Here’s another chapter for y’alls! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

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The bell rings and everyone is dismissed to go home. Ji Hyun puts his notebook into his bag and his eyes come to see that Jae Ah’s desk is still empty. It's been two days since he had last saw her that day when they snuck to the music room and it has become relatively quiet without her present. During those past two days, the rain has been coming but Jae Ah was nowhere in sight. It begins to worry him.

 

He steps out with his bag over his shoulder as he walk passes the lockers, heading out of the building. Just when he reaches the entrance, Ki Jun’s boys approaches him and he becomes surrounded by them.

 

In the back alley of the school, Ji Hyun comes to find himself beaten down by the gang as he can do nothing but endure the pain. They eventually stop and Ki Jun steps through the crowd. Ji Hyun unblock his face that he hid with both of his arms which expose of cuts and bruises. Ki Jun squat in front of him and grabs Ji Hyun by the collar of the shirt so that their faces are at each others’.

 

“You just don’t understand my warnings now, do you? What should I do?” Ki Jun smirks annoyingly.

 

At the moment, Ji Hyun sees Ki Jun pulling something out of his pocket and when he realize that it is a pocket knife, his heart starts to pound against the rib cage of his chest. Ki Jun flicks the knife, exposing its sharp blade.

 

“What should I do, huh?”

 

The look on Ki Jun’s face turns dark, showing his freakish side that Ji Hyun has never seen before. The knife drew closer to Ji Hyun as he could not seem to avoid it.

 

“Yah, what are you guys doing?”

 

A voice calls to them and everyone in the alley turns around to look including Ji Hyun.

 

“Se Hong hyung” *(FYI, this is the student that showed up in the music room)

 

The boys back out as he steps in, making Ki Jun draw his knife away and releasing Ji Hyun. Se Hong stops a foot from where Ji Hyun is and stares at everyone before landing his eyes on Ki Jun who stands up beside him.

 

“Just what are you doing?” Se Hong asks him.

 

“Hyung, you should not interfere. If it wasn’t because of this freak, Seyeon wouldn’t have died” Ki Jun says, angrily.

 

Se Hong’s eyes goes to Ji Hyun who remains lying there, almost feeling small as he did not move.

 

“Freak? From what I see you’re the one behaving like the freak, Lee Ki Jun”

 

Those words shock everyone including Ki Jun whose expression turn confused yet more mad than before. Se Hong’s eyes meet him again as he avert his body toward the young boy. Ki Jun’s gaze locks with Se Hong for a minute but the seriousness from Se Hong makes Ki Jun come to defeat.

 

“Let’s go”

 

He leaves and his boys follow right behind him. After they disappeared, Se Hong draws his attention back to Ji Hyun whose gaze has set to the ground. He walks over to the wounded boy and holds his hand out. Ji Hyun looks at his hand and hesitates at first, but finally takes it. He stands up as Se Hong puts his hands in his pocket, facing away from him.

 

“Just how long are you going to let them treat you like this? If Seyeon knew about this, do you think she’ll be resting in peace?”

 

Ji Hyun remain in silence as he lets those words into his mind. Se Hong faces the wounded boy who still wouldn’t dare to look up at him.

 

“Seyeon’s death has nothing to do with you, so you can relax. Whatever Ki Jun says to you, just ignore it because he knows nothing”

 

The boy finally looks up to him to see the serious look on him yet there appears to be sadden mixed in as well. He watches Se Hong turn away as he leaves him alone.

 

 

Stepping out of the bus, Ji Hyun exits off his destination and heads home. As he slowly walks down the street, the rain soaks him who carries no umbrella. From head to toe, he becomes completely drenched with water. A car comes from behind him in a fast speed, without him realizing that he is in the center of the road until a pair of hands yank him by the arm, casting him off the road just in time as the car drives pass.

 

“Are you crazy?! Do you not realize that you’re walking in the middle of the road?!”

 

His reality comes back as he sees the one yelling at him turns out to be Jae Ah whose face looked concern. His eyes avert to his arm that she held onto tightly before looking at her again. She quickly scans him and looks back at him in the eyes.

 

“Your face? What happened? Why is your face bruise-”

 

Just before she could finish her sentence, she gets cut off with Ji Hyun taking her hand that still held him as he pulls her toward him. Jae Ah’s face gets buried into his chest as his arms wrapped around her, keeping her lock in. Shock by the sudden action, Jae Ah remains puzzled. About a minute later, she try to pull herself away from him but Ji Hyun held so tight that she couldn’t push him off.

 

“Just what are you…”

 

That moment, she sense something different and notice that the rain has started to fall harder than before. She stops struggling to get lose and remain still as she listens to the sound of the rain.

 

Someone is praying for him.

 

 

About thirty minutes later, the rain has turn into a light shower as they both hid under a roof at a small convenience store near his place. Jae Ah returns to his side with a towel and hands it to him. Ji Hyun looks at it and then at her who puts a smile on.

 

“Thank you” he says, accepting it.

 

Jae Ah sits in the stool beside him as he uses the towel to ruffle his wet hair. She looks out into the rain and could not stop thinking about that feeling she had earlier.

 

“I’m sorry”

 

Upon hearing his voice, she faces him who lets the towel drape over his head, making him appear like a child. Jae Ah gives him the oddly look as to why he is apologizing. Ji Hyun finally looks at her in the eyes.

 

“About embracing you like that earlier, I’m sorry but I want to thank you. It made me felt a bit better” Ji Hyun says with a tiny smile on him.

 

Realizing what he has meant to say, Jae Ah seems to be relief and happy at the same time. He looks out to the window and remain silent. She watches him for a second and turns to the window too.

 

“I used to have a friend who told me about the rain”

 

Ji Hyun looks at her after listening to her speak. He sees a hurt smile on her face yet she shows no tears.

 

“She asked me, ‘Do you know why the rain comes?’ And of course, I did not until she told me at the last moment that ‘it’s because someone is praying for all your sadness to be erased to comfort you’. That’s when I realize what she meant”

 

He faces the window again upon hearing her words, sensing that it might be true. Jae Ah turns to look at him with sad eyes.

 

Unnie, it’s you right? ...the one praying for him?