Him Chan. It was most definitely Him Chan. Ji Min stared at the tall beautiful man. He was as she remembered him: short black hair, straight defined eyebrows, pretty eyes, straight nose, and a slim jaw line to bring it all together. An black stud was on his left ear. The tattoos Ji Min knew he had were covered up by a white long sleeve sweater, along with a pair of dark wash jeans. It was a suitable choice for the winter weather. A cigarette hung from his mouth.

Was he the son Lawyer Choi was talking about? The one she had come to beg to?

Snapping out of it, she looked towards Lawyer Choi for some answers but he seemed just as surprised.

"J-Ji Min-ssi, meet Him Chan-ssi, the son of your mother's friend... But it seems you two... know each other?"

Ji Min slowly turned her head to stare at Him Chan again, not believing the situation. Were the gods playing some cruel joke on her? How could this happen? There was a reason why she didn't go back to their apartment, even though she desperately wanted to see them again. There was a reason why she didn't go back, even though she clearly remembered where they lived. She wanted to leave her memory of Dae Hyun and Him Chan as just that - a memory. It was the only thing that kept Ji Min alive; she couldn't bear to have anything - not even the very people themselves - corrupt it. Yet presently, it was all beginning to fall apart.

"It's her? The girl you were telling me about? The one whose mom..." Him Chan trailed off, glancing at Ji Min with the accidental mention of her passed mother.

"Ah, well, yes..." Lawyer Choi started, still confused.

Ji Min looked down to the floor, not being able to meet Him Chan's eyes. She didn't want him to see her like this, in such a pathetic situation. Was it so wrong for her to want to remain a mysterious girl to the only two people she actually liked? But it was only going to get worse. She took a deep breath to steady herself before speaking. She braced herself.

"Him Chan-ssi."

Damn. Her voice came out as a tremble. She tried again as she bowed ninety-degrees to Him Chan.

"Him Chan-ssi. Please... consent to be my guardian. I... I," she couldn't find the words she was putting together just moments before. "I won't bother you. You don't need to feed me or pay for me or, or... I don't, I won't even live at your place. I'm fine by myself. Just.. all you have to do... Just, please consent. Please sign a few papers... I'll do the rest. Please..."

She took deep breath in as she realized she was rambling.

"I can't leave Korea. You're my only option. Him Chan-ssi, I beg you."

Ji Min clenched her jaw as a silence followed. She could feel her eyes getting hotter from the coming tears, but she refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of him.

A pair of gentle hands grabbed her shoulders and lifted her up so she was standing straight again. She saw Him Chan, a kind smile on his face. Once they made eye contact, he took the cigarette from his mouth and put it out on the ground. The scent of nicotine and faint cologne reached Ji Min. He let out a sigh and looked at her again with a slight grin.

"What should we do with you?" he asked jokingly, his tone friendly.

Ji Min stared at Him Chan with begging eyes.

Him Chan gave her a wink, before letting go of her shoulders and looking at Lawyer Choi. Lawyer Choi had stood there silently, baffled at what was happening before him.

"Ahjussi. Fine, I'll do it. I'll be her guardian or whatever it is you need me to do."

Ji Min stared at her reflection in the mirror, her face emotionless.

She mentally noted that she had already gotten used to her blank face: the dark bangs that had grown too long, the dull eyes, the ever-so-slight downward curve of her lips... Even her skin seemed more pale without the pink flush that was the indication of a youthful girl. The first time she noticed this face of hers in the mirror, she had been surprised. She remembered looking in the mirror and not recognizing herself. During the previous months, her face had always been a mess; her eyes were swollen from crying and her nose was red from the tissues that rubbed against it. On some days, her expression was so distorted from her pain that she believed it would stay that way until she died from old age. Ji Min concluded that this neutral face was much better than the previous one.

She looked at herself up and down, observing her new school uniform. It fit her just fine. Satisfied, she walked out of the room and into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of milk, placed a croissant she had bought the night before on a plate and sat down at the kitchen table. Slowly taking a bite into the pastry, she stared at her empty home. The atmosphere that took place would have even welcomed a ghost.

It wouldn't have been like this if I lived with them, Ji Min thought, bringing the cup to to sip some milk.

"Are you sure?" Him Chan asked her.

Ji Min nodded, avoiding his gaze.

"I'd like to live alone," she repeated her answer to Lawyer Choi, who had been looking nervous ever since the three of them sat down to discuss the details and finish the paperwork.

