It was raining and yet she was running under the pouring rain hastily while trying to look around for a shelter in that middle of nowhere. Hey, can’t really blame her though she was born and grew there, she wasn’t that good with directions. Once she was even lost in the playground of the neighbourhood, just a few streets away from her house. There was only one place that she won’t ever get lost and that is the mall, her favourite place, gladly she could find her way in and out of it safe and sound, without any scratches at all.

And that day, that one her-oh-not-so-lucky-day, she thanked god to ensure her wore the high top sneakers and long, tight denim instead of her usual get up, heels and shorts. Tightening up her jacket near her torso, she used her bag to cover her head from the droplets, still scanning on her surrounding until a door opened and came out a fair-looking, lanky boy with some waste bags in his grip. As he dropped the trash inside the bin, he heard over a screaming, “DON’T CLOSE THE DOOR!” despite the thunders and the sounds of the heavy rain.

Sharply turning on his head towards it, he saw the girl struggled herself while running upon his spot, with a bag over her head and some files closely to her torso as she gripped them together with the jacket she was wearing. As soon as she stopped her ran inside the house next to the door, she awkwardly stood there as the boy from before stood with her after he closed the door shut. He then shuffled away from her side and went deeper inside the house, walking up the stairs and fading out from her sight.

While for her, she was still there. Standing in the middle of a stranger’s house, not to mention a boy, alone and together, uncomfortably and somehow she was pissed right then and there. Well they were strangers, yes, but doesn’t he have any manners on inviting her inside or helping her out in some ways possible? She was cold and shivering for goodness sake. In a way he already did both things; she was inside and he was helping her but she can’t seem to think straight right now when she saw him walked off on her.

Still standing there awkwardly, she fixated up her eyes to the sound of one’s clearing up his throat, only to see the boy from just now, “The bathroom is inside the first door you see on the right, upstairs,” as he hold out some clothes to her. She dragged up her feet to the direction he said until he coughed yet again to stop her, “You can put down your possessions, you see, I’m here to look out for them,” sheepishly she looked back down before dropping down her bag and books, before scrambling out from there, embarrassed.

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Inside the bathroom, she took a quick shower before drying up her wet clothes somewhere inside the room, while she changed into the dry clothes that he gave her just now. The bathroom was inside a room and she couldn’t help but to snoop around for a while, likely for the room to be his as she found a few pictures of him and some other boys being pinned onto the soft board atop of one wooden, study table. Unexpectedly, she thought of him as neat and diligent for a boy, judging out from his room, before going downstairs to the place she was before.

She then found him sitting down onto the couch while laughing on whatever shows that he currently watched. Once again she felt the awkwardness and slowly she stepped nearing his place. “Err thank you,” she said almost whispering but she hoped he heard over of what she wanted to convey in between the stillness, still looking down, still standing. Nonchalantly, he pointed out the seat on the other side of the couch of him seating on, “Sit and I hope you drink hot choc, it’s still warm. Your bag and books were all by that table.”

She sat down at his side, at the far end of the ashy blue, two-seater couch, before picking up the warm-glass of the chocolate and leisurely took her time in sipping it. And also to eye the boy beside her through the corners of her eyes, who was once in a while will laugh and frown animatedly, stilled immersed with the show. She loved hot choc, she loved silence and she even loved the show that he was watching but this awkwardness, this situation she was in, she can’t comply and accept it freely and oh so casually.

Clearing up , he caught her off guard as he turned to face her, with the smile that she never seen before, soft and comforting. She didn’t even realize that she was staring until she felt a hand was waving right in front of her, while calling up to her, “Miss, miss” and she snapped into reality yet again to look back to her feet onto the floor. Calming up her nerves, gingerly she thanked him again, “Thank you,” to which he waved her off, saying that it’s okay and besides it was raining cats and dogs outside after all.

She smiled sincerely to him before the situation was back as before, he with the show and she with the small, secret action, but the air in between them was lighter now. Finding up her courage, she soon laughed over the same show that he was watching, and the next thing they knew, both were already talking and commenting on it. Next the show was done, he got up and walked over the CD rack and chose one of his possessions before plopping it inside the disc player before walking back to her side.

“You watch Harry Potter right?” to which she nodded eagerly, and soon both were seated down in that love seat, comfortably with the drinks in each hand. As he already watched the movie numerous times, he turned to her on the couch, “So why were you under the rain just now?” “I was in the library for the whole day with my friends and by the time I was out, it’s already rained. It was mild at first so I figured out to walk over, but somehow along the way, I got lost and ended up trapped under such incident.”

He nodded understandingly, before asking her again, “Where do you live? I don’t think I’d even seen you near here before.” Guiltily, she looked away from him, accidentally showing off her pink tinted cheeks, “I’m not that good with directions so I’m surely not from here but I lived in the same neighbourhood, inside the West Street,” to which he gasped reflexively. “But you’re in the South Street, gosh, no wonder you were drenched just now,” he then apologized on his over-reaction act as he saw her biting up her lips in discomfiture.

