The rain has been pouring heavily for the past half an hour already, the same amount of time Jeongyeon has been standing by the covered doorway.

 

She would have blamed it on the unreliable weather forecast(as it has always been so erratic) but she can't, especially when the morning she looked at her phone an 80% chance of rain was shown. And Jeongyeon would have taken an umbrella with her if she wasn't in a rush to leave the apartment to see a certain person that morning.

 

Jeongyeon sighs. She doesn’t see the rain stopping any minute now and she finds herself considering the idea of leaving her bike and running through the heavy downpour. Not the best idea out there, but another minute of standing by is really getting into her.

 

Then again, a drenched belonging doesn't sound too good either.

 

"Yoo-san?" That angelic voice calls her out. It's soft, tender and quite pleasant to hear. And Jeongyeon wonders how it must feel to have her name flow out of those lips.

 

"Sensei..." Jeongyeon looks to her side, sees the reason of her daily morning rush, standing with a puzzled expression

 

"What are you still doing here?" Mina asks.

 

Jeongyeon looks towards the gloomy sky then back to Mina with a dainty smile, "Ah well, rain."

 

“How long have you been standing here?”

 

“Long enough.” she chuckles, stretching her legs one after the other.

 

Mina contemplates for a quick second before finally offering, "Let me drive you home."

 

Mina wouldn’t normally do something such as this. How her student would go home is not her responsibility. Her obligation stops the moment she leaves the school. But then again, it’s raining; it has been raining for quite some time now, and God knows how long Jeongyeon has been standing and waiting already. 

 

For Jeongyeon it’s an offer she never expected to come her way but would gladly take in a heartbeat. And she did, without any second thought, beaming too widely, a little too suspiciously Mina almost took the offer back.

 

“My car is parked at the building next to this. You don’t mind walking, do you?”

 

“I’d love to walk with you, Mina-cha-...” Jeongyeon stops as quickly as that glare darts her way. She gulps, smiling nervously, “Mina-sensei.”

 

Truthfully, Jeongyeon never found Mina’s glare intimidating. If anything, she finds it adorable, It may not be the best look on Mina given that she prefers Mina smiling, but a Mina looking her way, glaring or not, is better than none. 

 

Jeongyeon smiles, without any hint of naughtiness it always had, and gestures, “At least let me hold the umbrella for us.”

 

Mina hesitates, knowing full well how playful her young student could be, but agrees a second later after considering that between the both of them, Jeongyeon being taller would make more sense to carry the umbrella over them.

 

-

 

It hasn’t been too long since they started walking when Jeongyeon hums a tune Mina recognizes.

 

Jeongyeon doesn’t really know what it is, but she suddenly felt happy. Not the kind of happiness you feel when you receive a gift, or when someone compliments you, but the kind that makes you oddly content. So much so she unknowingly hums a song that has been playing in her mind whenever Mina is around.

 

“That was the first time I laid my eyes on~” Mina sings along the humming, surprising Jeongyeon in return

 

But the humming continues, and eventually with both of them singing the same line together, “You~~~You~~~ na na na na~” 

 

Both look at one another, finding the unplanned singing of the same line surprising but quite hilarious, and soon fill the quiet evening with their joyous laughter. 

 

“You know the song?” Jeongyeon asks in mild surprise and fascination, still holding the umbrella a little more tilted on Mina’s side.

 

“I got his songs on my playlist.”

 

“Oh wow.” Jeongyeon gasps, then lets out a lopsided grin, “You got some taste in music, sensei.”

 

“So you’re telling me that your taste is now the basis of good music?”

 

“Pretty much.”

 

“Your confidence never ceases to amaze me, Yoo-san.”

 

“You’d be surprised at how many ways I could amaze you if you just let yourself know me, sensei.” That display of arrogance is there, but not too much it is annoying. It’s the right amount to pull a giggle out of her professor.

 

And Jeongyeon couldn’t get enough of that sound or that sight. The sky may be dark and gloomy, or the sound of the heavy downpour is deafening, but Jeongyeon no longer notices, no longer minds. Mina’s melodic laughter drowns them all in, and her bright smile is enough light for this dreary night.

 

“Oh wait,” Jeongyeon reaches for her pockets, “We can listen to him as we walk.”

 

Mina watches on as Jeongyeon scrolls through her phone muttering from time to time, “data… spotify… okay…” or how Jeongyeon’s brows would crease when no sound comes out, “ugh... why isn’t it playing.” 

