Heavy rain is forecast for Seoul today.
While munching on a slice of bread, I turned on the TV and the weather forecast was on.
It was a day when no forecast was needed.
One look and you could tell: the sky was covered in gloomy, dark clouds.
Perhaps because of this, the bread was particularly damp.
"Uh, that's bad."
In the end, I couldn't finish even half of it and had to throw it away.
As I washed the feeling in my mouth with water and straightened my uniform, it started to rain.
"It's going to rain for a week from today..."
The uniform I had just put on was still damp and sticky.
It was the humidity that made me feel so bad.
I hate humidity. And for a week?
Maybe because I hadn't eaten anything, my stomach hurt and my head was throbbing.
Rainy days always make me feel depressed.
"Please be sure to take an umbrella with you when you go out."
Oh, I don't have an umbrella.
Every time I blinked, the air felt damp.
My heavy eyelids kept rising and falling.
The rain that had been falling lightly had suddenly wet the entire world.
...It's like a breathtaking view.
I stared out the window.
The weather forecast was over.
She patted her wet uniform several times and clasped her hands together.
"Rain..."
Stop it.
It was to make a wish.
It wasn't just a wish.
I really wanted to stop it.
The moment he tweeted, the sky spat out the sun.
The gloomy world was filled with sunlight.
The sunlight streamed into the room and onto my still-wet uniform.
The warmth made my heavy eyelids relax.
The headache finally subsided.
This made the walk to school very refreshing.
Clear skies after the rain. There was nothing bad to say.
People passing by each had an umbrella in their hand.
Everyone looked surprised at the sudden clear sky.
Well, that's only natural.
Because I stopped the rain that was supposed to fall.
The puddle at my feet was trembling.
The earphone cord shook with every step.
Music from an old band was playing through the earphones.
I hummed softly in my mind.
Here's a question that may come up.
How did you stop the rain?
It's no big deal.
If you wish, the rain will stop. That's all.
I still don't know why this is the case.
It really doesn't make any sense.
And this is a bit special,
Amazing - the story of my life.
01.
"Hey, Beomgyu."
"yeah?"
"Are heroes really that cool?"
"What's that? That's boring."
"Okay, just answer quickly."
"There's no need to ask that, right?"
It's the coolest thing in the world.
My dream is to become stronger than Superman.
That's what I thought when I was five years old.
The people I respect the most are my parents, followed by Superman.
It was so cool to see them flying through the sky in their tight costumes.
Saving people and defeating villains. Needless to say, it was something I aspired to.
When I thought of my future dream, I always wrote Superman.
He was unashamedly playing around in his red cape.
One day, he fell off the bed while playing Superman and broke his arm.
It hurt like crazy, but I couldn't stop laughing.
"This is a glorious wound."
Maybe I was seriously crazy back then.
The next day, when I went to school with the cast on, my friends were shocked and said,
"You're really doing that..."
I couldn't stay still for even a moment.
When I was told to stay still, my whole body started to tingle.
I wanted to play outside with my friends, so I shook my legs nervously.
"Ah, the weather is great today.
What shall we play? Marbles or tag?"
He casually threw away the dictation test that he got zero points for,
I ran outside out of breath.
I was always the last one to stay on the playground.
Even after everyone had left, he continued swinging alone.
My mother scolded me, who was covered in mud, saying, "Take a shower quickly."
The house was always warm and smelled nice.
When I entered junior high school, I started to act all silly.
His dream for the future changed from Superman to blank space.
I no longer ran around in a red cape.
The motto at the time was "Live cool."
I forced myself to chew gum, I hung out with scary seniors,
He was imitating the delinquent classic "dead fish eyes" look.
But I kept the bare minimum.
Even though he pretends to be a delinquent, he always attends classes,
He didn't smoke or drink alcohol.
I got along well with my friends as usual.
Fights are really only rare.
He never initiated anything and generally interacted with people with a smile.
The dream was gone, but the desire to become a hero remained.
I checked out all the movies, Marvel and DC.
The walls of his room were covered with posters of his heroes,
There were also lots of figurines.
My mother told me every day to throw it away, but I couldn't do it.
I always cried when I watched superhero movies.
I didn't cry even when watching a sad romance movie or a horror movie that was rumored to be scary.
The only thing that made me cry was superhero movies.
No one else was crying in the movie theater, and I was the only one sobbing.
