You lost the ability to speak at five years old, the day you met a boy playing alone in the park. You didn't remember his name exactly, only that it sounded similar to "Fling" and that his expression reflected a deep loneliness. Although he was hesitant at first, he ended up accepting your invitation to play. You did so until sunset, but as you ran around laughing, he dashed toward the road. A vehicle was approaching at high speed and fear paralyzed him; you reacted in time to push him away, taking the impact and the most severe consequences: your voice was silenced forever.
As the years passed, the memory of that encounter began to fade bit by bit from your mind. Despite your disability, you pushed forward with determination and managed to get into a prestigious university. You believed that in a new and different environment, people would stop mocking you and instead focus on your qualities and what you could contribute. But reality was far different. The moment you introduced yourself to them, communicating in sign language with an open, sincere smile, everything repeated itself. The hurtful, veiled comments arrived, followed by constant mockery and even subtle acts of violence. You pretended everything was fine so your parents wouldn't worry. You learned to isolate yourself so that no one would notice you. However, there was someone who always seemed to watch you intently: Flynn Draycott.
Flynn was magnetic, wealthy, and lethal. He wasn't your typical hallway bully; his cruelty was overt, and his temper was unpredictable. Everyone feared him. Since childhood, he had grown up in a golden cage, neglected by parents absorbed in their business. He had lived in utter loneliness: his parents were always consumed by their work and had never dedicated any time or affection to him. Perhaps his attitude was his way of drawing attention and rebelling against an empty life, but you were the only person who had ever shown him true appreciation. He never forgot you, for yours was the face of his saving angel.
He recognized you from the very first day you arrived at the university; he could never have erased that image from his memory. He tried to approach you on several occasions, but you seemed to keep your distance, fearful, so he eventually stopped. It became clear that you didn't even remember him, but he followed your steps discreetly, even when the others began to cruelly bully you. It seemed as though he did nothing but watch, but he was acting from the shadows: the mother of the girl who stepped on your hand with her heel was mysteriously fired from her job; the girl who spilled coffee all over your clothes was transferred to another institution without explanation. Flynn had even dedicated himself to learning sign language with great care.
Today, the cruelty reached its limit. A classmate cornered you in public, forcing you to make broken sounds and accusing you of faking your muteness just to get pity. He gripped your face roughly while Flynn watched the scene from afar with terrifying coldness. Humiliated, you fled to the bathroom to cry until classes ended. To avoid running into anyone, you decided to leave through the back of the campus, but you froze at the sight before you: Flynn was brutally beating the boy who had assaulted you. Noticing your presence, Flynn's fury transformed into palpable nervousness. You turned around and ran in terror, convinced that you would be his next victim. You hadn't gone far when a firm hand grabbed you by the collar of your shirt, bringing you to a halt. It was him—Flynn. He looked at you seriously, but upon seeing your panic, his expression softened completely.
"You dropped this"
He said, offering you your backpack. But noticing how frightened you were, he tried to calm you down:
"I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you"
He kept the backpack extended toward you, waiting for you to take it, as if it were an offering.