episode_0392

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“Did you see? It’s raining outside.”

“Must be a shower. It was fairly clear earlier.”

Indeed, most of the bustling crowds outside had disappeared from sight.

They were probably sheltering from the rain somewhere, just like us.

Or maybe enjoying a meal, given that it’s lunchtime.

Come to think of it, I did notice one or two people carrying umbrellas while walking around earlier.

But they were such a rare sight—probably just the type who check the weather forecast religiously.

Or maybe, since monsoon season is approaching, there were frequent forecasts like, “There’s a 5% chance of showers today?” so everyone forgot theirs, collectively suffering from safety numbness.

…Of course, I hardly ever check the forecast either and only bring an umbrella when my mom reminds me.

Anyway.

At the arcade entrance.

After staring blankly at the raindrops bouncing off the pavement, I turned back to the table with a dismissive shrug.

“Let’s just finish what we started. Like I said before, don’t go easy on me.”

In the end, rain is rain.

If we wait, it’ll stop soon enough.

392

Well, I did manage to scrape together a victory.

Though it took roughly 30 minutes…

“……”

Outside, transparent raindrops continued to pour relentlessly.

Looking at the thick, gloomy clouds piled over the buildings, it seemed like the rain wouldn’t let up anytime soon.

…Maybe because I burned through my energy focusing earlier, but I was gradually getting hungry.

Talk about bad timing.

“What should we do?”

“Dunno.”

When Seo Woojin had asked about the arcade earlier, my “Dunno” had been dripping with negative connotations—but this time, I genuinely had no idea.

Still, if I had to think about it, following the crowd would be the simplest option.

Not just us, but everyone else without umbrellas seemed content fiddling with the arcade machines, so killing time here seemed reasonable.

Just in case, I glanced at the umbrella stand, but there wasn’t a single unattended one…

As I shifted my gaze upward from the window, I spotted Seo Woojin looking just as troubled.

Unlike his usual warm smiles, this was an expression I hadn’t seen often.

“Should we just wait until the rain stops?”

“If we have to, then yeah. It’s not like there’s another way.”

Walking in the rain is something you only see in movies.

If you’re sane, you’d wait it out quietly and only start moving once the rain lightens up.

So just as I was about to plop onto a chair near an unused arcade machine to pass the time—

Seo Woojin, who had sat down beside me, made a different suggestion.

“There’s a convenience store right across the street. I’ll just go buy two umbrellas. How about it? It’s not like it’s a downpour.”

Right across?

Why didn’t I notice?

I hesitantly got up and checked the window again, but nothing resembling a convenience store was visible—

…Wait, upon closer inspection, there was one.

Not exactly right across, but close enough.

“That one you’re talking about… at the corner?”

“Yeah.”

“…Seems kinda far.”

A brisk walk would take about 30 seconds… No, maybe 20?

I’d get a bit wet on the way, but the distance wasn’t unmanageable.

If I were alone, I’d have made the decision without much thought.

Wet clothes? So what—just endure a short nagging session from Mom when I got home.

But right now, the one offering to buy the umbrella wasn’t me—it was Woojin.

As I alternated between glancing at the convenience store outside and him, I eventually handed him my phone and spoke up.

Rather than shifting discomfort onto someone else and lounging around, I preferred handling things myself—even if it meant grumbling alone.

“I’ll go buy them. You wait here.”

“Your clothes’ll get soaked. Girls have it worse than guys.”

“…?”

“Plus, your hair’s on the longer side. Must be a hassle to dry.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Efficiency—purely based on efficiency, Woojin going alone was the better choice.

Getting drenched was irritating for anyone, but for girls, it was doubly so given the extra layers.

And hair sticking uncomfortably to skin was far worse for girls than guys.

But being indebted like this…

…I really hate it.

“Is it because you hate owing people?”

“…?”

“You did the same thing at the infirmary the other day. And back when you insisted on paying for my laundry fee even though I said it was fine.”

“…?”

Woojin hit the nail on the head.

I flicked a glance at him but stayed silent, averting my eyes.

I was painfully aware of my stubborn tendencies—something my boyfriend never hesitated to point out.

Back in the infirmary, I got an earful about “‘What’s the big deal about 10,000 won to a rich guy?’”

And with all our bickering over similar things, it was hard not to notice.

…Like I want to live like this.

I know I’m being inefficient. I know others find it annoying.

But I was just wired like this from birth—what can I do?

As I habitually turned away—just like I always did with Baek Jiho—

“You don’t have to worry about it around me. I don’t like owing people either, so I want to go.”

“…?”

“People with similar personalities can’t help these things, right?”

I glanced at him again.

Earlier, he’d been wearing an uncomfortable expression—probably because of the rain—

But now, for some reason, his usual warm smile had returned.

Not the polite, mask-like smile he used with others—

But one that looked genuine.

Then he continued.

“Hmm… Then how about this?”

“…About what?”

“I’ll brave the rain and buy the umbrellas, and you can treat me to lunch?”

“…?”

“I promise not to pick anything too expensive. Or I can chip in too.”

An incredibly reasonable proposal.

One person would cover the cost of two convenience store umbrellas and endure the rain.

The other would cover lunch in return.

Different people might value braving the rain differently—

But I could nod to this without hesitation.

“Let’s do that. …Oh, except the place we planned to try tomorrow.”

“Perfect. If today’s lunch turns out great, we can always go back for tomorrow’s meal.”

His train of thought mirrored mine so closely that I repeatedly nodded along.

As Woojin stood up, he handed me his phone.

