Part Two
Spring Rain
Everything about our relationship had something to do with rain. It was quite strange at first, but as we progressed as lovers, I came to accept it and thought of it as a peculiar type of a lucky charm. Lucky or not, though, the falling drops of water from the sky worked wonders.
A month or so after our self-claimed dramatic meeting, it rained, and the splashing sounds gave me the courage to confess to her.
She had accepted it.
Then, sometime later, on the exact moment that I caressed her cheeks and brought my lips down on hers, it began to rain through the bright rays of the sun shining upon us. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that the skies were congratulating and cheering me on.
It’s just a guess, since she never directly said anything about it, but I’m pretty sure she liked it too.
Now, when we fought and had arguments over the silliest things, grey clouds and thick droplets of water greeted us. It poured and poured and poured as we yelled at each other, angry, upset, and completely drenched. Whenever we would turn our backs on each other, the gap between us was filled with water.
And when we couldn’t stand being separated anymore, we found ourselves reunited under the rain. Without any words escaping our pale lips, we would run towards each other and lock ourselves in a tight, warm embrace. I then would peck at her lips a couple of times, and she’d return the favor with a smile.
Rain was undoubtedly the essence of our relationship: the symbol and the core. Lee Jieun was rain. So I loved the rain. I loved her.
Lee Jieun was someone unique. She was quiet, calm, and always rational. She never let her heart make decisions; it was always her head that did the thinking. Of course, she wasn’t perfect. She had her flaws. The greatest one was none other than rain itself. Rain was the only thing that had an advantage over her. For some reason, Jieun was always emotional or somewhat different on rainy days. I had asked her what the reason was a several times, but my questions always remained unanswered.
I had to admit: my personality was something outright different from Jieun’s. If she was the rain, I was drought and famine; if she was water, I was fire. Being impatient and hasty was my specialty, and one day, I let that get the best of me. “You hide too much,” I accused. I then went on about how she never opened herself up to me and that I didn’t know a single thing about her.
The bitter smile that she showed me was something unforgettable. “I showed you everything,” she said in a voice no louder than a whisper. “You just never tried to see.”
I didn’t understand. Her claim was absurd and obviously untrue. And I told her so.
She didn’t respond. Instead, she shook her head and walked away, not contacting me until a fortnight later. She wanted to meet me at a coffee shop nearby. I said yes, and when I arrived, she was already waiting for me. I sat in front of her and ordered two cups of warm milk before directly looking at her.
Her expression was devastating. I couldn’t recall it exactly, but I swore that her expression now was the same as the one she was wearing when I first saw her near the bus stop. I prayed that she wasn’t thinking of what I was thinking.
But she was. The moment the waiter left after giving us the cups, she told me that it would be best—for the both of us—if we separated and went on our own ways. Carefully returning the silver ring that I’d presented her before, she apologized.
With her head hung low, she exited the café. I sat, frozen in my seat, and stared at the ring in front of me. I couldn’t comprehend the situation; she gave me no excuses, explanations, or even a chance for me to defend myself. I decided then that I wanted that chance, so I ran after her.
It didn’t take long for the downpour to get me wet from head to toe. It was cold, too. But none of that mattered, for my mind was set solely on the drenched woman not too far away from me. I ran to catch up to her, and when I did, I roughly grabbed her by the shoulders to make her face me.
“Was I that easy? Was our relationship easy?” I demanded.
She shook her head. “No,” she replied, even though it was very difficult for me to hear her through the sound of rain hitting the ground. “Nothing about us was easy for me.”
“Then wh—”
Interrupting me, she said, “It’s not raining anymore.”
I stood, confused. It was raining—hard. “What? Look Jieun, I don’t know why you’re suddenly trying to leave me. What did I do? I’ll try to fix it, I promise—”
She smiled. “Goodbye, Wooyoung.”
And then she was gone. The rain was gone.
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