Lovers in the Night II | Yang Jungwon

XIV

Once upon an afternoon after she studied at the library (surprisingly), Yona was stuck at school. "Shit," she curses underneath her breath as she stood below the safety of the roof, observing the rainy environment. She didn't know the weather was going to be a pain in the ass today, so she didn't bring an umbrella.

It was ironic because she used to be an umbrella maniac, but things have been changing for her ever since she met Jungwon. Though, it's been a while since they last talked. The world really seemed like it was against her due to it. She debated on whether or not to call Jieum over to bring an umbrella for her.

Why did Jungwon have to come into her real life? Nothing has been the same since. She didn't even feel like Yona anymore but a new person. His impact on her was deep, as if he were a healed scar from her past that had been sliced open again. Why did she have to have feelings for Jungwon?

This was when someone comes along beside her, interrupting her trail of thought. It was a guy around her age, he looked awfully familiar. He stood a few feet away from her, observing the rain. She uses her peripheral vision to look at him, seeing that there was an unopened umbrella in his hand. "Bad weather today, huh?" She didn't expect him to speak to her so suddenly.

"Uh, yeah," she clears her throat. His voice was familiar as well. "It's pretty bad." Now that he spoke to her first, she felt confident enough to stare directly at him. He was much taller than Jungwon and was quite lanky. He wore the male-version of the uniform she had on, which meant they were classmates.

Although she could recognize him, she couldn't place a finger on it. She was trying to figure out who he was. "I see that you don't have an umbrella," he looks directly into her eyes. He talked to her so casually, it was as if she should've known him. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

When their eyes lock for a few moments, her face snaps away. She was a bit flustered, he was good looking. "You don't have to, I can contact my friend." It was raining quite hard, so she'd feel bad if they had to share an umbrella.

She pulls out her phone to text Jieum to come to her aid, but then a sudden storm erupts, and the sound of a lightning hitting something is heard. Before Yona could send her text, the electricity stops working and her signal dies. She gasps, what the hell? "Yikes," he shows his bottom teeth. "I guess you're stuck with me."

He extends his umbrella out and opens it, he nods with his head for her to come over. Hesitantly, she stood before the guy. "Thanks."

"No worries," he says. They begin walking into the rain together. "Ms Shin is always up your case, huh? I'd ought to be nice to you, Ms Girl-with-the-Highest-Record-of-Detention-in-Our-Grade."

Yona couldn't help but laugh, she didn't heard that nickname in a long time. "Wait, you're in my class? Why haven't you talked to me prior to this?"

"Trust me," he chuckles, not phased at all that she didn't know him. "I've been trying, though my efforts have never paid off. It just never works out well enough for you to remember."

This was somewhat getting freaky. "Who are you?"

"I'm Leehan," he timidly says. "I sit in front of you. I'm always the one who's making the snarky remarks and the one you seem to kick in the shin a lot."

She immediately recognized the person he was referring to. He sat directly in front of her and always had so much to say whenever she did something embarrassing, she never processed that he was that guy.

Yona immediately gasps when discovering this. She realizes that she had interacted with him so many times, yet she never bothered to learn anything about him. "To be fair," she attempts to defend herself. "I don't really care for names."

"I know," he shrugs it off. "You've always been like that." Wait, so how long did he know for me for? she thought. If he claims she has 'always' been this way, then he must've for a while now. This makes her feel bad.

"Thank you for noticing" was all she could say in response to him.

A quarter of their walk together was in silence. They didn't really have anything to talk about because all they know about each other was that they were each other's classmates. There was so much tension that half of Yona's body was drenched in rain because she was too shy to get closer to him. He notices this, "What are you doing? Come closer."

"It's okay," she whispers.

"What happened to that Yona who didn't give a fuck?" he points out, and she was a bit startled by the sudden inappropriate language. "The one who was outspoken in class and was blunt? Why is the Yona beside me meek and soft-spoken?"

"People's influence," she vaguely responds. There wasn't a clear answer in her head as to why she changed so much, perhaps she was attaining Danah's personality traits. Hopefully not.

"Why? I think you were perfectly fine the way you were," he states.

She grins, "I appreciate that. I really do." It was nice to have a pleasant conversation with someone, other than Jieum, who did not see her as Danah nor have any relation to her.

"Cmon." With the arm that was holding the umbrella, he creates a space by lifting his elbow up. Slowly, she hooks her arm around his. She breathes out slowly as they became comfortable against one another. Thankfully, because they closed the space, she wasn't in the rain anymore.

Due to Jungwon's presence and experience with her, Yona thought that he was the only gentleman that existed. This moment with Leehan made her realize that she needed to open up her eyes more to the people around her.

She wondered if he was one of the people who thought she was with Jungwon. The other day, after she and him kissed, Leehan called them out for like they did. "Are you and Jungwon together?" That confirmed her suspicion.

"No, we were just close." 'Were?' That term bites her in the ass. Was she going to never talk to him again? She was still so devastated that he was using her. Therefore, she leaves up that question in the air for now.

On the other hand, Leehan seemed relieved. He innocently smiled to himself, I still have a chance.

As they walked together in the rain, they conversed deeply. She felt like herself around him, like she didn't have to live up to anybody's expectations. It was just her and Leehan acting like their ages, messing around.

When they get to her house, she makes sure he saw how grateful she was for saving her from the rain. "Thank you for everything," Yona smiles at him.

"No," he plants a peck on her forehead. "Thank you for finally noticing me."

Unbeknownst to the two, there was a figure watching them from afar. That figure watches Leehan leave, frozen in shock.

Jungwon defeatedly stood with an umbrella over his head and a box of chocolates. He watched the whole thing at her house occur. He planned on visiting Yona to apologize to her more formally, but he changed his mind at seeing them together.

Heartbroken, he drops his umbrella, letting the rain soak him completely. He didn't know why he did so, but he felt like he deserved it. He then walks to the nearest garbage can and dumps the box of chocolates into them.