She builds a falling symphony with her passion as her love rises to insurmountable heights.

[Based on the MV for "Singing in the Rain" by Jinsoul.]

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Jinsoul relishes in the soft patter of raindrops. She’s been here for hours. Feet point north, shoulders lay flat on the asphalt, arms spread out wide with palms facing up to catch liquid diamonds. It’s amazing, this pocket realm she’s created. When her reality stifles her like the corsets she’s fitted for daily, she runs here. A reprieve.

The splash of footsteps alerts her to another presence. She smiles at the black void that is the sky, eyes closed in peace. Her patience is rewarded. Soft lips meet her own and long hair tickles her chin. The newcomer lays down facing the south end of the airstrip where abandoned metallic monstrosities wait in hangars. There’s a weight on Jinsoul’s right shoulder. She lifts her head to use their shoulder as a pillow. Arms line up parallel to hers. Palms press down. Their fingers interlock and Jinsoul can hear nails faintly scraping against the pavement. They’re both drenched to the bone. The rain is relentless.

“Why’d you call?”

Jinsoul laughs. “Do you stay for no other reason?”

Her head shifts sightly. A nose brushes up against Jinsoul’s jaw. “I come when you call. I stay for you.”

“Always the charmer. Such flattery is not necessary, not anymore.”

“If I stop chasing just because I’ve caught what I want, that’s as good as giving up. I’m done with giving up. So I’ll never stop chasing you.”

“What an enigma you are.”

The other woman scoffs, though Jinsoul detects a wide smile in her voice. “You understand a whole lot more than I could ever tell you.”

“Yves.”

“Hmm?”

“That is not your given name.”

Yves shakes her head.

“I wish to learn more, if I am to truly understand you.”

“So we’re playing twenty questions?”

Jinsoul furrows her eyebrows. Water pools on her forehead, then slides down her temple. “Why must we stop at only twenty?”

Yves chuckles, her shoulder shaking under Jinsoul’s head. “No, it’s— Never mind.”

Jinsoul tightens her grasp on Yves’ hands. “Why Yves, then?” She stares into wide, bright eyes shining back at her in the night.

“Because. I chose it.”

Though Jinsoul wants to ask a thousand more questions, wants Yves to dive into the tale behind her strange moniker, the answer is satisfactory. That’s how Yves is. Jinsoul wouldn’t have her any other way.

Yves raises her voice above the steady drizzle. “So why’d you call?” she repeats.

Jinsoul sighs. Thumbs rub the back of her hands reassuringly. She’s safe here with her. “Father has come to a decision. I am to wed a member of the High Council who is nineteen years my senior and hails from the capital.”

“Sounds y.” That earns Yves a flick on the forehead. Yves can’t resist Jinsoul’s pout, so she kisses her lightly on the cheek. “When’s D-Day?”

“In a fortnight.” Jinsoul marvels at how quickly she’s grown accustomed to Yves’ diction. She’s not quite in the habit of using it herself.

“Are you gonna show up?” There’s no humor in Yves’ voice now.

“I do not know. I do not want to,” Jinsoul adds quickly. “It is far across the kingdom. What if I cannot return? What if I cannot find another window, another ripple in time?”

Water seeps into the spaces between Jinsoul’s fingers. For once, she shivers. Yves digs around in the pocket of a leather jacket that isn’t hers and pulls something off her forefinger. Jinsoul feels warm metal draped across her neck. She lifts her head slightly for Yves to fix the clasp. Jinsoul places a hand over the silver ring on the chain, holding it close to her chest.

“It’s your decision. Just know you’ll always have me.” Yves says it so casually, but it echoes in the depths of Jinsoul’s very being. “We’ll find a way. You won’t get rid of me that easily. Unless, that’s what you want…”

It’s the first time Jinsoul hears uncertainty from Yves.

The words flow naturally. “My honor would crumble should I utter such a foul lie.”

Yves chuckles. “You’re incredible. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Jinsoul smiles wistfully. Her heart swells and she nearly loses the capacity to speak. “Yes, many times.”

Yves kisses the shell of Jinsoul’s ear. “There’s someone else, isn’t there?”

Jinsoul her dry lips, tasting a few of the clear droplets that fall endlessly. “There is someone for you too.” It is not a question. It is definitely an answer. “But—”

The world grinds to a halt. The rain slows in mid-air, warping around them, protecting them. Yves hovers above, elbows planted on the ground, her features upside down from Jinsoul’s view. She leans down. Jinsoul melts into the kiss, fiery from her sinful passion, tame from Yves’ cool nature. Fingers brush aside Yves’ dripping hair, trailing down the lines of her neck. Yves’ thumb ghosts over Jinsoul’s sharp jaw so painfully slow, Jinsoul whines. Yves smirks.

“And,” Yves corrects.

“And?”

“And.”

Yves flips over and lays down again. They’re both breathless as the downpour resumes.

“Why’s it always raining?” Yves ponders aloud.

“I swallowed the sun.”

Yves barks out a laugh. Jinsoul remains peacefully still. Yves nods, thinking about the white hot trails Jinsoul’s lips have left on her skin during their countless rendezvous to this realm.

“Do you hate it?” Jinsoul asks despondently. “I can will it to stop.”

She raises an arm. The world slows again. The silence is deafening. Yves holds Jinsoul’s hand securely and brings it down, allowing time to flow as it pleases. The droplets on their faces coalesce into minuscule streams that cleanse their souls.

“I could never,” says Yves. “The rain is our love song. It’s like our little secret.”

“I treasure my little secrets. All of them. Though I do not wish them to remain so.”

“Secrets?”

Jinsoul hums.

“I think they’re kinda fun.” Yves is back to teasing.

“They are intimate.”

“But?”

“Not ‘but,’” Jinsoul frowns. “And. They are intimate, and I want freedom.”

“Tell me more.”

There’s a bit of desperation that excites Jinsoul to hear. It’s like Yves craves her voice, as much as Jinsoul craves her touch.

“I want to run without turning back. I want to dive without resurfacing. I want to reach the highest peak and hold the universe, unafraid and unlimited. I wish to indulge in you.”

They both know you weighs heavily upon them, for Jinsoul isn’t just talking about Yves anymore. Their conversation reaches far beyond this bend in the many planes.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay,” Yves echoes. “We’ll do it. We’ll find it. A place for us.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that!” Electricity crackles in the air as Yves speaks faster. “Because there’s no time for burdens. No room for guilt. Only love and beauty and warmth. And you deserve it. We do.”

When Yves puts it like that, Jinsoul doesn’t have the heart to refuse. They finally part and Jinsoul returns to her town. One last time, Yves promises. And Yves always keeps her word as long as their song is falling.