"Sometimes there is such beauty in awkwardness. There's love and emotion trying to express itself, but at the time, it just ends up being awkward."
—Ruta Sepetys

The old man's words lingered in Su Min's mind as she made her way down the stairs and out the rotating doors.

She told him they had both moved on, but was there a chance she was denying herself of the fact that she still had some love left for Kai?

Wait—the fact? She asked, surprised by her thoughts. Do I even hold an ounce of romantic feelings for him now?

Su Min closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, forcing the strange questions to float away.

With a clearer head, she exited the restaurant and immediately found Kai waiting outside to her right. He was wearing a loose beanie that covered his head and partially concealed his identity from the public. Taking in a deep breath, she walked up to him and stopped by his side without making a sound.

"Ready?" she asked after letting a few seconds of silence pass.

As if breaking from his own thoughts, Kai turned his head to look at her. "Yeah," he nodded.

|| …………… ||

Walking side by side, the two kept their distance at a fixed gap and tried to make small talk—a very awkward small talk.

"So...how was it?" Su Min asked at the same time Kai spoke.

"The food was good," he began, overlapping her question.

Silence.

Just then, a bead of cold liquid fell from above and trickled down Su Min's face, preventing her from taking a second step. She touched her cheek along the wet streak and looked up at the sky shielded with dark, massive rain clouds hovering above.

She held out her hand in front of her and caught another drop of rain—one that immediately cooled the patch of skin it landed on. The small droplet quickly increased in circumference as it spread across the small portion of her palm, eventually breaking free from its circular form.

"O—," she breathed out in surprise, staring at the transparent liquid.

Noticing his companion was no longer beside him, Kai turned around and found her a couple of feet behind, watching raindrops snake down the soft crevices of her palm. "Su Min? What are you doing?" he asked, examining her from where he stood.

Su Min looked up from her wet hand, smiling. "It's raining," she told him with much enthusiasm.

Who would've thought the simplest things like rain would make her this excited? But then again, it was her first Seoul thunderstorm in six years.

Hearing the excitement in her voice, Kai released a small chuckle. "So?" he asked curiously.

Then, without warning, the dark sky growled ruthlessly, unleashing its fury on the city. Bolts of lightning illuminated the bulky clouds, letting its veins of light slither across the blackened sky. Within seconds, the slow steady rhythm of raindrops, increased to an intense shower of freezing cold water that beat hard against the pavement.

Those few who were still dallying outside, including the two of them, scattered about, trying to find the closest place to take temporary shelter from the sudden down pour.

Kai instinctively grabbed a hold of Su Min's hand and quickly pulled her to the nearest cover.

And as he did so, she heard a loud thud come from deep within her chest. Startled, she instantly shook the feeling away, convincing herself it was just the thunder.

|| …………… ||

As soon as they found a vacant roof to let the rain pass, Su Min quickly stole her hand away from Kai's grasp. She didn't want—or rather need—to reminisce about how his fingers fitted the empty spaces of her own perfectly.

Though he wanted to hold on, Kai let her hand slip away and waited for the warmth of her touch to fade, just like her love for him.

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