Thursday afternoon.
After finishing class, Lee Soo was startled to see outside the window.
There was no forecast of rain this morning, but suddenly, a shower was falling.
“How strange. It was definitely cloudy.”
“Lee Soo, do you have an umbrella?”
“Huh? I didn’t bring one.”
It was more than a light drizzle to simply walk through, so she just stared out the window, feeling at a loss.
“Oh! Lee Soo, did you return Ji Ho’s umbrella that was in your locker?”
“Huh? Oh! No.”
Then she remembered that the umbrella was still in her locker.
There had been several rains since the beginning of the semester party, but one night she had called Ji Ho out in the rain, and on other days, it had rained while she was either at home or with Ji Ho, so she hadn’t returned it yet.
Honestly, she had forgotten about it.
Ji Ho no longer needed the umbrella as an excuse to meet Lee Soo, and she had forgotten it too.
“Hey, let’s use that.”
Using Ji Ho’s umbrella from the locker, she took Aera to the convenience store in the student union building.
“This came in handy. Good thing I didn’t return it. It was perfect for emergencies.”
Aera said while buying an umbrella at the convenience store.
“Right.”
“Now that I remember, I can return it today. It’s raining, why not go on a date.”
Wondering if Ji Ho’s invitation to contact him on rainy days was still valid.
It felt like such a distant memory that Lee Soo chuckled to herself.
Maybe Ji Ho had forgotten about it too.
“Alright. I’ll contact him.”
After parting with Aera, Lee Soo checked the time.
4 PM.
When does Ji Ho’s class end today?
She realized she didn’t know Ji Ho’s schedule.
Watching couples, she noticed they shared each other’s timetables and even personal schedules.
Without any dating experience, Lee Soo felt clueless about where to start.
Pulling out her phone, she sent a message to Ji Ho, thinking he might be in class.
Contact me after your class.
Usually, the last class ends at 5, so she wouldn’t have to wait long.
Just as Lee Soo was about to open her umbrella outside the building, her phone, kept in her pocket, buzzed briefly.
Are you in a hurry? I’m in class.
It was Ji Ho. Not listening as usual.
No rush. Contact me when you’re done.
She wouldn’t have texted if she knew he was in class. She felt bad for disturbing him.
‘I realize I know too little about Ji Ho.’
She felt insufficient to be called a girlfriend.
Sitting in a cafe, she blankly stared at the rain streaming down the window.
Thinking back, it was also rain that had brought her closer to Ji Ho.
It wasn’t surprising that she thought of Ji Ho every time it rained.
By the time she finished her bitter grapefruit tea, her phone rang.
Exactly 5 PM.
The caller was Ji Ho.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The sound of raindrops on the umbrella sounded refreshingly clear.
Lee Soo’s steps quickened with excitement as she went to meet Ji Ho.
At the building where Ji Ho’s class was, students poured out, but Lee Soo’s eyes only clearly saw Ji Ho.
With each step closer to Ji Ho, her lips unknowingly curved upwards.
Lee Soo’s face, looking at Ji Ho, was equally picturesque.
“People can smile so brightly. A smile that makes the heart flutter.”
Despite many people around, Lee Soo, with a trench coat hood pulled over and her face half-hidden by the umbrella, was free from those gazes.
In that sense, she was glad for the rain for the first time.
As she stepped forward, Ji Ho entered the umbrella’s cover with a stride.
“Did you wait long? I would have timed it better if I knew.”
“No. Waiting made me excited.”
Ji Ho grabbed the umbrella Lee Soo was holding, adjusted it to his height, and swiftly enveloped her shoulder, pulling her into his chest.
“We need to be this close so no one recognizes you.”
Lee Soo, taken aback in Ji Ho’s embrace, didn’t know how to react, but Ji Ho spoke confidently as if caring for her.
“Isn’t it enough to hide under the umbrella? Do we really need to be this close? It’s too…”
“My shoulder covers your face completely. We need to be this close to avoid the rain.”
It was true that they needed to be close under the small umbrella to avoid getting wet.
From behind, they would look like a couple closely sharing an umbrella.
At the building entrance, many were flustered by the sudden rain, lacking umbrellas.
Among the crowd, Lee Soo almost buried her face into Ji Ho’s chest.
Even amidst this, she deeply inhaled the scent of Ji Ho.
“Lee Soo, can we go to my place now?”
“Huh?”
“I want to reward you for remembering to contact me on a rainy day.”
“What?”
“Let’s have dinner together. I’ll cook something delicious.”
“Ah, uh…”
Lee Soo hesitated, unable to answer right away.
Was she ready for something like this? She suddenly felt her face flush.
Fortunately, Ji Ho didn’t see her face buried in his chest.
“Remember I said I’d play the piano for you? I’ll do that today.”
“Piano?”
“We need to hurry then. If we’re late, I can’t play.”
“Ah…”
It was already 5 PM.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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