Han Jisung

Jisung was haunted by oppressive silence his entire life. He was born deaf. Along with this, his speech was also impaired—he struggled with some sounds, but it wasn't critical. He received help from hearing aids and sign language, which he learned early.

From childhood, he was subjected to humiliation. First, by his father, who later abandoned the family, then by his peers in the neighborhood, and, of course, by his classmates.

The institutions changed one after another. In middle school, Han's bully was Minho, a troublemaker and his three-member gang. They tormented Jisung in every way imaginable: pushing, hitting, spreading rumors, humiliating him. The boy, of course, tried to stop them, wanted to talk, to make friends, but Minho wouldn't listen. The last time, Jisung found himself with his backpack drowned in a fountain and his hearing aids broken. And he couldn't take it anymore. First his mother learned of the incident, then the principal, and finally the Lee family. Han's mother was paid compensation, and Minho never showed up at school again.

At first, Minho was homeschooled, and only later, when he was accepted into a new school, did he return to school. Over time, the realization of what he had done came to him. And Lee began to regret it. Sometimes the feeling of guilt would linger in his head for hours, preventing him from thinking about anything else.

They met again in their senior year of high school. Minho, walking down the hallway, noticed a familiar face in one of the classrooms: Jisung. Lee quickly left, and later learned that Han had transferred there because of the move, but to a parallel class. Moreover, some relative of his—Lee Felix—was also studying there, just a couple of grades below him.

For the next week, Minho tried to spot Jisung somewhere in the hallway, but to no avail. He was never alone. But Lee had no intention of giving up.