Shower Rain – 3

There’s a saying that those who claim money can’t buy happiness might just not have had enough money.

I once heard somewhere that women who deliberately act cute aren’t appealing, and I thought, “Well, trying too hard does seem a bit much.”

But thinking about it now, maybe that person just wasn’t cute enough?

That makes sense since whenever Ye-rin acted cute, I completely lost my composure. I’d probably nod my head mindlessly to any request she made without even listening to what it was.

Ha. She was really cute.

That night, as I recalled Ye-rin’s cute behavior again, the corners of my mouth turned up without me realizing it.

Tsk, was this what she was aiming for?

While Ye-rin was cute just by breathing, showing that aegyo only occasionally made its effect even more devastating.

Afterward, I told Ye-rin honestly.

That she could be jealous and possessive as much as she wanted, just not to hide it anymore.

For me, it would be easier to clear up misunderstandings, and whenever Ye-rin showed her possessiveness toward me, well…

It was embarrassing to say, but I honestly told her that it made me feel proud that she liked me that much.

Both of us blushed as I said it and as she heard it.

Soon, Ye-rin nodded as if she understood.

“Are you giving me permission, oppa…? You won’t get annoyed later and complain that I’m being too clingy…?”

Her slightly ominous tone made me wonder if I should tell her not to after all, but…

It’s Ye-rin.

When I smiled and told her to go ahead, Ye-rin grinned at me and said I should prepare myself.

**

A few days after that night.

I had a headache.

“…Hey, Han Woo-jin.”

“…What?”

“Did something happen between you and Lee Yu-ri?”

“Why would it?”

“Hmm. Right? But why is she acting like that?”

“…Do you see it too?”

“Even Lee Sin would notice it.”

I couldn’t help but sigh.

That day, Yu-ri acted as if she hadn’t heard what those two girls had said, just as she claimed.

No, to be precise, she acted as if those two people didn’t exist.

To others, it might just look like they weren’t close friends, but I, knowing the situation, could see it.

ㅡ …That’s not how you treat people.

Even when she had to speak to them, she would give minimal answers and never make eye contact. It was an attitude I’d seen somewhere before.

Is this the world of women…?

It’s scary, really scary.

If they were guys, they would have had one good fight and been done with it, but silently erasing someone from existence isn’t easy to watch.

For me, the situation was the opposite.

I thought I should make peace with those two, but they seemed to be avoiding me.

Since I didn’t have the ability or desire to be friends with everyone, I tried to accept it and move on, thinking it couldn’t be helped.

But as those two drifted further away, Yu-ri was gradually getting closer.

Actually, it was more like Yu-ri was unilaterally approaching me.

When Do-hyun and I were hanging out with the others, she would come over, sit next to me, and join the conversation.

During lunch break, when I was about to go eat, she would approach with her group and suggest we eat together.

When I was sitting at my desk, she would sit on my desk and start talking to me.

When the prettiest girl in class suddenly starts behaving like this to someone, it naturally draws everyone’s attention.

Especially when that someone is me, who has a girlfriend and is known as “someone obsessed with his girlfriend.”

“This is driving me crazy. Why is she suddenly acting like this?”

“I thought you’d finally gone mad and were cheating or something.”

“Want to die? Stop saying such nonsense.”

“If you cheat, you’d die before I would, don’t you think?”

What does this guy think of Ye-rin?

The sincerity on Do-hyun’s face as he said this made it even more absurd.

“…That won’t happen.”

“It won’t? I can see it now—you with handcuffs on both arms, locked up in a room.”

“You crazy bastard. That’s not what I meant. I meant I won’t cheat.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant?”

I wanted to punch Do-hyun’s face as he snickered and teased me, but I held back with superhuman patience.

“Hah… I try everything—treating her coldly like I do with other girls, not speaking to her first—but she just smiles and approaches me as if she finds it fun. I don’t know what to do.”

“That’s unusual. Normally, people would find that behavior off-putting and stay away.”

