Heavy rain is expected in Seoul today.
The TV, playing in the background while I chewed on a slice of bread, announced the weather forecast.
Not that I needed it—anyone could tell just by looking.
The sky was already filled with heavy, dark clouds.
Maybe that’s why the bread felt especially soggy.
Ugh, not good.
In the end, I didn’t even finish half of it and tossed it away.
I rinsed the stale taste out of my mouth with water.
Right as I finished putting on my school uniform, it started to rain.
"Heavy rainfall is expected throughout the week..."
My uniform was still damp, clinging to my skin.
Thanks to the humidity.
And thanks to that, my mood was ruined.
I absolutely hate humid weather.
And now it's going to last a whole week.
Maybe because I hadn’t eaten properly, my stomach ached.
My head throbbed.
Rainy days always made me feel worse than usual.
"Please be sure to carry an umbrella when going out."
Great. No umbrella.
Every time I blinked, moisture clung to my lashes.
My heavy eyelids kept drooping and lifting again.
The soft tap tap of the rain had turned into a full-on downpour, soaking the world outside.
A breathtaking view, really.
I stood still, staring quietly out the window.
The forecast had ended.
I brushed off the damp spots on my uniform and brought my hands together.
"Rain..."
Please stop.
It wasn’t just a wish.
It was a prayer—one I meant with all my heart.
The moment I murmured those words,
the sky that had been spilling rain poured out the sun instead.
A gloomy world suddenly lit up in sunshine.
The light reached even into my room,
touching the still-damp fabric of my uniform.
The warmth softened my heavy eyelids.
And finally, the pain in my head faded away.
Thanks to that, the walk to school felt refreshing.
The clear sky after the rain—
who could complain?
Everyone on the street still had umbrellas in hand,
looking confused at the sudden sun.
Well, of course they were.
I stopped the rain that was supposed to fall.
Puddles rippled at my feet.
My wired earphones swayed with every step.
Some old-school band music played quietly.
I hummed along in my head.
Now, at this point, you might be wondering:
How did I stop the rain?
Nothing special, really.
Whenever I make a wish, the rain stops.
I still don’t know why.
It’s insane, I know.
But that—
that’s how my story begins.
A strange, extraordinary story… that just happens to be mine.
01.
“Hey, Beomgyu.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you really think heroes are that cool?”
“What kind of lame question is that?”
“Just answer me already.”
“Why are you even asking? Of course they are.”
They’re the coolest in the world. My dream is to become someone stronger than Superman.
When I was five, I thought so.
The people I admired most were my parents, and right after them, Superman.
Flying around in that tight costume looked unbelievably cool.
Saving people and defeating villains—needless to say, that was everything.
Whenever I had to write about my dream job, I always put "Superman."
I even ran around with a red cape on, without a hint of embarrassment.
One day, while pretending to be Superman, I jumped off the bed and broke my arm.
It hurt like hell, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
A badge of honor, I thought.
Looking back, I must’ve been absolutely nuts.
When I showed up at school the next day with a cast, my friends just shook their heads.
“You really never disappoint.”
I couldn’t sit still for a second.
Every time someone told me to calm down, my whole body would itch.
I’d shake my legs, desperate to go out and play with my friends.
The weather was perfect today too. Should we play tag? Or slap-match?
I tossed my spelling test with a big red zero on it somewhere in the house and dashed out.
I was always the last one to leave the playground.
Even after everyone had gone home, I’d stay swinging by myself until it got dark.
When I finally came in, covered in dirt, Mom would nag me to wash up.
Home always smelled warm and delicious.
But when I hit middle school, I developed a dumb sense of “cool.”
My dream job? I left that blank.
No more red cape.
My motto back then was “Live stylish or die.”
I chewed gum for no reason, hung around with scary upperclassmen,
and practiced my dead-fish rebel eyes like it was a personality trait.
Still, I had my lines—I never did anything truly bad.
Despite the thug act, I went to class, never touched alcohol or cigarettes.
I got along with people.
