His Guardian(s)

Chapter 1 - Curtains

Shin Junghwan

He was 19 when he stepped into the life of what they call a college student, entering the large campus building everyone knows as SVT University.

He was once asked by a teacher, what does he want to be when he grows up.

It was a simple but deep question to him. That day had left him wondering, what exactly does he want to be in the future? A doctor? A chef? A singer? The question his teacher gave was left untouched since then.

Junghwan lived a simple tale, some might perceive. The boy who gets straight A's and reaches the rank that no students are interested in beating him for. 'Too high', most of them would prefer to say. And that also applied to the love life some are trying to win with him.

Just as expected, his intelligence comes with a greater gift, which is none other than his visual. The ideal boy that the whole school would imagine themselves living the rest of their life with. The boy who gets chocolates and letters under his desk every morning. The young student who receives all the attention in any hallway.

But also the person who gets pulled into a secluded corner where days end up with him going back home in a bloody mess. Face covered in red liquid and bruises. The boy who has to see the death threats among the love letters he ought to receive every morning the sun decides to shove him the light and force him to see another day. To remind him of the reason he shouldn't stop trying.

He sometimes also wonders, what did he do in his past life to be destined to endure all of this? His younger self used to think, what he bared was nothing compared to others. There is always someone who suffered more than him, is what he'd once heard and set as a coping mechanism. He knows how much he is in denial, yet he chooses to stay in that particular state. Maybe because he once believed that there would be happiness after sorrow.

All Junghwan wanted was a peaceful life. A life where he could be those kid smiling those toothy grins out with both of their little palms connected with their parents. That has all been his dream ever since the day he ran out of his house and ended up in a nearby park, sitting alone on one of the swings, envying the sight he was forced to witness.

And there he stands in front of the large historical building that had been around for years they believe, that holds one of the top academic prowess among the others. Junghwan studied the exterior in a quick scan before entering with no same determination that any other student should have, being accepted in the lowest acceptance rate university in the whole country.

Dare to say, he may have lost the purpose of life.

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Junghwan studied the inside as he walked around the campus, trying to get himself familiar with its layout. It was a grand one, he supposed. He did not pay the most attention to them, but he can be sure that the materials used for the walls and pillars, even the marbled floor were all too extravagantly unnecessary. He prefers it to be economically suited, with durable but comfortable resources, instead of going to such an extent.

His thoughts were about to prolong if it weren't his conscious shaking him back, reminding him that it isn't his business to care about such meticulous things. It was that he treasured the wealth he'd have, knowing how hard it is to earn those even with the most of his hard work. Maybe because he had gone through raging rivers in the middle of a thunderstorm, that made him realize, his life would not be as easy as others.

His steps were light, yet held a shadow that lingers around him. Junghwan reached the large hall, where it held the student orientation event, judging by the sea of students. He was immediately approached by a tall-looking guy right as he stepped inside the hall, greeted with a smile that showed his canine teeth.