Third Person POV

Jongup ran towards the gate, completely out of breath once he got there.

“You’re late,” Jisu said. She pointed at her watch though it was obvious he was late, the whole school was completely empty.

Jongup groaned as he tried to catch his breath.

Sohee sighed and patted his back gently—frightened that patting any harder would make him choke on his breath. “It’s okay. We didn’t wait long,” she assured him.

Jisu rolled her eyes. “You guys are sick. Hurry up, let’s go!”

Zelo rubbed his forearms—the cold had suddenly struck him. He slipped off one bag strap and swung his backpack towards his chest. He reached into the main pocket and pulled out a black hoodie. Swinging the bag straps on and off he managed to put on the hoodie without completely taking off his bag. Zelo sighed, an icy cold breath prickling his lips. He reached into the pocket of his hoodie and found his music player, unwound it and blasted on some music.

Music and the cold were like a pain killer to the boy. It numbed him and relieved him of stress; and they didn’t allow him to think too deeply as he walked on.

A slightly cheerier song compared to the other ones on Zelo’s playlist started humming into his ear. It was a self-composed song that he had made some time ago. Zelo’s ear twitched and his fingers instinctively hit the ‘next’ button. The next song started playing. Zelo pressed his lips together, his hand grasping the little music player in his pocket.

“I haven’t deleted it yet…” Zelo quivered from a mixture of cold and shock. His grip softened as he brought the device out into the chilly air. He pressed the song title for a moment until a pop up appeared. His thumb hovered over the black ‘DELETE’ button. Zelo stopped walking and thought carefully. He filled his cheeks with air and let it out as a cloud of vapour. He hit ‘CANCEL’ and shoved the music player back into his pocket.

She won’t listen to it even if I gave it to her now. It’s too late.

“It’s too late,” Zelo said out loud. Assuring himself that it was ‘too late.’ “Sohee’s got better things to do…” he added, just under his breath.

Zelo turned a corner and suddenly the bitter path he was walking on became flooded with lights from store windows. Puddles were washed away by busy feet that shuffled everywhere.  The city was busy as always as people rushed in and out of stores with various sizes of colourful shopping bags.

Zelo walked through the crowds, a head above most people. He looked around; the rain had begun plummeting down. People waddled around the high schooler’s shoulders as he shoved his way to the shelter of a nearby shop.

Zelo shook his head briskly, a light spray of rain wisped out of his hair. He shut his eyes and exhaled. Combing his fingers through his damp fringe, he looked around him. The store was dim, streams of lights lit tables topped with short stacks of neatly folded t-shirts and jackets. One table in the corner was dedicated to denim jeans. There were several metal racks around the room that bared metal and beaded accessories; they twinkled as they were hit by the soft beams of white light that slowly moved across the room. It was oddly silent despite the soft beats played from a hidden speaker or two.

Zelo moved cautiously around the store. Quietly, as if he made a noise there would be a penalty. He was flipping through racks of jackets and long-sleeved tops when finally some other customers came in. Zelo could just see the top of two heads waddling above the tall clothing racks, they were then followed by another person who was considerably taller.

“Should I just by him a shirt?” asked the red-haired head. The voice sounded faintly familiar, but one thing for sure it was a girl.

“That’s boring…” the other short person replied. Also a girl, but this time the voice was a lot more familiar. It didn’t take a second for Zelo to recognize the female voice. He ducked his head down and huddled into a crouching position, just in case they could see him. Cautiously he moved away a black leather sleeve and peaked through the small gap he had made between the clothes.

“What’s she doing?” Zelo hissed as he spotted Jisu and Sohee. Zelo’s scrunched eyebrows suddenly lifted as he noticed their other company. He swiftly moved behind a thick woollen coat as he spotted Jongup. “Oh right… He said he was going with them somewhere…” Zelo muttered under his breath. He paused. ‘Why am I talking to myself?’ Zelo frowned. ‘I must be going crazy.’

Zelo took another desperate peak. Jisu had moved to another area of the store and had left Jongup and Sohee alone. Zelo frowned beneath the sleeves of clothes that patted the back of his neck. Sohee was giggling, her usual genuine eye smile lighting up her face. Zelo felt at ease for a moment as he reminisced the times when he was the only one to see that side of her. Then he furrowed his brows again as he waddled to the side and saw Jongup laughing along with her. Zelo pouted and pushed the clothes back into place, the hangers making a quick skidding noise against the metal pole of the rack.

Sohee whisked her head around, her damp hair whipping her neck. Jongup cocked his head to the side, “Something wrong?” he asked with a worried expression.

Sohee blinked at him then hesitantly shook her head. “Nope… but I could’ve sworn I heard something…?”

Jongup shrugged and looked around the store. “Jisu? Let’s go check another store!” he called out to her.

“Should we buy something to eat?” Jongup suggested. The three of them—Jongup, Jisu and Sohee—were safely under the shelter of a small shopping mall. Jisu shrugged, but then a look on her face, which Jongup knew all too well, showed that she had a ‘great idea.’ Jisu turned to her other two friends with her best poker face on.

Sohee tilted her head, “What?”

“I think I’ll keep looking around. You guys go ahead and get something to eat.” She then spun around and ran back into the shopping mall. Jongup was just able to catch her cheeky grin and wink as she turned a corner.

“Should we just go eat then?” Sohee looked up at Jongup, unsure of the current situation.

