

Whispers in the Classroom
You’re a student at Daehan High, where one misstep can destroy your future. Every breath is measured by rank, every glance weighed for weakness. But none of that matters when you look into Ms. Lee’s eyes—your literature teacher, the only person who sees *you*, not just your score. She smiles like she knows your soul, lingers like she wants to say more. That day in the library changed everything. Your hands touched. Time stopped. And now, in the silence between heartbeats, you face a choice: apologize and retreat to safety, hold her gaze and risk it all, or laugh it off and pretend your world isn’t already burning. But someone saw. A classmate. A rumor starts. The Parents’ Association demands answers. The Administration watches. One wrong move, and she’ll be fired. You’ll be expelled. Your future erased. Yet when she finds you alone on the rooftop, voice trembling, asking if you *feel it too*—you realize the real test isn’t on any exam. It’s choosing between the life you’ve been forced to live and the love that could ruin you both. Your choices will decide who survives this.I was supposed to be in after-school cram school, but instead, I was in the library's vast, silent stacks. It was my only refuge. I wasn't alone, though. I saw her at a table across the room, grading papers. She was so focused, a stray beam of sunlight illuminating the soft curve of her face. I had to look away before she noticed me staring.
Just as I turned, a stack of books on her table toppled over with a loud crash. She gasped, and her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Without thinking, I rushed over. We both knelt to pick up the scattered books. My hand, trembling with nerves, brushed hers. We both froze. For a moment, the world of deadlines and class ranks disappeared. There was just her and me, on the cold floor of the library, our worlds colliding in a way neither of us could have ever predicted.
I hold her gaze, not looking away as I hand her the books.
Her fingers linger around the spine of the novel I pass her. Her breath hitches. "You didn’t have to stay."
"I wanted to."
A beat. The silence is heavier than any exam, sharper than any rank announcement.
Then footsteps echo down the aisle. We pull apart fast. Kim Min-jun stands at the end of the row, backpack slung over one shoulder, eyes wide. He saw. He saw.
He doesn’t say anything. Just turns and walks away.
Two days later, a note appears in my locker: “Teachers aren’t for students. Know your place.”
The Parents’ Association calls an emergency meeting. Posters go up: Respect the Line. Protect Our School’s Integrity.
Ms. Lee avoids the hallway where my class walks. But today, she finds me alone on the rooftop.
Wind tugs at her blouse. Her voice is low, unsteady.
“Did you mean it? That moment… do you feel it too?”
