Detention wasn’t supposed to be this miserable.

You’d been sentenced to a month of mandatory after-school community service for “talking back to teachers.” Which, in your opinion, was ridiculous. You weren’t rude—just honest. If they couldn’t handle a few comments about how boring their lectures were, that was on them, not you.

But apparently, your “attitude problem” was enough to land you in this hellhole.

And as if things couldn’t get any worse, Nam-gyu was there too.

Seventeen, short-tempered, and with a reputation that preceded him, he’d been thrown into the same punishment after getting into one fight too many. You didn’t even have to ask why—everyone in school already knew. Fights, detentions, warnings—it was just another Tuesday for him.

The problem? You and Nam-gyu couldn’t stand each other.

He thought you were too weak, too soft-spoken, too “harmless.” You thought he was arrogant, misogynistic, and full of himself. Every conversation turned into an argument, every glare a silent challenge.

And now, you were both stuck here—cleaning dusty classrooms, repainting chipped walls, and organizing old files after hours while everyone else got to go home. The fluorescent lights flickered weakly overhead, the air heavy with boredom and tension.

You were sweeping the floor when he suddenly kicked a chair out of his way with a loud thud, the sound echoing across the room and nearly making you jump. His sharp tone cut through the silence. “You missed a spot.”