The cold buzzing of your alarm coupled with the dazzling morning sun woke you up. Groaning, you sat up, rubbing the stiffness from your neck. Once more, you’d fallen asleep while working on a project. You stretched, grimacing at the pain. With the slap of a hand, you silenced your alarm.

One glance at your calendar had you grinning like an idiot. Today was the day you and Umji took a break from schoolwork and studying. You hated being away from her for day on end, but with the entrance exams upon her and finals upon you, neither of you had much choice.

Your phone started buzzing, her beautiful, happy face appearing on the screen. Your grin settled permanently on your face.

“Morning, Umji.”

“Did you just wake up?”

“Yeah. I was working on a project.”

Umji sighed; you could hear the pout in that sigh. “Don’t be late today!”

“I won’t, I won’t,” you laughed as you made your way to the bathroom. “What are we doing today anyway?”

“Hmm…” You could picture her pressing her finger against her lip. “I think it will rain today, so let’s just stay inside.”

“Rain? Are you kidding me? It’s bright as heck outside.”

“The weather forecast said it would rain.”

Laughing, you leaned against the sink. “Umji, darling, I doubt it will rain. But if you want to stay inside today, that’s alright with me. Although, we should at least get some coffee or something. Wear something cute.”

“I’ll wear whatever I want,” she countered. After she made sure you repeated the address of the coffee shop you would meet by, she hung up with a decisive tone. Truly you could not wait to see her.

By the time you made your way to the coffee shop, you noticed the first hints of rainclouds. They weren’t threatening, but you understood how it could worry the weather forecasters, and Umji. Still, you didn’t worry too much about it—until a powerful gust of wind blew the storm in.

Dashing to avoid the downpour, you held your hands over your head, trying to keep dry. The coffee shop loomed ahead. With one last powerful sprint, you made it under its protective canopy.

You shook out the water from your shoulders, grumbling at how your clothes had gotten wet and stuck to you. You tried to fix your hair, but the rain had ruined it enough to have it lay limply on your head.

“I should have listened to Umji,” you mumbled.

“Yes, you really should have.”

Umji stood just outside the protection of the canopy, wearing her precious smile underneath the protection of a clear, flower-patterned umbrella. Her brown hair framed her cute face, her eyes laughed merrily.

“You’re a mess!”

You shook your wet hair at her, making her laugh as she cried out protests. With a happy grin, you took her hand, leading her inside. She rested her head against your shoulder as she hugged your arm.

To decide to paid for the drinks, you played paper scissors rock. You lost miserably, like you knew you would. Umji skipped ahead, securing a table by the window.

“Your girlfriend is cute,” the barista said.

You grinned like an idiot. “She’s the cutest, isn’t she?”

She laughed at you, adding a couple of muffins to your order, on the house. Umji smiled up at you as you set the tray with your coffees on the table. Your legs instantly intertwined underneath the table.

Falling into the easy rhythm that was your relationship felt like second nature. You and Umji had previously been the most popular campus couple back in high school. You were willing to bet you still were, even if you’d already graduated. You were also willing to bet you’d reclaim that title once Umji entered university in the fall.

“How are your studies going?”

“Good. I’m going to an academy after school. I didn’t know G University required such a high score for admittance.”

You leaned into your hand, resting your cheek against it. “Are you thinking about how cool I am now? Do you see it? I got that high score and bypassed all the interviews, too.”

Umji gave you the look. You laughed, reaching across the table for her hand, kissing her knuckles before pinching her cheeks.

“I miss seeing you in your uniform,” you confessed.

“I hate that thing.”

She sipped her coffee. You reached over to wipe the cream off her lips with your thumb. She smiled.

Umji reached into her bag, procuring a book. “Look what I brought!”

It was the latest volume of the comic book you were both reading. Excited, you reached for it, turning it over in your hands. “How did you get this? It’s not supposed to be out for another three days!”

Umji giggled, trading her seat for the one next to you. “The bookstore received it early. I had already placed an order for it. When it arrived, the employee gave me a call and they simply sold it to me. I hope they didn’t get in trouble.”

“But you still didn’t ask any questions.”

A mischievous smirk played at the corners of her lips. She shook her head cutely. You laughed as you kissed her head. “You brilliant girl! Now, let’s get this party started!”

By the time you finished the volume, you both regretted having even started the series. Umji grabbed the book, flipping through the pages angrily.

“Does this even make sense?”

“It does not.”

Umji dropped the book onto the table. “You aren’t worth what I paid for you!”

“This entire series isn’t worth what we’ve invested into it.”

You two sat there fuming for a good five minutes before you caved and looked up the release date for the next installment. You didn’t make it very far though, since you ended up getting a notification for one of your games.

“Hey! I thought you said you wouldn’t play without me!”

“I’m not! It’s just a notification!”

“Give it here.” Umji wrestled your phone away from you. She linked her arm through yours, your heads drawn close together as she maneuvered your troops across enemy encampments.

“You need to give the magician more MP. Level him up.”

“Where’s the knight? Is he still trapped?”

“Well, yeah, we kinda lost him in the last battle.”

The game consumed your attention for the better part of an hour before the device became so hot neither of you could hold it for very long. More than half your battery had been drained in the process, along with more than 10% of your data.

Umji stretched, her face scrunching up. She wrapped her arms around your waist as you rested your arm around her shoulders, your bodies turned in the direction of the falling rain.

The storm had subsided in strength, though the clouds continued to unleash a torrent of water upon the earth. There were no other people in the coffee shop, the streets were deserted. With your devices put away, your voices quieted, and the sound of the sweet, gentle music the shop played in the background, it seemed as if you and Umji were the last two people on the planet.

“Hurry up and graduate,” you whispered against her hair. “I can’t wait to go to school together again.”

“Two more weeks,” she said. “Then a summer. It’s not that far away.”

You gave her a tight squeeze.

“Is it scary?”

“What? University?”

“Growing up.”

You paused. You really weren’t that much older than Umji, a year really couldn’t be counted as anything more than a year. You gazed at the hypnotizing rainfall.

“It is. It’s scary because it’s different. You’re suddenly given much more freedom with your schedule, what classes you select, at what time. It’s more work too, because you have to be serious. But it’s fun. You get to learn more about yourself, about what you want to do.”

“Ooh, you sound really wise.”

You poked her on the side. She flinched, laughing softly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there for you.”

Umji’s smile melted into caramel. Her eyes locked on yours, warm, tender. She gave your cheek the gentlest of kisses. Nestling her head against your shoulder, she returned her attention to the rain, hoping that it would never stop.