1 Rainy Night

Jin Hwa was sitting by the window of her apartment, a cup of tea in her hands, watching as the rain pattered against the street outside. She hesitated, a question on her mind — should she go outside for a walk? Or should she just stay inside and work? She could see that the sun would soon disappear, and, as usual, she started feeling nervous. The sunset meant that the dark would soon arrive.

As she finished her cup of tea, she decided that going for a walk wouldn't hurt her. It would also make her feel a lot better than staying confined inside her tiny apartment. She tied her long, brown hair into a ponytail. It made her feel prettier and a lot more confident about herself.

She changed and went downstairs, exiting the building. She loved the sensation of rain falling against her skin, so she didn't bring her umbrella, even though she knew she could catch a cold as a result.

She walked down the street, looking at the city around her. She breathed deeply, and when she exhaled, she watched as the white mist drifted from her lips. The days were getting colder, and they had already had their first snow a week earlier, though it had only lasted a day before melting away. Still, Christmas was approaching, for December was in a week. Christmas was one of those times of the year where it didn't feel the happiest. Since moving into her apartment, she'd celebrated every holiday alone, but it didn't bother her that much anymore. She'd stopped celebrating all of them a year ago; there were much better things for her to do with her time than staying up alone all night and giving gifts to herself.

She arrived at her usual place, where she would watch the sunrise. Her favorite moment of the day was the Aurora, since it was when morning came to make the night go away. She sat on a bench, facing the sunset. She could hear the water washing against the rocks down the cliff. This place was situated outside the city, but not that far from her apartment — that's how she had found it. It gave her a change of pace, a breath of fresh air when she needed it.

Sadly, this place was full of bad energy, and the flowers there were a constant reminder of its bad reputation. Every year, more and more flowers would be planted due to the many deaths that happened there. Some were accidents, some intentional. And yet, even after all that, there was still no barrier in place to protect all those lives from being lost.

Before leaving, Jin Hwa checked the stone plates on the ground to see if there were any new names. The last one had been added six months ago. She felt relieved to see that no names had been added since. She gave one last look at the sun, which had practically sunk below the horizon at that point, before making her way back to the brightly lit city.

While walking back home, she fell deep into her thoughts; she stepped out onto the street without noticing that a car was approaching, and when she heard it honking at her, it was already too late to react. Scared, she froze and closed her eyes, bracing for the pain.

It was pathetic, wasn't it, she thought to herself. She was drenched, still lived alone, and she hadn't accomplished any of her dreams. And yet here it came — the end.

Suddenly, something pulled her backwards, and she found herself in the arms of a stranger. He wore a black coat, one that was almost certainly expensive. It was also, unlike her, dry.

Upon realizing what had happened, Jin Hwa backed off. And once she looked at the man's face, her heart skipped a beat. He was handsome, absolutely so. She didn't have any specific tastes when it came to men, and yet his features seemed to be specifically tailored to suit her. He was tall, but not too tall, and a sexy jawline held up a perfect face, one that was as cute as it was hot.

She bowed, apologizing for making his coat wet. He looked at her intensely.

"There's no reason for you to be apologizing right now. You were almost hit by a car. Are you alright?"

She looked at him, and she tried to find something to say in response, while he waited patiently for her answer. After a while, however, she looked at her watch. In ten minutes, it would be completely dark out. She needed to get back to her apartment, and fast.

"Thank you for saving me... and yes, I'm fine. I really need to go... and I'm sorry... again."

She started running in the direction of her apartment. He shouted after her.

"Wait! Can I at least know your name?"

Jin Hwa turned to see him standing there, looking at her. She wondered if it would be a good idea to give her name to a total stranger, but after a moment, she shouted back:

"Min Jin Hwa!"

She could see him smiling in the distance, waving goodbye at her.

"I'm Park Hyeong Jae!"

She turned back and started running again, ignoring the crazy beating in her heart for the stranger she had just met. Of one thing, Min Jin Hwa was sure — she would not be forgetting his face anytime soon.