Together on a Rainy Day, and Then Home - 1
It was mid-July, right after the final exams had ended.
True midsummer had arrived in full force. The muggy, sweltering heat had been hanging on for days now, and with a summer like this came something inevitable.
The rainy season.
Of all days, it had to be today.
I stared out at the school grounds where the rain was coming down in absolute sheets. It was as if the sky itself had been punched open. How could there be this much water?
I didn’t bring an umbrella.
I usually carried a small folding one, but after yesterday’s mess I’d temporarily moved it into a different bag. So of course, after days of clear weather, the rainy season decided to start pouring the exact moment I was without it. The forecast had said tomorrow. Forecasts really were useless.
“Ria probably doesn’t have one either…”
On top of that, the odds that Ria had an umbrella were slim. Hers was still sitting in the bag she’d left at home. We should have gone back together yesterday. Which meant there was no one I could borrow from. Hoyeon had already left, too.
What now?
“Hey.”
Someone called out from behind me. A voice I’d been hearing a lot lately—one that had finally started to feel like a friend’s.
“No umbrella?”
“Nope.”
Yuwon walked over holding a long umbrella. He’d cleaned up that messy mop of hair of his quite a bit; the guy could actually pass for handsome now.
Still about half a year until he meets the heroine.
Hasegawa Asuka, the heroine of this novel. She and Kang Yuwon weren’t supposed to meet until after she enrolled next year. Back then he was still just an ordinary loner with barely any friends. The part where he started fixing his hair and putting a little effort into his appearance was supposed to come much later in the middle of the story. I never expected him to change this early. I’d been a little surprised the first time I saw the new look. There didn’t seem to be any special reason for it.
Just a small brightening of his mood, maybe?
That was probably it.
“Where’s Ria?”
“A teacher called her over.”
“Want to share and head out?”
“No. Ria doesn’t have an umbrella either.”
“Then the event doesn’t even trigger.”
He thought for a moment, then suddenly pulled out his notebook and held the long umbrella out to me. It was big enough that two people could easily walk under it without trouble.
“Go buy one at the convenience store.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll wait here organizing my notes.”
With that, Yuwon sat down on a nearby bench and immediately buried himself in his notebook. He was awkward with people, sure, but he was a good guy.
“I’ll be right back, then.”
I headed straight for the convenience store. Better to get there and back before Ria came out.
The rain was heavier than I’d expected—almost violently so. The one silver lining was that the store wasn’t far. My socks got a little damp inside my sneakers on the way, but that was still better than getting soaked from head to toe.
One should be enough, right?
Buying two would be a waste. We had plenty of umbrellas at home; grabbing two disposable ones was just inefficient. So I picked up a single vinyl long umbrella, paid, and stepped back out.
“Thanks for your hard work.”
As I left the store I spotted them across the street—Hoyeon and Haryeong walking together under one umbrella.
Didn’t he leave earlier?
Given the time he’d left, he shouldn’t still be around here. Had he gone ahead on purpose just so he could run into her? That was more serious than I thought. When had those two started sticking together like that?
…Not really my business.
I was curious, but it was a friend’s love life. The atmosphere between them had been pretty good lately; there was no need to stick my nose in. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from Hoyeon’s expression he looked happy enough. I watched them for only a moment before turning back toward school.
The rain was still coming down like mad. If it kept up this hard through the evening, it would probably last until dawn.
I was almost back at the school, listening to the rain, when—
“….!!”
I saw her.
Ria was standing just inside the school entrance, completely soaked. Her whole body was dripping, clothes hanging heavy and limp.
Why?
I ran to her without another thought. My socks were now thoroughly soaked through, but I didn’t care anymore. There was something far more important right in front of me.
“Ria, what happened?”
“Sihyun.”
She’d been wringing out her hair with the outer jacket she’d been wearing at school. The moment she saw me she came closer. Her uniform was so wet that, just a little, the fabric clung and showed through.