"O-okay. If that's what you want..." the middle-aged man stuttered, flipping through his pile of papers to find the correct document.

Ji Min got up to put the dishes in the sink.

She regretted her decision more often than not, wanting the warmth of Him Chan and Dae Hyun to comfort her when she felt weak. Like now. Ji Min stood in the center of the living room, completely still. She was at a loss as to what to do in her own home. Inside, she was starting to panic and hoped someone would come to give her some guidance. But it was an empty house and nobody was there to talk to her.

At that moment, the clock rung to indicate the hour, snapping Ji Min out of it. She quickly grabbed her backpack from the couch and headed towards the door. She had to get to school on time. She put her shoes on and was about to leave when she noticed the red umbrella propped up. The red umbrella, a gift from someone special.

It's raining today...

Ji Min grabbed the umbrella. She locked the door behind her and got on the elevator going down. When she reached the first floor, it was indeed raining outside. With the same blank expression on her face, she opened the umbrella and started walking towards her new school.

Perhaps she regretted her decision, but Ji Min still believed that it was the right one. It was a long and painful winter for her, even more so than the autumn and summer beforehand. It was one emotional breakdown after another, a series of delusionally feeling better to becoming a crying wreck the next day. She could barely remember how she managed to get through her mother's funeral. Ji Min was glad neither Him Chan or Dae Hyun was beside her to see her in that state; she was glad they didn't have to see her face as it was now, completely lifeless.

Suddenly, she wondered how she looked to Dae Hyun that night... That night when she was told that her mother's illness was terminal. She had been completely drenched by the rain, as was Dae Hyun....

How was he doing now?

Him Chan seemed conflicted as he thought about Ji Min's request. 

"Is it too much to ask?"

He shook his head, bringing his hands to the back of his head and interlocking his fingers. He leaned into the couch. The moment of hesitation was over as quickly as it came. Him Chan gave Ji Min a smirk.

"How come you don't want him to know?" he asked nonchalantly, as if he knew Ji Min's darkest secrets.

Ji Min bit down on her bottom lip, feeling nervous. Lawyer Choi was waiting for her outside and it wouldn't be long before he popped back in to hurry her along.

"...It's... hard to explain. Can you not tell him you met me? Can you keep this a secret from him?" Ji Min needed a definite answer.

"Keep this from Dae Hyun... Hmm... Sure, why not?" Him Chan replied with a mischievousness spark in his eyes. It made Ji Min more uneasy than she already was.

Thinking back on it now, Ji Min debated if it right to trust that Him Chan would keep the secret. She had no other choice though, seeing as she had no power over that matter.

She stood in front of the school now, in all its academic glory. With the umbrella in one hand, she fixed her name tag on her jacket one more time before going through the gates. It was her first day at this school since her transfer. Ji Min requested it only a week after she started junior year. Her freshman classmates had been oblivious to her mother's condition but as they went up the school year, word spread out. All Ji Min could hear in class were the whispers, "I feel so sorry for her." It killed her inside. She figured dealing with new people who didn't feel a single thing for her was better than facing the ones she befriended that only felt pity for her.

Ji Min slowly walked across the field towards the front entrance of the school, taking in everything around her by sight. The place was already littered with students, even though Ji Min made sure to arrive earlier than the bell time.

Ji Min's face was still emotionless as she saw a tall figure coming towards her direction, probably heading for the school gates. The tall boy stood out immediately from the sea of students. He wore a dark navy hoodie over his school uniform instead of the standard jacket, an act not for normal students. Not only that, but he wore a black cap as well, hiding part of his face. Ji Min stared at his peculiar mask, one with a skeleton design, over the boy's mouth that managed to hide anything else that was showing.

Slowly, Ji Min's eyes widened, larger and larger, as the boy got closer and closer to her. Yes, he was wearing a hat and yes, he was wearing a mask. Ji Min couldn't see his hair, or his nose, or his mouth, or anything else. But as the figure walked closer to her, she could see his eyes. The strange, mesmerizing eyes that she had yet to forget after so many months. His eyes were dark, with an undercurrent of jewel blue rising to the surface now and then.

It was Dae Hyun, right before her eyes. She wasn't mistaken. It was him.

They were only a few feet away when his eyes darted to hers, making eye contact. Ji Min's breath got stuck in as her steps came to a stop. She never imagined to to see him here, of all places, while she avoided him like the plague. She was at a loss as to what to do as the moment of truth drew closer.

But he walked right past Ji Min, as if he didn't see her at all.