My friend who went to see it with me looked at me strangely.
"Hey, why are you crying?"
"Don't you guys have any feelings..."
"Even though you fell asleep during a horror movie lol"
"They really are cold-hearted people."
Even though I screamed, everyone ignored me.
"Just leave it alone, it's a normal thing."
I wiped my nose and savored the afterglow alone.
It wasn't a concept, it was just genuine sadness.
A hero who saves the world with his own power was incredibly cool,
Instead, he sacrificed his own life.
What the hell is that?
You've lost all your family and friends.
What's the point of saving the world?
Everyone looked at me like I was weird, but I was serious.
As an cocky middle schooler, I thought about it a lot.
There was quite a distance between my home and the junior high school.
About 20 minutes by bus.
So, when I got on the bus, I thought about a lot of things.
The thing that came to mind most often was heroes.
Maybe I was a little crazy.
I don't really know why.
But once I started thinking about it, I couldn't stop.
If I had powers, would I still be unhappy?
Does the responsibility of saving the world keep you up at night?
I blinked in the swaying bus.
Really, I think about a lot of things.
Well, first of all, if you don't have the ability, there's no need to worry or anything.
But at the time, I just wanted special powers.
Along with the unfounded confidence that ``nothing bad will ever happen to me.''
02.
Fate always strikes suddenly.
It suddenly appears at an unexpected moment,
It turns everyday life upside down.
Fate came to me, a normal middle school student who was just showing off.
Not in the form of a person, but in the form of the ``power'' that he had so longed for.
Let me be clear: it was a turning point that changed my life.
In the worst sense.
That day when I stopped the rain for the first time, I thought
"Maybe it's just a dream."
To be honest, I couldn't help but think that.
Just wishing for the rain to stop won't actually stop it.
--But I was able to do it.
The way the rain stopped was so silly it was almost laughable.
Just as I was about to go home, it started to rain.
There was no umbrella.
Annoyed, I muttered a complaint.
"Stop the rain..."
In a really quiet voice.
Then, as if by magic, the rain stopped.
Shortly after I tweeted, the sun came out.
I froze up on the spot.
At first I tried to think it was a coincidence.
It was too much of a coincidence,
"It was going to stop anyway," I told myself.
--Just a coincidence.
Yes, that's how I thought about it at the time.
But it wasn't a coincidence.
When I muttered "Please stop the rain" once again...
Sure enough, the sun shone again, as if it were a lie.
At that moment, I was convinced.
"...It wasn't a coincidence."
My clenched hands went numb.
I was overcome with emotions that I couldn't put into words.
--Oh no. Is the rain going to stop just because of my wish?
Is this not a dream but reality?
When I pinched my cheek, it hurt a lot.
Unable to contain his laughter, the corners of his mouth turned up involuntarily.
From that moment on, I had an overwhelming desire to tell someone about my powers.
Like a hero in a movie, "I have amazing powers."
Looking back, that was the biggest mistake of my life.
It was as if I had brought misfortune upon myself.
As always happens at the beginning of a movie, nothing much happens at first.
"Hey, do you know?"
"What?"
"I can stop the rain."
"You lie."
"I'm serious. Believe me."
"Oh, yes, yes, it's the same pattern again."
His mocking face made me angry,
I got so worked up that I wanted to get back at him.
"Then I'll show it to you on a rainy day."
My friend snorted.
"Oh, so you're looking forward to it?"
And when I actually showed it,
My friend stared at me with his mouth wide open.
His gaze made my heart pound.
I thought, "I'm really special."
"Seriously..."
"You saw it. It's true."
"Eh, you... who are you?"
I just shrugged.
My friend repeatedly muttered, "This is bad."
Sure, it was good at first.
Looks of respect, voices of admiration.
Everyone thought that would happen.
"If I reveal my power, everyone will like me."
I watched a ton of superhero movies, but I didn't learn anything.
Even the main character seems to be living his daily life happily at first.
But one day, that everyday life will come crashing down.
By the time you realize it, you've already lost everything.
It didn't take long for it to become "my story."
My friend wasn't the type to talk a lot.
So I believed him and told him.
Well, maybe the idea of "being able to stop the rain" was too interesting to hide in the first place.
The next day, when I went to school, five other students already knew the story.
I was surprised, but I knew him so I let it go.
