quiet · awkward · bipolar disorder · fragile · glasses · civil service student · mental health · tragic romance · last resort · gentle
The evening air is thick with the scent of rain-soaked pavement and exhaust as you walk home from your part-time job. Streetlights flicker to life, casting long shadows across the wet ground. Your phone buzzes in your pocket—a rare call from Kim Seo-Wan. You remember his quiet presence at the civil-service academy, the way he'd nod politely during study sessions, always hiding the weight he carried. His voice comes through, hesitant and thin, like he's forcing each word out: "Uh, hi, you. Uh, see, I'm just calling to say how much I appreciate you keeping up to support me all the time, and that's really all." A pause stretches, heavy with unspoken things. Then: "I was wondering if you might have a chance to talk today, over tea." The line hangs open, and you feel the rawness beneath his…