Fights? Only when absolutely necessary.
If no one messed with me first, I was always smiling.
Even without a dream, I still idolized heroes.
I never missed a single Marvel or DC movie.
My room was plastered with superhero posters and filled with figures.
Mom was always yelling at me to throw them out, but I couldn’t.
I cried every time I watched a hero movie.
Never with sad romance films or horror flicks.
Only hero movies.
I’d sit there, sniffling alone in the theater while no one else shed a tear.
Friends who came with me would give me weird looks.
“Dude, why the hell are you crying?”
“You guys are so emotionally dry…”
“Says the guy who sleeps through horror films…”
“Do you not feel anything?!”
I’d yell and they’d just ignore me. “Just leave him. He’s always like that.”
I wiped my runny nose and tried to hold in the feeling.
It wasn’t a gimmick—it really hurt.
Heroes saving the world with their powers was cool,
but it broke me that they couldn’t live their own lives.
What’s the point of saving the world if you lose everything else?
Family, friends, all gone.
Even if everyone looked at me like a weirdo, I was serious about it.
That was probably the deepest thought my punk middle school self ever had.
The distance between home and school was pretty far—about 20 minutes by bus.
Riding the bus gave me time to think.
And I always thought about heroes.
It was kind of an obsession.
Not sure why.
Once I started, the thoughts never stopped.
If I had powers, would I become miserable too?
Would I lose sleep over the pressure to save the world?
I blinked in the rattling bus, lost in thoughts.
Jeez, what a mess of thoughts.
Well, I’d need powers first to even worry about that.
Back then, I just really wished I had a special ability.
And I was convinced—if I had one, nothing bad would ever happen to me.
02.
Fate always comes without warning.
At moments you least expect, it barges in and flips your life upside down.
I was just a regular middle schooler with a fake “cool guy” persona, but even I had my fateful encounter.
Not with a person—but with the power I’d longed for.
If I dare say, it was the turning point of my life.
A truly shitty one.
I thought that on the day I first stopped the rain.
Maybe I was dreaming.
Seriously, who can just wish for the rain to stop and actually make it happen?
But I could.
And how I discovered it? It was laughably ridiculous.
I was heading home, and it started to rain.
I didn’t have an umbrella, I was annoyed, and I muttered under my breath,
“Can you just stop already?”
Just a tiny murmur.
And just like that, the rain stopped.
Moments later, the sun peeked out.
I froze on the spot.
That day, I convinced myself it was just a coincidence.
Too bizarre to believe otherwise.
I told myself the rain was probably going to stop anyway, and I just happened to say something at the right time.
Just a coincidence.
That’s all.
Yeah... that’s what I thought.
But it wasn’t.
When I muttered again, asking the rain to stop—and the sun came out again,
I realized:
“...This isn’t a coincidence.”
My clasped hands tingled.
A rush of unexplainable emotions surged through me.
No way. My wish alone can stop the rain?
This isn’t a dream? It’s real?
I pinched my cheek hard—it hurt like hell.
My lips curled into a smile before I could stop them.
From that moment, I couldn’t wait to show off.
Just like the heroes in movies, I wanted to tell everyone about my amazing power.
Looking back now, that was the biggest mistake of my life.
I practically invited disaster in.
And like the beginning of every superhero movie, it started out small.
“Hey, you know what?”
“What?”
“I can stop the rain.”
“Bullshit.”
“I’m serious. Just believe me.”
“Uh-huh, sure. Whatever you say.”
His smug face got on my nerves, so I got stubborn.
Fine. I’ll show you the next time it rains.
He laughed like it was nothing.
“Sure. I’ll be waiting.”
And when I did show him—
When I actually proved it—
His jaw dropped.
That look on his face made my chest puff up.
I felt truly special.
“Holy shit.”
“Told you. It’s real.”
“What are you...?”
I just shrugged.
He kept muttering, “That’s insane.”
At first, it was great.
Awe-filled eyes, praise, amazement.
I thought everyone would react that way.
I thought people would like me once they found out.
