Ch.6666. Memories Ride the Rain

Like all sweet foods, they’re enjoyable at first but quickly become overwhelming if you eat too much. However, Hwa Nabi showed no signs of being tired of them.

Indeed, her claim about loving sweet foods wasn’t just empty talk.

“Even so, how can someone eat that many sweet things?”

Standing with my back against the wall in front of the dessert shop’s entrance, I looked up to check the situation outside.

-Swoooosh.

The weather had definitely been clear when we came in. But while we were busy feeding each other and chatting, the weather outside had turned like this.

“Tsk.”

I tried to gauge the falling rain with my eyes. Judging by the size of the raindrops, it didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon.

Tap tap, I folded my arms and tapped my shoulder with my finger as I pondered for a moment. What should we do now? The rain was getting heavier, and of course, we didn’t have an umbrella.

“Should I call a car?”

There is a dedicated vehicle for situations like this… but I’m somewhat reluctant.

It might just be my feeling, but I don’t like the sense of having my every move monitored.

“…Maybe I’ll just call a taxi.”

As I was holding my phone and thinking, I heard the door opening behind me and the sound of footsteps. The footsteps were familiar, so I turned around and sure enough,

“What are you calling?”

There stood Hwa Nabi with her small backpack. She said she was going to the bathroom, but it didn’t take as long as I expected.

“You came back quickly.”

“Yes, I just washed my hands. But Siwoo, weren’t you just saying you’d call something?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. It’s raining now, right? So I was thinking of calling a taxi.”

“Why waste money on a taxi?”

“Huh? We can’t walk in the rain.”

“No, I have an umbrella.”

Saying that, Hwa Nabi swung her backpack around to her chest. Then she opened the zipper and reached in to find something.

“Ta-da.”

With a cute sound effect, what Hwa Nabi pulled out was a folding umbrella. It was pink and quite dainty, small enough to fit in her tiny bag.

But… wouldn’t it be a bit uncomfortable for two people?

“Isn’t it too small?”

“Then we’ll just have to walk very close together.”

“…I don’t think that solves the problem. Why don’t we just take a taxi?”

“Where would I get money for a taxi? Let’s just use the umbrella and walk.”

“I have plenty of money…”

To exaggerate a bit, I have an amount that I might not be able to spend in a lifetime. But Hwa Nabi clicked her tongue and wagged her finger as if telling me not to talk nonsense.

“Tsk tsk, Siwoo. What are you saying? You should save money especially when you have a lot. You never know what might happen in life.”

It made sense in a way, but hearing such words from the daughter of a conglomerate ranked in the top five in the country made it feel completely unrealistic.

“Well… alright, let’s use the umbrella then.”

“Yes, I’ll hold it.”

“No, I’ll hold it. If you hold it, the height won’t be right.”

*

With the rain still falling steadily, we left the dessert shop and walked down the street sharing the same umbrella.

“By the way, how’s your exam preparation going?”

With about two weeks left until the final exams, I could feel that the students in class were gradually entering concentration mode. To my casual question, Hwa Nabi touched her lips and answered.

“Hmm, except for math, the rest is going pretty well.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

So math is the problem. While other subjects can somehow be managed through memorization, math is difficult that way. It was an obvious statement.

“Yes, so I’m a bit worried.”

Chungha Highschool doesn’t force supplementary classes during vacation, but they’re not lenient with failing students—those who don’t exceed the subject average.

The school forces them to take mandatory supplementary classes during summer vacation. Thinking about that, it’s understandable to be worried. After the exams, there’s just one more month of school before summer vacation, and nobody wants to come to school during that time for supplementary classes.

There’s even the school festival period in between. If you don’t want to enjoy the fairly large-scale festival with an uncomfortable feeling, you really need to study hard.

“Should I help you again this time?”

“Um… would that be okay? It would take away from your study time.”

“Well, I’ll help you if you don’t mind.”

If she has to attend supplementary classes, we’ll have less time to spend together. I kept that purely selfish desire to myself. Unaware of my thoughts, Hwa Nabi nodded happily.

“Why would I mind? It’s a lesson I couldn’t get even if I paid for it, so I’m happy.”

It seems like just yesterday she was avoiding studying and doing other things… but hearing her talk like this makes me proud. When a student approaches learning with this attitude, it’s more rewarding for the teacher too.

It’s better to teach a student with genuine academic enthusiasm than to force someone who doesn’t want to study. That’s obvious, I suppose.

“Oh… what’s this about? Did you have some kind of change of heart?”

“Change of heart… I’m not sure about that, but I do have a goal in mind.”

“A goal? What kind of goal?”

“Why, are you curious?”

“Yeah, I am curious. What is it?”

“Hmm, should I tell you or not?”

From the way she’s talking, it doesn’t seem like her goal is simply to improve her grades. What could it be? While I was making my own guesses, Hwa Nabi kept us in suspense with her cheerful tone.

