There are some who hate the rain, but Yerin never did.

Rain covered the traces of her work, hid her from sight, washed away any blood that might linger. There was a peaceful rhythm to the staccato of raindrops, a gentle beat that could either lull her to sleep or hide the sound of her footsteps in shadow.

But most importantly, it was because it was always in rain that she found Yuju.

The first time, the rain had driven her to take shelter in a cave, leading to her first meeting with the gangly young teenager, half-wild yet harmless. Yuju’s eyes had been as clear as the rain, though the depths were foggier than the clouds that obscured the sky. Beautiful eyes on a beautiful girl, and though Yerin hadn’t realized it then, it was the beginning of her infatuation with the wild girl in the woods.

Hayoung used to make fun of her for it, teasing her about the mystery girl that she kept slipping off on her own to see. None of her team had ever seen Yuju then; she had been separated from them when she stumbled on Yuju in the cave. The encounter felt precious somehow, and Yerin didn’t feel like sharing it with her friends. She loved them, but she wanted to keep the experience to herself.

Besides, Yuju was skittish enough without adding more strange faces to the mix. It had taken her more than a week to find the girl again after they had parted ways in the cave the first time. Yerin had basic wilderness survival training, but it was a lot like finding a needle in a haystack, even if she could read tracks well enough.

The sudden spring shower that caught her unawares on one of her excursions saw her taking shelter in a copse of trees, and there she had found the girl she sought, sitting underneath a sweeping oak tree with a giant hound at her knee. Yuju had looked up at her approach and recognizedher, and that, Yerin reflected, was when everything had really changed for her.

Being shameless had its uses. It wasn’t the first time they had met by then, and since Yuju hadn’t rejected her presence, Yerin simply took it as an invitation to sit by her. It was mildly awkward when Yuju didn’t really start any conversation, but Yerin was resourceful. Also, refer to aforementioned shamelessness. Yuju never really stood a chance to begin with.

The simple observation that Yuju was pretty much malnourished at the time led to Yerin starting to bring food for the awkward teenage girl. That also contributed to Yuju making it a lot easier for Yerin to find her. It became almost a game after the first few times, with Yuju leaving clues behind, just enough for Yerin to track her to her latest position.

With Yerin’s persistent efforts, Yuju had eventually caved and followed the older girl back to civilization. Even then, the young shaman still shunned human contact, as if large numbers of people made her nervous. Yerin didn’t push her, it had taken long enough for Yuju to even tolerate Yerin touching her.

Speaking of touching, Yerin had definitely attempted to give Yuju a bath when they were back in town, only to have Yuju resort to using magic on her for the first time, literally tossing her out before slamming the door close. The memory still made her chuckle, and it said so many things about Yuju. Like the fact that the girl did know how to use modern amenities, so she wasn’t actually raised by wolves. Yerin hadn’t been sure of that for a while at the beginning.

With all the boundary pushing Yerin did, it was a minor miracle that Yuju didn’t run away after the first few times. Yerin definitely took advantage of it, fussing over the gangly teen like a mother hen. Yuju went from reluctant acceptance to eventually bending obediently to Yerin’s whims -- as long as Yerin didn’t push the envelope too far. It was an unspoken negotiation of the distance between them, lines drawn and redrawn after every interaction.

This could have gone on forever, until Yerin stopped visiting. Work had called, and she didn’t have time to tell Yuju about it before they were whisked into action. It wasn’t going to be a big job anyway, so Yerin had hoped that she would be back soon.

A simple three day operation turned into two weeks, with them stranded in hostile territory. When they had finally made it out, Yerin was one of those badly wounded, blacking out before extraction.

It was Hayoung who told her what happened after. It had been a close affair, and they almost hadn’t made it. But at the very last moment, a stranger had come to their aid, shattering the minefield of magical traps in a massive chain reaction that took out the enemy sorcerer they had been sent to eliminate. Even Joy, their resident chaos mage, had been impressed.

“She went straight for you, you know? I almost shot her, but she healed you and carried you back out on her own.” Hayoung shook her head. “Weird kid. She left once we were all out and safe. Wouldn’t talk to us.”

