Chapter 44: Rain Part 2

Lunchtime.

The rain was still drizzling down.

I grabbed my bag and headed to the library.

As I stepped out of the classroom and walked down the hallway, I glanced outside.

The sky was still a dull gray.

It didn’t seem like the rain would stop anytime soon.

When I opened the library door, I saw a familiar silhouette at the desk.

Choi Dabin.

As expected, she was here first.

I naturally picked a book from the shelf and sat down.

A light novel.

Just as I was about to start reading, Dabin spoke first.

“Agh, why is it raining in autumn?”

She sighed softly as she organized the books.

Without taking my eyes off the page, I replied indifferently.

“Yeah.”

Rain in autumn—it did create a certain mood.

But more than that, it was just annoying.

Dabin leaned back slightly, gazing out the window.

“My uniform is going to get soaked on the way home.”

She muttered her complaint before letting out another small sigh.

Hearing that, I turned my head.

“You don’t have an umbrella?”

Dabin answered nonchalantly while continuing to sort the books.

“Of course not. Hardly anyone does, right?”

I closed my book and glanced at her.

“Yeah, makes sense.”

No one would’ve thought to bring one today.

“So now I’m debating whether to call my parents to come pick me up.”

I chuckled.

“Go ahead, then.”

Dabin remained silent, staring out the window.

After a moment of thought, she turned slightly toward me.

“What about you? Do you have an umbrella?”

I gave a short reply.

“Yeah.”

At that moment—

Dabin leaned toward me slightly and, with a casual expression, said:

“Then there’s no problem.”

I blinked.

‘No problem?’

‘Wait a second.’

‘Was she planning to—’

‘No way, was she after my umbrella like Seo Yuna?’

***

“What?”

“I’ll just borrow your umbrella to go to the convenience store.”

‘Convenience store?’

‘She meant the one ten minutes from here?’

And in the complete opposite direction of her house?

I opened my mouth to respond, but she didn’t leave room for refusal.

I turned the page of my book wordlessly.

***

As the library session was wrapping up, the door opened again.

Familiar footsteps.

Instinctively, I looked up.

Seo Yuna.

She casually brushed back her hair as she stepped inside.

Her eyes scanned the room before she naturally walked over and sat beside me.

Then, she subtly glanced at my bag—where my umbrella was hanging.

“The rain’s still coming down, huh?”

I sighed.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t have an umbrella.”

There it was.

She might as well have been the Sphinx giving me a riddle.

My head ached.

“You said earlier you didn’t need one.”

“That was just something I said. Don’t you know rain causes hair loss?”

This damn girl.

She should’ve just said she wanted to use it earlier.

‘Why does she always have to test me?’

Just then—

Dabin spoke quietly.

“…I don’t have an umbrella either.”

Yuna and I both turned to look at her.

“Kim Dohyun, you and I should go to the convenience store and buy one.”

Judging by their expressions, my opinion didn’t seem to matter at all.

Even though I was the one who owned the umbrella.

Yuna chimed in.

“No, I’ll go with Dohyun. You can wait here, Dabin.”

I gave her a weary look, but Yuna continued, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“I already promised to share his umbrella first.”

Not backing down, Dabin countered.

“That’s funny. I distinctly remember you turning him down earlier.”

“I thought it would stop soon.”

At this point, I felt exhaustion settling in.

We could just go buy another umbrella at the store.

There wasn’t even a need for two people to go.

‘Honestly, I could just go alone and get it over with.’

This was such a stupid argument.

“Both of you stay here. I’ll just go buy—”

Before I could finish, they both turned to me.

“You stay out of it.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m the one who owns the umbrella.”

I was at a loss for words.

“It’s just about buying an umbrella—”

Glare.

‘Ugh. Whatever happens, happens.’

Yuna crossed her arms and asked casually.

“Alright then, Kim Dohyun, you decide. Who do you want to go with?”

“Why do I have to decide? I said I’d go alone.”

“You don’t want to walk back alone in the rain, do you?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

I glanced between them.

Both looked determined to win.

‘Who was I supposed to pick?’

After thinking for a moment, I made my choice.

“I’ll just go with Yuna. I promised her first.”

I turned to Yuna.

“Let’s go.”

A brief silence followed.

Then, Dabin chuckled.

“Suit yourself.”

Her tone was indifferent, but the faint bitterness in her smile lingered in my mind.

Still, there was no helping it.

We couldn’t just stand here forever.

With a sigh, I pulled my umbrella from my bag.

