--Minri's POV--

After the ice cream, I thanked Jaejoong-sshi and handed him the umbrella. I knew he wouldn't give in easily. I thought of him as one of those polite gentlemen-styled teachers who were generous. Maybe a little too generous, in fact.

"Minri-sshi, I think it would be best if you keep the umbrella for now. I wouldn't be happy if you went home all cold and wet," he said with a smile.

The more I tried to protest, the more persistent he became. Throughout our small argument, for some strange reason, I felt that I was being watched. Afraid to stay any longer, I gave up and let Jaejoong hand me his umbrella. He grinned in satisfaction.

"You are one stubborn girl."

"I could say the same for you," I launched back.

"I'm not a girl," Jaejoong whined with sad eyes.

A giggled bubbled out of me. "I was just kidding."

"Sure you were," he winked. "Well, this guy shall be leaving now. Have a safe trip home, alright?"

I nodded. "Nae, you too!"

I watched him turn around and walk away. I didn't move until I saw him fade into the trees. As I stepped quietly through the puddles, I twirled the umbrella around and around. What a peaceful moment, I thought to myself. I had never considered rain as something calming before. Until now. I wondered why. Rain kind of reminds me of how Earth is rinsed out. Renewed. After the rain, everything is more relaxing and at rest.

Distantly, I heard footsteps approach me from behind. But my thinking left me zoned out of my atmosphere. A hard tap on my shoulder made me jump around and squeal. The wet umbrella fell from my hands and splashed into the puddle, which again splashed against my feet as well as the stranger's feet. I looked up. More like strangers.

"Who are you people?" I asked them cautiously.

There were four of them. One certain handsome brown-haired stranger smiled charmingly at me. He stepped closer, making me step backwards. But he had only been reaching over to pick up the umbrella. he shook it gently, shaking the water off, before handing it back to me.

"Here," he said.

". . . Thank you," I squeaked.

He nodded. "I'm Jonghyun."

"Thank you, Jonghyun," I repeated, bowing my head with a small smile to prove the appreciation.

"Key's the name," a boy with dark-framed glasses called out.

"I'm Onew!" waved a friendly boy.

The fourth boy didn't say anything. I stared at him curiously while Jonghyun elbowed him, making him groan. He rubbed his arm sorely.

". . . Minho here."

"Sorry, gorgeous. He's a little out of it today," Key explained.

I blushed at the compliment. "Aigoo, it's fine! No problem. Everyone has those days, nae? I'm Minri. Nice to meet you all!"

"Of course, of course," Jonghyun agreed with a smile. "However, we didn't come over here to make you drop your umbrella."

"Of course we didn't!" Onew replied with a frown.

I tilted my head. What could they want? I smiled politely. "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"Actually, these nosy guys were planning to ask you something," Minho replied.

"What are you talking about?!" Key exclaimed. But there was a sheepish look on his face. "Why do you say it like you're not curious yourself?"

Minho sighed and remained silent, as if Key had been right. His eyes laid back on me again, as well as the other boys. I twirled the umbrella again nervously.

"Feel free to ask anything," I slowly answered.

They seemed to hesitate, staring at each other and silently communicating through their eyes. They must be really close friends, I noted. Only best friends can read each other's minds like that. 

Jonghyun cleared his throat as if preparing to give a long speech. "Are you friends with Taemin?"

The question stunned me for a second. I wondered what they wanted with Taemin. "W-Why would you ask that?"

"We've seen you hanging out with him at lunch," Onew explained.

"Is there something wrong with that?" I asked in agitation. Are they going to be like Heena and order me to stay away from him?

"Oh. No, no, no," Key immediately responded, shaking his head. "It's just . . . Taemin hasn't really been close to anyone."

"He used to," I pointed out.

There was suddenly silence as they registered my words. The next thing I knew, they were staring at me in a different perspective, as if my statement had mesmerized them.

". . . How do you know that?" Minho asked in surprise. "You aren't from here, right? You must be new. How do you know so much?"

"I've asked around," I told him. "But nobody has told me the whole truth. I only know that he's. . . different from before. Would any of you care to tell me?"

My heart was filled with hope and desire. I knew it was nosy of me to ask someone about Taemin's past, but I wanted to know. He remained a mystery to me. No matter how often I talked to him, he had never left a hint as to his past. Well, at least, that's what I thought, anyway. And when I was curious, I could never seem to let it go until I had the answer. But the key component that I had was patience.

Now as I stared at the mute boys, who were again staring at one another, I tapped my feet noiselessly. What is the truth? And why are people going so far as to keeping it a secret? Are they protecting Taemin? Or are they just nervous to talk about it?

Finally, Key breathed out a heavy sigh. He walked toward me slowly and gave me a kind look.

"I hope you understand this, but I think it would be better if you let Taemin tell you himself."

"Eh?"

He forced a smile. "Minri-sshi, I think Taemin would like it better if we didn't talk about it behind his back. You understand that, right?"

That's when I knew. These people were no harm to Taemin. They didn't hate him or dislike him. They cared about him. Somehow, I knew that they were probably Taemin's old friends. I felt a sudden gratitude toward them. Even now, they still cared about him. Even though Taemin had shut them out of his life, they still loved him. I deeply appreciated that.

