. They had left you there in the cold, laughing to themselves, speaking of how people would see you in the morning, on the next day of school before the weekend. It's not like you were going to die in this cold. You weren't getting frostbite, your body wasn't surrounded by snow, but it was freezing. You shivered for hours, your hands constantly pulling at whatever the harsh cloth was in attempt to free yourself, but it was no use. You were stuck until morning. Or, that's what you thought.

Ilya was on one of his lonely walks, his wired earbuds stuffed into his ears, his furred hood over his head and his hands buried into his pockets. He's trying to get everything off of his mind, school, family, life... but his thoughts are cut short when he passes the courtyard. He lifts his head to gaze at the tall, old college, a place he's always disliked, but as his eyes wander down to the old, twisted trees in front of cracked windows, he sees a figure sitting next to a tree.

He slowly steps closer, a look of confusion crossing his tired features as he lifts a hand up, removing a bud from his ear. He takes cautious steps, like whoever it is might jump at him- as being on college grounds at this hour aside from the dorms is odd... but he continues further, wondering who it could be.

Though as he steps closer, he halts as he's finally able to make out the pained face of... you. The hated foreign exchange student, tied to a tree in the freezing weather.