Maybe she’s in a good mood from eating sweets, but she’s smiling more brightly than usual. She’s really such a bubbly person.

“It’s not some goal you can’t tell others, is it?”

“It’s not like that. But it might be a little embarrassing to say. And I can’t guarantee it with certainty yet.”

“So it’s not something you need to hide. Then just tell me. I won’t laugh.”

They say it’s good to have big dreams, and even if Hwa Nabi’s goal seemed unreasonable, I was confident I wouldn’t mock her.

After all, even I had some far-fetched goals that I couldn’t tell others about until middle school. When I conveyed that I was asking seriously, Hwa Nabi stopped walking for a moment.

“What?”

“Well… Siwoo, can I borrow your ear for a moment?”

“…How long is this secret that you need to whisper it?”

Is she doing this because she’s too embarrassed to say it out loud? I’m not sure, but I brought my ear closer as instructed. Then, Hwa Nabi brought her hands to my ear and cupped them gently.

“Siwoo, promise you won’t laugh when you hear this?”

“I promise.”

Ahem, Hwa Nabi cleared her throat unnecessarily.

I maintained my position but rolled my eyes slightly. Looking at her, I could see her cheeks were slightly flushed.

Eventually, with a warm breath, her lips opened carefully.

“I… want to go to the same university as you.”

“…Huh?”

“Well, you’re really good at studying, right? So you’ll go to a good university. If I want to follow you there, I need to study really hard. So that’s my goal. First, to improve my grades.”

“Uh….”

Not knowing how to respond, I just stared at Hwa Nabi with my mouth slightly open.

She seemed uncomfortable under my gaze and scratched her cheek with her finger, avoiding my eyes.

“…Do, do you understand now?”

So Hwa Nabi’s saying… she’s studying hard because she wants to go to the same university as me?

My face suddenly felt hot because I hadn’t known this until now. I never expected to hear something like this directly….

“Ah… I, I see?”

I was so flustered that I even stammered. And it was the same for her, as Hwa Nabi was busy avoiding my gaze.

“Uh, um. Y-yes.”

“I, I see. I understand….”

“…”

“…”

And so… an awkward silence fell between us for a moment.

But not long after.

-Pitter-patter,

The raindrops falling on the umbrella began to intensify. It was too much to ignore while standing in a daze, so I forced myself to speak.

“…Let’s go for now. It’s raining heavily.”

“Ah… shall we?”

One step, two steps, three steps….

After walking silently for about five minutes.

Walking like this under the same umbrella, shoulders touching, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Hwa Nabi.”

“Y-yes?”

“Come to think of it, it was raining heavily like this back then too, wasn’t it?”

“Huh? Back then?”

Hwa Nabi, who had been leaning against me slightly, stood up straight. After pondering for a moment, she muttered with a face that suggested she had just remembered.

“Ah, March 3rd?”

“Yeah, the day you transferred. It rained a lot then too. You even remember the date?”

“How could I forget such an experience? We were cleaning an empty classroom together, and it was raining heavily when we were going home, right? And I accidentally hurt your back. …I was really sorry about that.”

“Why apologize for something that’s in the past? It’s fine. It’s all healed anyway.”

It wasn’t a big wound, so it didn’t even leave a scar. After dismissing her words, I continued.

“Actually, we should have taken a taxi back then. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”

I said it jokingly, but suddenly Hwa Nabi’s face turned serious. Wondering why she was acting like this, I watched her carefully as she looked at me with an expression that was difficult to interpret and asked.

“Siwoo. This is just a hypothetical question, but if we had each taken separate taxis back then… what would have happened?”

There was a strange anxiety in Hwa Nabi’s eyes as she asked. Judging by her demeanor, she seemed to be asking seriously… but I only had one answer to give her.

Why worry about something like that?

“Nothing would have changed.”

“…What?”

“Whether we took a taxi then, or my family’s car, or walked. Nothing would have changed. Well, the process might have been a little different. But the conclusion wouldn’t have changed.”

“…And what is that conclusion?”

“What else could it be?”

I placed my hand on the waist of Hwa Nabi, who was worrying unnecessarily, and pulled her strongly into my arms. She looked up at me with a startled face.

“That we would end up like this.”

“…This is the conclusion?”

“Why, don’t you like it?”

“N-no. That’s not it….”

When I came on strong, she blushed and lowered her head. I took in her cute reaction and then threw in a joke with a bit of mischief.

“You won’t cling to me this time, right?”

“Siwoo…. Is that supposed to be a question?”

“Well, if not, that’s fine. Then, shall we go like this?”

“…Wait. You’re going to hold my waist like this?”

“This way our shoulders won’t get wet.”

“Ah, okay. Then… let’s go like this.”

An evening in May, somewhere between spring and summer.

The weather was chilly because of the rain, but our hearts were very warm.

Well… of course they would be.

“…Um, Siwoo. Hold me a little tighter. My shoulder is getting wet.”

“Is this enough?”

“Yes, that’s perfect.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Because we were warming each other’s hearts.