CHAPTER 1: RAIN

“Excuse me, are you okay?” Eunji asked the young lady who was sitting on the bench at the park near her university, drenched.

She wasn’t really going to walk along this area since it’s not the usual path she takes on her way home, until she saw this person from afar, sitting out in the open even though it was already raining. At first, she wasn’t sure if she’ll approach her since it was a bit flooded in that street, but she did anyways because of this magnetic aura that she suddenly felt pulling her closer.

The mysterious stranger was sporting all-black attire, from her shoes, up to her face mask which was covering almost everything except her eyes. Her hair was also jet-black, a bit wavy but not really noticeable since the rain made it heavy, looking like it’s straight.

“Uhm…do you live near here? I can share my umbrella with you.” She then took one step closer and hovered half of her umbrella over the girl. “I can take you there, if you want.” She offered help, thinking that she’s that kind of person who gets sick easily.

Eunji was already starting to get damped as well. The tip of her ponytail and bag were already wet, while the water started to seep at the back of her pullover as she already unconsciously let the girl occupy more than half of the space under the umbrella. She can also feel the water inside her sneakers as it continues to rise past the sidewalk.

“Hey!” a voice called across the street as a red and black Audi suddenly parked a few feet from them. “Jung Eunji!” the girl inside the car called out once again.

“Oh, Chorong.” She turned around and responded.

“What are you doing – who’s that?” Her friend asked as she stared at the inexpressive girl that Eunji was talking to. “Is she your friend? Hop on you two, before the water eats you alive.”

“Uh well, not really but thanks. Just a moment!” she smiled at Chorong before shifting back her attention to the stranger. “Let’s go before you get sick. We’ll take you home.” She tried to convince as she reached for her hand, only to be refused aggressively as the latter shoved Eunji’s hand away.

“Just leave her there!” She shouted at Eunji, annoyed after witnessing how the other girl rejected Eunji’s kindness. “Come on! The water is reaching the hem of your pants already!”

She sighed, and tried to persuade the girl in front of for one last time when she a loud honking sound echoed within the area, probably caused by her friend.

“Alright! Calm down, okay?” Eunji shouted at her friend.

She then forcefully took the latter’s hand and gave her blue umbrella. “You can have this. Please go home before you get sick.” Eunji folded her hand so she can hold it properly. “I’ll be going now.” She gave a smile before running towards Chorong’s car.

Her friend then started the engine and drove away while Eunji watched her from the window until she was gone from her sight, still worried about the mysterious lady.

“Who was that?” Chorong asked as she glanced at the rear view mirror for a second. “I saw your umbrella from afar and wondered why you were there since you rarely pass by that street.”

“I don’t know. I just saw her there alone.” Eunji explained as she opened her back to check if her things got wet as well. “Ah, I’m screwed. I can’t read any of my notes.” She muttered as she carefully flipped the pages of her ruined notebook.

“You could’ve saved your notes and I could’ve saved my backseat from being wet if you went in earlier.”

“But she might get sick.”

“Why do you even care, Eunji? You don’t even know who that girl is.” She slowed down and stopped at the sight of the red light. “But you know, I feel like I’ve seen her before.” Chorong added.

“Well, she seemed very sad. And there was something about her that…just pulled me in.” Eunji tried to explain while fanning her things to dry.

“You’re just too nice.” Chorong mocked her friend, but was also praising her at the same time. “You’re hopeless.”

The rain got a lot worse to the point that Chorong could not see a thing on the road without the car’s windscreen wipers. Eunji once again looked outside her window as she thought about the woman she saw a while ago, wondering if she already made it home.

Still holding the umbrella, the girl didn’t move an inch on her spot as she stared blankly on the street. She didn’t care if the water already reached her ankles, or if a few people passing by started to take notice of her. She doesn’t know where she was at that time, or who were those staring at her as they passed by. All she knows is that she’s tired and that she wanted to be alone and far from the people that stresses her.

The girl just shifted her gaze the moment she saw a familiar figure crossing the street and running towards her.

