Another day at Seongnam High began the same way for Soojin. He walked through the crowded halls, keeping his head down, hoping to go unnoticed. But staying invisible was hard. People brushed past him, making it clear where he stood in the school’s social order—nowhere.

During class, Soojin kept to himself, sitting at the back and observing the students around him. At the front of the room, Ara, the queen of the school, sat with her friends. She was everything Soojin wasn’t—popular, wealthy, and confident. She carried herself with an air of power that made everyone else seem smaller. Soojin couldn’t help but watch, feeling like she was from another world entirely.

It wasn’t long before he’d find himself close to her, a place he’d tried to avoid since the start of the year. During lunch, as Soojin was reaching for his tray, someone shoved him from behind, making him stumble forward. He bumped into someone—a tall, graceful figure—and when he looked up, he realized it was Ara.

She glanced down at him, a slight frown crossing her face before she looked away, clearly unimpressed. Her friends around her smirked, barely holding back laughter. Soojin mumbled an apology and quickly stepped back, feeling his face heat up with embarrassment. Ara didn’t say anything, just turned back to her friends, who were talking about vacations, shopping trips, and designer clothes. They were talking about things Soojin could hardly imagine, a life far beyond anything he knew.

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The rest of his day passed in a blur, but those moments stuck in his mind. Ara’s world, filled with privilege and influence, was something he could only glimpse from the outside. For her and her friends, life seemed easy, like nothing could ever be out of reach. For Soojin, life was about surviving each day.

After school, Soojin walked home, feeling the weight of the day pressing down on him. His building wasn’t much to look at—a small, worn-down place with peeling paint and dim lighting. He climbed the stairs, feeling his legs grow heavier with each step.

Finally, he reached his door and stepped inside his one-room apartment. It was cramped, just big enough for his bed, a small desk, and a window that looked out onto the side of another building. The silence of the room closed in on him, and he took a deep breath, letting himself feel the quiet for a moment.

The day was over, but somehow, the weight of it all remained.