FIRST CHAPTER IS UP! THANKS FOR READING!

 

 

 

“It’s raining…” The girl whispered to herself as she stared out the window of their classroom one Friday afternoon.

 

          Like she said, the rain is indeed pouring really hard, drowning out the voice of the History teacher discussing in front.

 

“— stand up.”

 

          The girl continued staring outside until her seatmate nudged her arm with an elbow.

 

“Eunbi unnie, the teacher is calling you.”

“H-Huh?”

“Ms. Kwon?”

 

          Eunbi turned her attention to the teacher, who is now staring at her intently. She immediately stood up.

 

“Umm… what was the question, sir?” Eunbi said timidly.

“You weren’t paying attention, were you?”

“N-No, sir. I’m sorry.” She bowed deeply to apologize.

 

          The teacher took a deep breath and sighed.

 

“You may sit down, Ms. Kwon.”

“T-Thank you sir.”

 

          He then turned to the rest of the class.

 

“I know History isn’t the most interesting subject but please try to listen, okay?”

 

          A chorus of disinterested “Yes, teacher” rang across the room. The teacher just sighed one more time and continued his lesson. Meanwhile, Eunbi stared outside again, watching as the droplets of rain roll down the windows. She didn’t realize how much time has passed until her seatmate nudged her again.

 

“Hey, Eunbi unnie.”

“What is it now, Sakura?”

“Let’s go. We have student council duty.”

“Is it—”

“Yes. It’s dismissal time. Mr. Lee left like, five minutes ago. Your daydream must be so interesting to be so oblivious of your surroundings.” Sakura .

“I wasn’t daydreaming, you know?”

“Whatever you say, unnie.”

 

          The two of them went out of the classroom and headed to the student council office. Eunbi settled her things on her table and started working while Sakura headed to another table that’s not hers.

 

“Chaeyeon~” Sakura called the student council secretary.

“Oh! Hey, Saku-chan.”

“I missed you~” She sat on the girl’s lap and wrapped her arms around her neck.

 

          Eunbi faked a cough and the two girls looked at her.

 

“No PDA in the office.” She glared at the two playfully.

“You’re just jealous because you’re single.”

 

          Sakura stuck her tongue out at Eunbi and kissed Chaeyeon on the cheek, teasing the older girl further before she got off of Chaeyeon’s lap. Eunbi just shook her head at her friend’s antics. Just then, the door suddenly opened revealing Yujin, the student council’s Public Relations Officer.

 

“Oh, hello, Eunbi unnie. Hello, Sakura unnie. Hello, Chaeyeon unnie.” Yujin bowed at them.

“Do you need something, Yujin-ah?” Eunbi asked, looking at the girl carrying her bag.

“I heard that there’s a storm coming in so the teachers told us to go home as soon as possible. We might get stuck outside if we don’t.”

“I see. Are you heading home now?”

“Of course, unnie. I’m going home with Minjoo unnie today.” Yujin tilted her head cutely.

 

          Eunbi reached over and patted Yujin’s head softly.

 

“Take care on your way home, okay?”

 

          Yujin smiled and nodded happily. The door opened once more and another girl went inside the office.

 

“Yujin-ah, let’s— oh… Hello, Ms. President. Hello, Ms. Vice-President. Hello, Ms. Secretary.” The said girl bowed deeply.

“Minjoo-ya, stop being so formal. It’s just us here.” Chaeyeon said.

“You’re acting as if you’re not part of the student council, Minjoo-ya.” Sakura added.

“Sorry, unnie. Old habits.” Minjoo, the student council auditor, chuckled. “Aren’t you all going to go home too?”

“We need to deal with a few urgent things first and then we’ll go home. As the student council president, I can’t be slacking off, can I?” Eunbi said.

“Says the one who’s daydreaming in class earlier.” Sakura teased.

“Yah! They don’t need to know about that!” Eunbi blushed from embarrassment.

 

          The four girls laughed at her. Meanwhile, Eunbi noticed Minjoo clinging to Yujin’s arm tightly.

 

“Go ahead, you two. Get home before it rains too hard.”

“Eunbi unnie is right. Let’s go, Minjoo unnie?” Yujin asked.

“Wait a minute, I’ll just get my belongings first.” Minjoo detached her arm from Yujin and gathered her things from her table.

“Okay, unnie. I’ll wait for you.”

 

          Sakura had a teasing smirk on her face while Eunbi just winked at Yujin, making her blush profusely. Chaeyeon just laughed seeing their interactions.

 

“I’m done, Yujin-ah. We can go home now.” Minjoo said while holding an umbrella.

