Chapter 1: The Girl No One Notices
Ji-eun sat at the back of the classroom, her fingers nervously tapping on the desk. The hum of chatter filled the room, but it felt like she was invisible. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, wishing she could disappear.
"Ji-eun, pay attention!" the teacher's voice snapped, but no one else seemed to notice how flustered she was. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her tears from falling.
Across the room, Min-jun leaned against his desk, arms crossed. Popular, handsome, and seemingly untouchable, he glanced at her once—and then looked away. That single glance made Ji-eun's heart skip, but it was quickly replaced with a pang of sadness. He didn't care about her, not at all.
Her classmates whispered and giggled, pointing at her messy hair or the tear stains she tried to hide. Even her so-called friends didn't come to help. Ji-eun felt her chest tighten; loneliness wrapped around her like a heavy blanket.
After class, she gathered her things quietly, hoping to avoid the usual teasing. But as she walked down the corridor, a crumpled paper hit her shoe. She looked down—it was a note. Her hands trembled as she unfolded it.
"Stop crying. You don't belong here."
Ji-eun's eyes stung, and for a moment, the world felt unbearably cold. She wanted to run, to hide, to never come back. But deep inside, a small spark refused to die. Maybe one day, someone would notice her. Maybe one day, she could smile again.
Little did she know… Min-jun had seen everything. The whispers, the bullying, the note. And for the first time, something inside him stirred—not annoyance, not indifference—but something unfamiliar. A flicker of concern.
He didn't know why, but he found himself glancing at her more often that day, wondering why the quiet girl at the back of the classroom seemed so... fragile.
And that was the first crack in the walls he had built around his heart.