“…I know. I’ve never met anyone like her before, seriously.”

If she had openly shown her interest, that would be one thing.

But she treated me like a close friend, making it difficult to seriously tell her off.

“Maybe it’s something like this? ‘You’re the first person who’s treated me coldly’? Or maybe she has a muscle fetish? Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”

“…What doesn’t make sense? It could be because of my face, you jerk.”

“Does he think he’s on Seo Jin-hyuk’s level or something? Hey, wake up. Just because Seo Jin-hyuk is gone doesn’t mean you can take his place.”

“…Isn’t it a bit harsh to compare me to Seo Jin-hyuk?”

“For a girl like Lee Yu-ri to act this way toward someone with a girlfriend, your face would need to be at least Seo Jin-hyuk’s level.”

…Damn it.

Everything Do-hyun said was annoying, but what made it more annoying was that I couldn’t refute any of it because it was all true.

“Hah…”

I knew.

Yu-ri didn’t have feelings for me; she genuinely saw me as a comfortable male friend, not as a romantic interest.

I didn’t dislike Yu-ri as a friend either.

Her straightforward personality made conversations with her enjoyable.

Maybe, if Ye-rin had been in Korea, I would have introduced them, hoping they’d become friends.

But.

Ye-rin, who would hold my reins, wasn’t by my side right now.

And foolish me couldn’t tell where the line was, so I had no choice but to push everyone away and let only Ye-rin in.

“Hey, Do-hyun.”

“What?”

“…Do you think friendship between men and women is possible?”

“If it were possible, I’d have 10 girlfriends by now, you idiot.”

“…Heh, damn. That’s one definitive proof.”

From Do-hyun’s matter-of-fact response, I realized that while we both thought it was impossible, our reasons were probably different.

Do-hyun likely saw female friends as potential girlfriend candidates.

For me, female friends were just friends who happened to be women, so having any number of them wouldn’t shake my feelings for Ye-rin.

However, having female friends would make Ye-rin uncomfortable, which is why I chose not to make friends with girls.

And I’m sure Ye-rin felt the same way.

The fact that I was agonizing over an issue I wouldn’t have thought twice about before…

Made me wonder if I’d somehow grown attached to Yu-ri in that short time and felt reluctant.

If Ye-rin had been by my side, could I have stayed friends with Yu-ri?

Such hypotheticals were meaningless.

Being with Yu-ri made me feel guilty.

And as always, in my experience, actions that make you feel guilty…

Are better left undone.

 

After the long classes ended.

I said goodbye to Do-hyun, who was off to meet his girlfriend, and as I came down, rain was pouring down again.

…Another shower?

Personally, I like the sound of rain and don’t mind when it rains, but showers were an exception.

They come suddenly without time to prepare and stop just as abruptly, which was annoying.

Just as I was about to pull out the umbrella I’d carefully stowed in my bag…

“Ah, hey! Han Woo-jin~!”

I heard a voice I’d become familiar with over the past few days from behind me.

Turning around, I saw Yu-ri running toward me, waving her hand energetically as if glad to see me.

“What good timing! I forgot my umbrella!”

“Again? You should try to remember to bring one.”

“Ahaha, I meant to after last time but I forgot… Just share your umbrella with me this once!”

“You know what I’m going to say, right?”

“Ah, why~! We’re closer now than we were then! Just once, please?”

“Don’t you know that once becomes twice?”

Yu-ri’s playful nudging at my response made me smile.

“Here.”

“…Are you telling me to go buy an umbrella again?”

When I held out my umbrella, Yu-ri looked at me with a grimace.

This girl is making me lose any desire to give it to her.

“Take it. I’ll just walk in the rain.”

“Huh?”

Seeing Yu-ri’s confusion, I found it difficult to say what came next.

It’s easy to be disliked by someone who already dislikes you, but pushing away someone who doesn’t dislike you isn’t so simple.

