Waking up, Yeji still feels the same.   Except for today. Today, she feels her heart pound against her chest and she doesn’t know if she’s nervous or excited. It could be both.   She hurriedly checks the date on the calendar to see if she didn’t miscalculate anything. She’s right, today’s the day. Stumbling out of her bed, she opens her blinds to let the sunlight kick in, then she proceeds to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She didn’t bother to eat, grabbing her keys and her wallet, she’s off. Dropping by the flower shop, she buys a bouquet of dahlias. She sighs as she gets out of the shop. It’s been such a long time since she last visited. Her academics had been taking up most of her time along with the late-night and weekend training for soccer, and of course, working part-time at this small café near their campus.   Yeji hopes she would understand.   It was a peaceful thirty-minute walk. The wind blew gently against her skin making her grasp on the bouquet tighter. A few more steps on the familiar path, and she’ll be reaching her destination soon. She looks around and sees the same old trees, and the grass was cut shorter than when she last visited. For newcomers, they’ll definitely be confused about where they’re supposed to head to, but Yeji has been here almost every day a few years back when she wasn’t busy. Mr Jeon, the bodyguard, greets her with a warm smile.   “It’s been a while,” he says.   Yeji returns the smile, making her eyes disappear slightly. “It has been.”   She slowly makes her way towards her mother’s tomb and sets the bouquet down. She settles down on the grass and sighs. It’s been six years since she passed, and Yeji feels so… empty. Things hadn’t been the same ever since, except for the loneliness and emptiness that’s growing within Yeji’s heart.   She remembers the mornings she had with her where she makes her breakfast, but now she’s stuck with eating slices of bread and cereal when she wakes up earlier. She remembers the afternoons she had with her where she’s there to greet her and give her snacks before she does her homework, but now she comes home to an empty dorm and homework she doesn’t have the will to do. She remembers the evenings she had with her where she makes dinner and they both talk about how their day went, but now she’s stuck with no one to talk to and sometimes, she doesn’t even eat dinner.   Yeji sheds a tear – she misses her mum dearly. Caressing her tombstone, she just wishes she was still here. She would want her there during her most important events. She wants someone who would cheer her on during her soccer matches, someone who would look after her when she’s sick, and someone who would remind her to bring her goddamn umbrella every day because she’s so forgetful. Come to think of it, Yeji just wants someone to be there for her. She spends another hour sitting on the newly cut grass before leaving to go to her training. She bids Mr Jeon farewell and tells him to take care of his health.   Training starts in thirty minutes so Yeji decides to jog back to her dorm instead of walking as a quick warm-up. She quickly runs up the stairs and grabs her duffle bag; she doesn’t dare to be later for training. Despite being the team’s star rookie player, she didn’t have any right to show up late just because she wanted to – well, not even the team captain did that. Luckily, the dorm wasn’t far from the university’s soccer field so she makes a run for the lockers to change into her training clothes.   Once Yeji sets foot on the field, she’s a whole new person. She still feels the same, but this makes her feel giddy as the adrenaline rushes through her veins. With the feeling of the ball brushing against her feet, the smell of the grass and the sun kissing her skin she feels lighter making her forget the emptiness inside.   The training lasted for four hours, but Yeji being a stubborn kid remains on the field to jog a few more laps – she always did this, her coach and teammates didn’t mind. They knew she had been through a lot and soccer helped her uplift her mood even just for a little bit, even just for a few hours she wanted to feel at least something. Her heart is pounding against her chest, her legs and feet start to numb so she slowly stops. She can feel her heart beating louder; it was ringing in her ears. She can feel the sweat roll against her cheeks – she doesn’t wipe it, she lets it be. Grabbing her water jug from the bench, she settles down on the grass. She lays down with her eyes closed, arms and legs sprawled on the ground as she feels the grass underneath, tickling her, making her feel something.   Opening her eyes, the clouds seemed darker than before. The wind blew harshly making her shut her eyes closed. Soon enough, she feels something – droplets of rain pressing on her skin. She doesn’t open her eyes; she just feels the wet grass underneath as the rain continues to pour.   She gets up and proceeds to the shower room. Immediately, she strips out of her training clothes and turns the knob on high heat – she loved the rain, but she can’t afford to be sick tomorrow. Then she remembers; she ing forgot her umbrella. Great.   Turning off the shower, she changes into her work clothes. She takes a look outside – the rain was pouring heavily than before she braces herself, getting ready to run to avoid being wet and being fired from her job.   “Hey,” a pink-haired girl greeted her. Was she here even before? Yeji didn’t notice. “Where are you going?”   “To work,” Yeji answered. “Were you here earlier? I didn’t see you.”   “Yeah, I was watching you from the bleachers. You’re really great at that,”   “Thanks,” Yeji smiles. “I need to go now, or else my boss would kill me.”   “Without an umbrella?”   Yeji scratches the back of her neck. “Yeah. I forgot to bring mine.”   “I have mine,” the girl opens her umbrella. It was maroon. “I can walk you there.”   Yeji could’ve sworn that she felt something; something different. “Oh, I don’t want to bother you. I could ju-“   “You can’t run. I won’t allow you to,” the girl puts her arm on Yeji’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”   Locked under the shorter girl’s hold, she didn’t bother to argue; she didn’t even try to withdraw from her touch. Yeji’s left arm found its way to the shorter girl’s waist. “Is this okay?”   The other girl nods. “Lead the way.”   Yeji would like to thank her past self for purchasing a waterproof duffle bag. The umbrella wasn’t fit for two people and a duffle bag, but nonetheless she was thankful that this girl randomly went out of her way just to offer her warmth and an umbrella. They both reached the café in no time since it was only a few buildings away from the field. Yeji’s right shoulder was soaking wet, but she’d prefer this than being wet from head to toe.   “Thank you…?”   “Ryujin.”   “Thank you, Ryujin,” Yeji shoots her a heart-warming smile. “You’re too kind for a stranger.”   “I may be a stranger to you, but you’re not to me,” Ryujin says. “What time do you get off?"   "10 PM," Yeji fixes herself. "Don't wait for me."   "I won't. I'll come back at 10 PM."   With that,