The bell rang with sharp finality, echoing off the pale classroom walls like a gunshot. Yoon Sera didn't flinch. She had already taken her seat-second row from the back, one desk from the window-early as always, her books stacked neatly, a black pen resting perfectly parallel to her ruled notebook.
Outside, Seoul was waking slowly. Winter still clung to the city's breath, curling against frosted windows. Inside, the warmth of bodies and gossip filled the air.
"Did you hear?" whispered Minjeong, her seatmate, leaning in with wide eyes. "We're getting a transfer student. A boy. Third-year. Supposedly from Busan."
Sera hummed in response but didn't look up. Gossip didn't interest her. Boys even less. Not anymore.
But then-
The door slid open.
The room fell quiet.
He stepped in.
Dark hair that curled slightly at the ends. Uniform crisp but untucked at the collar. Hands in his pockets. Eyes downcast.
And bruised.
Faint, but there. A shadow along his jaw. A fading mark above his brow. Not the kind you get from falling off a bike. The kind you don't talk about.
"This is Kang Jisoo," the teacher announced with a forced smile. "He'll be joining us for the rest of the year. Please welcome him."
Silence.
Jisoo didn't bow. He didn't smile. He didn't even glance around the room. He just nodded once, lazily.
"Take the empty seat," the teacher said, gesturing to the one opposite Sera.
She blinked.
No way.
As he approached, her heart skipped-once, twice-and then began to thump, just a little louder than before. Not because he was handsome (though he was, sharply so), but because of the air he carried. Heavy. Like silence before thunder.
He sat down without a word.
She dared a sideways glance.
And just for a second, just before he looked away, their eyes met.
He didn't smile. Didn't blink.
But in that flicker of a moment, Sera knew something with absolute certainty.
This boy was going to ruin her quiet little world.
And for some reason... she wasn't afraid.