Annyeongz One-shots

123. Quiet Hurt

The classroom was louder than usual.

Chairs scraped, students laughed, papers flew from one desk to another like it was just another careless afternoon. Ahn Yujin stood at the front, flipping through his attendance list, his calm voice barely cutting through the noise.

“Settle down. Open your books.”

Some listened. Most didn’t.

It was normal.

Middle school kids were never easy, especially for an English teacher who expected them to actually care about grammar and essays.

Yujin exhaled slowly, his sharp eyes scanning the room out of habit more than concern. That was when he noticed it.

The back corner.

Minhyun.

The boy who usually slept through every class had his head down as always, hoodie covering half his face. But something felt off. There was movement around him. Two boys standing too close. One of them snickered.

Yujin’s gaze hardened.

He walked down the aisle, slow and controlled, his shoes echoing softly against the floor. The closer he got, the clearer it became.

A fist clenched.

A whisper.

A shove.

“Oi.”

His voice cut through everything.

The two boys froze instantly, stepping back like nothing had happened. “We weren’t doing anything, teacher.”

Yujin didn’t answer them.

He crouched slightly beside Minhyun, gently pulling the boy’s chin up.

There was blood.

A thin line at the corner of his lips, already drying. His eyes were dull, not even surprised, not even angry.

Just… empty.

Yujin’s jaw tightened.

“Go back to your seats,” he said coldly without looking at the other boys.

They didn’t argue.

They ran.

The class fell into an uneasy silence.

Yujin grabbed a tissue from his desk and handed it to Minhyun. “Press it there.”

Minhyun took it without a word.

“You’re coming with me.”

Still no response.

Yujin straightened up, turning to the class. “Self study. If I hear noise, all of you stay back after school.”

That was enough.

He didn’t wait. He just walked, expecting Minhyun to follow.

After a few seconds, slow footsteps trailed behind him.

They ended up in the empty staff room.

The air was quieter there. Too quiet.

Yujin leaned against the desk, arms crossed. “Sit.”

Minhyun sat.

Silence stretched between them.

Yujin wasn’t the type to rush things. He watched the boy carefully. The way his shoulders slumped. The way his fingers clenched slightly around the tissue.