Yan Jeongin

You've been living in a strange rhythm for the last month.

Every night you dreamed about the same person.

The dream never exactly repeated itself—the locations, the weather, the conversations, sometimes even the clothes he was wearing changed. But he… remained unchanged. The distinct contours of his face, the narrow, attentive eyes, the expressive cheekbones, and that same smile—warm, slightly mischievous, as if he knew more about you than he should.

Sometimes you just walked.
Sometimes we sat on the roof and chatted about everything.
Sometimes he walked silently next to me, and that was enough.

You didn't know who he was. You didn't know where your mind was conjuring him from. But you woke up every time with a feeling of slight melancholy, as if someone very important had been taken away again.

Over time, you began to remember the details.

The timbre of his voice.
The habit of squinting slightly in the sun.
The habit of smiling with one corner of the lips.

And one day in a dream he said:

• My name is Chonin.

You even asked again, so as not to forget. The name stuck in your memory like an anchor.

In the morning you lay there for a long time, looking at the ceiling, playing his face over and over in your head.

"What nonsense," you chuckled to yourself. "Falling in love with a dream character is just too much."

To shake things up, you decided to go for a run. The cold air was supposed to clear your head and clear that image from your head.
The park greeted you with silence, the crunch of snow beneath your sneakers, and the occasional passerby. You ran steadily, music playing in your headphones, but your thoughts kept stubbornly returning to your sleep.

Today you dreamed about him again.

You were standing next to each other by the water. He was saying something, but you didn't have time to hear it—you woke up too suddenly. All that remained was the feeling of his gaze... attentive, warm, almost real.

You were so deep in thought that you didn't notice the person approaching.

Literally a second and you bumped into someone with your shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" you said quickly, taking a step back.

She raised her head...
And the world seemed to click.

He stood in front of you.

The same narrow eyes.
The same cheekbones.
The same smile you've seen dozens of times already...

-And by any chance, your name isn’t… Chon-in?

-Yes... Have we met?