CHAPTER 2

"Well, I'll do you a favor and walk with you."

A favor? Was she being serious right now?

I glanced at her sideways. She looked completely unbothered, swinging her bag like this was some indie film montage.

"So, Cloudy Asian Guy," she grinned, "what's your name?"

I said nothing.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I should know your name. I mean, we're in the same class. But honestly? Even the teachers barely remember you exist."

I paused mid-step.

Wait. What?

We were in the same class?

I didn't... even realize.

I always sat by the window. Book in hand. Manga tucked in my bag. AirPods in. Face turned away from the world on purpose.

I didn't exactly memorize classmates' faces—barely even looked up.

"We're in the same class?" I asked, blinking at her like she'd just told me I was adopted.

She stopped walking. Stared at me.

"No way you're serious."

I stayed quiet.

"I SIT BESIDE YOU!" she yelled, hands thrown in the air like this was some kind of betrayal.

I blinked again. "Huh."

"I'm offended," she declared dramatically, but her laughter spilled through the air like it didn't know how to stop.

"Well, I'm zani. The girl who SITS beside you. IN YOUR CLASS," she repeated, like she was reading a headline from the school newspaper.

I stared at her. "You told me your name two minutes ago."

"Silly me," she said, giggling again like the world was just one big joke she was in on.

She looked at me, head tilted, curiosity buzzing behind her glitter-sparked eyes.

"So… Cloud Boy—"

"Stop calling me that."

"Well I don't know your name!" she shot back. "Let me guess. Something melancholy. Poetic. Cloudy. Like… Cloudy? Rainy? Sebastian?"

Help. This girl is unhinged.

"Is Cloudy even a name?" I asked, deadpan.

She laughed again—loud, unfiltered, like the sky cracked open every time she exhaled.

Seriously. Does she always laugh like this?

It was annoying. And distracting. And a little...warm.

"If I tell you my name, will you please leave me alone?" I asked, flat as ever.

She rolled her eyes and—of course—giggled again. Again?! What was even funny? I was, like, a walking cardboard cutout of a sad poem. And here she was, laughing like I moonlighted as a circus clown.

"Sure… Cloud B—"

"Shin. The name's Shin."

Her eyes lit up like I'd just given her a winning lottery ticket. "Wooow. Amazing. What does Shin mean?"

"Why bother?"

"I just wanted to know if it translates to Cloud Boy in English," she said, and then full-on cackled. Like head-thrown-back, holding-her-stomach kind of cackled.

"I've talked more today than I have in ten years," I muttered.

She doubled over laughing, like I'd done stand-up. "You're so funny, Shin."

The way she said my name… soft, warm, like she meant it.

It was weird.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Cloud Boy—oops, I mean… Shinguard," she teased, grinning like a gremlin as she crossed the street.

I let out a long sigh. Deep. Like I'd just run a marathon with my mouth.

"Cloud boyyyy!" she shouted suddenly.

I turned.

She stood across the road, wild smile stretched from chin to chin. Waving like she was trying to flag down a plane.

Then she turned, and started hopping away down the sidewalk. Like a six-year-old in a world that hadn't hurt her yet.

I stood there for a second.

Rain drizzled softly again.

And for the first time in a long time, the silence didn't feel so.... lonely.

 ******************************

 School was… the usual.

Teachers came in, droned, and left. Students chattered like broken radios. The air buzzed with noise I wanted no part of.

I sank into my seat, popped in my headphones, and opened my manga—Solanin. Sad, quiet, and beautifully depressing. Just how I liked it.

Finally. The best part of the day.

Library time.

I walked in, dropped my bag behind the counter, and started organizing the returned books. Smoothing dust jackets, sorting by genre. Bliss. The silence here wasn't awkward—it was sacred.

Then I heard it.

LOUD FOOTSTEPS.

Oh no.

"Halloooo, Cloud Boy!"

I closed my eyes.

And there she was. Zani. The glitter gremlin from yesterday. Breathing like she just outran a stampede.

"Oh my God—I almost got lost finding the library. Can you believe that?" she said, laughing way too loud for a place literally designed for not laughing.

"You know we're in a library, right?"

"Shhhhhh! Shin! Stop being so noisy—you might get banned," she whispered dramatically, like she hadn't just busted in like a cartoon character.

God. Was she serious right now?

"Anyway! Today's your lucky day!" she said with a spark in her eye.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Yup. I'm your new assistant. Surpriseeee!"

I stared at her.

Said nothing.

Just turned back and continued shelving books.

She didn't take the hint.

Instead, she stood beside me, watching like I was performing brain surgery instead of alphabetizing a row of mystery novels.

"So," she said, clapping her hands once. Loudly. "Where do we start, boss?"

"You're already starting by being too loud," I muttered, sliding a hardcover into its rightful place on the shelf.

"Noted!" she whispered with exaggerated seriousness, then immediately knocked over a small stack of books with her elbow. "Oops."

I sighed.

"Do you… even read?"

She gasped like I'd accused her of murder. "Excuse you! I read all the time. Just, like, mostly webtoons. And fanfics. And those dramatic billionaire romance books where someone always loses their memory."

I gave her a look.

"What? Don't judge! You read those... inked cartoon things."

"Manga," I corrected flatly. "It's literally a whole art form."

"Sure, sure. Animated sadness with subtitles."

"They're not animated. And there are no subtitles."

"Oh. So, like... sad comics?"

I closed my eyes for strength.

She started restacking the books she knocked over… completely in the wrong order.

"Okay, stop. You're making it worse."

"I'm making it more exciting," she said. "This library's been too... peaceful for too long."

I didn't respond. I just fixed the mess.

Then she sat on the floor, crossed her legs, and said, "Okay, serious question: who's your favorite book character ever?"

"Why?"

"Because it tells me everything. Like, if you say someone tragic and misunderstood, I'll know you're a secret softie."

I paused.

"...He's from a manga. You wouldn't know him."

"Try me."

"Itachi."

She tilted her head. "Okay... sounds... spicy? Is he, like, a vampire or something?"

I blinked.

She grinned. "Wait—don't tell me. He's broody, smart, has a sad past, and probably dies."

I stared at her.

She threw her hands up. "Aha! I KNEW IT. You are a softie with cloudy boy trauma!"

I rolled my eyes, but a tiny, stupid smile almost crept up. Almost.

She noticed.

"Oh my God, are you SMILING?!" she practically screamed.

"Shhh!" came a harsh whisper from a real librarian somewhere in the distance.

Zani giggled again, mouthing sorry into the void.

Then she leaned in closer, eyes glinting. "I'm gonna break you, Shin. One smile at a time."

I looked at her, unblinking. "You are a menace."

"Thank you."