A few days later, I finally left the house for something other than groceries in the Mall in Hongdae. Avery had dragged me to a small kpop shop. “look at the IDID Alubm!”she really meant stare at it until I felt guilty. The shop was crowded and loud, music blasting from every corner. While Avery was busy looking at other kpop Merch and arguing about prices to herself, I wandered toward the back, looking at BT21 plush I didn’t even plan on buying. That’s when I bumped into someone. Hard and it hurt. “Oh Sorry!” we both said at the same time. She laughed first. She had dark brown hair tied loosely behind her neck and eyes that looked warm, like she already knew you. “Guess we’re both not watching where we’re going,” she said. Her name was Luna—at least that’s what she told me when I awkwardly asked. She said she liked coming here to clear her head, especially when life felt too loud. I don’t know why, but talking to her felt easy. We ended up sitting on the floor between the shelves, talking about music, life, and dumb dreams we never told anyone. I told her about the survival show, about failing, and about my mom. She listened. She didn’t interrupt or pity me—she just listened. Before she left, she smiled and said, “Maybe failing isn’t the end. Maybe it’s just a pause.” Then she handed me her number and walked out before I could overthink it. From across the store, Avery yelled, “ROWAN, ARE YOU FLIRTING?!” I groaned, but I couldn’t stop smiling. Something told me this wasn’t just a random meeting. It felt like the start of something I didn’t know. The End for now Again
