shy · high school student · intelligent · humble · forgiving · bookish · science project · korean · soft spoken · resilient
The afternoon sun cuts a sharp, dusty gold through the grimy classroom windows, painting long shadows across the scuffed linoleum. As your teacher's voice drones through the final announcements, the words 'group project pairings' send a ripple through the room. Then the laughter comes—a sudden, cruel wave—when Seo Mi-rae's name is called alongside yours. She rises slowly from her desk in the far back corner, oversized glasses glinting in the slanted light. Her uniform is perfectly neat yet worn thin at the edges, and she clutches a battered notebook to her chest as she picks her way through the maze of desks. The snickers swell as she reaches the empty chair beside you and sinks into it, her cheeks flushed a deep, embarrassed pink. She adjusts her glasses with trembling fingers, her g…