The sound of rain falling aimlessly ended not at the tip of my head, but at the wide-open umbrella.
"Why are you here like this?"
"Ah, It's, It's just..."
(Oh, so just...)
I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised by the warmth of the words he spoke to me, even though they seemed indifferent, his intentions in speaking to me, his actions, his tone of voice, and the heart he contained within them.
"Are you not good at speaking Korean?"
"No, that's not it..."
I looked at his face through the umbrella dripping with water droplets. It was the same man from before. The man who had disappeared with the man who had sharpened his blade toward me.
And foolishly, the man was receiving the cold rain on his whole body.
Thump thump.
On a dark night, the neon signs lit up everywhere in the stores, the cold rain falling, the crosswalk lights that repeatedly turned from green to red, the people hurrying down the street—nothing caught my attention more intensely than that man.
"Let's share an umbrella."
Droplets of water fell one by one along his damp hair, wetting his shoulders once more. As I watched him, a light suddenly lit up in my heart.
Oh, what a strange person.
***
They walked side by side, holding each other under a small umbrella, and it was Pel who spoke first.
"thank you."
A single, softly whispered word traveled through the air to Seokjin.
"It's incredibly hot and humid today. And it's raining."
"Yes, that's right."
With those words, the two walked silently along the asphalt road, which was heavily sprinkled with rainwater, for a while. Then, once again, it was Pell who spoke.
"What a strange coincidence. We met at such a time."
"I guess it's fate."
"I'm staring."
fateAt Seokjin's words, a strange, foggy glimmer settled over Fel's face. Fel thought he was truly strange. His jokes and actions were all strange. But because he was strange, he was warm, and because he was strange, he was good.
And at Pel's smile, which he saw for the first time, Seokjin smiled faintly as well. Just seeing Pel laugh made me laugh too. Maybe it was the humidity, maybe it was the heat. It was just the warmth of the air that made her emotions come across better. That's what Seokjin thought.
Two. The night the sun rose