A dripping wet bouquet of roses was on his left hand, a dripping wet black blazer on top of dripping wet black t-shirt wrapped around his dripping wet big and tall built body. The hair that was once slicked back now dripping wet and left some dripping wet hairlock fell on his wet forehead. Those drops of water streamed down here and there on his ever tan skin. The broad shoulders now slid down in sadness, the firm chest tried to stabilize his own sorrowful breathes out of frustration. Under the rain today, Hyunwoo walked alone across the street amongst the colorful and monochrome umbrellas.

 

The rain poured down so heavily today even when the weather forecast this morning said that it will only be an overcast. No, Hyunwoo didn’t envy those people with umbrellas. He didn’t need it, he didn’t even think about it. It was only a rain of water on his skin and as a last year senior on marine science major in college, he was used to water. And because it was all better than the sky that was falling in his world.

 

He was one sided-ly cut out from this year swimming championship because he injured his proud shoulder. Hell, this was supposed to be his very last Olympiad before he had to focus on the things he had to do to graduate. He was hospitalized and did his best to heal from those painful therapies but things turned out this way anyway.

 

This was Saturday afternoon when the birds supposed to chirp cheerfully and the wind supposed to breeze gently against his slicked back undercut black hair. The sun supposed to shine brightly on his sun burnt tan skin and his shoes supposed to stay clean and slick black. But the day had turned everything upside down as the heavy rain was falling mercilessly like this when he had no umbrella nor car.

 

He should’ve know it since this morning when the engines of his car didn’t revive and ended up being a homework for him later. He should’ve known it when all the red roses were sold out, left him only with white roses and baby breaths in the bouquet.

 

But he didn’t care. He didn’t care because today, he was supposed to go on a date with his girlfriend. His one and only love in his life. The first date after days he can’t move much and struggled only with therapies and regrets.

 

But he really should’ve known it. He really wished he should’ve known it when he saw his princess kissed a western man in a car, in a daylight, in the parking lot of the café he introduced to her on their first date.

 

And then the rain fell.

 

People said he was unlucky because of those unfortunate events in his daily life. But he refused to believe it and he kept on proved himself to be the all so almighty and God-ish with his victories in those national and regional swimming championships. Hell, even his own body and face were a whole different level of victory for many people and a dream for many others. He wasn’t the best in math but he reached his last year as one of the best in many ways of practical marine science things. He was taught to be all-mannered and polite and he was. He was one hella fine piece of man.

 

And it was completed before, with the famous girlfriend majored in International Relation Department. She was so gentle and pretty. She was so beautiful and gracious. From the way she talked, the way she moved, everyone knew she was so smart. Pale skin like she was made from shimmering snow in the winter, red lips and slim waist. Still curvy but tall. Long legs and slender fingers. She was one fine lady in this century, hell, in his whole universe.

 

Hyunwoo sighed.

 

This time he refused to believe that the time won’t wait because it felt just like that, just slowly. The time was waiting for him, waiting so he could feel everything the realest way he could. The rain was just drops of water but it became so painful and was very irritating, the complete opposite of her touches on his face, his hands. Those cuddling sessions in the winter last year. The scent of her hair, her shoulders. The his ever so over-sized t-shirt on her body which was his. The gentle tone and soft voice that accompanied his silence every night on the phone. The fragile hugs and teasing kisses. Hyunwoo thought he owned the world, he owned the time.

 

Those empty eyes kept on looking at the ground as if they were glued there forever, Hyunwoo’s world was upside down. He had nothing, not even his pride. He thought that he must be very lacking that she finally left him. The chest moved up as he inhaled a long breathe before he sighed a really deep and long sigh under the unstoppable rain.

 

Those powerless steps stopped and Hyunwoo tilted his head up, let the rain hit his face, streamed down to his cheeks, and sharp jaws, and thick neck.

 

He wasn’t religious but this time, he found himself talked to anyone in the sky.

 

Are You angry? Are You punishing me? I really deserve this much of s right? Or is this a price? All of these s happened to me recently are a price of something?

