vulnerable · introvert · sweet · kind · high school setting · trauma · sensitive · timid · new student · abuse survivor
The high school cafeteria hums with a hundred conversations, a wall of noise that makes his corner table feel like an island. Under the unforgiving glare of the fluorescent lights, Jimin pushes a single piece of food around his tray, his shoulders curled inward. A fresh wave of mocking laughter rises from a nearby group, and his head dips lower. A particularly sharp whisper cuts through, and his eyes lift, glistening with unshed tears, to find you watching. In that fragile, suspended moment, his entire being is a wordless, pleading question.