Chapter 1

Pit. Pat...

Pit. Pat.

"And this is why I hate rain..." 

Looking up into the empty sky, raindrops fell down onto the pavement, making all their surroundings, once dry - now wet.

Kim Soo-Eun was being thrown more shit at their face as the day flew by. On the way back to their apartment, the sky just decided to start pouring heavy rain down from the heavens. 

Kim Soo-Eun didn't check the weather forecast, since most of the time they were wrong.

So with no umbrella, walking under a no-coverage street, Kim Soo-Eun was soaked from head to toe. Drenching in their own clothes, the uncomfortable sensation of the fabric of their shirt and pants rubbing on their skin was fucking irritating. And to make the day even better, Kim Soo-Eun's house was a fifteen minute walk and the bus that they usually took was not available.

Walking fifteen minutes in soaked clothes while the cold wind blew in their face every ten seconds; their day was so much better.

Arriving at the door of their apartment after that hell of a walk, Kim Soo-Eun could finally change out of the drenched clothes they had on. Flicking the light switch on, Kim Soo-Eun ran a hand through their hair.

"Finally…'m back."

Kim Soo-Eun walked down the hallway and into their bathroom, taking their clothes off and throwing them aside to the abyss pile at the corner of the bathroom - which was where all their unwashed clothes were piled, Kim Soo-Eun was never a person to have time to wash their clothes, or that they didn't really bother. Flipping the faucet of the bathtub on, water immediately rushed out and began to fill the tub.

The tub was full, and if Kim Soo-Eun blacked out any second earlier, the water would have overflowed. Hot steam filled the whole bathroom and the water that Kim Soo-Eun chose to bathe in was boiling. The perfect temperature to make your skin burn in ecstasy and to make your day just ever so slightly better.

Kim Soo-Eun first placed their foot into the bathtub, swirling their leg around to make sure the temperature was the skin-prickling feeling that they wanted. After the check, Kim Soo-Eun finally placed their whole body in the steaming water.

The sensation of the boiling water biting their skin as soon as they touched the surface was the best feeling too Kim Soo-Eun. What could beat a nice bath in hot water after a day full of shit?

After adjusting to the temperature of the water, Kim Soo-Eun submerged their whole body down, letting the water cover their skin completely. Their whole body was submerged under the water as black strands of hair floated to the surface. Kim Soo-Eun was too lazy to tie their long locks of hair up, they already knew it was pretty useless.

When Kim Soo-Eun could no longer hold their breath, they popped their head right up, taking in gasps of air. They were under the water without breathing for at least five minutes, but it was a habit of Kim Soo-Eun's, forgetting that they had to breathe in order to live. When you are too deep in thought, you just lose touch with the real world.

It was relaxing, the silence.

"Slacker life..." Kim Soo-Eun mumbled, having their face half underwater and half above water, making bubbles when they spoke. "Aigoo..."

Thoughts started to cloud Kim Soo-Eun's head; Why are they even trying when they already know that all of it would be for nothing in the end? It's not like Kim Soo-Eun ever cared too much about things other than their goal.

'Stupid work. Stupid taxes. Stupid life…'

But those thoughts were all shaken off by the sudden boom of thunder. 

"The hell..?" 

The loud noise that happened with no warning, shook Kim Soo-Eun a little. The thunder even made the water inside the tub shake, ripples crashing against Kim Soo-Eun's skin.

"Are you kidding me..." 

Kim Soo-Eun stood up, water droplets dripping from the end strands of their hair.

Stepping out of the tub, the chilly air in the bathroom was worse than the boiling water. Kim Soo-Eun wanted to re-enter the tub, but they were already out, so what's the point?

Quickly drying themselves with a towel, throwing on some clothes and rinsing their teeth with water, that was all Kim Soo-Eun had the energy to do.

Kim Soo-Eun did a quick teeth check, grinning into the mirror to see if it was clean. 

'It should be fine, didn't eat anything today'

The moment Kim Soo-Eun opened their bedroom door, they were greeted with piles and piles of stacked-up paper and sticky notes all over the place. Kim Soo-Eun walked over to their desk - tiptoeing their way through - being careful not to touch anything.

