Work Text:
The sound of the raindrops hitting the glass of her window, those tears meeting and running down the cold surface like a vertical river, and the grey clouds hiding the sun were the things that made Yoohyeon feel at peace. She looked outside, letting herself get lost in the sight of those skyscrapers cutting the fog, some apartments with the lights turned on.
She stood up from the chair, leaving the laptop screen with the file she was working on, the mug with the warm tea between her hands and looked down, the road invaded by cars and umbrellas: she really enjoyed rainy days, she also loved to take walks under it, listening to the water hitting her own umbrella; the only thing she disliked were the rude drivers going full speed on the road and splashing with water some unlucky pedestrian that was passing by.
Yoohyeon was a bit stuck with her paper, so she changed her clothes, took her umbrella and left her apartment to go for a walk, maybe go into a café and buy some pastries. She calmly walked, avoiding with no effort those rushing to who knows where, focusing on the humidity sticking to her face, it wasn’t something that bothered her in the slightest. She got to the crossroad that led to the café she was going to, the red light reflected on the white stripes painted. The young woman was lost in her thoughts until she heard someone running, the water slightly splashing around their feet, the person wearing just a black hoodie, a black backpack on her shoulders, tight dark blue jeans and blue sneakers. Yoohyeon noticed that the person on her left had no umbrella, and without thinking she shifted hers from the right hand to the left; the other was at first focused on the traffic light in front of her, blinking continuously to avoid the rain to get into her eyes, then realized that she didn’t feel it hitting her like before, looked up noticing the dark green material hovering her and then the person on her right, looking and smiling at her: she was freezing, but that gesture and that smile were enough to make her feel warmed up, or at least the illusion of it.
“Thank you, but there’s no need, I have to get to that café and meet up with a friend.” She smiled back at Yoohyeon, a bit embarrassed also because a complete stranger was shielding her from the rain that now became more intense.
Yoohyeon noticed short blue hair strands slightly coming out from the other girl’s hoodie, and the beautiful shape her eyes had; “Sounds like we are going to the same place, so I guess this is the bare minimum, considering how soaked wet you already are.” The traffic light turned green, and the duo started crossing the road, “How come don’t you have an umbrella with you?”
“That’s a fun story actually haha they stole it.”
“What?” Yoohyeon couldn’t help but smirk, the tone the other young woman used was somehow amusing.
“Yeah, I left my umbrella to drain somewhere, outside my class, but after the lesson was over, I couldn’t find it anymore. And now here I am, soaked wet like a little duck after a swim on the lake.” She huffed, her cheeks turning red. “I’m so sorry, we are strangers and you offered to share your umbrella with me without even thinking about it and here I am blabbering about my unlucky day and my stolen umbrella.” Yoohyeon snorted, extending the right hand towards the student, “I’m Yoohyeon, nice to meet you.”
“Siyeon, nice to meet you too.” They shook hands, then Yoohyeon replied: “See? Now we aren’t so strangers anymore.”
“I’m 23 years old by the way, I go to university.” Replied the blue haired girl, mentally slapping herself, “Why have I said that- now she thinks I’m weird.”
“I’m 25 years old and I’m a journalist.” And I think you’re cute was the last thing she wanted to add, but she kept it for herself.
They got to the café, Siyeon entered first in order to keep the door open for Yoohyeon, busy shrugging the umbrella from the excessive water. The student looked around after the other woman got in, seeing almost all the tables empty, and at the few occupied there was no sight of her friend. She asked herself what to do: thanking again the kind woman, go to one of the tables and wait for her friend, or keeping her company till her friend arrives?
Yoohyeon looked at all the pastries displayed in the glass counter, unconsciously wetting her lips, till a tiny voice spoke next to her: “My friend is not here yet, and you helped me with the rain. Can I at least pay whatever you’re going to buy?” the taller woman noticed how Siyeon looked down, embarrassed, a bright pink tint appearing back on her cheeks. Yoohyeon widened her eyes, taken aback by the student’s offer, “Oh no please!! Please don’t feel in debt, it wasn’t something that I thought about, it came very natural.”
“I insist, if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve gotten here even more wet than I already am, and I highly doubt that someone else would’ve done the same. So, I’m asking you again to let me pay your part.” Yoohyeon felt Siyeon’s dark eyes pierce through her mind, speechless by the sudden determination of the student. “What if I want to buy you something warm to drink while you wait for your friend? Would that make you feel in debt again?”
“Yes.”
“Mmh…” Yoohyeon thought again and before she could speak up, Siyeon continued: “I pay your pastries and whatever you’re going to drink, you pay my hot chocolate and then we are back to the starting point.” The journalist saw the other woman fidgeting, when the barista offered the latter a warm towel to dry her face and hair a bit. When she was done, Siyeon looked at the humid towel in her hands, and then back at Yoohyeon, and with embarrassed and a trembling voice asked: “Is it a hazard asking you to exchange numbers?”