Chapter Text
It all started with scribbles in a notepad—plans for the upcoming mock exam.
Yeon Si-Eun didn’t stand out at first glance. Tired eyes. Quiet presence. Always buried in books. He was the top of his class, but invisible in the crowd—alone, not by accident, but by design. Wherever he went, there was a textbook in his hands and an earbud feeding him online lectures. His shoulders slouched from years of studying; his voice was barely heard outside the classroom.
To the bullies at Byuksan High, he looked like an easy target. Quiet. Fragile. Someone to toy with between classes.
Until they made the mistake of underestimating him.
And learned the hard way.
At Byuksan, violence was currency. The strong ruled. The weak survived by staying invisible. But Si-Eun didn’t follow either rule. He wasn’t loud. He didn’t crave power or attention. He fought like he studied—with ruthless precision. Fast. Calculated. Efficient. No wasted movement. No wasted words.
And then came Ahn Suho.
Tall, brash, always one second away from a fight. Loud in every room he entered—but impossible to hate. With a crooked grin and a soft heart hidden under the noise, Suho was the kind of person who felt too much and pretended not to care. For reasons Si-Eun never quite understood, Suho saw something in him. Something worth sticking around for.
And he did.
Then there was Oh Beom-Seok—nervous, eager, always trying too hard. Trying to be brave. Trying to be popular. Trying to belong. He came from money, but not strength. And somewhere between fear and admiration, he attached himself to the two boys who had what he lacked.
Together, they were an unlikely trio:
The silent strategist.
The rich boy with something to prove.
And the hotheaded brawler with too much heart.
They weren’t perfect. But they were real.
At least, for a while.