When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

Chapter 10

I told myself it didn't matter.

That if I just kept quiet, if I just ignored them, if I just endured-things would eventually fade.

That's how it always worked.

That's how I survived.

I wasn't stupid enough to think people changed overnight. But at least they forgot. New day, new target, new gossip. That's how school worked. No one had the attention span to hold on to one thing forever.

But for some reason, they weren't forgetting.

And that annoyed me. More than I wanted to admit.

I could feel it under my skin, burning slow. A quiet, simmering irritation that clawed at my patience. I wasn't supposed to care. I wasn't supposed to feel anything. I had rules for this-I had mastered this. Let them talk. Let them laugh. Let them throw their words, their looks, their little games. Let them do whatever they wanted. Because at the end of the day, I'd still be standing, and they'd move on.

But they weren't moving on.

And today, I am not sure if I can ignore it.

I gripped the strap of my bag, keeping my head down as I walked toward my classroom. The hallway was the same as always-too loud, too crowded, too full of things I didn't want to deal with. I kept my pace steady, pretending I didn't hear the whispers.

"She still showed up, huh?"

"Guess she likes the attention."

"Or maybe she likes being humiliated."

Laughter.

It shouldn't have mattered.

I shouldn't have looked up.

But I did.

And the moment I did, I regretted it.

A group of them-four, maybe five-were gathered near my classroom door. They weren't blocking it, not completely, but their eyes told me everything. They were waiting.

For me.

My stomach twisted, but I kept walking, pretending not to see them. If I just walked past, if I just acted like they didn't exist, maybe they'd get bored. Maybe-

A hand grabbed my wrist.

Not hard. Not painful. Just enough to make me stop.

"Not so fast," one of them said.

I kept my face blank. Didn't look at them. Didn't react.

"Let go," I said, voice steady.

No one listened.

Instead, another one reached for my bag. I pulled back on instinct, but that only made them laugh.

"Relax. We just want to talk."

Liar.

I can already tell where this is going. The same routine, just worse each time. Push a little more, see how much further they can go.

"Move," I said again, quieter this time.

"Or what?"

I swallowed hard, forcing my body to stay still. I can't react. That is the rule. That's how I got through this.

Then, suddenly-

"Let. Her. Go."

The voice wasn't loud, but it cut through everything.