“Okay, let’s go! Eunbi unnie, Sakura unnie, Chaeyeon unnie! See you tomorrow!” Yujin waved goodbye while Minjoo did the same as they went out.

 

          When they were out of earshot, Sakura suddenly spoke.

 

“They’re dating, aren’t they?”

“It’s pretty obvious, really.” Eunbi chuckled.

“How about you? When would you date someone?” Sakura again.

“Shut up.” Eunbi glared at Sakura and they both went back to their tables.

 

          The three continued working silently for a while, trying to finish their respective tasks. Sakura was the first one to do so, standing up from her seat while stretching and purring like a cat.

 

“Chaeyeon-ah, let’s go home~” Sakura whined, walking over to Chaeyeon’s table again.

“Just a few more minutes. Eunbi unnie needs these documents.”

 

          Eunbi suddenly spoke, startling the two.

 

“Lee Chaeyeon. Miyawaki Sakura.” She called out with a serious tone.

“Y-Yes, Ms. President?” Sakura stuttered, immediately tensing up and standing straight like a soldier. Chaeyeon followed suit right beside her.

 

          The two of them looked at Eunbi timidly. They know that when she uses her “president” tone, she means business.

 

“You can go home now. I can handle these.” Eunbi said with a sweet tone, adding a smile at the end of her statement.

 

          They both released a sigh of relief after hearing those words from her.

 

“B-But—”

“No buts, Chaeyeon-ah. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“If you say so…”

“I’ll just finish things up here and head home myself. Besides, I can’t work properly if I keep seeing Sakura staring at you like a hungry tiger whenever I look up.” Eunbi smirked.

 

          She caught Sakura blushing and she stuck her tongue out at her as payback. The two gathered their things while Eunbi continued her work. When they were done, they headed for the door. But before they went out, Chaeyeon called out to Eunbi.

 

“If you need anything, give us a call, okay?”

 

          Eunbi didn’t answer and just raised an okay sign. Sakura waved at her and smiled cheekily before closing the door. She let out a huge sigh as she remembered Sakura’s words earlier.

 

“You’re just jealous because you’re single.”

“How about you? When would you date someone?”

“Aish, whatever. I need to get this over with so I can go home.” She told herself as she resumed working.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Finally! I’m done!”

 

          Eunbi stood up and stretched her arms upward after she was done. She looked at her watch and saw that she worked for more than two hours. It’s already past 6 p.m. and their dismissal is at 4 p.m.

 

“Is it still raining?” She asked herself as she looked at the window.

 

          A loud clap of thunder answered her question, startling Eunbi a little.

 

“It’s already dark outside and it looks like the storm is here. I need to rush home before I get stranded.”

 

          She hurriedly gathered all her things and went out of the office. While walking to the exit, she noticed that the rain poured even harder.

 

“Where’s my umbrella? I’d get soaked if I don’t use it.” Eunbi told herself, stopping on her tracks.

 

          Eunbi looked inside her bag but her eyebrows scrunched when she didn’t see any umbrella.

 

“Shoot! I forgot my umbrella at the office!”

 

          She went back to the student council office but when she looked for her umbrella, it’s still nowhere to be found. Her eyes widened when she realized something.

 

“Oh my! Minjoo took my umbrella by mistake! Ahh, Minjoo does it again…”

 

          Eunbi paced back and forth, trying to come up with a plan to not get soaked by the rain.

 

“What to do? What to do? What to do?”

 

          After a few moments of brainstorming, she decided on a course of action.

 

“Aish, whatever. I’ll just go for it. It can’t be that bad, can it?”

 

          Eunbi put her bag on her head and rushed out of the school gates. But then, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky so she immediately took shelter in a nearby bus shed.

 

“I can’t do this… I might get hit by lightning at this rate…” She huffed while catching her breath from running.

 

          She took out her phone from her pocket to call Chaeyeon or Sakura but it’s already dead.

 

“Just my luck…” She groaned under her breath.

 

          She placed her phone back in her pocket as she heaved a huge sigh.

 

“I’ll just wait for the bus then.” Eunbi told herself.

 

          Eunbi sensed movement nearby so she turned alert, thinking that she might get mugged or harassed by a criminal. She looked to her left and saw a person wearing a purple hoodie and a black facemask. Eunbi further examined the person and noticed that the person is a female, judging by her hands that look very feminine. The girl is looking at her phone with earphones plugged in so Eunbi assumed that she’s listening to music. But then, the girl suddenly spoke without looking up, probably feeling Eunbi staring at her.

 

“What is it?” The girl asked monotonously.

