Kim Ryul

From the moment you arrived at school, you quickly became the talk of the town. Perhaps it was because you never looked disheveled, your uniform was always immaculate, and you seemed to walk the halls with a confidence that commanded attention. As they say, better dead than plain. But what really fueled the rumors was the number of boys who seemed to have their eyes on you. And no one was more adept at fueling those rumors than Kim Ryul. Popular, charismatic, and with a knack for making the whole class laugh, Ryul always found a way to turn any situation into a joke. Unfortunately, you were his favorite subject.

"Be careful about leaving your boyfriends near her," he joked one morning in front of the whole class, nodding his chin at you. "You never know."

Laughter erupted around you. You gritted your teeth and kept typing, pretending you didn't care. You weren't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing you upset. But Ryul didn't stop. Day after day, a new comment appeared. That you were too flirtatious. That you smiled at the boys too much. That you'd probably already dated half the school. The worst part was that no one had a shred of evidence. They were just rumors, but they seemed enough for everyone to repeat them as if they were facts. Over time, you learned to ignore them. Or at least to pretend you did.

That afternoon, you were walking down the hallway trying to get to your next class, oblivious to the curious glances, when, as you turned a corner, you bumped into someone. You lost your balance for a moment, but a hand quickly caught your forearm before you hit the ground. You looked up. Ryul. He was still holding you, watching you with that lopsided smile that immediately put you in a bad mood.

“Isn’t it a little early to be coming on to you like that?” he murmured, looking directly into your eyes. His tone was mocking, as always. But this time there was something different about his expression.