“Uh…” Jongup scratched the back of his head, “Sure.”

Jongup and Sohee shuffled around the food court. The murky tiles had become wet and slippery by the rain and mud from people’s shoes. Other people’s shoes squeaked as they walked around from stall to stall, a displeased look on their face. Jongup gritted his teeth together as they past, one after the other, low-quality takeaways and unfamiliar fast food outlets.

“I know a good restaurant,” Jongup said, “but we’d have to walk awhile.”

“Okay…” Sohee looked up at the boy. He smiled awkwardly. There was a pause.

“I-I wonder what’s Jisu doing?” Sohee stuttered, trying to small talk the silence away.

Jongup nodded briskly and laughed to himself. “She’s probably already forgotten what she’s looking for.”

Jisu frowned. “Do they think I’m stupid?” she mumbled as she spied on Jongup and Sohee. She pressed her back against the wall that blocked her from their view and sighed. “Jongup make a move already, this is boring!” she groaned.

Suddenly the back of someone’s head caught Jisu’s eye. She squinted at the figure’s (who she assumed to be a boy) tousled blonde hair. Jisu tilted her head as she watched the slim figure quietly follow Jongup and Sohee around a corner. “Who the hell…” Jisu knit her brows together and began following the shady figure.

Sohee and Jongup stared out at the rain, it was bucketing down.  Jongup looked down at a puddle by his feet; his reflection was distorted by the endless fall of rain. He pursed his lips. “I thought the rain would have stopped by now.”

Sohee gave him a worried expression then looked out into the rainy streets. “Which way is the restaurant?”

Jongup bit his lip then pointed at a stoplight about one hundred meters away. “We’d have to cross the road there then walk straight.”

Sohee scrunched up her face. “It’s raining really hard…” she whispered to herself.

 The boy exhaled, a faint smile on his face as he slipped off his hoodie and held it out to the girl. “You should put it on.”

Sohee blinked and timidly took the dark blue hoodie. She slipped it on; the sleeves fell down to her finger tips and the hem reached her thighs. Jongup chuckled. He stretched his hands behind Sohee’s ears and pulled the hood over her head. Sohee pouted and looked up at Jongup as he gently adjusted the strings of the jumper into a limp ribbon under the girl’s chin. Sohee laughed and fiddled with the ends of the poorly tied ribbon. 

“Let’s go?” Jongup shrugged. Sohee nodded as they quickly ran into the rain.

Two high schoolers ran through the rain. Puddles burst at every hurried foot step. Rain soaked their clothes, making every colour a shade darker. The sleeves of the borrowed hoodie clung onto the girl’s slim arms as her and a boy raced through the rain. Jongup looked back at Sohee; rain slipping down the bridge of his nose, high cheekbones and strong jaw line. Sohee smiled at him, her fringe clinging to her forehead. Finally they reached the stop lights, two drenched teenagers. Sohee slipped slightly forward as she tried to stop by the traffic lights; Jongup swiftly pulled her in around the shoulders, easily steadying her against his lean chest. He kept a comfortable arm around her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” jongup shouted above the heavy sound of rain. He blinked heavily as the rain threated to go into his eyes. Sohee looked up, completely drenched. Her fringe clung to her face, clinging to her numbing pink cheeks. She smiled brightly up at the boy, her lips tinged a purple shade.

“Yeah!” she nodded enthusiastically. Jongup patted her shoulder and waited for the lights to blink green. The cars stopped, their window wipers shovelling rain off their screens. Drivers watched as the two high schoolers rush past them through misty windows.

Jongup held out his hand to Sohee. “You’ll slip again,” he teased as she hesitated to take his hand. Sohee laughed as she slipped her hands into his as they ran across the road.

They pulled themselves into the shelter of a restaurant. Jongup opened the door and ushered Sohee inside. She pulled off her hood and stepped into the dry warmth of the diner. A warm smell of spices and rosemary wafted around the store. Jongup closed the door behind him, a tinkling sound from the bell above it sounding as it closed. He pulled out a nearby chair and gestured Sohee to sit down. Sohee took a seat and looked around her, amazed by the homely feel of the restaurant. The leather of the seat gently squeaked as the girl tucked herself closer to the table. A wooden salt and pepper shaker was placed in the middle of the table with a small cylinder filled with petite sugar packets.

“I’ll go get the menu’s,” Jongup said, rain drops still slipping down his neck. Sohee smiled softly as his shoes squeaked at every step he took towards the counter. The sleeves of Jongup’s white shirt clung to his biceps and became slightly transparent between his shoulder blades and back muscles. Sohee averted her eyes, her cheeks fluttered with warmth.

Jongup placed a menu in front of Sohee. He smiled warmly and sat down.

Jisu stood by the exit of the food court. The shady figure had stopped following as soon as Jongup and Sohee had rushed into the rain and had been standing there for a good twenty minutes. The person was pressed against a column, a dark look on their face after witnessing what he had seen. Jisu approached him, her jaw dropping as she recognized him.

Jisu put her hands on her hips. “What do you think you’re doing, Zelo?”

 Zelo looked up. His eyes widened and he became even paler. His eyes wavered over Jisu’s face. “U-uhh…” he stuttered. “Did you…??”

Jisu nodded.

“Don’t tell her.”  Zelo furrowed his brows. “Please don’t tell her!”