Yi Soo ran frantically.

She wanted to get far away from home, anywhere would do.

Her heart was racing as if it would burst, and her whole body was trembling.

It was the first time in her life. And from her father’s wife, no less.

Her teeth chattered from unbearable shame more than the stinging pain.

The image of Soo Min’s fierce face as she slapped her cheek wouldn’t leave her mind.

Yi Soo only stopped to catch her breath when she reached the main street after leaving the alley.

“Hah… Hah…”

The mixture of panting breaths, anger, and sorrow rising to her throat made her chest feel tight.

Her vision blurred from the tears that kept welling up.

“Mom…”

If only Mom were here at a time like this.

If Mom had come to Seoul as promised, she wouldn’t have gone through this.

She resented her mom but also missed her.

As her emotions intensified, what little strength she had left drained away completely.

Her legs gave out and Yi Soo collapsed to the ground, knees buckling.

She could feel passersby glancing at her, but she didn’t even have the strength to get up.

As she sat hugging her knees, something started falling on her head.

She looked up and raindrops fell on her face.

“Ha… Of all days for it to rain, the timing is really…”

Yi Soo didn’t even try to find shelter, just sitting there in the rain.

She hoped the terrible memories would wash away with the rain.

The tears that had pooled in her eyes mixed with the rain and flowed down.

Yi Soo cried freely in the cold rain.

Raindrops quickly gathered at the ends of her wet hair and her t-shirt became soaked.

It was still chilly at night in March.

With the rain on top of that, a chill began to spread through her whole body.

Still, she didn’t want to go home like this.

She had rushed out with just her phone from the bed, not even bringing her wallet.

“At least that’s fortunate, I guess.”

Yi Soo looked for shelter from the rain and went to a bus stop.

As she sat on the bench waiting for the rain to stop, she started shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

Her mind kept getting fuzzy too.

She needed someone to help her.

As she was searching for Aera’s number with trembling hands, suddenly her phone rang and Seo Ji Ho’s name appeared on the screen.

Yi Soo’s hand froze.

She wondered why Seo Ji Ho was calling, then remembered their promise to meet when it rained.

Could he really be calling at this hour to ask for an umbrella?

After hesitating for a moment, Yi Soo pressed the answer button.

[Hello?]

Ji Ho’s sweet voice wrapped softly around her ear.

Strangely, that short word made her feel at ease.

“…Yeah.”

Yi Soo barely managed to squeeze out a sound from her tight throat.

[Are you… outside right now? I can hear rain.]

“…Yeah.”

Her chattering jaw made it hard to speak properly.

The biting wind blowing through her wet clothes and hair was stealing away all her body heat.

She was chilled to the bone.

[It’s raining a lot… And it’s late too.]

“…Yeah.”

Yi Soo kept repeating that word as if it was all she knew how to say.

[…Yi Soo.]

It was truly a gentle voice.

Why did just her name being called feel so warm?

Yi Soo slowly opened her eyes that had been closed.

How strange.

It’s the name she hears every day, has heard all her life, but why does it move her heart so much when spoken in Seo Ji Ho’s voice?

Her heart swelled precariously up to her throat at the name he called for the first time.

Tears welled up in her eyes again and spilled over before she could stop them.

“Hic, hic.”

Yi Soo covered her mouth with her hand, but once the tears started they wouldn’t stop flowing.

[Are you… crying right now?]

A surprised and worried voice came through.

When there was no answer, Ji Ho called her name again.

[Yi Soo…]

Why did it have to be Seo Ji Ho again, of all people?

How did she end up crying in front of this man again?

Silence stretched on, as if waiting for her crying to stop.

Yi Soo hugged her knees and cried for a long time.

It felt like everything had drained out of her along with the tears.

The phone in her hand felt as heavy as a piece of iron.

Her head spun and she was overcome with anxiety that she might lose consciousness.

[Yi Soo, where are you right now? I’ll come to you.]

As Yi Soo’s sobs subsided, Ji Ho’s voice came through again as if he’d been waiting.

**

Ji Ho watched the rain streaming down the window in long lines.

He’d been thinking of doing a rain dance, but it started raining after 10 PM.

Though the rain he’d been waiting for was falling, Ji Ho looked somewhat disappointed.

It was too late to get his umbrella back.

Ji Ho held his silent phone and opened the screen.

12, 13, 14. Ji Ho watched the numbers on his phone change one by one.

Three minutes passed that felt like three hours.

Ji Ho mustered what little patience he had left and waited another 7 minutes after that.

They’d said they’d meet when it rained, and Ji Ho had said he’d wait for Yi Soo to contact him then.

But Ji Ho’s patience was already at its limit, and after barely making it to 10 minutes, he found Yi Soo’s name in his recent call list.

It was late, but not quite bedtime yet.

Thinking about it, there was no reason they couldn’t meet.

If Yi Soo was okay with it, Ji Ho could just go to her place.

As he thought that maybe she hadn’t contacted him because she didn’t know it was raining, his hand gripped the phone tighter.

What was this, having so many thoughts while making one phone call?

Ji Ho let out a wry laugh at how ridiculous he was being and pressed the call button.

He held the phone to his ear, looking out at the rainy night view.

The dial tone rang several times.

Had she already fallen asleep?

He’d caught a brief glimpse of Yi Soo sitting in the back of the lecture hall that afternoon.

He couldn’t see clearly from far away, but she’d seemed down somehow.

Was she sick?

As concern flashed across Ji Ho’s face, the dial tone cut off and he heard only the sound of rain with no words.

When he spoke first, Yi Soo gave only short one-word answers.

It was less a voice and more like a reluctant scraping of her throat.

Ji Ho focused all his attention on the sounds coming through the receiver.