“That’s okay, I got that a lot and somehow that’s my flaw. I’m acknowledging it,” she laughed over his apologized that send him to chuckle up lightly, following her lead before proceeding with the movie. Half towards the end of it, he suddenly felt over a sudden weight onto his left shoulder. Turned around and he was stunned to see her in that proximity, super close to one another that he could feel her light breathing grazing over his skin and he could feel over his heartbeat that went up rhythmically with that sudden skin-ship.

Snapping out from the trance, he repositioned back his shoulder for her to sleep on comfortably, soon both were silenced. Calmly sleeping with her head onto his shoulder, near the crook of his neck and his head to fall back onto the headrest of the couch before pressing over her head carelessly next, with the raining still hard outside. The movie then was elapsed, well it was forgotten since the very beginning after all. Next, their surrounding was all hushed, no more voices, the TV shut off, the disc player was done, the movie finished.

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Blinking off her eyes sleepily, she snapped open her eyes in shocked to see his face right in front of hers, while for her hands had gone around his waist unintentionally. Raising up her hands and straightening up her position, she accidentally knocked over his forehead, which made him to open his eyes and shrieked in pain. She was hoping for him not to realize her act, because she knew how careless she could be whenever she was tired and sleepy. “Oh, you’re up?” she nodded up to his direction before standing up, “I think I’m going home.”

He watched her strutting over the stairs animatedly and swiftly he heard over a door being closed. Still rubbing over his forehead, he walked inside the kitchen with the two empty glasses before plopping them down into the sink. Then he walked over the big mirror on the wall and inspected over the red, swollen bruise, before he seat back onto the couch, this time already with a sweater and a car key inside his clutch. He was playing with his phone when she came down, within her earlier outfit. Looking out, the rain was stopped as well.

She walked over her bag and quickly gathering up her things properly before standing up in front of the doorway, facing him fully. “Thank you for your kindness, I really appreciate~” “Don’t be, I’m not done yet, let’s go” she looked over his façade, perplexed and confused on his words, “Eh? Let’s go where?” he opened the door casually while ushering her out towards his sedan inside the garage, “I’ll send you home, it’s already dark and you’re not that good with directions plus you’ll be there in no time if I send you by car.”

Opening up the passenger’s door to her, he gestured her to enter the car while for him to get inside, behind the wheels. She followed closely and stayed in silence after he asked her the address of her house. With only the music coming from the radio, both were muted by the incidents this evening, “I’m sorry,” both spoke at the same time. He let her to explain first which she apologized for her behaviour on knocking up his forehead, leaving it to bruise. While for him, he apologized for falling asleep atop of her head, which made her to blush once again.

Arriving right in front of her front door, he stopped the machine at the sidewalk, before glancing over the house, “Go on, your parents must be worried,” he said calmly. She was fidgeting with her fingers on the book by her laps, also looking out to her house before facing back towards him, “Thank you for everything you’ve done today for me and let’s meet up again over lunch so that I could repay you back,” she said, smiling genuinely at him before turning on her back at him as he nodded off his head frivolously, while smiling up the smile she loved.

Just before she could open the door, she stopped and turned yet again, but before anything, “I’ll call you soon, bye Jinri,” and he opened the door for her from the inside, before urging her to get off, “Don’t think that I’m rude, but your father had been looking out over our spot right now numerous times so~” He was left speechless next as she ran off towards her house, not looking back at him. As soon as she was inside, she leaned over the door with her heart beating up wildly, that she had to calm it down before meeting up with her parents’ gazes.

Listening over the engine that was gradually died out, she then felt her phone buzzed. Sliding over the gadget, she tapped onto the new message notification only to be shocked by the text, “I saved your number already so better saved mine as well. And if you’re lost again just give a call and I’ll be there to pick you up. Lunch, this Sunday? You’d still have to repay me for my kindness and I’ve got to repay you for the sudden kiss, Choi Jinri. By the way, I’m Oh Sehun,” and damn she gasped out loudly, making her parents to notice her frozen state.

“You’re still there? It’s already late, go get some rest and we’ll talk on that boy tomorrow during breakfast Jinri,” she heard over her father’s voice, and slowly she walked up the stairs into her bedroom dazedly, not to get some rest but to reminisce some memories. The memories of her and a boy of the same age, playing around in the sandbox, arguing over nothingness, sharing over everything they found and had. But the most, she remembered over their one little-pinky-promise, “Let’s marry each other when we grow up”.

# its too long so i'd better stop before it turned out weirder.. i already felt weird already with this length -____-"

anyway enjoy and comment maybe? and i'll mark this complete for now~