Garam POV
Why is this chat so boring today?
Garam lay on her bed, her phone held above her face while she scrolled slowly through the group chat. The ceiling fan spun lazily above her, pushing the warm evening air around the quiet room. A soft orange light from the setting sun slipped through the window and stretched across the walls.
But Garam wasn't paying attention to any of that.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the glowing screen of her phone.
Messages kept appearing.
Memes.
Random jokes.
People arguing about songs again.
Someone complaining about homework.
Another person sending stickers again and again.
Garam sighed quietly.
Every day it was the same.
The same people.
The same jokes.
The same conversations repeating over and over again.
Sometimes she wondered why she even stayed in this group chat.
Maybe it was just habit.
Or maybe she hoped that one day something interesting would finally happen.
Her thumb lazily moved across the screen as she continued scrolling.
Another meme.
Another pointless argument.
Another long thread of messages that she didn't care about.
She rolled slightly onto her side and stared at the phone again.
Maybe I should just leave this chat.
Just as she was about to close the app, a small notification appeared.
"David joined the group."
Her thumb stopped moving.
David?
Her eyebrows pulled together slightly as she read the unfamiliar name again.
Who is that?
Did someone add another random person again?
People joined this group all the time. Most of them talked for a few hours and then disappeared forever.
She didn't expect this person to be any different.
She continued staring at the screen for a moment before scrolling again.
Then suddenly another message appeared.
David:
Hi everyone.
Several members quickly replied.
"Hi"
"Hello"
"Welcome"
Garam watched the messages appear one by one.
Should I reply?
She hesitated for a moment.
Then she shrugged slightly.
Why not?
Garam:
Hi.
She dropped the phone onto the bed beside her and stretched her arms above her head.
That was probably the end of the conversation.
At least that's what she thought.
But a few seconds later, her phone vibrated again.
She picked it up lazily.
Someone had sent a meme in the group chat and everyone seemed to be laughing at it.
"HAHAHAHA"
"THIS IS SO FUNNY"
"I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING"
Garam stared at the meme.
Her eyebrows slowly pulled together.
Why are they laughing?
She looked at it again.
Still nothing.
Just as she was about to ignore it, another message appeared.
David:
I don't understand why this is funny.
Garam blinked.
Then suddenly she laughed softly.
Because that was exactly what she had been thinking.
For the first time that evening, a real smile appeared on her face.
Exactly! I thought I was the only one confused.
A reply appeared almost immediately.
David:
Good. I thought something was wrong with me.
Okay…
He's funny.
She sat up slightly against the wall now, suddenly paying more attention to the chat than before.
More messages appeared as other members started teasing David.
But Garam barely noticed those replies.
Without realizing it, her eyes kept returning to the same name again and again.
David.
Something about this small conversation felt different.
She didn't know why.
But suddenly the chat that had been boring just a few minutes ago felt a little more interesting.
David POV
David leaned back in his chair, holding his phone loosely in one hand while the screen illuminated his quiet room. Outside his window the sky had already darkened, and the distant sounds of traffic echoed faintly through the night.
He had joined the group chat only a few minutes ago.
Just another random place on the internet.
He often did this when he was bored.
Join a chat.
Scroll through a few messages.
Maybe talk for a while.
Then eventually leave.
Most online conversations felt empty anyway.
People argued about pointless things.
Memes repeated again and again.
Nothing really stayed interesting for long.
But something about this chat had caught his attention.
Or more specifically…
Someone.
His eyes moved back to one message again.
"Exactly! I thought I was the only one confused."
Garam.
He didn't know anything about her.
He had never seen her before.
He didn't even know what she looked like.
But somehow her messages stood out in the middle of the conversation.
Most people ignored new members when they joined group chats.
But she had replied to him more than once.
And strangely, that small thing made the conversation feel less boring.
He looked at the chat again.
More messages were appearing quickly.
People were teasing him for not understanding the meme.
He didn't really care about those replies.
Instead, his eyes kept searching for one name again.
Garam.
Why am I paying attention to this?
He frowned slightly at the thought.
This was just a random group chat.
Just another conversation with strangers.
And yet…
When the chat became quiet for a few seconds, he noticed something strange.
He was waiting.
Waiting for another message to appear.
And when it finally did, his eyes immediately searched for the sender.
Garam.
A small smile appeared on his face without him noticing.
Strange.
He didn't know her face.
He didn't know her voice.
He didn't know anything about her.
But somehow, her messages made the chat feel a little more alive.
David leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the desk while he stared at the glowing screen again.
Maybe this chat wouldn't be as boring as the others.
Maybe tonight would actually be interesting.
And somewhere far away, on the other side of the country, another person was thinking almost the same thing.
Neither of them knew it yet.
But sometimes the smallest conversations…
Are the ones that begin the biggest stories.