Chapter Text
I’m so, so tired.
My eyes are burning; I can already feel the bags under them.
«You did a good job today, you can go»
Siyeon is waiting for me outside the room. She’s on her phone, and I know she’s tired too, but a wide smile appears on her face as soon as our eyes meet. «Thank you for waiting for me» I say. She doesn’t answer, but holds my hand instead, squeezing it gently.
It’s raining.
The sun should already be up by now, but even the horizon is filled with grey clouds. There’s only a cold yellow gleam awakening the streets, while the neon lights still rock the inhabitants’ sleep.
The air is still, no wind is blowing, and small droplets of water fall directly on the ground. The street is already filled up with puddles. It’s warmer than it should be, and so humid that my hands, still entwined with Siyeon’s, are already getting sticky.
She doesn’t let go, though.
«What should we do?» she asks.
Our manager couldn’t drive us home today; there is no way we’re taking the underground at this hour, so we might as well wait here for a bus.
So we wait.
Neither of us has the strength to say anything. Our bodies lay awake, but our minds are long asleep. Siyeon plays with my hand, pinching the back gently like she always does.
And so we wait.
The sound of the rain fills our ears with a sweet melody. Maybe the rain understands. If we shouted all our worry between its droplets, they would get caught, fall on the ground, get in the sewer, disappear. This rain feels like it’s comforting us after a night spent at the studio recording our new songs. The rain gave us a new chance, two more members. And if I look up, the street lights turn into spotlights, and the droplets falling on the harsh cement are claps. We will get there. It doesn’t matter how many nights we have to spend awake, singing our lungs out: we’ll get there.
«Yoohyeon-ie»
«Mh?»
«I just remembered, there’s a strike today»
So our wait ends.
«We should walk home» Siyeon says, standing up from the seat at the bus stops.
My eyes move to the horizon without me realizing, and it takes me some seconds to remember the purpose. I’m too tired to think.
«It doesn’t seem like it will stop raining any time soon».
«Then…» Siyeon says, a mischievous smile on her face, «let’s walk under the rain».
She takes a few steps backwards, getting out of the bus stop’s roof, exposing herself to the water. She lifts her face, her eyes closed, lips shut tight curved in a smile: serenity on her face. After a few seconds, my arms lift. They grab her shirt and pull her back under the small roof harshly. «What were you thinking?!» I shout, quieter than expected. That stupid, beautiful smile never leaves her face. «We have to get to the dorm somehow, let’s have some fun while doing so at least» her voice is happy, and she easily frees herself from my hold, walking right back into the rain, her arms open, this time a bright heart shaped smile towards me. Her bangs are already completely wet, stuck on her forehead, and she parts them just a bit so that the water that falls from them doesn’t go directly in her eyes. But I don’t move. It’s a stupid idea, we’re– no, she is just risking getting sick.
As I don’t move, her smile turns into a pout. «Okay, guess I’ll go without you, all alone under the rain» she lowers her head, taking baby steps away from me, our eyes still locked. I know the game you’re playing, Lee Siyeon, and I won’t fall for it.
But she suddenly stops, looking at her feet. I join her gaze. There’s a puddle in front of her. Our eyes meet again, and the mischievous smile is back.
Oh no.
Siyeon takes a big jump, and a splash of water just as big rises up when her feet hit the puddle. She jumps again, this time a smaller hop, and then she switches her attention to me, smiling like a puppy with her new favourite toy. «Look at you, I’m sure you’re bored below that roof. I’m having fun!» she shouts a bit too enthusiastically, waddling in the puddle. I just roll my eyes.
Big mistake.
Before I know it, Siyeon lifts her leg in my direction, and a spurt of dirty puddle water hits my legs. Oh, she’s not going to see the light of day.
I immediately start chasing her down the road – ironically, the words of the song we worked on all night, “Chase Me”, ringing through my ears –, and maybe I’m just too tired, but she’s fast and doesn’t lose her lead.
The rain is hitting my face full speed, my hair now sticking to the sides of my face and neck. My sweater can barely hold any more water without it reaching the skin below, and my shoes are full of mud. I’ve lost count of how many puddles I’ve jumped in. And I’ve forgotten why I was chasing Siyeon in the first place.
