Ccc-rash! Boom! 

Shin Hye startled awake as thunder rattled the bedroom windows and rain hammered on the panes. The wind was shrieking like a banshee, and she dreaded for anyone to be caught outside in the storm at this time of the night. Luckily, she wasn't scared of thunderstorms but...

"Jong Suk! It's too dangerous, come back!" She wailed under the safety of the house's porch as the rain pounded down. She was wary of the dark skies that was already with several tongues of lightning. 

"I can't! I have to find my dog! Ace, where did you go!" Jong Suk yelled as he dashed across the lawn in pursuit of his spooked dog, who had gone berserk from the lightning storm and escaped from the yard. In his haste, he had forgotten to grab an umbrella or even wear a jacket, letting the rain drench through his thin clothes.

Swearing at him mentally, Shin Hye grabbed an umbrella and a flashlight before following him, not hearing the cries of Kang Sora and Woo Bin who were struggling to catch up. 

"Aha, found you!" Peering through the dark grayness, she could barely make out Jong Suk's and Ace's outlines in the dark among a grove of tall pines. Suddenly a crackle of lightning lit up the whole area blinding her, and her ears were numb from the loud noise that followed. When she blinked the spots away from her eyes, she heard a snapping sound above her. Looking up in horror, she saw the pine tree that Jong Suk was nearby was starting to sway precariously in the wind. 

She opened to scream, but no sound came out.

"Jong Suk, watch out!" Woo Bin screamed, his voice distorted in the wind as the tree teetered closer and closer to Jong Suk until it snapped with a vengeance...

Shin Hye shivered as the night had gone a deep change of temperature. She wrapped a blanket around her borrowed clothes and headed out of the bedroom. One glance at the couch's empty nest of blankets and cushions indicated Jong Suk wasn't there. 

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?" 

She turned to see Jong Suk on a stool at the kitchen counter drinking a glass of water. She shook her head in response and took the glass of water he offered her. 

"The thunder woke me up. I'm guessing it was the same for you?"

"Yeah," he peered into his glass, watching how his reflection glimmed in the glass as a brief flash of lightning came from the windows. "Lightning storms like these always remind me of that night."

"You miss Ace a lot." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. Ace was the last present he had received from his mother before she passed away. Even after that incident, he was still beating himself up for not being able to find Ace sooner and getting him out of the way of the falling tree. Ace was the last connection he had to his mother.

"Yep." For the first time since Shin Hye had seen her rival after high school, Jong Suk looked vulnerable, showing none of the suaveness or confidence he always portrayed on the outside. Even in the dim light, she could see the dark shadows under his eyes. She suddenly had the urge to just fold him in her arms and soothe his troubles away. Instead, as if propelled by some unknown force, she gently tugged on his arms to go back to the couch.

"Why don't you sleep. King of hard to with all this thundering noise but you seem like you need it."

Without a word, he followed her instructions and lay back in his nest of blankets. But his hand remained in Shin Hye's as he tugged on her. His dark eyes seemed to be asking her to stay.

"For tonight then," she murmured as she gave in and got onto the couch with him. The couch was just barely wide enough for both of them, so Jong Suk ended up wrapping his arms around her and lifted her up slightly so she was laying comfortably on top of him. Her head was tucked right under his chin, and her hand lay on his chest, patting him soothingly. 

Perhaps there was something about being in the dark, or having another person's warmth nearby in a lightning storm that made Shin Hye lower her defenses and qualms about being so close with Jong Suk.

For Jong Suk himself, he was just happy enough to have her by his side, even if it was just for a moment.

The thunder and lightning soon ceased. Lulled by each other's steady heartbeat and the rhythmic and melodic tapping of the windows by the rain, both quickly fell asleep. 

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