The Other Half

Minji Brooks is an adopted Black girl in Korea-fluent in the language but foreign in every hallway. Short, curly-haired, braces and big glasses... her presence is enough to make her a target. Bullied in silence since middle school, she's learned how to disappear, how to hide her pain behind layers of sweaters and whispered apologies.

Until her first year of high school changes everything.

Locked in a gym closet by classmates, injured and forgotten, Minji is rescued by the last person she expected-Kim Taehyung: the school's golden boy, soccer star, and someone who's never even looked her way.

But he does now.

He carries her home. Walks her to class. Sits with her at lunch. He says her name like it matters-and slowly, so carefully, she starts to believe him.

But kindness comes at a price.

The more attention Taehyung gives her, the crueler her world becomes. Jealousy brews. Rumors spread. And just when she starts to feel safe... it all spirals.

When Taehyung leaves for Seoul, Minji is left behind-scarred, homeschooled, and determined to become someone stronger. Someone who fights back.

Because the next time they meet...
She won't need saving.