 

He sighed.

 

I understand. I understand but whether it is a punishment or a price, but today I want to believe that You’re also capable of making this one sad person happy. And so, the all so almighty sky, I pray, I wish, I beg You for giving me one, just, only one happiness today.

 

Hyunwoo blinked as he stared at his wet shoes.

 

Give me one, one person who shares this rain with me without an umbrella, without even a single shade at all. Give me one person, only one person who is so sweet as if they are the drip from melted ice cream that woman hates so much because it makes her fat. Give me one. Today. Right in front of me. Right now.

 

Hyunwoo waited like a fool on the side walk, dripping wet and sad. He waited for the single miracle to happen, he waited the sky to answer his challenge.

 

He waited.

 

He just waited without words said, even in his head, in his heart.

 

But when he finally felt the side of umbrellas were scratching his body here and there, Hyunwoo knew he was in the middle of the side walk. He realized that his big body clogged the streams of people there. And before he got cursed or yelled at, he moved on.

 

He sighed as he continued those sad steps and glued his eyes on the street again. He was passing by a café on the side road.

 

It was when suddenly he heard shrieks and screams from around him.

 

Hell, this damned universe never stopped giving him ty surprised or maybe it was just a prank the heaven like to pull on him. But this time was much like a scene from some action-thriller movie scene.

 

Hyunwoo turned his head back to the road and got his eyes and mouth shot wide when a car from the main road lost control and was flying, literally, right in front of his face, crashing the glass window of the café next to him. But in a same time, Hyunwoo saw someone was opening the door from the inside and was running out of the café.

 

That person hit Hyunwoo with a lot of power, stopped Hyunwoo from stepping even further from his spot, stopped him from getting hit by the car, stopped him from getting crashed together with those big glass window.

 

Everything seemed like they moved ever so slowly in such a right timing. Hyunwoo could feel everything: the person’s head that hit his almost healed shoulder, that person’s weight on him, his unbalanced feet because of the sudden hit on his body, the sounds of shrieks, and the loud crashing sounds of the scattered glass windows, the shimmering glass windows that freely flew on the air, even the cold breezes and the freezing rain drop on his skin.

 

Hyunwoo growled under his breath because of the sudden physical pain on his shoulder, also that piece of glass window that flew to his face and scratched his left temple, while he was trying to avoid them. Upon seeing those flying glasses, Hyunwoo’s instinctive protective side strikes and he wrapped his arms around that person’s back and head and rolled over to protect whoever that was with his big body.

 

 

Hyunwoo was panting as he stared at the person he tried to protect below him once they reached the ground harshly.

 

And under the same rain, the same sky that he though was punishing or taking prices of him, a pale guy was lying on the sidewalk, head was between Hyunwoo’s protecting arms, pointy nose was just an inch away from him, shutting his eyes so tightly, covered his eyes with both of his arms, leaving Hyunwoo with the sight of that curvy upper lip that pressed tightly on top the other and tense body.

 

The shrieks were still there, and Hyunwoo could hear the sounds of car engines revived like it was angry. The rain was still there and there were these people running out, pouring out of the café while screaming and shrieking.  But it was quiet in Hyunwoo’ world, just a moment of silence and shock, he saw those rain drops fell onto the slowly uncovered pale face. The person was sharing the rain with him right in front of him, below him.

 

Hyunwoo grunted as those crowds of frightened people unintentionally kicked his body and the body below him. The person below him grunted and those arms on that face moved to hold his own stomach, curled up and coughing. Just then Hyunwoo realized and he quickly wrapped his arms around that person again and pulled him up, helping him getting away from the crazy scene.

 

Hyunwoo sat the smaller body on the bench nearby and watched him closely.

 

“A, are you ok? Are you ok?” Hyunwoo asked quietly as he squatted down in front of the small one who was clutching his chest, looking at the ground, probably freezing because of the shock.

 

The rain was still pouring so heavily on top of them both and people was coming in and out from that café, tried to look for injured person, hectic, calling police, ambulance, recording, helping each other. The cars stopped and more people crowding around there. The siren of police and ambulance car will be heard soon enough.