It was the exact same model as the one Hayoon had shown me when listing her favorite restaurants.

A memory surfaced—how I’d once contemplated installing a tracking app to see if he was secretly seeing other girls.

But now, I couldn’t muster that level of suspicion.

Where would he even find the time? Between Hayoon and Jiyoon, how could he possibly juggle another girl?

Especially since he’d once told me he spent an entire weekend hanging out with Hayoon…

…And considering how obvious it was what the three of them were up to all weekend.

“……”

Wait, a whole weekend—it’s just a figure of speech, right?

Being together is one thing, but they wouldn’t actually spend two full days doing that, right?

Surely they took breaks.

Did stuff… whenever they felt like it.

Probably washed up together too.

Lost in thought, my mind drifted back to the first night of the festival—the uninhibited moans echoing from the infirmary.

Snapping out of my daze, I realized Woojin was already gone.

Peering outside, I spotted him already at the convenience store.

Even from here, the soaked upper half of his T-shirt was visible—but thankfully, it wasn’t that drenched.

Soon, likely having finished paying, he stepped back outside, popping open a plastic umbrella before heading my way.

“…?”

Wait, just one?

Wasn’t he buying two?

“Phew… Didn’t realize it was raining this hard. Didn’t expect to get this soaked.”

“Uh, good work… But why only one umbrella?”

The moment I spoke, I wondered if that was inconsiderate to someone who’d just gotten drenched.

Luckily, Woojin didn’t seem bothered.

After folding the umbrella, he roughly ran a hand through his damp hair and answered.

“It’s because of the sudden rain—everything was sold out except this one. I could check another store, but… doubt it’d be any different.”

Fair enough. It wasn’t like the rain had just started—we were late to the umbrella game after our fierce air hockey battle.

“……”

…So,

No choice then.

“We’ll have to share until the rain stops.”

With a quiet sigh, I stood and handed Woojin back his phone.

“Let’s go. Lunch.”

For some reason, the lingering stares from inside the arcade remained—

A question left unanswered.

“What kind of food do you like? I’m not particularly picky.”

“I’m good with anything. Western, Chinese, Korean—doesn’t matter.”

“Then mind if I just pick what I’m craving?”

“Go ahead. You’re paying anyway.”

“Something under 15,000 KRW per person should be fine, right?”

“Your call. Completely.”

Pasta it is, then.

Lately, I’ve mostly been eating Korean dishes like jeyuk bokkeum to suit Baek Jiho’s tastes.

Having instantly decided, I looked ahead, recalling how many decent pasta places were nearby—

“……”

“……”

Between Woojin and me.

I couldn’t exactly stare at the umbrella’s handle—

So straight ahead it was.

“Everyone’s using plastic umbrellas. No wonder they were sold out.”

“…Guess so.”

Amid the sound of rain drumming above us, Woojin’s soft voice reached me.

As I replied, I swallowed back a sigh that kept threatening to escape.

Sharing an umbrella obviously meant standing close—but this close was more than I’d bargained for.

If I walked normally, our hands might brush.

If I didn’t pay attention to every step, we might bump shoulders.

Somehow, I could even feel the warmth radiating from his slightly damp body.

…I’d prefer a little more distance.

But this was the minimum to keep us both dry.

I haven’t even done this with Baek Jiho yet.

Sigh…

“Decided on what to eat?”

“…P-pasta. That sounds good today.”

“Pasta… A spicy option would be nice.”

“There should be one. I haven’t tried it, though… You like spicy food?”

“If I had to categorize my tastes, then yeah. Over milder flavors…”

Spicy pasta, huh.

These days, finding a place without that option is harder.

Regardless, as we kept up the small talk to dispel the awkwardness, we soon reached a red light at a crosswalk.

Trying to recall if the decent place I’d been to was about a block ahead, I glanced down at my feet.

The narrow umbrella couldn’t stop my shoes from getting soaked, and the unpleasant dampness was setting in.

But thanks to that, I noticed something else—

“…”

Woojin’s feet were much closer than expected.

The umbrella handle was positioned here, so his feet should’ve been roughly symmetrical to mine—

But they were noticeably nearer…

“…”

…Oh.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to force yourself. Just come inside.”

Seo Woojin.

He’d been keeping his shoulder outside the umbrella this whole time.

“It’s already soaked. Doesn’t matter.”

“You can dry off now. Or are you planning to stay like that?”

Turns out both of us felt awkward sharing the umbrella.

He’d been making an effort too—hence his drenched sleeve.

My shoes were the only casualty here.

And yet, I’d been wishing he’d stay farther away.

“Having you like that makes me more uncomfortable. Get closer.”

“…Where’s the restaurant?”

“Didn’t I say get closer?”

If this were Baek Jiho, he’d have just wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me in.

But this wasn’t Baek Jiho.

So instead, I pinched Woojin’s T-shirt and tugged lightly.

Basic physical contact even acquaintances could do without it being weird.

At first, Woojin didn’t react—but as I kept pulling, he gradually complied.

The hand holding the umbrella and Woojin’s waist—

Once distant, now at a natural proximity.

Similarly, his oddly positioned feet shifted back to where they belonged.

Though that brought another inevitability—

“…”

“…”

The constant brushes against Woojin.

Not just brushes—continuous contact.

His toned forearm pressed against mine.

But—

“…Asked where the place was earlier, right? Just past the crosswalk.”

“…Ah.”

“Move. Now.”

Force majeure.

Stuffing stray thoughts into that term, I urged Woojin forward—his steps just as awkward as mine.

While we bickered under the umbrella, the crosswalk signal had long since turned green.