It was like routine now. Every night, Jinki would just lie awake in his bed and make up stories in his head. Sometimes, the stories would be realistic and mundane; other times, they would be surreal, stories in which he was the superhero that saved the day. Only one detail was always the same in all his stories: he was never alone. Be it a significant other, an accomplice or a friend, there was always someone by his side at all times.

The first time he saw her was on a rainy day. She was running down the street, presumably to get somewhere dry. Jinki marvelled at the way her skirt was sticking to her legs, moulding them, and at her gentle yet defined facial features. He was still staring at the horizon long after she was gone as raindrops trickled down his window.

That night, he dreamed of a nameless girl and of cheesy pick-up lines.

Jinki never liked Mondays. Monday meant he had to go to school and sit alone in class, for lunch, and on the bus. Monday meant feeling lonely in a crowded place. He was usually left out of all the newest gossips and rumours, not purposely though. It was mostly because he just really didn’t care about any of the things people thought of or had done. So when the whole school clamoured over something this Monday, Jinki paid little attention. It wasn’t until class started that he understood what all the hype was about. Standing next to the teacher was none other than the girl he saw hurrying away the other day. Already, he could hear the other male students’ approving whistles.

“Hello. My name is Park Sunyoung, but you can all call me Luna. I’ve recently moved here from America so my Korean isn’t all that great. Oh! And I like collecting different things,” the girl, Luna, cheerfully introduced herself. Jinki thought she seemed oddly comfortable with not knowing anyone, but he quickly cast that thought aside as the teacher assigned her her seat.

She was to sit next to him for the rest of the school year.

The first time they spoke to each other wasn’t until a week after Luna transferred to Jinki’s school. She had easily made a handful of friends with whom she hung out with, but none were in her class. So when she encountered a word she did not understand in the literature book they had to read, she had no choice but to turn to her neighbour and ask. It wasn’t often that Jinki was spoken to, so when he first heard Luna speak to him, he couldn’t help but gape blankly at her for a moment before answering her questions.

Later, in the comfort of his bed, Jinki dreamed of her again, only this time, she had a name.

As more time passed, Luna and Jinki got closer. She no longer only spoke to him when she had questions and he slowly stopped thinking of socializing as a punishment he desperately wanted to avoid. The girl thought Jinki’s skill at conversation, or lack thereof, was strangely endearing. He would always be stumbling over his words, whereas she always spoke confidently, as if she knew with certitude she could just disappear if she ever said anything wrong. On some days, they would speak for a long time and on others, not at all. The ebb and flow of their conversation lengths helped Jinki accommodate himself to having friends again.

Jinki has never felt so alive before.

Luna was the one who asked for more. Jinki was walking home when she popped out of nowhere and initiated conversation.

“So, Jinki, do you like movies?”

“What kind of movies do you usually watch?”

“I’ve recently started a new collection, you see. Movie tickets this time.”

Jinki walked in silence as Luna kept talking; he liked the sound of her voice, it was comforting. As long as she didn’t ask him anything he thought was too personal, he didn’t mind her company. Soon, they neared Jinki’s street and Luna fell silent. The boy didn’t pay any attention to it though; she could easily have been wrapped up in her own thoughts.

“Do you want to watch a movie with me this weekend? Just the two of us.”

Jinki didn’t know why he agreed, but he could still hear her words echo in his ears.

“It’s a date then!”