The sky is starting to clear, the horizon now exposing our sleepy faces to the cold morning sun. The natural yellow light fighting against the blinding red, blue and green neon lights. A battle between night and day.
A battle for us, between our career and ourselves. Between the sleepless nights spent working, dancing, singing, writing, our teenage years away from the teenage world. But now, under the equalizing rain, we’re just kids having fun. It’s not Kim Yoohyeon and Lee Siyeon from Minx, it’s not the trainees of the upcoming group Dreamcatcher. It’s just… us. Just me, Yoohyeon, and Siyeon, and her stupid ideas that could get us in danger. But it’s the danger that has never made me feel more alive. And it’s the rain that keeps our secret, washes us of guilt, and the bittersweet water doesn’t see differences between us, or the old homeless man at the end of the street, or the couple driving to the hospital to deliver, or the grandmother taking an early morning walk, covered by an umbrella twice her size, remembering the days she spent jumping in puddles.
And as my lungs start wheezing and my legs get heavier, Siyeon turns around, rays of the morning sun hidden behind her smile, framing her head of a heavenly glow. Blinding beauty so dangerous, the only thing I can do is smile as wide as I can, unable to say a word.
She lifts a hand towards me, still moving her legs, walking backwards. I offer her my fingertips, the distance between us towering unbearable for my exhausted body, and she holds them with both hands pulling me closer.
Closer.
We spin around, holding hands for our dear life.
We spin around until the soft yellow light and the blinding neon of the city become one chaotic swirl.
We spin around until our laughs cover the sound of the rain and until we are pressed together, a beautiful masterpiece.
We stay like this for a while, holding each other, the rain modelling our bodies as if they were made of clay. No more droplets buzzing in my ear, but the sound of our heartbeats ringing through my whole body.
Siyeon’s head is pressed against my cheek, her arms wrapped around my neck, water falling down from her sleeves under my back, where my backpack had avoided the rain from entering – but that humidity had already wetted.
Our chests move quickly, breathing in, laughing, breathing out, breathless.
No more rain between us but the heat of each other.
Siyeon pulls out of the hug, her arms slide so that her hands can rest on my shoulders, as I still hold her waist tightly, maybe afraid that the rain will make her slip away from my grip if I don’t hold strong enough.
She looks at me with her dark, cryptic eyes. Her eyebrows are slightly lifted and there’s a hint of a smile.
«It’s so romantic, isn’t it?» she says.
«Uh?»
Her right hand starts pinching the skin on my exposed collarbone, and I can’t help but feel my grip on her waist tighten, almost unconsciously. She shifts even closer to me, her smile fading like the clouds above us.
«Staying under the rain like this. I can almost hear a background music, just like in movies».
Her voice is low, resonating in my chest. She bites her lip, and her hand moves up, up, until it’s cupping my cheek, rain water still dropping from my hair. Her hand is smooth, even smoother on my cheek than it is when I hold it. A cosy warmth fills my body, and I’m sure it’s not just because of how close our bodies are. I feel it build up in my stomach, and then it rushes through my legs and I’m sure if Siyeon wasn’t here to hold me, I would fall down. It reaches my hand that’s still holding tightly to her wet jacket, and then to my head. It makes me dizzy and my eyes close before I can avoid it. But when everything is black, it just emphasizes the feeling of her thumb stroking the corner of my lips, and her left hand holding onto my neck, slowly pulling me closer, and the warmth of her body that tingles my cold fingertips even through the layers of clothing. And the sound of the rain. She doesn’t speak. She doesn’t need to.
It all happens in a moment. We kiss. Just for a mere second. And I can’t process it fully, not before she lounges an inch too close to me, for a second too long, and with my eyes still shut I can feel her against me again, pressing gently. She tastes like sugar, and rain, and happiness. And with the small movements her lips do against mine, it feels like the neon lights of the city have moved into my body, and the cold sun at the horizon is suddenly warm and it shines just for us. Just for Siyeon, and me.
But then she stops.
Only droplets of water on my lips again.
I so desperately wish we could make out for eternity, but I can feel her resting her head on my shoulder and that’s not too bad either. There’s not the smell of wet clothes and moss anymore, just her fruity shampoo and her newly bought lipstick.
Suddenly, the rain finishes.
Without a word, we walk home.