Moon nights - a summer romance in Seoul

Chapter 30: Ayla

They ask me why
I love the moon so much
The moon is a witness
To what goes on at night
It has seen me weep and smile
It's light shines on me
During any regret or success

__________________________________

We woke up to the last month in South Korea. Two months had passed since we came here, and it was turning more into a second home for us every day. The August heat was slightly, but only slightly, comparable to the heat in Istanbul with its humidity; there was no way we could function without the AC inside our house.

To our luck, the weatherman had been proven right with the prediction of summer rain. It was pouring outside, so we decided to make the best of it and stay inside. Tala and I had prepared everyone a Turkish cuisine breakfast consisting of shakshuka, culture, the karma of potatoes and veggies, and, not to forget: bread.

"This is unfair; you all have such good cuisines; I could envy you despite being born in Korean cuisine", Mina sighed as she got another portion of the Şakşuka onto her plate.

"I need to diet after this show. Or tomorrow, I should start tomorrow", Mina commented as she chewed on a fried pepper. "Ugh, I didn't hit my goal weight this summer, my clothes won't fit me neither. I need to work out more", Naeun sighed as she played with a string of her blouse.

"You mean you want to start working out?", Faras chimed in and received a death glare from both girls. "Maybe I'm doing many workouts outside the gym? You wouldn't know, would you?" Faras then looked over to me. "As a roommate, I can confirm that Mina works out a lot" I nodes and took another bite of my kavurma. "That's my girl!" Mina shouted and gave me a high five, defeating Faras, who also returned to his plate.

"Do you have beauty standards in Turkey, Alya?", Naeun asked me. "Uh, not really. It's a bit confusing, I think", I thought for a bit, trying to think if there was a recognised look that was seen as attractive. Different from the Korean beauty standards that had a fixed image of how two genders, men and women, were supposed to look. "It's not a fixed look and depends on the area. The west coast tends toward a more Western look, while the Middle East leans towards the Middle Eastern look. But it's very individual too. More about confidence and looking like you're taking care of yourself. The only beauty standard that stretches from east to west is being skinny. What do you say, Tal?" I looked at my best friend, who also thought for a while. "Yeah... they focus more on emphasising a strong facial feature you own. If you have big round eyes, the girls make their eyes the highlight of the makeup. Or if you have plump lips, red lips for days. If you have a small waist, always wear something tailored to the waist. That's what I noticed" I nodded in agreement. "And being skinny skinny. No curves. Cardio over weights kind of skinny"

Sadly, that was also true. Which caused a wave of serious damage on a lot of young teenagers, eager to achieve their admired body so they can be admired too.

"So, whose movie choice should we start first with?"

"I got Tangled!

"Train to Busan"

"Iron Man 2"

"Me before you"

"Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind"

"Revenge of the Sith"

"Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham"

Ultimately, we started with Tangled and moved on to Kung Fu Panda. We were all spread around the living room, some sitting on the couch and some sitting on the floor. Snacks were scattered around the couch table, and blankets were in the interior.

"Fluffy blankets are essential for any movie day!" Mina had explained to the boys their confusion and protest on why we would need blankets in the middle of the summer.

I was wearing a black tee, Jonghyun's tee, which fit me just right (I didn't know how to feel about that either), and shorts. He wore a similar tee tugged in his high-waisted jeans, his hair up in a half pony. He wasn't trying, but he still looked so photogenic and editorial-ready. I tore my gaze away from him and rested my head against his shoulder, looking at the screen as another round of laughter entered the living room.

"Are you ready for the livestream later, love?", Jonghuyn asked me as Taehyun was putting up the third movie, Iron Man 2. After lunch, we had a scheduled live stream as a couple but not on the main account of the show, but on Jonghyun's social media, which got a high new number of followers since the show started, dominating the history of the show.

"Perhaps. What's the worst that could happen?" I replied to him with my mug of tea in my hand.

"Hm, you could get cancelled?" he suggested, and I gasped overly dramatically, a hand to my chest.

"That sounds like a nightmare"

The viewers' opinions had improved a bit since the book launch event. There were still hurtful comments, nasty ones even. I had stopped checking my dms at some point and ignored the comments under my posts to protect my mental well-being over my curiosity, which took an insane amount of self-control. But surprisingly, there were supportive comments as well. I believe it goes back to the "Moon Lovers" shipping account, which was run by, take a wild guess, everyone, our dear Mina. Her posts were so subtle; you couldn't tell that my roommate ran it but rather by someone in the neighbourhood who happened to see us now and then and watched the show. The feedback on that account was mainly positive, so I sometimes read them before sleeping, assuring myself that not everyone could and would like me but that others were also okay with my existence, which was enough for me to live at ease.

3 pm, I watched Jonghyun set up the dining table for the livestream. The others were still watching the movies, playing "me before you" on the TV screen. I had observed that movie twice, and I had bawled my eyes out at the end. I certainly wanted the show's staff members to refrain from editing into the next episode. I wasn't a pretty crier- who even cries prettily except actresses?

"Ready, love?", Jonghuyn asked me, and I looked at him before I gave him a nod.

"With you by my side, I might be", I replied honestly. A flicker lit up in his eyes.

He remembered.

With an assuring smile, he took my hand into his under the table, interlacing our fingers and pressing a soft kiss on it before turning the life on.

Within the first minute, a flood of viewers chimed in.

Korean, English, Japanese, and couple more languages were rushing through the comment sections.

Is there a more incredible emotion than being overwhelmed? I looked into the camera in a slight daze, trying to catch up with the English comment. I needed to read the Korean comments faster and make out the meaning in time before the statement vanished. I couldn't help but smile a little whenever people made a rockstar series reference in words; I watched Jonghyun engaging with the Korean words. He announced that he had significant plans for the end of August that much I picked up.

Milan. His modelling job was right before the end of the show. We were set to attend the War Foundation Gala in Istanbul three days before. I was beyond excited that he received a chance of possibility to the international market, the European fashion industry, but my heart weight heavy nevertheless as it also marked the time the show would be over and so our time together with it.

I wouldn't say I liked confrontations and hated being part of him even more. Storing the thought and uneasiness back into a drawer, I returned to the livestream.

"I just want someone to look at me the way Ayla is looking at Jonghyun #moonlovers."

Feeling a little blush rush up my cheeks as I realise that I was caught by merely 10k people gazing at my fake boyfriend, Jonghyun grinned at me and put a strand of my hair behind my ear, allowing me to stare at him for couple more seconds before looking back at the screen.

The comments section was soaring.