A Love Story

Chapter 1

Kryzella

I've been hanging out on "HeartConnect" for quite some time now. I even considered deleting my account there, and I did, but for some inexplicable reason, I keep finding myself coming back. Initially, I told myself I'd just give it a try, but the platform's magnetic pull has a way of making me stay.

I've also had a few encounters with guys on HeartConnect, but to be honest, none of them seemed genuinely interested from the start.

"Could you show me your *****?"
Can I see your *****?"
"Can we have phone ***?"

Messages like these flood my inbox, and it's disheartening, to say the least. It's discouraging because this is not why I created an account here in the first place.

***

But then, one day, just before I decided to close my HeartConnect account, a profile picture caught my eye in my feed. Out of pure curiosity, I clicked on that particular profile. As his account opened up, I immediately noticed photos of K-pop idols like Shinee and Super Junior.

I couldn't resist, so I messaged him, "Hey, I see you're a K-pop fan too! Love Shinee and Super Junior! 😊"

To my surprise, Jerome replied almost instantly, "Oh, absolutely! They're amazing! Do you have a bias in Shinee or Super Junior?"

Our chat started to flow effortlessly, bonding over our shared love for K-pop and uncovering other common interests along the way.

In the days that followed, our conversations deepened, and we decided to take our connection beyond HeartConnect.

"Hey Jerome, do you want to exchange social media accounts?" I asked.

His response was quick. "Sure, Kryzella! That sounds like a great idea. Here's mine, Jerome Clark. What's yours?"

I smiled, anticipating the continuation of our conversations. "Great! Here's mine, KryNez Tee. Just message me when you find it."

A while later, as I was scrolling through my messaging app, Bootlug, I noticed a new message in my inbox.

Emorej notledneP Hey You! It's me, Jerome from the other day on HeartConnect.

Excitement welled up within me, and I quickly opened his message. I couldn't resist checking out his profile too. While he didn't post frequently, just like his HeartConnect profile, it had photos of those K-pop groups. Scrolling further through his photos, I stumbled upon pictures of him that looked like he had been on a hiking adventure.

Eager to continue our conversation, I typed my response.

Hey ya!

I'm glad you found my account! I guess you've already had a peek at mine. So, what do you think? And oh, I noticed you're into hiking! Where's your favorite trail?

Just minutes later, after I sent my reply, another message from Jerome appeared. It seemed he was online, a detail I had missed earlier since I had set my messaging app to idle to avoid interruptions.

His response was concise. "Oh, I love hiking! My favorite trail is in the nearby mountains. How about you?"

My fingers danced on the keyboard as I typed my reply. "I enjoy hiking too! Maybe we could go together sometime."

Jerome's response was swift and enthusiastic. "That sounds awesome, Kyzella. I'll need to check my schedule first, but I'm definitely up for it."

A few days later, we were hiking together. The sun warmed our backs as we walked the scenic trail. Our chat was easy, like the stream beside us. The beauty of nature reflected our growing bond.