𝙁𝙀𝙈𝘿𝙊𝙈 ● 𝙆𝙋𝙊𝙋

KIM SEOKJIN: The Longest Day of Kim Seokjin's Life

TRIGGER WARNING:
° panic attack
° anxious character

Perfection— Kim Seokjin was the living embodiment of the word. Always punctual and organized, Seokjin was one of the nicest, kindest people one would ever meet. The loudest of the bunch, and yet he'd never forget his honorifics and manners. Not the brightest light bulb in the room, but definitely one of the most hardworking and studious. Broad shoulders and excellent body proportions made for spectacular performance on the field, and to top it off, a face that could be described only as breathtakingly beautiful. Kim Seokjin was truly Seoul Acting Academy's golden boy.

Even so, being called the golden boy wouldn't automatically erase all his imperfections and flaws; he was human after all, flawed and chipped at the edges just like everyone else. His flaw was significant, he believed, so much so that he had hidden it from the whole world in fear of being seen as a pathetic freak. The voices in his mind never failed to mimic the judgemental reactions of society, forcing him to hide his condition from everyone, making him loathe his entire being. 'Just when you couldn't be any more pathetic and disgusting given those abnormally crooked fingers of yours, you reveal yet another deformity to your existence.' No, Seokjin couldn't tell- wouldn't tell anyone his secret; it was something he was sure that he would take to his grave. But of course, fate had other plans.

Being as organized as he was, Seokjin made sure to never forget anything and always keep track of everything. When he got a call from his mother stating that she was sick however, Seokjin dashed out of the academy immediately, leaving all his belongings behind in class. Upon remembering later, he grew worried, cursing himself; finals were near and he had so carelessly forgotten his books and notes in class. He had to get them back as soon as possible; he was as good as a blunt knife without them.

6:15 a.m. Seokjin sprang out of bed even earlier than usual. He had to retreive his notes or he wouldn't be able to relax. God, he thought. Why am I like this? How could I leave my notes behind like that? Why am I so stupid?! He cursed himself throughout the drive to the academy, wanting to be out of this mess as soon as possible. His feet led him automatically to the janitor's closet, knowing that there was a box full of students' abandoned belongings there. He breathed out a sigh of relief seeing the door, swung it open and stepped inside, not noticing that it closed in his worried frenzy. Seokjin also did not know that the lock was causing problems those days.

Rummaging through the items in the box, he let out yet another breath, closing his eyes and feeling all the jittery nerves wash away. He did a few breathing exercises to calm himself, having found his beloved notes, and then proceeded to move out when he saw the door was closed. His heart momentarily stopped before he realized he could just open it. Thank God. When he pulled the door handle however, his blood ran cold upon realizing that the door didn't budge.

6:40 a.m. At this point, Seokjin was sure the door handle would break from how hard he'd been pulling it. His hands were an angry, frustrated shade of red from how long he'd been banging on the door in hopes that someone would hear. It had only been a total of five minutes since he had found out that he was locked in.

His heart was pounding so wildly he was sure it would leap out of his chest at any moment. Saltwater pricked his eyes, and his body shuddered uncomfortably. That's when it started. All of a sudden, the walls started closing in on him, his body turning a full one-eighty degrees before sliding down against the door in terror. His hand tugged on his tie, loosening it and throwing it away as if it were a sinister snake ready to choke him to death. His hand travelled up further, clutching and tugging and scratching his neck, leaving glaringly bright scarlet welts behind. He felt his head going woozy and everything began to spin, his chest heaving from how hard he was trying to breathe.

Out of nowhere, he started to remember everything strange and out of order that morning: the absence of one of the security guards, the dark gloom of the hallways even though the lights were always on each morning when he was the first to enter the institution as usual, the unusual absence of the janitor who was always there from the crack of dawn. Remembering that he had his phone with him, he rushed to take it out of his pocket, face falling immediately as he noticed how he in such a hurry that morning that he had forgotten to charge the device. As it shut down not two seconds after being switched it on, the only thing he was able to notice was the date: 23 November, 2019.

It was a Saturday.

so this us an essay i wrote in an english language exam in my first year of college (yk, in the good ole pre-covid times) & scored the highest in my class

the teacher was quite racist but oh well, she gave me an unbiased score on my essay & that's what matters ('cuz some people just won't get out of their narrow-minded mindset no matter how well educated or affluent they are)

anyway, as always, take care, stay hydrated & eat well, everyone!

-A.