──────📍Séoul, Korea -[07:32]──────
I woke up with a jolt, gasping for air—finally free from the nightmare.
But was I really free?
In my dream, Minji was still alive. She smiled at me, laughed with me, just like she used to. For a moment, it felt real. But then, like always, it all fell apart. She died again. Over and over, the same unbearable ending, twisting the knife deeper into a wound that never truly healed.
Tears slipped down my face as I curled into myself, dreading the day ahead. I didn’t want to go to school. I couldn’t. I tried to act sick, hoping for an escape, but my mother wouldn’t hear it. No matter how much I pleaded, she forced me out the door—unaware, or maybe just indifferent, to the storm raging inside me.
I sat at the back of the bus, my headphones in, drowning out the world with Ditto by NewJeans—one of my comfort songs. The soft melody wrapped around me like a shield, numbing the lingering ache from this morning.
Usually, no one sat next to me. People said I looked scary, or maybe just unapproachable. Either way, I was used to the empty seat beside me.
That’s why I was surprised when someone slid into it.
Even more surprised when I turned and saw him.
Ni-ki. The boy from yesterday.
For the first time, I spoke first.
"H... Hey, Ni-ki."
He turned his head slightly, his expression just as nonchalant as yesterday. Nothing about him had changed—calm, unreadable.
"Hey." That was all he said.
I felt a twinge of disappointment. I wanted to talk to him, to know more about him. The silence between us felt heavier than I expected.
So, in a rare moment of courage, I spoke again—a miracle in itself.
"Wanna share headphones?" I asked shyly, holding out one of my earbuds.
"Hmm... yeah, why not?" Ni-ki said with a small shrug.
I handed him one of my earbuds, and just like that, we sat in silence, sharing music until we arrived at school. It was oddly comforting.
As we stepped into the classroom, something clicked—I had never noticed before, but we were actually in the same class.
It made sense, though. When I skipped school, he was here. And when he skipped, I showed up. Like two ghosts haunting the same place but never crossing paths—until now.
As soon as class started, the teacher sent us straight to the principal’s office.
The principal sighed as he looked at us, clearly unimpressed. “You two have been skipping way too much. At this rate, you’re going to fail the year.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, but Ni-ki just leaned back, expression unreadable.
“So, here’s the deal,” the principal continued. “You’re being paired together for a catch-up project. It’s simple—you’ll write an essay on a famous poet. Consider this your chance to fix your grades.”
Ni-ki shot me a look, clearly annoyed. I, on the other hand, had to fight back a small smile.
Spending more time with him? I didn’t mind that at all.
As we stepped out of the principal’s office, Ni-ki was the first to speak.
"You can come to my house at 5 p.m. We’ll start the project then."
"Y-Yeah... sure." I nodded, a small smile tugging at my lips.
Ni-ki glanced at me and, for the first time, his expression softened just a little. "You should smile more. You’re pretty when you smile."
I blinked, caught off guard. "T-Thank you... That’s the first time someone’s ever said that. People usually just call me scary, haha..."
I tried to laugh it off, but my heart was still racing from his words.
Ni-ki raised an eyebrow. "Then they must be blind because you have the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen—" He suddenly stopped, his eyes widening slightly before he slapped a hand over his mouth.
When he noticed the way my cheeks flushed, he chuckled.
"Wanna be friends? You look like you don’t have any."
Friends? I looked up at him, my eyes lighting up with something I hadn’t felt in a long time—hope.
It was my first time having a friend. I had never experienced this feeling before—this warmth spreading through my chest. It meant I finally had someone who cared, someone I could laugh with, someone who might actually listen to my problems.
"Sure! We can be friends! You’re my first friend!" I said, my voice filled with an excitement I hadn’t felt in years.
For a moment, Ni-ki looked surprised. Then, for the first time since we met, he smiled—really smiled. It was warm, genuine, and for some reason, I felt my heart skip a beat.
"You’re my first friend too, Aeri."
Neither of us knew it then, but that moment… that meeting would change the rest of his life.
──────────˓𓄹 ࣪˖ NIGHT IN PARADISE𓈒 𓈒 𓈒────────────
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𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐄 • ni-ki nishimura
عاطفية┈─꩜ .ᐟperfect night by lesserafim˙ . ꒷ 🍰 . 𖦹˙- ...." they were each other's comfort place... " ┈─ 𖠵 Ni-ki , a usual cold-hearted poor boy who care about nobody since the death of his parents meet a depressed girl named Aeri who comes from a weal...