“Let’s go before they finally figure out who you are.” she said as she put a coat on her. “Come on.” She insisted after the latter didn’t listen to what she said.

“…”

Her friend then sat down beside her and tried talking some sense to the younger girl.

“Son Naeun, do you really want it the hard way? I know that you’re stressed, but did you even think of the consequences if people finally recognize you? Do you want the media to flock around every time you go out of your house? Do you want them to ask more irrelevant questions instead of something about your work, just because of this?” She whispered to Naeun, her voice sounded firm yet concerned.

Finally, the latter looked at her and slowly bowed. “I’m sorry, Bomi.”

“It’s fine.” The older one patted the girl’s back. “I’m your friend too, so you can tell me your problems. Do you understand? Don’t do this again, please.”

Naeun just nodded as they went their way back to the van which was parked a few meters away from where she was found. After changing her clothes, she sat back down and waited for the van to bring her back to the company’s office. She didn’t notice that she was holding on the umbrella once again until she was asked about it.

“I’ve never seen that umbrella. Did you buy it?” Bomi asked as she stared at the blue object. “And almost all of your things are black so…

“Somebody gave it to me.” She answered while looking outside of the window, remembering the warm smile and weird accent of the person who gave her the umbrella.

“What? Someone recognized you?!” The latter shouted, shocked and confused. She immediately took out her smartphone and checked the internet if there was already an article regarding what happened a while ago. “What is his name? Did he take a picture of you?” she asked more, slightly panicked.

“She didn’t recognize me.”

“Oh…” she mouthed as she discovered that it wasn’t a guy who helped Naeun, making her feel at ease. “So, were you able to get her name?”

The younger girl ignored her once again as she looked out the window, drowning in her own thoughts about the owner of the umbrella. She suddenly remembered her warm voice, her cute accent, and her bright smile. Naeun unknowingly showed a faint smile, which Bomi somehow saw.

“Jung Eunji…”

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The next day, Eunji still chose to attend her classes even though she got a fever last night. She was still not feeling that well; her head hurts like it is breaking and she cannot breathe properly because of her cough and colds. She massaged her temples as she listened to the lecture, trying her best to get through the hell she was experiencing at the moment.

After a few hours, she finally was able to have a break. Eunji gently let her head fall on the table as she closed her eyes and covered , coughing. She sniffed, and just tried to sleep until the next class arrives when Chorong approached and kicked her chair.

“Please, not today.” Eunji begged her friend; her voice sounded weary.

“You’re sick. Why did you even come to class?” Chorong said after she checked her friend’s temperature. “See, you should’ve gone home earlier. “ She added, implying what happened yesterday.

Eunji didn’t answer and just shook her head, rejecting her best friend’s offer. “Important…lesson…” she tried her best to explain.

“Can you even go home by yourself? I would be more than willing to drive you home but I need to accompany my mom to the airport after class…”

“It’s okay.” Eunji answered with her weak voice. “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Chorong patted her back. “Rest well.” She then went away to let her friend sleep peacefully.

Fortunately, Eunji managed to get out of her nightmare after ten hours. Although she still has to travel, for her it was better than to sit down and load her already hurting head with today’s lessons.

It was going well until she felt a drop of water fall on her skin, realizing that she has to go another round of misery. She was still inside the campus, specifically at the middle of the university plaza in which there are nothing but trimmed grasses and bricked pathways. She also mentally cursed herself as she remembered that she gave her umbrella away yesterday.

“Not again…”

Time went slow for Eunji as she tried to run past the crowd of students who were also rushing towards the nearest shade that they can find. Good thing she managed to save some of her energy during breaks that’s why somehow, she can endure her tiredness for the time being.  She held her bag over her head, trying her best to protect herself from the rain as she continued running and searching for an available shelter outside the campus.

She was about to turn right at the corner of the street when the rain suddenly stopped as someone appeared in front of her and blocked the way. Eunji glanced at the stranger’s face and saw the same, longing eyes behind the black mask.

The person took one step closer to Eunji as she held on the blue umbrella that shielded them from the rain.

“Can you come with me?”