Pouring Rain

It had been pouring with rain that afternoon. The one where it had all got too heated, and she couldn't stand to see his face anymore.

She had run from the house, with her bare feet stumbling across the wet pavement. It was even wetter than the tears mixed with rain that made tracks down her cheeks. And her body involuntarily shivered as she hugged herself, trying to contain whatever warmth she could.

He had chased after her and kept calling her name, but she just didn't want to listen. His voice fell on deaf ears, and she couldn't bear to turn around and see him, for fear that the bleeding organ in her chest would break further.

To her, it seemed like calling her name was nothing but a twisted game, yet she knew it was anything but.

When he called her name, it made her love him more, and that's what scared her... Her love for him.

"I'm sorry, Chae!" His words were strained, and he choked as the lump in his throat threatened to cut off his airways. "You were right, ok? I do need you! Please, just listen to me!"

The regret he felt travelled to where she was, and its thorny fingers wrapped itself about her body, but she fought to ignore it.

She was regretting just as much as him, and she was more ashamed of herself than she was of Yeosang. Why did she always take things too far?

He deserved better than her; the short-tempered, fiery, poison-tongued her.

She wanted to go back.

Back to the times when they would go on road trips to the countryside, blasting songs on the radio and crazily singing along. Or when they would cuddle up on the sofa with their favourite snacks and laugh at the movies playing on the TV screen before them.

She wanted to go back.

[ • Six Years Ago • ]

A pounding in her head pained her as she woke up that morning, and it worsened as confusion took over.

Her mind cleared a little when a ringing sound broke through the haze, and the next moment she heard her mum's nagging tone through the other side of the phone. "Chae! What time do you call this? Do you want to be late on your first day of uni?"

Chaehee groaned at the reminder that today was the day she would start university.

She glanced at the time on her phone; she had overslept. Jumping out of bed, she got ready for the day, after reassuring her mum that she wasn't going to be late. Her mum clicked her tongue and hung up, without a proper goodbye. Chae's room fell silent once again.

Putting her phone inside her bag, she grabbed her keys from the table beside the front door.

Once she was outside, she got into her car and started the engine. Peeling away from the kerb's edge she drove to the university building.

☽

Arriving at her destination, she opened the car door and placed her feet on the tarmac. The warm air enveloped her in a comforting embrace, and she breathed out a nervous sigh; letting all of her worries about starting a new school escape her.

She pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose; the sun glinted off the blackened lenses, and a small smile painted her lips. Step by step she made her way to the place she would need to go to buy some supplies she would need for the year.

As she drew nearer to the administration building, she bumped into someone, causing her to fall backwards.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" a silky voice said above her, and their hand was held out to help her up.

She grabbed onto it and stood up, dusting herself off when she was back on her feet. "I'm fine, are you ok?" She raised her head and looked worriedly at the person before her.

He scratched his head of dark, styled hair and chuckled. "I'm glad you're alright, I..." His sentence was cut off by his friends calling his name and telling him to hurry up. Turning back to Chaehee, and beaming at her he said, "I guess I have to go. See you around..."

"Chaehee."

"Right, Chaehee." Before he ran off to join his friends, he told her his name, "I'm Yeosang!"

Yeosang...

That was their first meeting and the start of their relationship with one another.