Sleeping has never been easy for me. As a child I would wake up in the middle of the night and scream. My parents, having worked nights, didn't find out until our neighbor called the police on me. They would shake me, tell me to wake up, tell me to stop. I would open my eyes and wonder what's wrong. The doctors believed that I would grow out of it, that it was a child's problem, that it would go away. But as I grew, it only became worse. For the past ten years I haven't had a proper nights sleep without the aide of pills that knock me out for hours. Some night I get agitated and don't take my pills. Those nights I aimlessly scatter around Seoul, learning the ways of the darkness and looking for light in order to keep me awake. 

My eyes slowly opened to reveal a familiar smile. Mr. Terada...no, Takuya was kneeled next to the bed, his eyes burning with happiness. 
"Good morning, Joon Jae! I don't have much for breakfast...just a few eggs. Perhaps we should go out to eat!" 
Did I sleep the whole night? Maybe I shouldn't mention anything. 
I got up, rubbing my back and shaking my head. "No, I feel bad for making you share your already small bed." 
"Oh no! It's not a prob-" 
I stopped him mid sentence with my hand gently placed over his mouth. He looked surprised at first, then slowly grasped my hand and pulled it down. I explained, "We can go to my apartment, it will be better there and I can cook you breakfast." He searched my face with his tiny chocolate colored eyes and smiled. 
"Thank you, Joon Jae! I will get dressed!" 
He jumped off the bed and picked up some clothes off the floor, clothes that I hadn't noticed the night before. I laid back on the small bed and closed my eyes, wanting to sleep while he got dressed. THWACK! I was instantly awoken by a hard smack of a shirt on my stomach. 
"Joon Jae! We look about the same size, I have extra clothes for you! Your suit is still soaking wet." 
I realized as I got up off the bed that indeed my suit was dripping. I bowed while gratefully opening my arms to receive the clothes. He placed them carefully on top, lightly brushing my hands. 
"I'll get ready in the bathroom!  You can get ready here, if you don't mind." 
I nodded, putting the clothes on the bed. Takuya happily walked into the small bathroom, humming an upbeat tune. As soon as the door closed, I quickly dressed, much faster than Takuya who was still singing away while I quietly sat on the bed waiting. He finally burst through the door, wearing a light blue and white striped shirt and tattered jeans. His hair was messy from drying the wrong way during the night. He looked...at home. Like he belonged. But, last night he looked so heartbroken. Does he change in the daytime? No, perhaps I was too tired.
"Where do you live? I still don't know Seoul very well. Can we ride the subway? I don't own a car and the station isn't far from here, only a few blocks." 
"Um yeah we can ride the subway." He ran out of the room, his loud steps pressing down the stairs. I followed him rather slowly as I didn't have nearly as much energy as he did. When I reached the end of the stairs, he was standing in the doorway of the shop, the sunlight bouncing off of the clocks around making him radiate with golden light. 
"Joon Jae! Just follow me!" He had on a little blue and white backpack that matched with his shirt. His fingers were clasped around the ties to tighten the straps. And that smile...it was there. There alongside the clocks, the gold, blue, white. What am I thinking? I just met this guy! Why do I feel this way? I reluctantly followed Takuya through the doorway. It was hard keeping up with him, his strides faster than mine. However, it seemed like time slowed down. He began to tell me about his family, growing up in Japan, and his journey to Korea. His parents were well off and he never had any brothers or sisters. Life was good when he was a child. Once he went into his teen years and up, his parents would force tough classes and a constantly growing workload for school. He passed high school with flying colors- 
"But at what cost?" 
I looked at him. The sadness had seeped back into his eyes. "What do you mean?" 
He sighed. "Joon Jae, I trust you. We've only known each other for a day, not even a day. But I feel like I should trust you." 
My heart fluttered. Why's it doing that? Stop that. That's not normal. Just listen to what he has to say. 
"I tried to drown myself my last year of high school. I held my head under the water, just waiting for it all to disappear. I heard my mother banging on the door, calling my name. I stayed under, wanting it to end. My father broke the door down and they both pulled me out from the tub. My mother was sobbing, telling me everything would be okay and my father was holding back tears as he walked out of the bathroom. That was when I decided to take up my hobby with my clocks. My parents weren't proud of it, but they knew it was the only thing keeping me from trying to kill myself again." 
By this time we were sitting in the station waiting for our train to come. As he spoke, Takuya looked relaxed, as if he was telling a story he's told too many times before. Explaining something that has been worn of explaining. "Mr. Terada I'm very sorry." 

He chuckled through a choked up throat. 

"I told you, please call me Takuya." 

"Ah! I forgot, please forgive me." 
He chuckled more and more until it became a ringing laugh. It caused me to laugh too and on that day in that station, we became two men laughing over a silly mistake. We weren't even men at that moment. We were little school boys, laughing at something only boys would find humorous. Our laughter calmed down after a few minutes and we realized that our train was next. Takuya stood up off the bench. 
"Joon Jae, I don't want you to pity me, I just want you to understand." 
I nodded. "Of course I understand, we're friends right?" 
Light shined. "Of course."