 

The child-like expression puts a smile on Mina’s face and she wonders how her student who is in her early twenties could be this innocently cute and how her happy disposition or that wide smile she sees everyday could be so enthralling, that even this somber evening is brightened by that slight curl of her lips.

 

Mina shouldn’t be thinking about it, but Jeongyeon makes it hard for her not to. Something she is slowly(hesitatingly) accepted.

 

“Ah.” Mina catches it, the soaked coat on Jeongyeon’s left arm. “Yoo-san, you're getting wet.” 

 

She notices how the umbrella has been tilted more onto her side, how Jeongyeon has been covering Mina more than herself. 

 

Jeongyeon looks at her own drenched coat then back at Mina who is now on the verge of scolding her. Even if she would like to see a worried Mina reprimanding her, she would rather have this moment not ruined by something as trivial as sopping wet clothes. 

 

So Jeongyeon cuts her off, points to a vendo machine in a nearby waiting shed. “A vendo! Let’s grab a coffee sensei, something warm before we go back to your car. On me, at least let me treat you for being so kind tonight.”

 

In normal circumstances, Mina would have scolded Jeongyeon already, but somehow the thoughtfulness on display stopped her from doing so. And weirdly enough, so did that charming smile that drew her closer.

 

-

 

A minute or so passes when Jeongyeon walks back with two cups of coffee in each hand. She hands one out to Mina who is sitting on the backrest of the bench.

 

Jeongyeon smiles, half of face covered by the drink, “Feels nice right? Hot coffee in rainy weather.”

 

Mina cradles the cup, letting the warmth penetrate her cold hands, “It is. Thank you.”

 

“I never thought I’d say this but I’m starting to like the rain.”

 

“Oh, even when you can’t go home because you have no umbrella?”

 

“Even more so actually.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

“Well,” Jeongyeon purses her lips, lowers her cup, then continues with that same gentle smile, “I get to spend more time with you.”

 

Jeongyeon sees it, small and thin as it may, but she is certain Mina returned it with a smile, subtle but enough to feel satisfied by her unexpected cheesy admission.

 

“You should never use that kind of pick up line with your professor, Yoo-san.’

 

Jeongyeon laughs, almost gagging on her coffee, “I knew you’d say something like that.”

 

“So you know me already?”

 

“Have a little idea of who you are already.”

 

“Really now.” Mina muses with a teasing smirk.

 

“Yeah.” Jeongyeon replies, her expression softening, “like how it isn’t your obligation to take me home safely but you offered to. You’re really kind, sensei. I mean it. Another thing I like about you.”

 

“You shouldn’t…” Mina looks up to meet her gaze. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

 

Mina doesn’t actually mean to say those words. What she was meaning to say is that she is her teacher, they’re ten years apart, the gap is huge enough to reconsider her feelings. Yet Mina manages to say something different, something that feels like she’s hoping; hoping for Jeongyeon to actually try and get to know her.

 

Their conversation is suddenly disrupted by a song blasting through Jeongyeon’s pockets. The song isn’t loud, but the tune is mellow, soothing, and quite familiar to both. Jeongyeon fishes out her phone, looks through the screen and sees Eyes on You by Ed Patrick on play.. The same song she’s been trying to hear earlier now playing in the background.

 

And like earlier, unplanned and at the same time, they sing the same exact line, “You~~~You~~~ na na na na~”

 

The laughter is still the same, fluid, heartily, shows with the way it just comes out naturally to them how they both are enjoying each other company(much to Mina’s surprise)

 

The song dies, and another song from the same artist plays in the background.

 

“Mina-chan….” Jeongyeon starts out of nowhere, and Mina is about to tell her the proper way to address her but Jeongyeon races her, continuing, “I may not know a lot about you, but those things that I do know, I really like them. And those things I don’t, I’m pretty certain I will like them too.”

 

Jeongyeon looks at her, holds that gentle gaze as she utters with complete sincerity, ” It’d be nice to get to know you better, sensei.”

 

Mina’s eyes widen a little, feels that pull around her chest, that genuine admission made her feel something she never felt before, a feeling Mina is certain she’d be too scared to admit. She looks down, soft smile dangling on her lips, as she replies a little too soft for Jeongyeon to hear, “that’d be nice”

 

Jeongyeon doesn’t hear it, doesn’t need to ask Mina again what it was, the smile on Mina’s face, tender and somehow encompasses acceptance that embraces whatever Jeongyeon is offering, is enough as it is.

 

At least for now, it is all Jeongyeon needed.