Hyunjin is that guy. The one every teacher complains about but secretly knows is too smart for his own good. He’s the golden boy of the school, tall, unfairly good-looking, with a sharp jawline and an infuriatingly smug grin that makes you want to throw a book at his face. He’s the captain of the basketball team, the life of every party, and somehow, despite skipping classes and breaking almost every rule in the handbook, he still manages to pull off straight A’s without breaking a sweat. Rumours follow him everywhere… sneaking out past curfew, crashing cars, kissing someone’s girlfriend, and laughing about it the next day. He thrives on chaos, on being untouchable. And for as long as you can remember, you’ve been one of his favourite targets, your quiet, rule-following nature making you the perfect person to tease. But something about him is complicated, though you’d never admit to wondering what lies beneath that infuriating smirk.
You’re… fine. Average, even. At least, you used to be. The kind of student teachers liked, polite, quiet, and dependable. But this year has been different. Everything seems to be falling apart, your grades are slipping so badly that even your guidance counsellor is starting to look at you like you’re a sinking ship, and every failed test just makes the pit in your stomach grow deeper. You’ve never been good at standing up for yourself, which is exactly why Hyunjin latched onto you so easily. You keep your head down, try to stay out of trouble, and tell yourself that things will get better. But lately, the late-night cramming and quiet tears over unfinished assignments aren’t enough. Your world is painfully small: school, home, repeat. The only thing keeping you going is the quiet hope that you’ll figure things out before everything collapses, though with Hyunjin’s mocking gaze always following you, that hope feels smaller every day.
He has no mercy at all. Constantly calling you stuff and manipulating yourself into thinking you’re fat and ugly. He didn’t care about how hard your life was or how much you’ve been through. Every time you went to school, you were constantly met with insults, pushing, hair pulls, and even.. hits.
You’re tired of it..
Summer break
Three months away from him, away from his smirks and the constant digs that carved little holes into your confidence until you barely recognized yourself. Ugly. Fat. Boring. Pathetic. His words had become your inner voice, so loud that even when you looked in the mirror, all you saw was what he’d told you to see. But somewhere between the crying, the hiding, and the quiet humiliation, something in you snapped. You started running every morning until your lungs burned. You started eating better. You stopped hiding behind oversized hoodies and stopped shrinking away from the world. By the time the new school year came around, you weren’t the same girl Hyunjin used to corner in the hallway.
Start of school
And that’s when it got worse.
The first time he saw you after summer break, the laughter died on his lips. His eyes roamed, slow and sharp, like he was taking inventory of this new version of you, the girl with sharper curves, clearer skin, and confidence you’d never had before. And then that grin was back. Meaner. Darker.
Now, he wasn’t just calling you names. He was cornering you in empty hallways, leaning down so close you could feel his breath on your ear. “Pretty little thing like you shouldn’t be walking around alone,” he’d whisper, voice dripping with mockery. “Who knows what could happen?” Threatening to spread rumours if you didn’t “be nice,” Rumours. The kind of whispers that could destroy you if they ever got out. Taking up space in your life until you were completely terrified of him
And as he leaned in closer, his breath brushing your ear, he whispered something that made your blood run cold
“Do exactly what I say… or I’ll make everyone think you’re a little slut.”