“A-Ahh… N-Nothing…”

 

          Eunbi didn’t say anything after that. After a while, the girl spoke again, startling Eunbi once more.

 

“If you’re waiting for the bus, the last one already left a couple of minutes before you came.”

 

          Her jaw dropped at the girl’s statement.

 

“S-Seriously?”

“Yeah. There’s a storm coming in so they halted all bus operations immediately.”

 

          A few moments of silence passed before it all sank in to Eunbi.

 

“O-Oh…” “How am I supposed to go home now?” Eunbi thought.

 

          Eunbi looked at the other girl and saw that she’s still on her phone, probably messaging someone by how her fingers are typing so quickly.

 

“Umm…” She started fiddling with her thumbs.

 

          The girl removed her earphones and looked up, their eyes catching each other staring.

 

“Huh? What was that?” She arched an eyebrow at Eunbi.

 

          Eunbi, on the other hand, was stunned by how beautiful the stranger’s eyes are. She took a moment before she replied.

 

“Uhh… are you waiting for the bus too?”

“No.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

“Oh... Shouldn’t you be going home? You told me that there’s a storm coming.”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Well, I’m trying to. But it seems like today is not my lucky day.” Eunbi shrugged.

 

          The other girl didn’t reply after that. But then, Eunbi suddenly heard the girl click her tongue.

 

“I’m going to kill this duck…” She grumbled under her breath.

 

          She isn’t sure if the girl is referring to her or anything but Eunbi is getting more scared with every passing second.

 

“Hey, you.”

 

          Eunbi jumped in surprise when the girl called her.

 

“Y-Yeah?”

“You want to go home, right?”

“S-Sure…”

 

          She’s silently chanting in her head while waiting for the girl’s reply.

 

“Please don’t be a psycho. Please don’t be a psycho. Please don’t be a psycho.” Eunbi repeatedly thought.

 

          The girl suddenly stood up and walked towards Eunbi, stopping in front of her. Eunbi’s eyes widened when the girl started taking off her hoodie.

 

“W-What are you doing?” She asked but the girl didn’t reply.

 

          Eunbi blushed and looked down when she saw the girl’s toned abs when her shirt slightly hiked up as she took her hoodie off. Just then, the girl spoke again, holding out the hoodie in front of Eunbi’s face. Eunbi looked up and saw the girl looking away from her, the facemask covering the lower part of her face. Her hair is a little bit messy from the hoodie and she’s wearing a black shirt and jeans.

 

“Take it.” The girl said.

“H-Huh?”

“Wear it and go home. You can’t stay here.”

“W-What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. I live nearby.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“J-Just take it before I change my mind…”

 

          Eunbi reluctantly took the hoodie as the girl spoke again.

 

“Alright, I’ll get going now…”

 

          The girl took off, running away amidst the pouring rain.

 

“W-Wait! How do I return this to you?!” Eunbi called out but the girl is already too far away to hear her.

 

          She looked at the hoodie on her hands and sighed again for the nth time today.

 

“I didn’t even get to see how she looks like.” Eunbi told herself.

 

          She shrugged as she wore the hoodie. Surprisingly, it fits her just right.

 

“Her perfume smells so good…” Eunbi thought as she caught a whiff of the hoodie’s scent.

 

          A sudden honk of a car horn snapped her back to reality. She looked up and saw a taxi with the front window down, the driver peeking from it.

 

“Miss! Do you need a ride?”

“A-Ahh yes! Thank you!”

 

          Eunbi immediately went inside the taxi as the driver closed the window.

 

“Where to, miss?”

“This address, please.” Eunbi showed her address to the driver and he drove to her destination.

 

          While driving, the driver tried to make a conversation.

 

“You’re really lucky, miss. There aren’t many taxis driving around right now. Everyone has gone home because of the storm.”

“I see.”

“You know, I was about to head home myself when I passed by a girl running under the rain. I almost didn’t see her because it’s raining and it’s already dark. She hailed at me so I thought she was going to get in, but then she told me to go to the bus shed earlier, saying that there’s someone there waiting for a ride. I followed what she said and then I found you.”

 

          Eunbi was surprised to hear that from the driver.

 

“So, she did that for me too?” Eunbi thought.

“Miss?”

“W-What is it?”

“Was that girl your friend?”

“Y-Yeah… She is…” “No, she’s not. I don’t even know how she looks like.”

“Well, I must say. She’s very pretty, like those famous K-Pop idols nowadays.”

“O-Oh…”

 

          Eunbi was intrigued by this newfound information. She stared at the droplets of rain rolling down the taxi’s window as thoughts of the mystery girl flooded her mind.

 

“Just who are you, really?” She thought to herself.