That Night It Rained | Yuta

22 | The Rain Fell Harder That Night

The coffee she had earlier had done little to sober her up. She leaned on the window slightly, taking a peek at the night sky, trying to see the stars. But it was not the city lights obscuring the stars tonight, but the dark clouds hovering above them. It was getting windier and as they were moving out of the city to the outskirts, it got chillier.

'There are no stars in the sky,' Jina whispered but Yuta did not even acknowledge her. He was focused solely on driving, trying his best to not look at her.

'Yuta, there are no stars I said,' Jina said emphatically this time but still didn't get any response from him. 'Ah, I forgot you aren't talking to me,' she added, looking at Yuta now.

'Why? Why are you not talking to me?' she slurred her words and perhaps due to her lowered inhibitions, she added, 'Is it because we kissed?'

Yuta slightly turned his head but still didn't reply to her. He firmed his grip on the steering wheel and sighed.

'Did you hate kissing me that much huh?' she continued.

'Is it even the kiss? Or something else? What happened to you after that night?'Jina shrugged her shoulders dramatically and just when she was about to ask something else, Yuta spoke up, 'Can you shut up?'

'Aha! So, you can speak to me. I thought I was talking to a wall,' she said and shifted in her seat to face him, with a smile of triumph on her face. 'Why can't you tell me what's bothering you? Did I do something, hm? Why can't you just answer for once?'

Yuta was getting irritated now. Not only did he not want to deal with a drunk Jina right now, he definitely was in no mood to deal with her questions.

'Didn't I tell you to just shut up?' he yelled.

'And why would I listen to you?' Jina yelled back, the smiling from her face vanishing. 'Answer me first. What could I have done that was so wrong that you went to lengths to avoid me? Coming back home late and not talking to anybody.'

'Jina, I swear to god if you don't shut up,' Yuta warned.

'Then what huh? What do you think of yourself? Whenever you feel like it, you talk to me nicely and all of a sudden, your mood will change and you start giving me hell for no reason. What the hell is the problem?' she yelled at him.

Yuta stopped the car on the side of the road. 'Get out!'

'What?'

'I said, get out! Yuta leaned over and opened the car door. He didn't care at this point. He was so mad at this constant pestering by Jina and had no will to deal with any of this right now.

Jina was so angry and frustrated at this point and obviously drunk, that she unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car and slammed the door shut at once. Yuta sped off as soon as Jina got off leaving her on the side of an unknown road.

Jina held back the tears welling up in her eyes. She was so done with Yuta's antics and the entire thing. She was frustrated and exhausted. She stood at the side of the road for a long time before discovering that her bag containing her wallet and her phone was left in the car. She tried walking to find somebody who could help her make a phone call, but they were too far off from the city now and there was nobody around. She was appalled that Yuta actually left her on the road like this. Irritated with him and letting her ego take a hold on her and maybe because of the alcohol in her system, she decided to simply walk all the way back home not bothering to call anyone even if she found a person with a phone. She wanted to be alone either way. She wanted to cry alone.

Yuta didn't even look back where he had left Jina. He was sure she'll find a way back home on her own or simply call Mark or Min-hyuk who were nearby and he drove on. Light rain had started falling and after thirty minutes, when he was about to reach the house, it had started to pour down heavily. He looked out the car and thought of Jina but dismissed the thoughts away in his anger and ego thinking she'll find her way back somehow or just call somebody to pick her up.

Mark returned to the house shortly after Yuta did. Everyone was sprawled either on the couch, or the floor or near the fire in the living room, seeing the beautiful night rain outside.

'I thought you had work,' Yuta said to Mark when he entered.

'Where is Jina?' Doyoung asked Mark and added when he saw the confused look on Mark's face. 'She was out with you, right?'

'Is she not home?' Mark asked, looking at Yuta who was sitting beside the window.

'Wait, who did she go out with?' Haechan asked. Everyone now looked up from whatever they were doing and Mark filled them in at what happened.

'Well? Where is she then?' Johnny asked and everyone looked at Yuta.

'I...uh,' Yuta didn't exactly want to tell the guys that he left her in the middle of the road.

'Where is Jina, Yuta?', Taeyong asked getting up from the couch.

'She's coming back on her own.' Yuta was fiddling with the edge of the couch.

'What do you mean "coming back on her own"?' Jaehyun asked.

'I don't know. She... we had a fight...', Yuta trailed off.

'Don't tell me...', Taeil said in disbelief and anger, getting up from the floor.

'Hyung, did you leave her alone on the road?' Mark asked him, incredulously.

Yuta didn't answer nor did he look up to meet Mark's eyes.

'I am calling her wait,' Doyoung said, swiftly calling Jina.

'She isn't picking up.'

'Call her again, hyung,' Haechan said.

'It's raining so much today and it is so cold. I hope she is okay,' Jungwoo whispered.

'Nope, not picking up,' Doyoung said, looking worried now.

'Why isn't she picking up? I kept her phone in her bag.' And this is when Mark realised. 'No way.' He took the car keys from the table and rushed outside. Seconds later, he brought back Jina's bag with her wallet and phone inside it.

'Jina,' Yuta whispered, looking out the window at the rain.

'Where did you leave her?' Johnny yelled to shake Yuta out of his state.

'I don't know, the highway outside the city I think,' Yuta was now panicking. The sight of the rain which was once beautiful, was worrying him now.

'Hyung, she is not even sober,' Mark said.

The members looked up at Mark, their eyes widened. They didn't know Jina was drunk. Yuta grabbed the car keys from Mark and rushed towards the door.

'Where are you going?', Taeyong called out but Yuta didn't answer.

'Johnny, Taeil hyung, go with Yuta. I'll go with Jaehyun and Doyoung,' Taeyong told them and went inside to grab his coat.

Jungwoo, Mark and Haechan looked at Taeyong. 'We want to go too,' Haechan urged Taeyong.

'No, the three of you stay here. If she comes back, someone needs to be there at home plus it's raining so much, I don't want so many people from this house out in the rain and cold.'

Jungwoo opened his mouth to protest but Mark subdued him, 'Taeyong hyung is right. Someone needs to be here if she comes back here.'

'I'll call Min-hyuk hyung to ask if he can look for her too,' Mark added when Taeyong, Doyoung and Jaehyun were leaving.

Hours had passed but there was no sign of Jina. Jungwoo, Mark and Haechan were pacing around the house in worry looking at the weather outside getting worse. The rain had turned into a windy storm and night had become darker. Mark had called Min-hyuk who was searching with the others around the city and the path leading from the highway Yuta mentioned to the house.

The doorbell of the house rang and the three of them got up at once. None of the members and Jina ever rang the doorbell. Everybody had their own keys, even Min-hyuk. Mark rushed to open the door and there he found a drenched Jina leaning against the door, her eyes hardly open. The moment she saw Mark, she burst out in tears and almost fell. Mark held her up.

'Jungwoo hyung, call the others, she's here,' Mark called out and the other two ran to the door to see Jina in Mark's arms.

'Haechan, get some hot water ready, she's burning up.' Mark said, urgently.