There was only one mage she knew well enough who could have done this. The moment Yerin had heard that story, she had leapt to her feet and left the room before any of her teammates could stop her. They had returned to their own base back in town, and Yerin needed to know if it were really Yuju who had come to her aid.

She barely made it two steps out of their base before she was literally swept off her feet. Granted, she had sensed motion and was about to retaliate when a familiar scent hit her, and so she allowed Yuju to scoop her up, even snuggling up to the shaman once she was safely in her arms. Yuju seemed exasperated, which was more emotion than Yerin had ever seen the girl openly show during their entire acquaintance up till then.

“You should be resting. ”

Yerin rested her head against Yuju’s shoulder. It was less thin than it used to be. All the feeding had done its job. The girl was still skinny, but at least she no longer looked like a stiff breeze would blow her away.

“You came for me?”

Yuju’s lips tightened into a thin line at that. It took a while, but when she finally spoke, her voice was low and tense.

“You didn’t come like always . I...followed your trail. And you were hurt.” Yuju’s voice dropped to an almost furious whisper. “You could have died. ”

“But I didn’t.” Yerin seemed almost flippant about her near death experience. One couldn’t really blame her. She had never really thought about the future. Every day lived was one more day hedged against the odds. She never imagined she had anything to live for before. Her life was never her own. One day she would die in the line of duty, and if she were lucky, one of her teammates might also survive to bury her. Life was cheap, and hers only had value while she could still be of use. She had no illusions about that.

“It’s not funny, Yerin.” That was the first time Yuju had ever said her name, and it made Yerin pay attention, looking up into the murky depths of Yuju’s eyes. The shaman was visibly upset. An odd emotion resonated within Yerin in response, and she raised a hand to cup Yuju’s cheek.

“You were worried for me.” It wasn’t a question. Yuju nodded, eyes still dark with distress. Something softened in Yerin’s icy heart. Her interest in Yuju had always been a mix of curiosity and fascination, with a pinch of physical attraction. She wanted to know more about the younger girl, and everything she had done up till then was more in the interest of fun and discovery.

But Yuju had taken it seriously. Seriously enough to dive headfirst into danger to rescue her. It would be a lie to say that it didn’t move her. Her beautiful girl cared about her, and outside of her team, no one had ever done that for her. Hell, not even her teammates would risk their own life for hers when it came down to it. They worked together and helped each other out, but Yerin wouldn’t die for any of them, nor they for her. It was just the way things were.

“I don’t want you to die.” Yuju’s eyes shone with a sincerity so pure it hurt. The shaman leaned forward, pressing her forehead to Yerin’s.

“I missed you while you were gone.”

That did it. Yerin’s defenses didn’t crumble instantly; she was too jaded for that. But it definitely cracked, and even she had been surprised by the sudden wetness running down her cheeks. Yuju seemed confused by the abrupt change, fumbling and almost dropping Yerin in the process, but the assassin clung to her puppy fiercely, hiding her face in Yuju’s neck.

“I’m alright.” Yerin mumbled. It was just a moment of weakness. It didn’t mean anything. She was lying to herself, and she knew it. But she was so good at it, and Yuju never questioned anything she said. She should have been ashamed of herself. And she was.

Yerin had spent her whole life lying to everyone to survive. She was always pretending, always leveraging the odds to take advantage for herself. She was a liar, and she didn’t deserve the wholehearted devotion that Yuju demonstrated in that simple gesture. Her life was nothing but shadow and deceit, and she had no right to drag others into it.

“I’m here.” Yuju murmured back, as if sensing Yerin’s indecision. The younger girl nuzzled at Yerin, as if trying to comfort her. Yerin bit back a sob, shoulders shaking in an attempt to hold back the deluge. It was pointless.

“It’s just raining.” She was lying, but Yuju didn’t correct her, carrying her down the alley so that no one could see her break down. Yerin wept, and Yuju carried her through it all, without complaint.

It was raining now, pain old and new lancing through wounds seen and unseen, as Yerin struggled to stay conscious. Her face was wet with blood, running down from her forehead to her neck, making her dizzy from more than just her fear of heights.

She couldn’t die here. Yuju was waiting for her.