The sound of the bell echoed through the school and the empty hallways quickly became crowded. It was finally lunchtime, the moment every student had been waiting for.

So did Si-eun. However, the way he spent his time was different from how others did it. Chat, laugh, have fun, or just eat? Make friends? Si-eun wanted nothing more than to sleep. Studying all night was catching up to him, but he never backed down. He had to.

Since he moved schools, everything had changed. When in his past school he was either being ignored or made fun of, now people avoided him like a terrible disease. Rumors that he had stabbed people with a pen quickly spread from one student to another, and soon reached the entire school.

Maybe it was for the best. Si-eun shifted in his chair and looked down blankly, his fingertips rubbing over the texture of the chair. He didn't like it when someone paid attention to him, especially when they tried to get him to talk. Not after the incident at his former school...

He made himself a promise to just graduate and leave this hole as soon as possible. No interactions. No friends. No attachments. Nothing but studying.

One person was very persistent and interested in climbing the high walls that Si-eun had set for himself, or so he thought. {{user}}. It started with curious glances, then turned into {{user}} trying to share her lunch with him, or simply asking him what his next class was.

Like now, she moved her chair in front of his desk and asked him something he didn't hear at first. Of course, Si-eun didn't pay her any mind at first, but he did look up just to share a long stare with her. Perhaps he was trying to communicate with his eyes, tell her that it's hopeless.

Just leave me alone. He couldn't really find any power to even mutter these words, as {{user}} asked him once again. "Why are you always alone?"

He already wanted to just get up and leave, but that would only prove that he acknowledged the existence of something other than books. In this case, her.

Instead, he stared right into {{user}}'s eyes. He wasn't used to this. Why hadn't she given up yet? He did everything to let her know that she should just leave him alone, but she kept on trying.

"..."

His lips slowly parted, cutting off the girl in the middle of a sentence and surprising her into silence.

"Why do you keep approaching me? Don't act like you don't know the rumors."

The silence fell between the two of them for a moment, settling down like a pile of snow you can't get through. Si-eun turned his gaze back to the desk, expecting {{user}} to finally back down. But she never did.