#Ch1 First day

The first thing Han Taeyang noticed about Haedam Private Academy was how painfully out of place he looked standing inside it.

The school campus stretched across several massive buildings connected by glass walkways and perfectly trimmed gardens that looked more like a luxury hotel than somewhere teenagers were supposed to study. Students walked through the halls wearing expensive watches beneath perfectly fitted uniforms, talking casually about vacations overseas and restaurants Taeyang had only ever seen online.

Even the air felt different there.

Cleaner. Colder. Untouchable.

Taeyang adjusted the sleeves of his uniform automatically while following the teacher through the hallway. The fabric sat awkwardly around his wrists because he had altered the uniform himself late at night after buying it secondhand for cheaper than the official price.

He noticed the stares immediately.

Not curious stares. Judging ones.

People at schools like this could recognize money instantly, and unfortunately for Taeyang, they could also recognize the lack of it just as quickly.

“That’s him?” “The scholarship student?” “He transferred here?” “Seriously?”

Taeyang kept walking quietly, pretending not to hear any of it.

He had learned years ago that reacting only made things worse.

The teacher stopped in front of a classroom before sliding the door open.

The conversations inside slowly faded.

“Class, we have a new transfer student today.”

Thirty pairs of eyes turned toward him at once.

Taeyang bowed politely. “My name is Han Taeyang. Please take care of me.”

Silence followed.

Not the comfortable kind.

The kind that quietly reminded you that you did not belong there.

The teacher cleared her throat awkwardly before pointing toward an empty seat near the back beside the windows.

“You can sit there.”

Taeyang nodded once and started walking through the rows of desks while feeling students openly stare at his old backpack and worn shoes.

Then suddenly—

A chair slid into his path.

The movement was slow and deliberate enough that the entire classroom noticed immediately.

Taeyang stopped walking.

A long leg blocked the aisle carelessly, attached to a boy leaning lazily back in his chair near the window as sunlight spilled across his face.

Seo Jiwon.

Taeyang recognized him instantly despite never meeting him before.

Everyone in Korea seemed to know who Seo Jiwon was.

The son of the chairman of Mireon Group. The rich heir constantly surrounded by rumors. The student teachers avoided confronting. The boy known for getting into fights without ever explaining why.

People online called him untouchable.

Sitting only a few feet away from him now, Taeyang finally understood why.

Jiwon looked bored in a way that felt dangerous.

Like someone who had already lost interest in most things a long time ago.

His expression remained completely blank as he looked Taeyang up and down slowly, eyes lingering briefly on the shortened sleeves of his uniform before returning to his face.

“You’re blocking my sunlight,” Jiwon said calmly.

A few students laughed immediately, though the sound felt nervous rather than genuine.

Taeyang glanced once at the leg blocking the aisle before meeting Jiwon’s eyes again.

“You’re blocking the path.”

The room fell silent.

Someone near the front whispered, “Did he just talk back?”

Most students lowered their heads around Seo Jiwon without thinking. Some out of fear, others because they desperately wanted his approval. Either way, nobody challenged him directly unless they were looking for trouble.

Jiwon stared at Taeyang for several long seconds.

His face remained unreadable, but something flickered briefly in his eyes.

Interest.

Then slowly, without another word, he pulled his leg back.

Taeyang walked past him quietly and sat down near the window.

Even after class started, he could still feel Jiwon staring occasionally.

Not constantly.

Just enough to notice.

Lunch break arrived slowly.

Taeyang left the classroom almost immediately, not because he disliked being around people, but because being surrounded by wealthy students discussing things he could never afford exhausted him faster than studying ever did.

Instead of going to the cafeteria, he climbed the stairs leading toward the rooftop.

The wind outside felt cold against his skin as he sat near the fence with a cheap triangle kimbap and strawberry milk he bought from the convenience store before school.

It was enough food to keep him awake until work later tonight.

Probably.

Taeyang pulled out his phone briefly and checked the time.

Two missed calls from the hospital.

His shoulders tensed immediately.

A familiar heaviness settled in his chest before he quickly called back, lowering his voice while speaking.

“Yes, I’ll come after work tonight.” “No, it’s okay.” “I understand.”

He ended the call quietly and rubbed his eyes for a moment.

Lately, his mother’s condition had been getting worse again.

Hospital bills kept increasing. His work hours kept getting longer. And sleep had become something distant and unreliable.

Still, losing this scholarship was not an option.

Without it, everything collapsed.

Taeyang opened the milk carton slowly.

Then the rooftop door opened behind him.

Voices echoed across the rooftop immediately.

Taeyang did not need to turn around to know who it was.

“You always come up here?” someone asked.

Another voice answered lazily. “It’s quieter.”

Seo Jiwon.

Taeyang took another bite of his kimbap while pretending not to notice them.

Unfortunately, Jiwon noticed him immediately.

The conversation behind him paused.

Then footsteps approached slowly across the rooftop floor.

Taeyang looked up just as Jiwon stopped directly in front of him.

Too close.

Close enough for Taeyang to notice the faint shadows beneath Jiwon’s eyes, like he had not slept properly in days.

Close enough to notice a fading bruise near his wrist partially hidden beneath his sleeve.

Taeyang noticed things like that naturally.

Jiwon’s gaze dropped toward the food in Taeyang’s hands.

“You seriously eat that for lunch?”

“It’s food,” Taeyang answered simply.

The boys behind Jiwon laughed quietly.

One of them muttered, “Poor people really survive on anything.”

Taeyang ignored him completely.

Jiwon continued staring at the strawberry milk carton for another second before suddenly taking it from beside Taeyang without asking.

Taeyang frowned immediately. “Give it back.”

Jiwon examined the carton slowly.

“Strawberry flavor?” he asked, sounding oddly judgmental about it.

Taeyang held out his hand. “You’re annoying.”

Silence fell across the rooftop.

Then unexpectedly—

Jiwon laughed.

It was not loud. Not cruel either.

Honestly, it sounded rusty, like something he rarely did anymore.

The students behind him looked shocked.

Taeyang did too.

Jiwon handed the milk back slowly while studying him with an expression Taeyang could not fully understand yet.

“…Interesting,” Jiwon murmured quietly.

Something about the way he said it made Taeyang uneasy.

Not because it sounded threatening.

But because it sounded genuine.

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