Guess I learned nothing from all those hero movies.
At first, even the protagonist is just happy.
They go on living their life like normal.
Then, at some point, it all shatters.
And before they know it, everything’s gone.
It didn’t take long for that to become my story.
I trusted that friend.
He wasn’t the type to blab.
But let’s be real—this was too big to stay hidden.
Stopping the rain? That’s the kind of gossip people live for.
The next day, five more kids knew.
I was a bit shocked, but I knew them, so I brushed it off.
The day after that, over a dozen knew.
Now unfamiliar faces started to show interest.
Every day, the number grew like wildfire.
Strangers were whispering about me.
“Hey, who did you tell?”
“Huh?”
When I confronted him, he flinched like he'd been caught.
His lips trembled, struggling for words.
My neck stiffened with frustration.
“I asked, who did you tell?”
“Just... a few people I know.”
“A few? Then why the hell does the whole school know?”
“I mean...”
“I told you it was just between us.”
“I didn’t think it’d spread this far...”
He looked genuinely confused why I was mad.
“Come on, Beomgyu, it’s not like it’s a bad thing.
You’re not hurting anyone. Why are you so upset?”
His clueless expression made me go limp inside.
Yeah, easy for you to say.
I unclenched my fist.
My stiff neck relaxed.
I realized there was no point in getting angry.
The rumor had spread to the point where kids from other schools were coming just to see me.
I didn’t mind people, but this much attention?
I hated it.
Whispers followed me everywhere in the hallway.
“That’s him. Sunny Boy.”
That’s the nickname they gave me.
Sunny Boy—the one who stops rain when he prays.
At first, I thought I’d like the attention.
But it was exhausting.
Way more than I’d imagined.
Turns out I wasn’t good at handling people’s eyes on me.
Thankfully, without proof, the rumors began to die down.
My friend’s story didn’t come with evidence.
Soon, even the kids calling me Sunny Boy lost interest.
Finally, I could breathe.
Thank god.
I laid my head on my desk and slept like a rock.
Hadn’t been able to sleep properly with people constantly bugging me.
I decided not to talk about my powers anymore.
Problem was—life never goes the way you plan.
It wasn’t long before I stopped the rain in public.
All because of some damn provocation.
Maybe now, I could just shrug it off.
But back then, I couldn’t.
“So you really can stop the rain?”
“...”
“Or are you just desperate for attention?”
“...”
“He just talks big. That’s it.”
It was a rainy day.
A guy I didn’t get along with started something.
Apparently, he hated me for “stealing” his seat.
Or maybe it was because I got close with the popular seniors.
I couldn’t care less.
But my indifference pissed him off even more.
He kept pushing.
It was annoying—enough to grind my teeth.
He woke me up just to pick a fight.
Already cranky, I sat up, glaring.
“Why don’t you prove it then?”
“...”
“Aren’t you Sunny Boy or whatever?”
“...”
“Or are you just all talk?”
Outside, it was pouring.
So hard, it felt like the sound was drowning out everything.
I tilted my head and considered—should I just punch him?
His smug grin made me itch for it.
But after a few seconds, I decided not to waste energy.
I stood up silently.
His group started whispering,
“Hey, he’s gonna pray or something, huh?”
Maybe I should’ve punched him after all.
Still, I said nothing and clasped my hands.
“Please… stop the rain.”
I gently closed my eyes.
Tightened my grip.
Looked up.
That was all it took—no fancy speech.
Just one line.
As the rain began to clear, the laughter died.
The entire class gasped in disbelief.
Moments after I made my wish, the sun came out.
I turned to the guy.
His face was blank, like his brain had short-circuited.
I smiled, smug.
“Happy now?”
“...”
“Now stop picking fights and piss off.”
Then I went back to sleep.
Felt kinda cool, not gonna lie.
Sweet revenge.
The class stayed noisy for a while.
By the time it calmed down, the guy had already disappeared.
Thanks to that, I had a peaceful day.
What I didn’t realize...
was that this would change everything.