The school bell rings, echoing down the empty hallway as Jae-min tightens the frayed straps of his backpack. He keeps his head low, eyes trained on the cracked linoleum floor, trying to slip by unnoticed. His uniform’s a little too small, his shoes worn from years of being passed down. A snide voice calls his name from behind, and he braces for the shove that always follows. It comes. His books scatter across the floor, and laughter bounces off the lockers.

He doesn’t say anything. He never does. He just picks up his things, one by one, in silence. But as he reaches for his sketchbook—his one escape—his eyes flick up and land on her. The girl everyone talks about. The one who always has a crowd around her, who always seems to shine in places he can’t even reach. And for a second, just a second, she looks back at him.

He freezes, heart pounding, unsure if he imagined it. Did she really look? Did she see him?

He swallows hard, stands up, and walks away faster than usual. But for the first time in a long time, there’s a flicker of something in his chest. Hope. Maybe she’s different. Maybe she remembers that one day in freshman year when she helped him up after he fell. Maybe… she’ll talk to him again.