The morose thunderstorm burst out in full force with the rain cascading down on the windshield mercilessly. The wind was roaring, lapping ruthlessly against trees and road signs with a wild, fiery rage.

Sitting in the passenger seat of the car, Cherie kept her head down, unable to look at Kyuhyun.

Staring out at the veiled, nebulous gray sky, which had previously been a beautiful shade of turquoise, Kyuhyun felt drained. It seemed like the dismal rain was mocking him, jeering at his pathetic attempt of earning back Cherie's love.

He hated seeing her crying. He knew she had a fragile heart, a loving, gentle heart, and he had taken advantage of it, thinking she would somehow still have the same feelings he had for her, emphatically forcing his will upon her.

The anguish and grief in his heart was almost unbearable.

Slamming his fist on the driving wheel, he let out an agonizing shout of misery.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Kyuhyun repeated over and over.

~*~*~*~

Hyorin looked up from the book she was reading to see Cherie walking into their room.

"How did the date go with Kyu?"

"...... he still likes me."

"He told you that?"

Cherie nodded, a blank expression on her face.

"But sweety, why are you crying?" Hyorin asked as a fresh stray tear rolled down Cherie's cheeks. Getting up, she went over to hug Cherie, whose body was trembling.

"He kissed me, and it made me think about the past, back to the time when Valerie was still alive. I just couldn't stand it. Being with Kyuhyun just brings back all these memories that I wanted to neglect and forget."

~*~*~*~

"Wow, those clouds are really angry today," Hyukjae muttered to himself, staring out of his kitchen window as he finished washing the dishes.

As Bruno Mars' 'It Will Rain' came on the radio in the living room, Donghae, who was lounging on the leather couch, turned up the volume.

"If you ever leave me baby,
Leave some morphine at my door
‘Cause it would take a whole lot of medication
To realize what we used to have,
We don’t have it anymore."

"Great song," Donghae commented dully.

"Yeah," Hyukjae responded.

"I hate rainy days," Donghae yawned as he surfed through channels on the flat-screen tv.

"That makes two of us," Hyukjae said as he felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket. Wiping his hands dry, he checked the caller ID.

"Hae! It's her! She calling me! What should I do? How many rings should I wait for?" Hyukjae yelled as he ran over to where Donghae was sprawled.

"Dude, get a grip of yoursef. It's just a phonecall. Steady your ridiculous breathing and pick up the phone."

Hyukjae gulped in a few lungfuls of air.

"I'm sorry. You have reached an imaginary number. Please rotate your phone 90° and try again."

He heard Cherie give a slight giggle, but then heard her sniffle.

'Is she crying?'

"Hey Hyukjae. Can I talk to you right now?"

"Of course."

"You may want to sit down."

"Did something happen?" Hyukjae asked concerned.

"... yeah."

"But if you ever want someone to talk to, you know I'll be there for you." Hyukjae had promised Cherie.

She believed him.

Hyukjae stood up from the couch, made a face at Donghae to signal that it was serious, and went upstairs to his room.

"I guess I'll start from the beginning."

Hyukjae heard Cherie sigh on the other end of the phone as he situated himself on his bed.

"Towards the end of my freshman year in high school, I started dating a junior. We had a lot of fun, and I thought I was in love. My sister, Valerie, was the same age as him, and she always talked about becoming a painter. She was so arduous and full of fervor for her passion that I looked up to her a lot. My parents hated it, saying how it would drag her down and ruin her future. Just days away from her graduation ceremony, she had a heart attack."

She paused, a massive lump of anger forming in the back of .

"Remember when you asked me why I wanted to become a photographer? It's because I want to do it for my sister who didn't have that chance. Our parents killed her dream, so I promised myself that I wouldn't be in any kind of a relationship to distract me from achieving my own. At the end of my ex-boyfriend's senior year, he went to Italy for architecture school on a full-ride scholarship, but I broke it off before he left, just a day after my sister died. He thought things would still be the same, and now that we're both in Italy, he's saying that he still loves me. We maintained our close friendship these past couple of years, but I feel horrible because I don't want to break his heart twice. I don't want to lose my best friend."

"I truly appreciate you calling me Cherie, but isn’t it a little ironic how you're coming to me, of all people?" Hyukjae said tentatively. He couldn't guarantee that Cherie had called the right person, as much as he wanted to help.

"I just wanted someone to talk to. You promised me you'd be there to listen whenever right?"

"Even if I did promise you, it takes a lot of courage to tell someone who's not particularly close to you about your innermost feelings."

"I trust you Hyukjae. Just like how you trusted me enough on the plane to tell me about your own fear."

"Thanks Cherie. I don't really have much to offer in terms of relationship advice, but I want to leave you with my favorite quote. August Wilson once said, 'Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.' I believe you're using your pain over Valerie's death as fuel to provide strength in reaching your dreams, which is great, but you're evading confrontation with your past. In order to move on with life in a healthy way, find out exactly what kind of demon you're wrestling with rather than taking steps to avoid it based on the shadows cast by your imaginations. Often, the demons are more ominous in prospect than they turn out to be. Nobody is perfect. I'm sure he'll understand if you approach him with a straightforward and genuine heart."

Cherie smiled on the other side of the phone.

"Hyukjae, you are amazing. I don't know why but that quote really touched me. Is it okay with you if I steal it for myself?"

"What's mine is yours," Hyukjae smiled, albeit a little forlornly.

'Now that I can actually talk to her properly, she doesn't want to get involved. I'm such a loser for thinking I would actually have a chance with her. Great Hyukjae. Just great.'

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