The Truth Untold | kth.

- twenty: phone call in the rain -

Outside a public library, Hanna was trudging through the heavy rain, holding an umbrella while carrying a pile of books with both hands. Due to the downpour, puddles were formed on the ground, and ripples spread across the waters' surfaces.

"Ugh! This is so annoying! The weather is so awful, yet I still have to come to the library to borrow reference books for my stupid school project. Gosh, these books are so heavy! I wish someone were here to help me." Hanna grumbled, but the only reply she got was the sound of raindrops falling on the umbrella.

Just then, Hanna's phone suddenly started ringing. A familiar bittersweet tune filled the air around her— Hanna had changed her ringtone to the first song Taehyung sang on the night of the school trip, for it was the first time she heard him sing.

Who is it? Hanna struggled to carry all the books one-handed, took her phone out of her pocket with the other hand, and looked at the caller ID.

Taehyung...?

I thought he'd been trying to avoid me for the past week. Why is he suddenly calling me now?

Although surprised to see his name, Hanna was still about to press the answer button, but at that very moment, her phone slipped from her hand.

"No! My cell phone!" Following Hanna's scream, her phone formed a parabola in the air, before falling straight into a large puddle on the ground with a plop. Hanna immediately squatted down to pick up her phone, but by the time she took it out of the water, it already had a black screen and could no longer be turned on.

"Ugh, how unlucky do I have to be for this to happen? Now that my phone needs repairing, I'd better spend less this month and save my pocket money for the repair cost." Hanna sighed, annoyed at herself, then suddenly remembered the call from Taehyung. "By the way, why did Taehyung call me just now? Did he have something to tell me? Nevertheless, I won't know since my phone is broken, so I guess I'll have to wait till I see him at school on Monday before I can ask him."

Hanna shook her head, and instead of walking to the bus stop to take the bus home, she turned around and headed to the mobile phone repair store.

-

In the gazebo in the park, after pressing the dial button, Taehyung could feel his heart pounding as he waited for the girl of his dreams to pick up the phone. Subconsciously, he tightened his grip around his phone out of nervousness. Please, let me succeed...

However, it was not the familiar sweet voice that responded to Taehyung, but a cold, soulless robotic voice: "The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please try again later."

With empty eyes, Taehyung loosened his grip, and his phone fell to the ground with a thud. The robotic voice of the answerphone kept ringing in his ears, and he felt like a deflated balloon. At that moment, all the courage he had mustered seemed to have vanished— before making the call, he had imagined almost every possible reaction of Hanna, but never had he expected that Hanna would not even answer the phone.

It doesn't matter anymore whether Hanna missed the call on purpose, or just by coincidence. Taehyung sneered at himself, I guess it's all fate, and the two of us just aren't meant to be together.

How can I ask Hanna to be my girlfriend when I'm literally leaving Daegu tomorrow? I can't stay by her side to take care of her or give her happiness. A boy like me should just quietly fade out of her life, and leave Hanna with someone who can bring her happiness. How selfish of me to hope she would agree to stay in Daegu alone, waiting for me who's leaving her for Seoul!