My throat kept feeling dry.

“Why would you walk in the rain?! Wait, I’ll quickly go buy an umbrell—”

“It’s fine. Consider it a gift. A final gift.”

Gift, umbrella, apology—call it whatever you want.

“Umm…?”

“You don’t need to return it. So, from tomorrow on… I’d like us to go back to how we were at the beginning of the semester. Just you and me, like when we only knew each other’s names.”

“…You didn’t even know my name.”

“…Like when we only knew each other’s faces then.”

“…Why?”

Yu-ri asked as if she genuinely couldn’t understand.

“Why, why… why go this far? Did I do something wrong? Or was I too burdensome? It’s not like I confessed to you or anything. I just wanted to be friends with you…”

That’s the problem.

I couldn’t tell the upset Yu-ri that that was precisely the issue.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just… it’s always the same, my answer.”

“…Because you have a girlfriend?”

I nodded quietly.

“…Did your girlfriend tell you not to be close to me?”

It seemed like a ridiculous accusation, but I could see how Yu-ri might think that, which made me chuckle wryly.

“It’s not like that. It’s just that if I were… if I imagined my girlfriend getting close to another guy, I wouldn’t feel good about it. No, I’d hate it. I’m sure of it. I’m not that broad-minded. Maybe she might be suffering inside, unable to tell me not to be close to someone because she’s afraid of seeming possessive.”

After swallowing once with a “So—” I continued.

“I don’t want to do something that I would hate.”

“…Your girlfriend might not mind.”

“Maybe. But just the possibility that she might be upset—”

“Is enough?”

“Yes. That’s the kind of person she is to me.”

After I finished speaking, silence fell between us.

Swoosh—

Only the sound of thick raindrops hitting the ground could be heard.

“…This is ridiculous.”

The silence was broken by Yu-ri’s voice, which sounded a bit angry.

“I feel like I just got rejected without even confessing.”

“I’m the one who got rejected. Kicked away with a bang.”

It was a joke meant to lighten the mood, but it backfired.

Yu-ri glared at me as if telling me to shut up, so I pressed my lips together.

“And it’s annoying. I really just wanted to be friends.”

Just as I was about to apologize…

Yu-ri looked up at me.

“And… I’m envious. Because of you, who thinks only of her even when you’re not together.”

Her sincere words made me unconsciously scratch my chin in embarrassment.

“It’s not a big deal if we’re apart for a while. I’m only like this because she treats me well usually.”

“…I think I know why she treats you well.”

“Well, of course…”

“Not just because she loves you. She wouldn’t have been like that from the beginning.”

Yu-ri took a step closer to me and poked my chest with her finger.

“I bet that girl’s feelings have never gone unrequited with you, not even once.”

Yu-ri grinned with a confident expression as if to say, “Am I right?”

“…How would you know that?”

“I can just tell by looking. So even though I’m really angry right now… I envy her.”

After finishing her words, Yu-ri decisively took the umbrella from my hand without waiting for my response and turned away.

“Ah—I wasn’t going to take the umbrella, but I have to now. This is confiscation!”

“…Okay.”

“It’s just a shower anyway, so it’ll stop soon. Stand here and, sniff, reflect a bit…!”

“…I will.”

“I’m going to spread rumors that Han Woo-jin is woman-obsessed…!”

That’s not quite right.

Fortunately, the sound of her sniffling was covered by the sound of the umbrella opening and the rain.

Without saying “see you tomorrow” like on the first day, Yu-ri left my side with the same quick steps she had when we met.

…Was that the best choice?

It must have been.

I took my phone out of my pocket and made a call.

“…Mmm, oppa…?”

“I’m sorry. Were you sleeping?”

“Yeah, but it’s okay… Did something happen, oppa…?”

“…Just. I missed you.”

The sound of her laughing happily at my words came through the receiver, even though she must have been sleepy from being woken up.

As I chatted with Ye-rin for a while…

Soon, the rain stopped.