Like any other child born with golden spoon in his mouth, Im Jaebum’s whole life had been decided even since before he could cry. As the only child who would inherit the entire Im legacy, his net worth was equal with the current president, if not more. He’s expected to be the perfect child, with little to no freedom at all. All his life had been spent to master any kind of skills known, from school subjects, to sports to arts. During weekend, he’d be taken to the headquarters to learn about how to handle the business, their secrets, who’s who, who to trust and vice versa. And even if he’s enrolled in the most prestigious school which filled with students with the similar upbringing, he still couldn’t make his own decision on who to befriend, who to have relationship with.

          Jaebum’s woken up with a soft kiss on his lips. His eyes fluttered open as he could feel his bed dipped with extra weight. He watched in silence as a familiar figure crawled on top of him and the other person beamed as she noticed her fiancé’s no longer asleep.

          “ Finally! Should’ve kissed you long time ago!” She chirped, cupping the boy’s face in her hands. “ C’mon, we’re going to be late!”

          “ What time is it?”

          “ Half an hour left before the first period start! Hurry up!” She got off, pulled him up and guided him to the bathroom.

          It didn’t take long for Jaebum to get ready.

          “ Well, I’ve been looking everywhere but I can’t find your tie?”

         “ Oh, it’s okay. Sorry, but I’m not going to wear them.” He glanced at the neatly laid out uniform on the bed. “ Anyway, I still have something to do, you can go first.”

          “ But-“

          “ Suji,” Jaebum stopped and turned, “ I’m going to talk with my mother. You can go first.” He said with final tone in his voice. He let her choose his outfits for the day, and made sure she had gotten in the car and left before making his way to where he knew his mother would be at that hour.

          Turned out the weather forecast wasn’t really accurate, as the boy could spot some dark clouds above the artificial lake at the back of the house. He walked down the stone staircase leading to the gazebo where his mother could be seen sipping her morning tea with some maids standing around.

          “ Good morning, mother.” He slightly bowed.

          His mother acknowledged him with a nod. “ What are you doing in here at this hour?” If she’s surprised, she didn’t show it.

          “ Mother, I have a question. Do you know anything about the school giving out scholarship?”

          “ Of course. I’m the one who initiate it."

          " But why?" Just like his mother, he kept his face devoid of expression.

          " I’m afraid the school’s reputation is going to drop anytime soon because everything you spoiled kids can think about is only about how many girls you can date and new cars. You think I don’t know about your report card?”

           “ So are you going to let the school recruit more brainiacs without regarding their background? I thought you care about the school's prestige.”

           His mother eventually looked up from her newspaper and took a good look at her son. “ Have a problem, son?” She raised her brow. Jaebum didn’t answer. “ One thing you need to remember, I do care about the prestige. Hence I only allowed one student to receive the scholarship. If you don’t know about how valuable a scholarship student is, you better stop talking nonsense and go to school now.”

***

          That day could be the gloomiest spring day South Korea ever seen, with heavy rain pouring down the street, covering majority of the city. Many pedestrians took shelter under any shade available and there’s almost no car could be seen on the usually jam-packed roads.

         Choi Youngjae didn’t know what kind of bad deeds he had done in his previous life to deserve all of this. That day he woke up with nothing but blurred vision, spinning head, chattering teeth and shivers all over his body. Is this how dying feel like? Is he going to die? For real? But there’s so many thing he hadn’t experienced- heck, he’s not even legal!

           He stayed in the fetus position as late as his nth alarm rang, then rolled across his bed until he fell, dragging his blanket with him. He continued to roll up until his back hit the leg of mini dining table at the other side of the room. He pulled himself up, hands blindly looking for the first aid box he’d bought previously and took everything inside out. It took literally five minutes before his vision found its focus to read the description of each bag of medicine. He decided to gulp two pills of painkillers at once and sat down, taking a deep breath.

           He couldn’t care less how late he was, how long it would take him to get to school, as long he’s not marked absent. He couldn’t taint his attendance report just yet- he’d only been there for three days for goodness sake! It seemed as if the gods didn’t like him or such, because even after waiting for half an hour, the rain still didn’t show any sign of stopping. Youngjae zipped up his jacket and gripped his umbrella tighter. He really missed home.

***

Jaebum loved it when rain falls. He liked listening to the sound of droplets simultaneously hit the window and the fresh, earthy smell the rain gives. He often read books where the main characters would laugh and play in the rain together. He wondered if it’s that fun. He wondered if he’s not him, he would still be dry and comfortable in a car instead of walking on the street in the middle of downpour.

           “ Oh,” he mumbled, as his car made a turn, and saw a person collapsed to the ground on the sidewalk.

***

           “ Bambam, you don’t have Youngjae hyung’s number, do you?”

           “ Uh, you right! I haven’t asked him. Why?”

           “ No, it’s just-“

           “ Oh. Damn.”

           “ Whoa, it’s red notice!”

           “ Heol, everyone, red notice is out! Once again, red notice is out! It’s Choi Youngjae of class 2-1!"