By third period, whispers had already circulated through campus. A photo of her locker had been posted on a private student forum.
Captioned: "Rainy season came early."
The comment section burned quietly with mockery. "The Scholarship girl is drowning." A comment read.
"Maybe she'll finally sink." Another said.
"Does she even sleep?"
"Probably not." One answered.
Eun-chae just kept her gaze on the board. Checking which subject was next on the time table.
Advanced Literature, her eyes finally settled on it. This was her favorite subject. At that moment, Mr. Callahan walked in. Everyone settled in and the lesson started.
Mr. Callahan paced slowly around as he dissected the symbolism in post-war poetry. With his calm, steady and thoughtful voice, the classroom fell into silence except for the scratch of pens.
Eun-chae's usually fluid handwriting felt rigid today. Her mind wandered constantly to the she had to do. The first was to reconstruct her notes. Then reprint the necessary materials. It was going to be a sleepless night. But she needed to survive, to compensate herself.
But as the saying goes, there are always two sides to a coin. Because tell me why across the same room, someone wasn't taking notes at all.
It was no other than Jaxon Vale. He was seated by the window, his chair tilted back slightly with his gaze fixed on nothing in particular. He wore no tie, and his blazer was unbuttoned. He was dressed out of regulations, and a faint bruise shadowed his jaw.
Rumors moved differently about him than the gossip about anyone else. Fights outside school's premises. And connections to notorious gangs. Teachers tolerated him like the way people tolerated unpredictable weather.
He had failed marks in most of his classes. And he never seemed to care. Yet, when Mr. Callahan posed a question about allegorical grief, Jaxon answered correctly without looking up.
He was precise, then fell silent again. Eun-chae's pen paused mid- sentence. Her gaze averting in Jaxon's direction. There was something unsettling about him. He seemed to be deliberately wasting his intelligence.
When class ended, students filtered out in clusters. But Eun-chae briefly stayed back to ask Mr. Callahan about reprinting her archived lecture slides.
"Of course," he said kindly. "Everything alright, Ms. Park?" He asked.
"Yes, sir." She replied. Eun-chae wasn't one to give a "no" as an answer anyway.
.
.
.
In all of Seonghwa High, lunch hours had always been the most dangerous part of the day. It was unstructured, public and Hierarchical.
Eun-chae carried her tray to an empty table near the back windows. The sunlight akimming through, warmed the surface. Barely haf she taken two bites when someone bumped into the table. Her water tipped, spilling across her lap. It was cold and sudden.
Gasps spread around her. "Oh my god," Yura said flatly. "You're so clumsy."
Min-ji stood beside her with a carfully composed expression. "Are you alright? It would be such a shame if your uniform gets ruined."
Slowly, Eun-chae rose to her feet, water dripping from the hem of her skirt. "It's fine," she repeated. Her voice distant, even to herself. While the cafeteria resumed its chaos, she was left alone to clean the table in silence.
Meanwhile, Jaxon leaned back in his chair. Watcjing from the far end of the room. It was not his thing to interven. He just kept a watchful eye. But somehow, their gaze met for half a second. And there was no change in his expression.
But there was something in the stillness of his gaze that felt different from the rest of the room. Not that of sympathy or amusement, observant. Eun-chae was the first to look away, uncomfortable with his stare.
*****
At 4:00 p.m, the final bell rang through the campus walls. Eun-chae carefully her packed her bag , ensuring her remaining notes were secured. The hallways were almost empty by the time she got to her locker again. Without hesitation she turned it open. This time, it was dry and empty, with nothing else destroyed.
She pulled it shut and turned toward the exit. On an instant, she felt hands shove her forward. Hard anf forceful. Making her shoulder slammed into the metal doors of the supply closet.
Before she could react, the door swung open and she stumbled inside. Laughter echoed immediately behind her. And the door slammed shut. The space was swallowed by darkness, followed by a metallic click and just like that, the door was locked.
lnstantly, her breathing sharpened at the realization. "No..." She grabbed the handle and twisted it but it didn't barge.
She heard retreating footsteps and then,
Silence. The closet smelled of cleaning chemicals and dust. There was no windows, nor light. Her pulse hammered violently against her ribs.
"Help!" she called once, but there was no answer. She pressed her forehead against the cool metal door. "Think."
After-hours staffs usually did their rounds around 6 p.m. And it was only 4:15 p.m. Exactly two hours from now.
She told herself. Her phone; the thought of it crossed her mind. She scan around and deftly reached into her bag. Pulling it out, she turned on the screen. Her battery span exactly 8%.
And there was no signal. The walls were too thick. And her chest tightened. The air felt thinner with each passing time.
No, don't panic now. She told herself, lurking around. Just for anything to calm herself down.
"Count," the thought just came to her. "One...." She started, her breath shaky. "Two.... Three..."
Slowly, she slid down the door until she finally sat on the floor.
"Two hours. It's just two hours.She could endure this." She told herself. "She had always endured."
The late afternoon bell tower chimed outside, once but faintly.
Time passed differently in darkness. And minutes stretched longer than it should. All Eun-chae could on to was hope. Eventually, her breathing slowed. Anger replaced her fear.
This wasn't random, neither was it childish. It was strategic.
Midterms was next week. Breaking her focus, grades and scholarship was the plan.
She could hear their laughter from earlier. I wouldn't want any accidents happening. Min-ji's words replayed in her mind.
Intuitively, her hands curled into fists. For the first time since enrolling at seonghwa, something shifted inside her. Not of fear or humiliation. But something colder.
If the system wasn't going to protect her, she would find protection elsewhere. The image rose uninvited. Jaxon Vale.
No one dared touched or mocked him. Even Min-ji avoided crossing his path.
Power doesn't always look polished. Sometimes it wears the form of recklessness. Its frame dangerous. Her jaw tightened.
If dignity was a luxury she couldn't afford, neither was pride.
Around 5:57 p.m, the hallway lights outside flickered on. And at exactly 6:03, the door handle rattled. "Hello?" a janitor's voice called, as part of their routine check.
Eun-chae instantly rose to her feet. "I'm here." The lock turned, and the door finally opened. Light flooded in. She blinked against it.
"You alright?" he asked, startled.
"Yes," she said, automatically. Immediately, she gathered her belongings and stepped into the hallway, her legs slightly stiff.
The school felt different at dusk. It was more quieter and hollow. But it was not her first time staying late. Just this time, it was unplanned.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and strolled toward the stairwell. But instead of heading down, she turned upward toward the rooftop. Each step, deliberate. At the final door, she paused briefly before pushing it open. The cool evening air rushed against her skin.
The city's skyline stretched beyond the iron railing, painted in fading gold. And there he was, sitting on the ledge with one knee drawn up, and cigarette unlit between his fingers.
He didn't look surprised seeing her. "You got locked in," he said casually, eyes still on the horizon. It wasn't meant to be a question. But Eun-chae answered, stepping fully onto the rooftop. "Yes." she said.
The wind tugged at her hair. Jaxon flicked the cigarette away, letting it fall unused. "Why are you here?" he asked.
Eun-chae's heart pounded, not out of fear but from the weight of what she was about to do. Because once she lets the words out of her mouth, there would be no turning back. She met his gaze directly. For the first time that day, she did not look away.
"I want to make you an offer." She said. At that moment, the sun dipped below the skyline.