Chanyeol looked at his watch. Aishh, he was going to be late. The man in red just stood there, looking down on him, mocking him. 'Come on, come on, give way to the green one. Just this once. Don't be so stubborn.' he pleaded. His boss was not going to be happy. He bit his lip, looking through the crowd for a chance to jump the gun and beat the red mister at his own game. Everyone was getting off work so there wasn't much chance of smoothly sliding in between the mindless cattle that belonged to the herd of people in front of him. He would just have to wait, like everyone else.

Exhaling, his eyes wandered upwards. The sky was dark, clouds looming behind more clouds, stealthily moving across the sky, barely visible. The masters of darkness moving their pawns around in the chess game of life. It sent shivers down his spine. He had the lingering feeling that there was something ominous on the horizon. A drop of rain hit his nose, ricocheting off it and to the ground, leaving wet footsteps on his skin. He rubbed them away and fumbled around in his bag for an umbrella. Everywhere around him there popped up umbrellas, one after another. The sea of umbrellas made an instant tent. It created a faint feeling of togetherness amongst the otherwise disparate group of people.

The sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella-roof was mesmerizing. His eyes stopped at a lone umbrellaless soul. There was this one guy at the front who didn't even bother shielding himself from the relentless raindrops. He could see how the collar of his very expensive coat changed colors as it steadily got drenched. He wasn't the tallest of fellows, but he wore his height well. He was lean but had a sturdy build. Even from the back, one could kind of feel his charm. He was standing with soft confidence, silently telling everyone around him to back off and leave him alone. Still, somehow, Chanyeol got the feeling he needed help. Though he couldn't really put his finger on what it was.

The rain began hammering down, making Chanyeol secure his hold on the umbrella. He was still inexplicably fascinated with the careless guy standing at the very edge of the sidewalk. He could see him growing impatient as the sky's crying turned into a howl. Why didn't he just take a step backward to take shelter under the umbrella of the guy behind him? But it made sense, he got the feeling this guy wasn't used to asking others for help. He looked more like the type to stubbornly get himself into trouble before admitting he was in over his head. Chanyeol felt like he knew him, but he was sure he had never seen him before. The urge to go over there and shelter him with his umbrella tickled his gut, but it was impossible to try and push through the crowd. Not to mention how weird it would look. But he couldn't shake the strong longing to protect him, there was this invisible rope trying to pull him towards him.

The crowd started to get restless as there were no signs that the curtain of water would be opened anytime soon. It poured down in an endless stream, the sidewalk now a river. The collective wish for the light to turn green was nearly palpable. He could only imagine how wet the guy in the front had become. He could swear he saw him shivering, although the rain was blurring his vision.

Finally, the light for the cars turned red. Now it was only a matter of time. Time the drenched guy apparently didn't have, for he stepped abruptly onto the street. A chilling screech of brakes cut through the drumming of the raindrops. As if out of nowhere a truck came to a sudden halt in the middle of the crosswalk with an unsettling thump.

The umbrellaless guy was nowhere to be seen.