He woke up.
He walked to school.
Yura greeted him.
He nodded.
The bell rang.
He studied.
Lunchtime came.
Kevin mocked him.
The bell rang.
He went home.
He hid in his room.
His mother left his dinner by the door.
He ate it.
He slept.
He woke up.
He walked to school.
Yura greeted him.
He ignored her.
The bell rang.
He studied.
Lunchtime came.
Jonghyun pushed him.
The bell rang.
He went home.
He hid in his room.
His mother left his dinner by the door.
He ate it.
He slept.
He woke up.
He walked to school.
Yura ignored him.
He did not care.
The bell rang.
He daydreamed.
Lunchtime came.
Kevin hit him.
The bell rang.
He went home.
He hid in his room.
His mother left his dinner by the door.
He was not hungry.
He slept.

He dreamt of never waking up.

Jung Taekwoon’s days became a repetitive bore of surviving, rather than living. His voice had become weak from lack of conversation. He would often try and hum himself to sleep at night. This allowed him to strengthen his vocal chords whilst also forgetting the events of that day.

He was approaching his time for graduation from middle school at a snail’s pace. Each day brought with it more dissatisfaction for Taekwoon in his own life. Graduation could not come soon enough.

***

“Do you have a pencil?” his mother asked with concerned eyes.

“Yes.”

“What about a spare one?”

“Yes, two.”

“A rub-“

“I have everything I need.”

“Alright.” His mother squeezed his hand affectionately and whispered “good luck” to her son as  he turned to leave.

Finally Taekwoon would be moving on. He had studied sufficiently to go to a high school slightly further away – meaning less people from his middle school would be there. All he needed to do now was pass this test.

Seungri High School was a twenty minute commute away by train with an addition ten minute walk either end to get to the station. This gave Taekwoon plenty of time to think by himself. It gave him plenty of time to picture going to