“Where are you going?” Baekhyun asked. The bell had just rung, and I was nearly out the door. Baekhyun was still sitting at his desk. A couple of girls were clustered near him, and they looked away, but it was obvious they were listening.

“Outside. Bye.” I wondered if Kai was going to come.

“But it’s raining,” Baekhyun said.

“Yes.” I said patiently. “That’s very obvious.”

“So, are you sure you want to go outside?” The one thing Baekhyun had going for him was his persistence. I ignored him, and turned to go.

“Want to come with me to one of the music rooms instead?” I paused with my hand on the door.

“Sorry,” I said. “But I’d really like to just go outside for a bit. Maybe next time.”

Before he could respond, I stepped out. I could hear a loud sigh of relief and a general stream of girlish chatter start up again.

“Don’t mind her,” someone said. “She just likes being alone. Don’t feel like you need to be her friend or anything.”

I couldn’t hear Baekhyun’s response; it was a muttered phrase. Kai was nowhere to be seen. I wasn’t surprised. Part of me had expected this and so I wasn’t disappointed. People couldn’t be bound to others. I kept my head down as I walked through the crowded halls. The smell of mud was prevalent in the corridors.

It was a relief to be outside, even though the rain was quite heavy.

I loved the feeling of rain as it drenched my hair, but even I had to put my hood up after a few minutes of the relentless downpour. I stood under the shelter of a few trees, just watching the raindrops puddle on the ground. Breathing in deeply, I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers against them so that I saw flashes of blue, erratic light.

“You’re really wet.” I opened my eyes. Baekhyun was standing in front of me, holding an umbrella.

“It feels nice.” He looked surprised at my genial tone. Perhaps it was the first time he’d heard it.

“You know this conversation sounds wrong in so many ways, right?” He smirked, and I rolled my eyes. He poked at me.

“Here,” he said, offering me the umbrella. It was a ridiculous one, pink with white poodles all over it. He saw the look on my face and laughed. “One of the girls gave it to me. Apparently it’s a name brand.”

“I’d rather not get it wetter then. Might wreck its quality,” I said. “It’s fine. I’ve got a hood I’ll put up when I head in.”

He closed the umbrella, and came to stand beside me.

“What are you doing?” I asked. Little raindrops dripped down from the trees onto his hair.

He put a finger to his lips and closed his eyes. “I want to see how nice it feels too.”

His brow furrowed and he leaned forward. He was so tense and out of place, with his name brand clothing and borrowed pink umbrella in the downpour of hard rain.

“Why didn’t you go to the practice room?” I asked, trying to ease him out of his tension. His brow relaxed, but his eyes were still closed.

“They were going to follow me,” he said. “Those girls. They’re nice and all, but I can’t concentrate when people are around me. On music. Like this.”

“Is this music?”

“Your voice or the rain?” A tease I didn’t expect. He leaned back against the bark of the tree.

“Whichever you think I meant.”

“Your voice is nice and soft, like my teddy bear. Until you start being sarcastic.”

“Be serious.”

“You gave me the freedom of choice.” He paused for a moment, and let his arms hang loose by his sides.

“You know, this is the first time you’ve started a real conversation with me.”

“That’s true.”

“Friends?” His tone was light. I might have been egotistical to think there was hope in his voice, but I seemed to hear it. I thought, focusing on the length of his eyelashes.

“Progress.”

"You know what they say," he said, closing his eyes. He attempted to speak English. "Progress makes perfect."

His English was pretty bad.