.18.

Pit-pat. Haru retracted her head from the fridge as a light tapping sound came from the window. Pit-pat. It became louder as the glass was covered with hundreds of droplets. Pitter-patter. It was getting heavier as each sounds that is made was repeated the next instant. Not everyone is quite amused with it but some find it calming under a gray rainy day, especially Haru. The sound of raindrops falling heavily against the ground just like the rhythm of the drums, constantly changing from heavy to light, vice-versa, never static, which she had found soothing with every resounding drop. 

Tap, tap, tap. Haru checked her pantry only to found her low stock of foods. She had been busy for the past few days that she couldn't find the time to do her groceries, even hardly remembering to do her weekly inventories. She was planning on having a hot bowl of instant ramen in this sudden weather that not even this heavy rain would stop her from getting it. She rushed down to the nearest convenient store, grabbing a variety of three bags of ramen as well as a jar of kimchi. Dropping the items on the counter, Hina, the store owner's daughter scanned it while scrutinizing their frequent customer's sudden splurge on noodles. Before she could even ask her, Haru said in defense, "'Don't worry. I won't eat that at one go." Hina could only shrug her shoulders as she impassively stated, "Hey, you're the one who works at the hospital, not me." She rolled her eyes at her in response, grabbing the bag as she thanked her before exiting the store.

The rain somehow had gotten stronger, quickly turning into a heavy shower as Haru braved the strong gust of wind as well. She briskly walked down the cold pavement back to her apartment, heedlessly stomping small puddles on her way, spattering the back of her legs with specks of mud which she isn't fond of. She was nearing to the entrance when she noticed a lone figure near the corner of the building which she found quite familiar just by his well-built physique. "Dr. Jeong?" She suddenly realized who it was as she ran toward him, immediately placing the umbrella between them, protecting him from getting wet even though he completely drenched all the way down. 

It came to a shock to see him here, at night, in front of her apartment. A lot of questions ran through her mind, but her curiousity was suddenly replaced with a look of concern as she could only look through his eyes, but to her surprise, for the first time, his eyes were empty...and lost. "Are you okay?" Those words were the only ones she could sputter, Jaehyun only stood there, motionless, but instead he slowly leaned on her shoulder which completely left her stunned. Truth be told, she had been avoiding him for days now, ignoring his texts as well as even taking the morning shift just so she wouldn't be at their usual place. But for now, she was willing to put it all behind because right now, it seems like he needed a friend much more. 

Haru found her hand onto his head, carresing his damp hair as she softly muttered, "Dr. Jeong, let's get you dried up first."

There was this unrelenting feeling that maybe this wasn't a good idea, but she didn't much have of choice to begin with. She couldn't let him go looking like that and it wouldn't be safe to go home during a rainstorm. She had led him to her apartment, directing him to her bathroom to let him wash up as she busied herself in the kitchen to brew some tea. She stood in front of the stove, arms crossed, waiting for the water to boil when her mind started to wander. She can't help but grew curious at the sudden turn of events. A few days ago, she remained passive about his situation with him, but just as she was succeeding with her plan to kept away from him, she ended up having him at her home. Maybe the universe isn't in her favor. 

She heard the door opened and then closed, Jaehyun came out looking fresher in Johnny's spare clothes with a small towel draped over his head. The clothes were slightly bigger on him since his cousin is a bit taller than him. Nonetheless, Haru somehow find him adorable in it since she usually saw him in his polos and slacks that would snug fit on him. "I'm assuming your cousin is a bit of a giant, eh?" Jaehyun lifted the sleeves that completely covered his hand as Haru let out a fit of giggle at the sight of his unexpected cuteness. "You can say so." Haru walked over to him, instinctively rolling the sleeves up to his wrist. Jaehyun was startled by her sudden action as he tried to surpress the growing blush that slowly crept on his face, especially on his ears. She did the same at the other sleeve as Jaehyun could only watch her with admiration, restraining himself from pulling her closer. As the loud pounding on his chest was masked with cacophony of drops and splashes.

"There you go, Dr. Jeong." Haru took a step back, quite satisfied with her work. "Thank you, Haru." He let out a small smile, slightly disappointed with their brief contact, yearning for her closeness yet again. "You're welcome, Dr. Jeong." She went back to the whistling kettle, switching off the stove as she poured hot water on the teacups. "I don't think we should be drinking coffee at this late hour so I hope you drink tea." She said as she carefully placed his on the counter, pulling herself up on one of the stools as he sat opposite to hers. "Don't worry. Tea sounds good." He reassured her before taking a quick sip.

There was a long, awkward silence that hung over them that neither one of them could come up with an interesting topic to talk about. It wasn't like this back when they were at the small charting room, having those short conversations in between moments of quietude. But today felt different, both of them were stuck in this uncomfortable stillness, but Haru have these pile of questions that were somehow stuck on her mind, contemplating if this is the right time to brought up such sensitive topics. She thoroughly thought of a way that wouldn't sound too personal to him. 

"You know, Dr. Jeong," Haru started, pausing for a few seconds, carefully traced her finger on the lip of her cup, avoiding any eye contact with him as she continued, "Some people tend to keep their feelings to themselves since society tells us that certain emotions evidently shows a sign weakness that's why people naturally cover them up. But at some point, it gets tiring - emotionally and physically - because one way or another, we need someone who we can confide in."

Jaehyun kept still, considering if he was willing to pass that burden on to her. Of all the people around him, she was the least he wanted to involve with his problems. Ever since her mom died, he felt that he lost a close confidant. He had his friends, but no one will ever understand him as much as his mother. He always struggled opening up to his