Hey, do you see that girl? She looks like an actress!

I've never seen someone that cute before.

Is she a model?

With her head ducked, Jung Soojung walked silently through the polished hallways of her new school. Cinnamon-colored brown hair curtained her face, shielding her eyes from having to look directly into the faces of her staring, future classmates. She was used to people praising her looks wherever she went, but it never made the instance less embarrassing... Or alienating.

She coughed into her fist as she made her way to the front entrance and once she'd opened the door, Soojung realized it probably hadn't been the best decision to attend the school orientation while she was still sick, especially once she felt the frigid breeze of Autumn air chill the skin on her face. As she stepped outside, she was subjected to a shower of icy rain that immediately soaked through her hair and froze her skin. Her only jacket was a thin, worn-out grey sweatshirt; her umbrella was nowhere near, lying forgotten in her apartment four miles away. The situation seemed hopeless and it seemed that there was really nothing she could do but bear with it and walk home through the storm. Breathing into her palms to warm them up, Soojung started briskly through the rain with her pale face flushed red with fever and her fingers trembling with cold.

Soojung kept her eyes focused in front of her, tightening her scarf around her neck. She was convinced that there was no need to worry; she would be home in no time.

-------------

The decision to walk home in the rain turned out to be a terrible one that Soojung regretted. She was unsure of how much time had passed since she had left school or of how far she had left to walk, but she assumed that by this point she was far enough that it was too late to turn back. The rain had shifted into sleet and Soojung's light headache morphed into a nauseating pounding at the base of her skull. Her vision was fuzzy as the sidewalk blurred in and out of focus, waves of prickling, feverish heat assaulting her mercilessly. It took all of her strength and willpower to continue shuffling forward, but with her vision fading and speckled with black, Soojung realized it wasn't long before she would faint from exhaustion.

Thunder roared overhead.

Amidst the chaos, Soojung could make out the blurry shape of a bicycle entering her field of vision. It was hard to miss, being bright red in color with a single, flourescent pink flag sticking out from the back. 

Though blood was pounding in her ears and the frozen rain sounded like bricks hitting the pavement, she managed to hear a voice barely audible over the screeching winds.

"You must be freezing! Want me to give you a lift?"

The girl looked up meekly only to see a large umbrella shielding the identity of the speaker. Nonetheless, she nodded miserably, rainwater dripping from her long hair.

Struggling with fatigue, the beautiful girl managed to swing her legs over the bicycle seat and sit down. She wrapped her arms hesitantly around the person in front of her to prevent herself from falling, her eyes already fluttering shut as she felt the bike stir into motion.

Her savior was so warm... Soojung felt a sense of security with her arms around that slim waist. They smelled nice and homely, the scent reminding Soojung of soft blankets and hot cups of tea.

Tea...

With that final thought, Soojung slowly drifted to sleep.

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When Soojung woke up, she found herself on a bench inside what appeared to be the lobby of an apartment complex.  She blinked disorientedly, never having seen this building in her life. But at least her fever had gone down, to her relief.

Upon sitting upright, she heard the rustle of paper and looked to see a small note attached to a bright pink umbrella that had just slid to the floor. Curious, she picked it up and read what was written in scrawled, sky blue ink.

"Hello there! I'm sorry for leaving you here on your own, but I had to go somewhere and I didn't want to wake you up ><

This is my apartment building. Hopefully, it isn't too far from your house. Walk home safely! And you can keep the umbrella :D"

Soojung was stunned at the act of kindness. She thought back to the stranger who had kindly saved her from the rain and bothered to give her a ride to shelter, staring intensely at the red umbrella in her hands as if it would magically help her recall the face of the person who had helped her. Minutes passed to no avail and when a group of high school boys began to stare at her pointedly from a few meters away, Soojung realized it was time to leave, taking the umbrella and note with her as she left.

The downpour had been reduced to a mild drizzle that bounced off of the bubblegum pink of Soojung's newly gifted umbrella. As cars and bicycles zoomed passed her on the street, her eyes roamed the mass of vehicles in hopes of spotting that single pink flag. 

Once more she tightened her scarf around her neck, even though her face was feeling hot. She glanced at the letter, which she had folded carefully and placed delicately in the pocket of her sweater. 

A light blush, never before experienced, spread across her warm cheeks.

A/N; I'm so thankful for the positive response I received for this story even before I posted the first chapter! I'll try my best to update this story whenever I can~ The gloomy weather must be getting to me. In both of my stories the main characters meet through rain scenes, haha.