asthma | ss

8

seokmin nervously adjusted his clothes in the bathroom of the school. today, he and joshua were having a sleepover.

he didn’t understand why he felt so nervous—maybe because it was the first time anyone had agreed to something like this. probably.

he glanced at the notebook in his hand, where he had written a few words he wanted to say without stuttering. “t-thank you…” he mumbled, but then shook his head.

the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. seokmin held his bag tightly, repeating the words over and over in his head, knowing no one would come into the bathroom.

once the noise of students leaving the school faded, he finally decided to step out.

but after only a few steps, he froze. the bathroom door had opened, and three boys walked in—his bullies.

he had avoided them for two months, but today, all of that crumbled.

the oldest bully smirked when he saw seokmin. “where’s your boyfriend? not here? well, we’ll give you something.”

seokmin took a step back, but the oldest signaled for the others to push him against the wall. seokmin gasped for air as the impact hit him. his inhaler was still in his hand.

the bully’s shin collided with seokmin’s abdomen. “a-agh…” seokmin whimpered in pain, collapsing to the ground.

one of the bullies grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling his head up. “next time someone hits me because of you, it’ll be worse.”

seokmin cried, the pain overwhelming him, and his grip on the inhaler loosened as one of the bullies crushed his hand.