It was raining cats and dogs by the time night fell and the rain did nothing to improve Winter’s concentration in the practice room. By the time the clock struck eight in the evening, Winter was sitting hunched against a corner of the practice room, all ideas of practicing long gone. She gazed dazedly at the display screen of her mobile phone, her eyes running over the same numbers for what seemed like the hundredth time. Her thumb hovered above a single button on her phone like a video paused in action. Slowly, her thumb inched over the button, closing the distance between them. Two more inches… one more inch—

            “Urgh! I can’t do it!” she yelled, falling on her back such that her body was splayed like a starfish on the floor. Low, gurgling sounds came from her stomach as if her body was sounding its disagreement towards her lack of courage.

            The truth was, Winter did not have an umbrella with her, and the weather warranted her no mercy as rain fell in heavy sheets outside her window. Having made no friends in the company so far except for Yu Ri, it made the option of asking her fellow contestants for a spare umbrella an unthinkable option. Furthermore, the General Canteen had closed its doors on her when she sought for a late dinner. As a result, she had practiced for hours on an empty stomach with only a few sips of water and a whole box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

            Eating the chocolates was originally Winter’s last option—she couldn’t quite shake off the strange atmosphere that followed after Eun Woo had given it to her. It almost felt like the type of present that would be exchanged between couples during important days, like Valentine’s Day. Eating it would have meant that Eun Woo and Winter were possibly something else other than just friends… But it was difficult to give in to temptation when it was the only food source she had to last her for the rest of the night. After a few minutes of contemplation, she had reached for just one chocolate, and then another, and then another, until the entire box was gone. Not that they had done any good in filling her empty stomach. It growled in complaint barely five minutes after she had finished them, and now she had no choice but to wait for the rain to stop if she wanted to buy something else from a nearby convenience store.

            Thump thump thump thump!

            White light filtered through the room that Winter was in, and even heavier rain pattered on the windows, creating a sort of thudding rhythm within.

            There goes, Winter thought miserably, the rain is not going to stop and I’ll just die of starvation in this room.

            Or, said a persistent voice in her head, you could send one text and help would come. Obediently, she reached for her phone and crafted a message absently. Her thumb reached over the ‘send’ button—

            No! her own voice fought back, flooding her mind with immediate dread. It would take every ounce of her courage to do that—

            “WINTER,” someone shouted as the door opened, startling all the nerve-endings in her body. Without meaning to, Winter’s thumb slipped over the ‘send’ button and she watched in horror as the message was sent through.

            “Winter!” the voice said again. It was Yu Ri, checking in on her at night as always. “Hello??” she said again when Winter didn’t reply her.

            “Wha—uh— I mean, yes?” Winter said, attempting at a normal tone as her hand concealed her mobile phone surreptitiously.

            Yu Ri looked impatient, her arms folded together as she leaned against the doorframe. “It’s raining really hard outside. Do you wanna go home together?”

            “Oh!” Winter said, her voice tinged with surprise. I would love to. But that would reveal where I’m living. “I’m afraid I can’t.” She pressed her lips together, “I haven’t finished practicing.”

            Yu Ri gave her a scornful look, though to Winter she looked more like a cute mouse pretending to be angry. “Alright then, don’t stay up too late, okay?”

            “Yep.”

            “See you tomorrow.”

            “See you.”

            The door closed behind her. Winter waited a while just to make sure that she had left, before packing her things in a hurry and bursting out of the door with her fingers clenched tightly around her phone.

            The shelter did nothing to block the cold, biting wind from piercing Winter’s skin as she waited outside the lobby of Fantagio building. Without a jacket, it was all Winter could do by squatting down in a corner and wrapping her arms over her legs to contain some body warmth. She watched in silence as one by one, the people from the company opened their umbrellas and set off in the rain. How was it possible that all of them had an umbrella, but Winter didn’t?

            Nearly ten minutes had passed when he finally came out of the lobby and stood a few feet away from Winter. Winter jumped up elatedly, glad that he must’ve seen her text message.

            “Moon Bin—“ she cried in relief, but he didn’t seem to have heard or seen her amidst the sounds of the pattering downpour.

            “Moon—“ she said again, this time her voice weaker as she watched him open a wide umbrella and step out of the shelter. Within seconds, he was gone.

            Shame and disappointment chased after each other in her mind. What was she thinking? she thought