drip drop, drip drop, the sprinkles of rain went. baekhyun cursed, praying the rain would stop.

 

god answered his prayer by beginning a hard downpoor. lovely. baekhyun whined.

 

regardless, he kept walking. he kept his head down to hopefully keep other people from looking at him. the last thing he needed was attention right now. he figured he looked like an  idiot, walking in the rain without anything to protect himself from it. he stepped in a puddle and got his trousers even more wet. not that he really cared.

 

there was an umbrella stand in front of a convenience store. without a second thought, he took one. no one seemed to care either.

 

he passed his house long ago. he just kept walking, and walking, and walking, as if he was trying to find a path that would lead him in the right direction. life is supposed to have difficulties you need to surpass, but how long will it take for him to surpass the many problems he's been fighting the past few months?

 

abruptly, someone else's umbrella was being held above him. he looked to the side, raising a brow at the culprit.

 

"a tear," the other began. baekhyun blinked. "your umbrella has a tear in it." he looked up. it did. a big, gaping hole along the side. oh.

 

"that's embarrassing," baekhyun mumbled, "thanks... uh."

"lu han," the former replied with a big, bright smile that made baekhyun's heart pound.

"... i'm baekhyun."

 

lu han walked baekhyun home, sharing the one useful umbrella, and they talked. they talked about anything and everything, sharing short stories and mutual laughter. baekhyun felt genuinely happy for the first time in a while, and when they reached his house, he had to admit he felt a little sad. the two agreed to meet up the next day at the nearby coffee shop.

 

"it's a date," lu han said before he left.

 

a date, baekhyun's face flushed as he shut the door. he began to think that maybe - just maybe - he's walking along the right path for once.