***

Outside, the rain had grown even heavier.

“Wow, it’s really pouring.”

Yuna muttered as she waited for me to open the umbrella.

Sure enough, the downpour had formed puddles all over the schoolyard.

I quietly opened the umbrella and tilted it toward her.

She hesitated slightly before stepping under it.

Naturally, we began walking.

But…

Raindrops splashed in from all directions.

“Ugh, I’m getting wet.”

Even with the umbrella, the rain was too strong to block completely.

I glanced at Yuna.

Her shoulders were slowly getting soaked.

Her white blouse clung to her skin as it absorbed the rain.

The fabric pressed against her body, faintly revealing her silhouette.

Her pale skin was slightly visible.

‘This… might be a problem.’

Thankfully, it hadn’t gotten to the point where her underwear showed through.

Oblivious, Yuna kept grumbling.

“Ugh, this feels gross…”

I took a quiet breath.

Then, I subtly tilted the umbrella more toward her.

As a result, my own shoulder was completely exposed to the rain.

Cold raindrops hit me directly.

“Hey, you’re getting wet.”

“I’m already soaked. It’s fine.”

Yuna paused for a moment.

Then, she glanced at my shoulder.

A subtle expression flickered across her face.

With a smirk, she said, “Huh, you’re more of a gentleman than I thought?”

“Shut up.”

Feeling embarrassed, I scratched my head for no reason.

The rain poured down relentlessly.

One umbrella.

Two people.

A strange atmosphere settled between us as we quietly walked toward the convenience store.

The only sound was the rain.

Yuna stole a glance at me as we walked.

“What?”

“Just looking.”

“You’re so weird.”

***

Ding!

The moment we stepped inside the convenience store, Yuna let out a sigh.

“At least it’s warm in here.”

I glanced down at my wet clothes and patted my soaked shoulder.

‘Ugh, so uncomfortable.’

Rain was nice when you were lying in bed, listening to it fall.

Yuna browsed the store shelves before heading straight to the umbrella section.

I followed behind and asked, “Which one are you getting?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Without hesitation, Yuna picked up a clear umbrella.

“I’ll take this one.”

She walked up to the counter and paid.

After opening the umbrella, she glanced at me.

“Aren’t you getting anything?”

I shook my head.

“I already have an umbrella. Why buy another?”

Yuna chuckled lightly.

“Then I’ll go pick up Dabin. Get home safe.”

I gave a short nod.

“Yeah.”

She stepped outside.

For a moment, she stood under the store’s awning, watching the rain.

Through the heavy downpour, I saw her walking away with her umbrella.

Watching her figure grow smaller, I felt a strange sensation.

I quietly opened my umbrella.

But my shoulders were already drenched.

It was because I had tilted the umbrella toward Yuna earlier.

Smoothing out my damp clothes, I slowly started walking.

The path was in the opposite direction of home.

The rhythmic sound of the rain seemed to calm my thoughts.

“……”

Then, an image flashed in my mind—

Dabin’s face back in the library.

“Suit yourself.”

That subtle smile she had given.

Acting indifferent, yet there was something about her expression that lingered.

I let out a small sigh.

‘Why am I even thinking about this?’

But, knowing her, she’d act normal the next time we met.

Convincing myself that it was nothing, I quickened my pace.

***

Dabin sat by the library window, watching the outside world.

Beyond the school gate, Kim Dohyun and Seo Yuna walked side by side.

She slowly turned her gaze away.

Lightly tapping her fingertips against the windowpane, she murmured, “…I should’ve just asked my mom to pick me up.”

She spoke as if it were nothing.

But deep down, a vague sense of disappointment settled in.

She reassured herself—it wasn’t like she wanted to bother her parents over something so trivial.

‘Then why did I do that?’

When Yuna had naturally assumed she would go with Dohyun, Dabin had instinctively spoken up, saying she’d go too.

Truthfully, she had wanted to go with him.

Even though, in the end, she wasn’t chosen.

Silently, she turned her eyes back to the window.

The rain was still pouring.

Yet, what felt heavier was something inside her.

She wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

Just that it felt… empty.

And unfair.

All this over a simple trip to buy an umbrella.

She looked outside again.

By now, the two of them were no longer in sight.

Dabin quietly opened her book.

But a thought drifted into her mind.

‘If I had asked first, before Yuna did… would he have gone with me?’

Knowing Dohyun’s personality, it seemed likely.

‘Next time…’

With that, Dabin remained in the rain-scented library, waiting for her friend.