That Night It Rained | Yuta

01 〉 Han Jina

On the other side of the city, in a small studio apartment sat a girl at her desk early in the morning. She was staring at her laptop, more specifically at a blank white screen with a blinking text cursor waiting for the words to type themselves out. Her coffee had gone cold and the street outside the apartment had come to life but the screen remained blank.

Sighing, she looked over her shoulder at the calendar that hung on the wall with today's date circled in red. Exactly a year ago, she had decided to quit her job. She had graduated college four years ago and had worked various jobs since then but none of them were even remotely close to what she actually wanted to be- a writer. So, a year ago, after she had saved enough money to help her sustain on a part-time job, she quit her work but gave herself a deadline and today was it.

What began as a hopeful dream, soon turned into a nightmarish reality. Her savings were barely keeping her afloat; her rent was overdue; she was exhausted and she had not completed a single chapter in months.

She had no money and worse, no inspiration. And after today, she would have to look for a job.

Just as she poured the discoloured coffee down the drain, her phone rang.

'Hello?' She picked it up.

'Is this Han Jina?' asked a man on the other side of the line.

'Yes,' she replied. 'Who is this?'

'I am Nam Min-hyuck and I work for an entertainment company in Seoul.'

'Okay?' she drawled.

'I am the manager of an idol group NCT 127,' Min-hyuck quickly added. 'Have you heard of them?'

'Uh.' Jina rummaged through her mind trying to conjure the image of a boyband she wasn't sure she knew. 'May I know what this is about?' she rather asked.

'Right,' Min-hyuck replied and paused. She heard him take a breath before he resumed, 'This may sound strange but we have a job and our company believes you are the right candidate for it.'

'A job?' she asked, trying to keep both her excitement and confusion out of her tone. 'I don't recall sending my resume anywhere in the past year.'

'You are right, you haven't,' Min-hyuck replied as casually as he could manage. 'Consider this a headhunt.'

'A headhunt?' she asked, suddenly alert. 'Is this some kind of a scam?'

'No!' he blurted out. 'Of cour-'

Jina cut the call before he could answer. But her phone rang again, almost immediately and the same number flashed on the screen.

'I will report you to the police,' she yelled the moment she picked up the phone.

'No, can I just explain, please?' Min-hyuck sounded desperate.

'Alright,' she sighed. 'But I want you to prove that you are who you say.'

'Yes, of course,' he replied. 'I would love to meet and discuss this with you.'

'Not so fast,' she said. 'Send me a picture of your employee ID.'

'Sending it right away.'

'I am not done,' Jina cut him off. 'Send me a picture of yourself holding today's newspaper so I can verify that it's actually you.'

Min-hyuck had gone silent on the other side.

'What? Can't do it?'

'No, I- give me a minute,' he said and cut the call.

Within the next minute, Jina had received a picture of Min-hyuck's employee ID, a picture of Min-hyuck holding today's newspaper, a picture of Min-hyuck holding his employee ID and today's newspaper, and a video of him outside the company's building following him inside where he used his ID to access the lobby.

After this exhaustive proof, Jina agreed to meet Min-hyuck at a café near her apartment in the evening.

'I don't understand,' she said, pushing away her coffee as she peered over what seemed like the drawing of her own face. It was not the drawing itself that stunned her but the fact that this wasn't drawn from any of her pictures.

'Who drew this?' she asked.

It took Min-hyuck the better half of the evening to explain everything from the fortune-teller to finding Jina's whereabouts and the CEO's plan.

'So... you want me to live with them?' she spoke, still clutching the drawing in her hand.

Min-hyuck nodded a yes.

'And I will get paid?'

'Yes, we will prepare everything for you with a contract in place to protect your rights,' Min-hyuck said, then added sincerely, 'I know it's a lot to take in and I don't want you to feel rushed into anything, so why don't you take your time to think about it?'

This was a lot to take in and Jina was still having a hard time deciding whether any of this was real or not. She did need the money and a job where she had to nothing but live with an idol group did not seem too bad. She could focus on her writing and if nothing worked out, it would give her some more time to plan for the future.

Jina got up to her feet and bowed. 'Thank you for the coffee. I will be in touch,' she said.

'Yes, of course.' Min-hyuck got up too to greet her. 'You have my number already. Just give me a call if you have any more questions.'

With the drawing in her hand, Jina gave a faint smile and took her leave.