"I understand," I answered with a smile. "Thank you."

"For what?" Onew asked in confusion.

"For caring."

~ ~ ~

--Author's POV--

Taemin watched her from a distance. He was already soaked in the rain. The water soaked his shirt until it looked like a wrinkled towel. But he didn't really care. He couldn't take his eyes off of her as she walked happily in her umbrella, watching the rain. She looked relaxed, as if the rain was paradise. That's what I used to think. 

Then he saw them. They had seen her and was slowly walking toward her. Taemin suddenly felt numb. He hadn't talked to them for the longest time. Now here they were, creeping up behind Minri. Taemin wondered what they were planning to do. He stood as still as a statue, carefully observing them.

After making her drop her umbrella, Jonghyun had picked it up for her like his old charming self. Minri seemed to be pleased. But she's always pleased about everything, Taemin reminded himself.

After a few minutes, it seemed like they were introducing themselves. Minri politely bowed and did the same. Taemin had no idea why his friends -- former friends -- were looking for her, but he felt that it was peculiar. What could they want from her? And why do I even care? Taemin frowned at his own confusion and looked away.

It's better if I leave now. I don't need to see this. Nor should I care about any of them. Not anymore.

Just as Taemin turned around, Heena stood in front of him, a huge grin plastered on her face. It looked fake. Taemin stared at her silently, waiting for her to speak. Heena blinked her thick eyelashes dramatically at him.

"Hi, Taemin Oppa," she murmured with a smile. Once again, Taemin saw how false it looked compared to Minri's. Why am I comparing them?

He nodded his head silently. Heena took this as a greeting. She giggled for no reason.

"Anyway, I haven't talked to you for a long time. How are you?"

"Fine," he answered.

"That's good to hear!" she exclaimed brightly. "I'm great too." I never asked, Taemin thought, but didn't speak.

"So..." Heena continued. "I saw Minri with Teacher Jaejoong together. They were having ice cream under an umbrella. Isn't that cute?"

"He's not a teacher. He's a student teacher," Taemin replied.

"Whatever," Heena muttered with the flick of her hand. "But don't they look like a cute couple?"

". . . I have to go. I'll see you around," said Taemin, walking around her.

"W-Wait!" she yelled, gripping his arm and making him stop. "Don't go yet, Oppa. I wanna talk."

"I'm sorry, but I'm busy," he said, pulling away from her. Heena pouted.

"Araso, fine, Taemin Oppa. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, she turned around and walked away. Taemin felt an instant satisfaction to be alone again. Not able to help himself, he turned his eyes toward the spot where Minri had been with the gang. She was gone. But the rest of them were still there, talking to each other. Taemin mentally kicked himself for not seeing what had happened. He sighed and looked around the crowd, wondering where she'd gone.

Meanwhile, Minho had zoned out of the conversation as it became nothing but questions revolving around Minri. He looked around. Is this rain going to keep coming or what? A drip fell onto his eyelids. As he brushed it away, he saw Taemin looking at him from a distance.

"T-Taemin?!"

All heads flipped toward Minho. "Where?!" they asked frantically.

Minho jerked his head in Taemin's direction. "There! Taemin!" He called, waving a hand in the air.

"Taemin!!!" the rest of the group yelled loudly, already wiggling around as well.

But Taemin had already dropped his gaze. He looked down at the wet ground and walked away, his sinking shoulders as melancholic as before.

--Taemin's POV--

I continued walking until I couldn't hear anybody's voice anymore. My eyes remained on the ground. The rain was still dropping cold and hard. Why can't it stop? Isn't it supposed to be a sunny week? I kicked the dirt roughly and a pebble nearby scattered into a puddle.

"Taemin . . .?" a soft voice asked against the silence.

I couldn't believe my ears. I looked up and there she was. Park Minri. She was smiling curiously at me with her big brown eyes. She held the umbrella carefully in her hand. She was safe and dry.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I live around the neighborhood," she replied. "What about you?"

"I'm on my way home."

"With nothing but a shirt?!" she asked in astonishment.

"And pants," I added with a small grin.

She laughed loudly. "Good to hear, because if not, I would be calling the cops."

Minri took a full look at me. I stood there timidly while she stared. Then she walked over until we were side by side. The rain hit the umbrella softly and I was glad to have a cover.

"Why are you walking home with no hat or umbrella?" Minri accused. "You could catch a cold."

"I don't really care," I replied.

"Have I ever told you that you say that a lot?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Well, it doesn't matter. Because I care for you. And that's enough."

"Why do you care?" I asked. It sounded more bitter than it should have, but Minri didn't seem to mind.

The question left her thinking. We walked in silence for a couple minutes. I wondered if she was ever going to reply. But then as she twirled the umbrella handle, she spoke up.

"Why not?"

Thank you for reading & subscribing! And a shoutout to dinobunny for being my awesome reader and commenter. Believe me, I love you. <333 You keep me writing when I don't feel like it. Ahaha. Thanks again! Please await my next few chapters. :)