When Kim Soo-Eun finally reached their desk, the first thing that they did was open their laptop and start and click into a new tab. Kim Soo-Eun decided this was the perfect time to see if anything interesting happened in the Boku no Hīrō Academia manga. Kim Soo-Eun hadn't found the time to continue the series due to life. But fuck life, they decided it was a good time to read a shitty manga they half-assed cared about. 

Kim Soo-Eun first started to read Boku no Hīrō Academia when they first stumbled upon the fanfictions online. They were trying to find something they needed for a project, but then clicked on a link that showed them an image - a broccoli headed boy being pinned by five other people.

At first, Kim Soo-Eun thought it was a new BL series that people began catching on to or something, but it wasn't. 

Other than wanting to achieve their dream goal of living a slacker life, Kim Soo-Eun enjoyed reading. They never had a preference and practically read everything out there. So, thinking the series was another BL harem story they could mindlessly read to waste time, Kim Soo-Eun found and read the original source. 

It was a Shōnen series.

If it was a Shōnen series, what was with the fanfictions and artworks about the characters fucking? And all with that one broccoli headed boy - who apparently was the main character. This was like the nth time when a series had nothing to do with anything shown in the fandom. 

Like, Kim Soo-Eun got the appeal of people seeing the characters like being together, but could they stop misleading them?

Anyways, Kim Soo-Eun was never really interested in Boku no Hīrō Academia, but they stuck with it because they had problems and because they wanted to see how badly it would fall from the breaking point. 

And oh my, did it fall.

But someone who was like Kim Soo-Eun, they continued to follow the series. They didn't watch the anime and only read the manga since they didn't want more eye problems caused by blue simulating lights from the laptop screen they started into practically 24/7.

***

"Are you kidding me..?" Kim Soo-Eun stared at the screen as they grabbed onto each side of the laptop. "Did they just kill one of the main characters?"

What Kim Soo-Eun was currently experiencing was the emotion of disbelief. They were in disbelief that the creator just killed one of the main characters.

"Damn, surprise me." Kim Soo-Eun leaned back on their chair, letting their hair cascade down. They covered their eyes with their arm, sighing, or where they were chuckling? 

"And he was the fan favorite, surprisingly, but…pfft."

Bakugou Katsuki wasn't Kim Soo-Eun's favorite character. They didn't actually have a favorite - they all kinda sucked in one way or another - but he was rash and someone who attracted trouble wherever he went. 

Someone like that was the complete opposite to Kim Soo-Eun.

But it wasn't like Kim Soo-Eun liked the main protagonist any better. He was bright, way too bright and too 'hero-like' for their liking. Kim Soo-Eun always preferred morally gray characters, but that wasn't the problem.

They were left on another cliffhanger. No one likes fucking cliffhangers! They already had enough stress from life, Kim Soo-Eun didn't need more being thrown in their face.

"Ugh..." There was a sudden shock of pain in Kim Soo-Eun's head, it hit like a truck. 

Kim Soo-Eun dragged a hand through their hand, trying to deal with the migraine that suddenly came from nowhere. It felt like they got hit by multiple cars and then thousands of needles poked into their skin, one by one, slowly. Kim Soo-Eun had many migraines before, but never as serious as this one. The pain was unbearable even for their standards. 

Kim Soo-Eun stumbled off the chair slightly, tripping on one of the legs and falling onto the table with a slam right to the head. From the sudden collision, Kim Soo-Eun felt as if their surroundings were spinning. A buzzing noise soon followed right after the hit, not making the situation for them any better.

They tried their best to not pass out, after all, it was a pain to deal with the aftermath. The last time Kim Soo-Eun passed out, which was around three days ago, they were late to an exam. 

It was the worst thing to ever happen. Being stared at by everyone in the room - the center of attention.

Kim Soo-Eun's vision blurred. Their sight was fading and their whole body was being swallowed by darkness. They tried forcing their eyes to stay open, even pinching their skin.

It was useless.

"Fuc—!" 

Kim Soo-Eun didn't want to be unconscious for the millionth time, it was the worst feeling, unable to control your own body. But alas, their body and senses shut down.

No longer conscious, Kim Soo-Eun laid lifeless on the edge of their table.

The blue light of the still-open laptop, beamed onto their pale skin. Even when they were breathing and kicking, they had a pale, dead-like appearance; nearly white skin, baggy eyes from the endless all-nighters they pulled, and a frail glass-like figure. 

You could not even tell if Kim Soo-Eun was dead or just sleeping.