“Ha…”
I remembered the gym clothes I’d stuffed in my bag to take home and wash. I yanked the top out and draped it over her shoulders.
“I was about to leave, but the rain was coming down too hard.”
“It was a real struggle stopping her from just walking out.”
Yuwon, still sitting with his notebook, frowned at me. She’d tried to leave without an umbrella? Why on earth?
“I don’t want to send you off alone.”
“…”
Ria got like this sometimes. If I was going to leave by myself, she would push herself just to stay with me. It didn’t happen often. But when it did… it was seriously hard to deal with.
“Haa… Ria.”
“Mm.”
“Don’t do that next time.”
“…Okay.”
She brushed her dripping hair back. If it had been short it might have been fine, but her hair was long enough that the water wasn’t going to disappear anytime soon. She needed a proper shower. Unfortunately, her parents probably weren’t home today. Both of them had plans.
I can’t just leave her alone like this…
Even though she’d said she wouldn’t do it again, once something like this happened I always tried to stay with her as much as possible that day. Which left only one option.
I handed Yuwon’s umbrella back to him, opened the new one I’d bought, and turned to her.
“Ria, let’s go to my place.”
“Your house?”
“You can’t make it all the way home looking like that.”
Besides, we only had one umbrella between us, so the closer option—my house—made more sense. My parents would be there; we could get some help.
I stepped closer with the umbrella open, and she moved in beside me under it. It was a cheap disposable one, not especially large, but if I didn’t mind my shoulder getting a little wet we could manage.
“Let’s go.”
My house was a little over a ten-minute walk. Not far under normal circumstances, but with the rainy season hammering down like this even that distance felt endless. By the time we arrived my left shoulder and side were completely soaked.
Luckily we lived in a house rather than an apartment, so there were no stairs to climb.
“Come in.”
“…O-okay.”
She’d been to our place plenty of times, yet she still hesitated a little as she stepped inside. Every step left a trail of water droplets across the floor.
“Go shower first. Put your clothes in the washer.”
“Okay.”
“You know where it is?”
“Yeah.”
She headed straight for the bathroom. The door clicked shut behind her. I watched her go for a second, then went to my room to find something she could wear. Mom’s clothes wouldn’t fit her, and giving her Dad’s was out of the question—better to lend her mine.
This should work.
The largest white T-shirt I owned and the smallest pair of shorts. Things I barely wore and had just left lying around—perfect for lending to Ria right now. I set them down in front of the bathroom door.
“I left clothes outside for you.”
“Ah… yeah. Thanks.”
Once that was done I went back to my room and changed myself. My clothes were wet too—especially the left side. I stripped off the soaked shirt, tossed it in the washer, and pulled on a house shirt.
I’ll need to shower later too.
The rainwater felt too clammy to ignore. Honestly my whole left side was drenched, and the right wasn’t completely dry either. Compared to Ria I was about the same except for the hair.
After changing I went to the living room and sat on the sofa. The only sound in the house was the water running in the bathroom. Nothing else.
“…?”
And in that quiet I felt something off.
Come to think of it—where were my parents?
They should be home at this hour.
Both of them. The whole reason I’d brought Ria here was because my parents would be around. But they weren’t. Which meant the only people in this house right now were me and Ria, currently showering in the bathroom.
“Where did they go…?”
Wondering if I’d missed a message, I checked my phone. Sure enough, the family group chat had new texts.
Ria’s mother was supposed to go exercise today. …I hadn’t expected mine to leave too.
Why were both my parents so social all of a sudden? Sure, when I was little they’d stuck to me constantly, so it made sense they went out more now that I was older. But why today of all days—the exact day Ria came over?
This is a first…
Ria showering at our house wasn’t new. But every other time at least one of my parents had been home. Now it was just the two of us.
No. It’s no different from usual.
Nothing was different. Once Ria finished showering I would shower too. After that we’d hang out a little and then I’d send her home. That was all.
“Haa…”
I let out a long breath, pushed my hair back, and closed my eyes.
The sound of running water from the bathroom felt different today.