 

“Hey, are you ok?” Hyunwoo tried to hold the shoulder of that person in apron. But soon, he realized that the rain was still there and he stood up, he took off his blazer and cover that person head with it.

 

Just then he saw these pink, chocolate, vanilla and these chocochips taints on top of the black hair of that person. Hyunwoo opened his eyes wide as he was sure that although it wasn’t that much but it was obvious that it was ice creams.

 

The rain was still there and the rain dripped the ice cream down to that person face, neck, even clothes.

 

“Are you ok?” Hyunwoo said as he came back to the reality and cover the person with his blazer, squatted back down in front of him.

 

And that was the first time he saw that face. A guy with that pale face with chubby red cheeks, red nose and tearful misty eyes.

 

“I’m fine… I’m fine…” he said with shaky and hoarse voice as he continued clutching on his chest.

 

Hyunwoo didn’t knew that that guy was just failing at his vocal class because he overworked his throat so much, he caught a cold, and it was killing him so much today. Hyunwoo didn’t know if that person was just yelled at, cursed at, and was thrown at with a bowl of ice cream by that one customer, just because she was pissed off by his boyfriend, was fighting with him, and his friend was telling him to put that ice cream on that table by mistake. Hyunwoo didn’t know that the person was probably cut out from that café because that customer wanted him to. Hyunwoo didn’t know any of that, but he can’t stop staring at that crying, messy face in front of him.

 

That small figure which trembling with anger, shock, hurt and everything. Those eyes that shut into lines and the dimples under them. Those pale, short, soft fingers patting on his own chest probably it was the way he put himself in comfort, that black yet dripping wet (and probably sweet because of the ice cream) black hair. The sniffles, small noises, whimpers, and heavy breath of his cries.

 

Kihyun. It was written on the name tag on that black apron.

 

He didn’t know what hit it today except from this crying boy in front of him and that one piece of shattered glass, but suddenly he felt settled and calm after he said the name in his head and seeing that one smaller body safe between his arms and blazer.

 

Hyunwoo couldn’t help but to brush his fingers through that black hair to shove away the ice cream taint from the wet black hair.

 

The sirens were heard loudly but Hyunwoo felt so calm and the rain started to get lighter. Hyunwoo realized he had lost his flower bouquet but he realized that there was one mint candy inside his black jeans pocket. Hyunwoo came back to his quiet self and was just watching the boy finished his cry.

 

But the tip of that pointy nose kept on pulling him closer and closer and Hyunwoo was powerless about that. He was leaning closer to that stranger, feeling light headed, as if he was swept up from his feet in some anti-gravity room.

 

Hyunwoo closed his eyes and stopped himself from anything he was going to do to that boy. He took out the last mint candy in his pocket and put it on the boy’s lap quietly.

 

And that was when that boy opened his eyes and looked straight to Hyunwoo’s eyes with those teary small eyes. That boy blinked and Hyunwoo was taken aback of how lively a God’s painting can be.

 

“Thank you,” the boy said softly as he held both sides of the candy wrapper with both of his chubby hands.

 

Hyunwoo looked down to the candy and those pale chubby fingers.

 

“Son Hyunwoo” Hyunwoo said and that boy looked up to him.

 

“Kihyun,” the boy said softly as he held the name tag on his chest. “Yoo Kihyun,” he said again.

 

“Nice to meet you,” Hyunwoo said as he looked up at the boy’s staring eyes.

 

Hyunwoo couldn’t believe his eyes when those teary eyes turned into a curve and those corners of the curvy lips pulled up. The dimples were shown off again, this time a blinding smile was flashed in front of Hyunwoo’s eyes.

 

For the first time today, under the nearly stopped rain, Hyunwoo cracked a smile as he bowed his head down to hide it.

 

Hyunwoo didn’t understand what this funny feelings inside his stomach was. But Hyunwoo was now sure that all of these s happened for this very single moment of meeting. And it was all worth it. It was more than worth it.

 

 

 

 

***

End