"thought you'd be grateful for the attention. you're so invisible otherwise."
seohyun tried to stand, but miyeon stepped in front of her.
"sit down," she said, tone sweet and sharp at once.
seohyun sat.
a hand snatched her sandwich. someone else grabbed her drink.
"ew. are you seriously eating this?" the girl laughed, dangling it just out of reach.
they didn't stop. not for a while.
and when they finally left—laughing, whispering, filming—
seohyun stayed there.
alone on the cold stairwell,
knees to her chest,
silent.
she didn't cry.
but her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
the stairwell was quiet again. too quiet.
her sandwich was on the floor, stepped on. the juice box was leaking slowly into the concrete.
seohyun didn't move. just stared at it.
her hands trembled in her lap. her throat ached. there was this tightness in her chest, like something was pressing down, harder and harder, waiting to snap.
she curled forward, hiding her face between her knees.
her breath hitched.
then broke.
not loud.
not dramatic.
just a soft, raw sound she couldn't hold back anymore.
she tried to muffle it with her sleeve, but the sob still escaped. one. then another.
then they wouldn't stop.
her shoulders shook.
tears spilled onto her skirt.
her whole body felt too small to hold everything she'd been carrying.
the laughter, the stares, her mom's voice, her own reflection.
she was so tired of pretending it didn't hurt.
so tired of being quiet.
so tired of being her.
"why me?" she whispered, her voice cracking.
"what did i do?"
no one answered. just the faint hum of the building above her.
she felt like she could disappear right there, and no one would notice.
no one would care.
seohyun didn't hear the door open.
her breathing was uneven, face still buried in her knees, eyes swollen and red.
then—
"yo... someone in here?"
a voice. low. unfamiliar, but not quite.
she froze.
footsteps echoed down the stairwell. slow. casual.
then she heard him.
"oh. it's you."
jake.
her blood ran cold.
she didn't look up.
he was one of them. laughed when they mocked her. stood with miyeon like it was a stage. smirked at every insult.
why was he here?
"you good?" he asked, voice flat.
seohyun didn't answer.
jake stepped down one more stair, but not too close.
"you look like hell," he said, not cruelly. not kindly either. just... honest.
she lifted her head just enough to glare through wet lashes.
"go away."
jake raised a brow. "relax. i'm not here to mess with you."
she scoffed, bitter. "you already do."
that made him pause. he looked at her, really looked.
eyes red. face streaked with tears. food scattered near her feet.
the corner of his mouth twitched, not quite a frown.
"they shouldn't have done that," he muttered.
she blinked. confused. her voice came out hoarse. "you were there."
"i didn't touch you," he said quickly, then added, "doesn't mean it was right."
seohyun stared at him.
jake rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away.
"whatever," he mumbled, starting to head back up. "i'll tell them i didn't see you."
then, halfway up the stairs, he stopped.
"...clean yourself up. don't let them see you like that again."
and then he left.
the door creaked shut.
seohyun sat still.
heart racing. mind spinning.
she didn't know what that was.
or what it meant.
but for the first time in a long time...
someone hadn't laughed.
YOU ARE READING
? HARD BOY BABY // SIM JAEYUN ?
Fanfiction?(?? ? ? )? . . . . . . . . . A seemingly "hard boy" with emotional walls built from past pain. Outwardly confident, sometimes cruel . . A quiet, gentle girl who has endured bullying in the past. She's observant and strong, and often overlooked...