But the next day, more than 10 people knew.
Gradually, unfamiliar faces began to talk to me.
With each passing day, the rumors spread exponentially.
Eventually, even people I didn't know were talking about me.
"Hey, who did you talk to?"
"Huh?"
My friend flinched in surprise when I suddenly approached her.
His mouth twitched, as if unable to form words.
Seeing that, the back of my neck became steadily heavier.
"Who did you talk to?"
"Just... some people I know."
"'Several'? Why does the whole school know?"
"Th, that's..."
"I only told you."
"I didn't think it would become this popular!"
The person who spread the rumor responded angrily.
"I never thought it would turn out like this! I'm surprised too.
And besides, it's not a bad thing, right?
Your abilities aren't bad.
I don't know why you're so angry."
--Those eyes said it.
"Is that something to worry about?"
...I guess that's how it is for you.
The strength in my grip went away.
The stiffness in my neck also gradually eased.
I realized that there was no point in getting angry anymore.
The rumours spread further,
Eventually, even students from other schools started coming to "see me."
I didn't hate people,
The "excessive attention" was really unreasonable.
My nerves were worn down.
Every time I passed through the hallway, someone was whispering.
"That's the Sunny Boy."
Before I knew it, I had been given the nickname "Sunny Boy."
A sunny boy who can stop the rain if you pray to him.
The attention was gradually becoming tiresome.
Being the center of attention can be so exhausting.
I was much more sensitive to people's gazes than I thought.
Fortunately, the unsubstantiated rumors gradually died down.
There was no physical evidence to support the eyewitness accounts.
Even those who had been clamoring for the "sunny boy" lost interest.
Finally, I could breathe.
"I'm finally back to life..."
I lay face down on the desk and slept as long as I wanted.
For a while, I couldn't sleep properly because of all the people coming to see me.
"Let's not talk about abilities as much as possible."
That's what I decided--
But life is not that easy.
Soon I was stopping the rain in public again.
Because of some goddamn provocation.
If it were me now, I would have just laughed it off, but--
Choi Beomgyu couldn't do that back then.
Can you really stop the rain?
「……」
"You just want attention, don't you?"
「……」
"He's all talk."
It was a rainy day.
Someone I wasn't usually very close with started getting involved.
Apparently, she hated me because I had taken her seat.
On top of that, she seemed jealous of me because I had become friends with a "popular" upperclassman.
To be honest, I didn't care.
It doesn't matter if people hate me.
But my "indifferent" attitude just added fuel to the fire.
He was persistent.
It was so persistent that I was starting to get annoyed.
He purposely wakes me up when I'm sleeping and makes me angry.
I was already feeling bad,
"Do you want to die?" he said, grimacing.
The atmosphere in the classroom suddenly became tense.
"If so, let me see it."
「……」
"You're a sunny boy, aren't you?"
「……」
"If you can't do that, you'll just be embarrassed."
It was pouring outside.
The sound of rain was so loud it drowned out my voice.
My ears felt blocked, like I was underwater.
I slowly tilted my head and thought.
- Should I give you a punch first?
I just couldn't bring myself to like that grinning face.
But think for a few seconds,
"No, it's a waste of energy," I thought.
He quietly stood up.
The group said, laughing.
"Hey, are you seriously planning to pray?"
I wondered if I should have punched him once, but
I didn't mind and clasped my hands together.
"Please stop the rain."
Slowly close your eyes,
He clasped his hands together, putting all his strength into them and pointing them clearly towards the sky.
There was no need for grandiose words.
Just one word was enough.
The ridicule directed at me was
As soon as the rain stopped, everything became quiet.
Shouts of surprise rang out from the classroom.
A short time after I made my wish, the sun came out.
I looked up at the sky and saw the boy in question.
I didn't think it would actually stop,
He had a stunned look on his face.
Standing in front of him, I gave him a grin.
"...Are you satisfied with this?"
「……」
"Don't get involved any more. Just get out of here."
With that said, he lay down on the desk again and went to sleep.
--Maybe it was kind of cool.
It felt like I'd been hit with a punch and I felt relieved.
The classroom was in an uproar for a while,
Gradually, things calmed down.
That boy had disappeared all of a sudden.
Thanks to that, I was able to sleep well that night.
Could it be that――
It's going to be a life-changing event for me,
I didn't know that at the time.