stigma [ yeonbin ]

i

Choi Soobin was an incredibly 'impressionable youth.'

The boy, seventeen years of age, often spent his time daydreaming in class as to ignore the words being thrown back and forth around him.

"Bastards..."

"Those psychos!"

"We should have killed the lot of them ages ago."

Soobin didn't want to hear it. The boy was one hundred percent human, and he almost hated that fact.

He didn't want to be related to the group of assholes that went around rioting against anyone different to them.

That's right; he happened to be one of the rarer cases in terms of beliefs, and yet not many seemed to be aware of this. Speaking up, in Soobin's situation, would only get him beat into a pulp.

Therefore he masqueraded as just-Soobin. Soobin, the average student... shy, with a small friend group and little to no enemies.

He wanted to keep it that way.

As of the current moment this youth found himself standing in the doorway of his new classroom, having no idea where exactly to sit.

It was just about as awkward as any first school day, all the tired morning faces only halfway knowing what to do or where to go.

"Alright guys," the grumbly voice of a man grabbed everyone's attention. The teacher, a man of seemingly around 40-45 years, stood up from his desk with a stack of papers.
"Everyone take one of these and go find somewhere to sit," he stated.

A somewhat tired, collective shuffling of students towards the front desk gave Soobin the chance to scan the room, searching for anyone he was at least somewhat friends with.

His hopes died immediately upon finding no one. At this rate, he would have to take his chances and force himself to ask a random person if he could sit with them.

Soobin nervously wandered towards the back of the class, scanning over the desks in search of an empty spot. Most seemed to be filled, with friends chatting and catching up about what they did over the break.

His gaze stopped at a pair of desks next to the window. A boy sat at the desk closest to the wall, and a backpack occupied the chair of the seat next to him.
Soobin stared at him for a second, trying to decide whether going up to him was worth it.

The boy turned towards Soobin almost immediately.
Too startled to look elsewhere, a train of panicked thoughts raced through Soobin's head as they kept eye contact. He was already preparing to avoid this boy out of embarrassment for the rest of his life.

By some miracle, the boy took a moment to analyze Soobin's rather timid appearance and glanced towards the seat next to him. 
"It's free," he said, monotone, as he grabbed his backpack and shoved it under his own desk instead.

Soobin was simultaneously thankful and embarrassed. He must have appeared shy enough that the other boy had done the math and figured he was too scared to ask.

Soobin internally scolded himself as he carefully took the seat next to the other. He quietly placed his bag next to his chair.