He could faintly hear sniffling mixed with the sound of rain.

When he asked if she was crying, there was no answer.

That meant she was crying, right?

‘Haa, why again…’

In that moment, Ji Ho’s insides burned hot and his heart pounded heavily.

He kept running a hand over his face as he waited quite a while for Yi Soo’s crying to subside.

During the time that passed like an eternity, Ji Ho’s eyes darkened.

As he waited, his only thought was that he needed to see her.

No matter where she was or what state she was in.

Ji Ho threw on whatever clothes he could grab and left through the front door with his car keys, not knowing his destination.

The veins in his hand holding the phone bulged out.

By the time he got down to the underground parking garage, Yi Soo’s sobs had quieted.

“Tell me what you see in front of you.”

Ji Ho asked as he got in the car and started the engine.

He entered the location Yi Soo told him into the navigation.

At this hour it would be about a 10 minute drive.

“I’ll be there soon, so don’t hang up.”

Ji Ho urged Yi Soo as he increased his speed.

**

She’d called Seo Ji Ho out in the middle of the night.

Knowing it was shameless, she still couldn’t bring herself to refuse when he said he’d come.

Since he’d heard her crying, there was no way he’d believe her if she lied and said she was fine.

Honestly, when he said he’d come, Yi Soo thought it was a relief.

Even though she knew it would be embarrassing to show such a mess of herself.

From the moment she realized something was wrong with her physical state, she needed someone, anyone, to be by her side.

It’s not like it was the first time anyway.

On the plane. In the lecture hall. And today.

Maybe Seo Ji Ho would be better than Aera.

As she waited for Ji Ho, Yi Soo held the phone to her ear.

She found some stability as she quietly listened to Ji Ho’s calm voice and breathing coming through the receiver. Just then, Ji Ho’s car came into view.

As she huddled there with her trembling body, Ji Ho got out of the car and approached in an instant.

Yi Soo staggered to her feet.

“Haa. What in the world…”

Ji Ho was at a loss for words when he saw Yi Soo.

Hair and clothes soaked with rain, face flushed, blue lips, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Ji Ho instinctively reached out and embraced Yi Soo.

His body moved before his thoughts.

The slender body fell into Ji Ho’s arms without any resistance.

Yi Soo’s wet hair brushed against Ji Ho’s chin.

“…Thank you for coming.”

A trembling voice barely audible came from Yi Soo’s lips.

“You don’t have to say anything.”

Ji Ho held Yi Soo tightly with no gaps so his body heat could transfer, and stroked her back broadly with his large hand.

Her rain-soaked clothes were cold and damp.

Yi Soo’s shivering didn’t stop easily, showing how much she must have been shaking from the cold.

Yi Soo stayed still, completely entrusting her body to Ji Ho.

She had no thoughts other than how warm and cozy Ji Ho’s embrace was.

Her mind was gradually going blank.

Everything from when Yoo Mi entered the room until now being held in Ji Ho’s arms.

It all felt unreal and distant.

“You’ll catch a cold at this rate. Let’s go to the car for now.”

Yi Soo’s body was shaking severely.

Ji Ho put his arm around Yi Soo’s back and gripped her trembling shoulder firmly.

After getting Yi Soo into the passenger seat, Ji Ho got in the car, covered her with a blanket from the back seat, and turned the heater on full blast.

“You’ll warm up soon.”

Ji Ho looked at Yi Soo leaning against the seat with a hardened expression.

She was dressed casually as if she’d come from home, with no bag, and her feet in crumpled sneakers were bare.

‘What in the world happened?’

Ji Ho felt a lump in his throat.

Upset, he unconsciously reached out to Yi Soo’s face.

As he tucked her wet hair behind her ear, he saw a long diagonal scratch on her red, swollen cheek.

It was a mark as if scratched by something sharp.

Yi Soo covered her cheek with her hand at Ji Ho’s shocked gaze.

“You…”

There was no need to ask how the wound happened.

It was an injury that was hard to believe even seeing it.

Ji Ho couldn’t continue speaking.

He brought back the hand he’d extended and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

The air in the car sank heavily as if suffocating.

Ji Ho rubbed his face with a hardened expression, then leaned towards Yi Soo to fasten her seatbelt.

“…Did you leave home?”

Yi Soo, covered up to her neck with the blanket, barely managed to nod her trembling head.

Her eyes kept closing as her mind grew hazy.

Ji Ho let out a low sigh, shifted gears and started driving.

Before long, the car entered the underground parking lot of a building that seemed to pierce the sky.

Ji Ho parked the car in his usual spot and turned off the engine.

He got out and opened the passenger door.

“Can you walk? Should I carry you?”

“…I’m okay.”

Yi Soo didn’t ask where they were and just got out of the car as Ji Ho led her.

She stumbled several times on the way to the elevator as her legs gave out.

“Lean on me.”

Ji Ho pulled Yi Soo’s shoulder close, letting her lean against his chest.

Yi Soo’s body was burning hot like a fireball.

Ji Ho briefly considered going to the hospital, but in Yi Soo’s current state, waiting for treatment in a busy emergency room seemed too much.

It seemed better to have her take some medicine he had at home and rest comfortably while monitoring her condition.

He decided to go to the hospital later if her fever didn’t break, and got in the elevator.

Yi Soo struggled to keep her eyelids open as they kept trying to close.

Her vision was blurry and her ears felt muffled.

In the rapidly ascending elevator, Yi Soo felt like she was sinking into an endless abyss.

She barely managed to grasp Ji Ho’s collar as her head spun.

“Yi Soo!”

Ji Ho’s voice was hard to hear through her hazy consciousness.

As all her senses grew distant, Yi Soo closed her eyes.