Chapter: 961
It’s a rainy day.
The rain poured down without stopping, as if there was a hole in the sky, and the sky roared with continuous thunder, as if it were angry.
Under the rain that fell like it was trying to erase the scorching summer.
A man cautiously wandered through the forest.
He didn’t seem to mind getting wet. Instead, he moved slowly.
It was as if he was searching for something, lost in a daze as he walked on.
His damp clothes were bothersome, but he was okay with wiping off the water; he just hoped that what was inside wouldn’t get wet.
Holding it carefully in his arms, he continued walking for a while longer.
After walking for some time, he finally passed through the grass and spotted a huge tree.
-…Ha.
He let out a sigh, almost inaudibly, like a breath of relief.
He had found what he was looking for.
After wandering almost half the day, he finally located it.
-…What are you doing here?
He said, a hint of sharpness in his voice, as if trying to hide his relief.
He couldn’t help it. It was kind of affectionate. Moreover, his emotions weren’t entirely settled yet, and he couldn’t say it out loud.
Upon hearing the man’s question, a woman sitting under the tree with her head buried in her knees raised her head.
-…Why did you come?
She asked bluntly.
Although she looked up, her gaze didn’t meet the man’s.
She surely knew she was trying hard not to look at him.
As the man quietly watched, his hand moved. He brushed aside the hair sticking to the woman’s wet cheek.
He could have pulled his hand back, yet the woman didn’t stop him from doing it.
-It’s cold.
When she heard that, the woman let out a snort.
-It’s cold? Who was it that said it was too hot because it’s summer?
-…I didn’t know it was going to rain.
How could I know it would rain? I’m not a god.
Yeah, if I had known it would rain, I wouldn’t have let you escape like this.
-No, that’s also an excuse.
The man suddenly found it amusing and shook his head. He then carefully took out what was held in his arms.
He pulled out a cloth, placing it over the woman’s head, gently stroking it.
It was meant to wipe off the moisture. But at that moment, when the cloth blocked their gazes, the man took advantage of it to speak.
-I’m sorry.
-…
-I admit my words were harsh. I shouldn’t have said those things to you.
-…
The woman didn’t respond to his words.
Yet she knew well that not stopping his actions was a sign that she was listening.
-It’s really cold out here. It’s okay to hate me, but can’t we just go back and deal with it?
He asked, checking her reaction. After doing so, the woman slowly began to reply.
-…Don’t tell me to go away again.
-Okay. I was wrong.
-Everyone in the world can treat me like that, but not you.
-I understand. I won’t do it, even in a fit of rage.
-And. You have to keep coming back to me every time something like this happens.
-Of course.
-…Promise me.
The woman raised her delicate pinky finger and offered it to the man.
The man, quietly observing her, temporarily removed his hand from the cloth and extended his fingers in a similar manner.
Their pinky fingers intertwined.
Only then, perhaps feeling relieved, did the woman remove the cloth from her head.
Her beautiful purple eyes sparkled brightly.
-Do you know?
Her smiling face, glistening with tears, looked incredibly lovely.
That was the thought that popped into the man’s mind as he stared at her face.
-You told me it was okay to hate you.
The woman’s hand touched his cheek.
-That’s something I can’t do.
-…
-It’s really disappointing.
As her hand slowly moved away from his cheek, the woman suddenly spread her arms toward him.
-Hug me.
Without a word, the man lifted her into his arms.
At that moment, the rain that had poured down like a lie suddenly stopped.
A rainbow appeared in the sky.
The woman smiled as she beheld it.
Even then, the man felt compelled to repeatedly echo the woman’s words in his mind.
Anytime.
No matter what happens, he must find the woman.
Those words.
The man kept repeating them.
*
Swishhhhhhh-!!
Hearing the sound of something pouring, the woman opened her eyes.
“…”
Had I dozed off for a moment?
My head hurts.
I think I was recalling something, but I don’t remember anything—was it just a fleeting dream?
It always happens like this.
Whenever I think of something, it just vanishes.
I feel like I should hold onto it, never letting go…
But I couldn’t even manage that.
It just keeps flowing away, mixed with the rain.
“…Ugh.”
Suddenly, the woman clutched her chest with her hand.
It was where her heart was located.
“Ugh…”
It hurt.
Am I hurt somewhere? No, that’s not it.
It felt too deeply aching for just ordinary physical pain.
“Ugh…Ugh…”
Why is this so hard?
The woman had no idea this was sorrow because she knew nothing.
She didn’t even realize that this uncomfortable feeling was anger.
She simply felt repulsion.
What do I hate? I don’t know the reason, but I feel intensely unhappy.
“…”
The woman gazed at her hand, a swirl of emotions stirring within her.
It was her tiny hand that had moments ago clenched into a fist and hit someone.
“…”
While she quietly observed it.
Slap!
Suddenly, she smacked the back of her hand. It wasn’t overly forceful, yet soon a red mark appeared on it.
It hurt.
It stung to have a wound on her body.
But even more, it pained her heart.
“…”
Bad.
That’s what the woman thought.
So then.
What is bad?
Is he the bad one? Or not.
‘Am I the bad one?’
Was it wrong that I hit him?
Why did I hit him?
Gently rubbing her tingling hand, the woman buried her face into her knees again.
‘…He’ll hate me.’
If I go back, I think he’ll despise me.
My sister said that if you do something wrong, just apologize, and it will be fine.
Would it be okay if I went and apologized now? The woman pondered deeply, but no answer came to her.
What frightened her even more was the thought that he might not accept her apology.
Why is that terrifying?
What am I so afraid of?
What is he?
What am I?
It’s an unanswerable question. She’s asked herself since the moment she was born, but she still hasn’t heard the answer.
‘The moment I was born…’
The point at which I existed as myself.
As she recalled this, another question arose.
‘When was I born?’
Why did I appear, and from whom did I come?
Also, what do I exist for?
The moment she thought of that.
Throb!
“Ugh…!”
She grabbed her head, overcome with sudden, excruciating pain.
“Ughhh…Uhhh….”
As she held her head and let out muffled cries due to the pain.
Swish.
Someone placed a hand over hers.
A warm hand.
As soon as it touched, she felt the pain gradually fade.
And just after that, the pain disappeared entirely.
The woman raised her head, her eyes slightly reddened.
There stood a fierce-looking young man, drenched from the rain.
“…Oh, crap…”
His eyes looked seriously angered and annoyed.
The sight made the woman flinch.
“Are you crazy? Why did you hit someone and run away?”
“…Uh…uhh…?”
“What’s with the ‘uh’? Do you have flowers in your hair? It’s pouring! What are you doing like this?”
He shook his head vigorously as if he disliked being wet.
With every movement, water splashed everywhere.
“Oh. This damn town is raining too, and it’s pouring hard!”
Tsk tsk.
He clicked his tongue repeatedly, and suddenly energy emanated from the young man’s body.
Whoooosh!
As the temperature rose, his wet body dried in an instant, obviously.
Hisssssh.
The moisture evaporated from his clothes, and the rain that had been pouring suddenly stopped, unable to penetrate the surge of heat.
Whoosh!
After drying the woman’s damp body, he stared at her quietly.
“Hey.”
“…!”
At his call, the woman shifted her gaze.
But.
Grabbing her cheeks with his hands, he turned her head back toward him.
“Don’t turn away. Look straight at me.”
“…”
“Do you like hitting and running away?”
“…”
“Is that fun for you? Do you have any idea how long I searched this place for you?”
The woman didn’t answer.
She felt an urge to remove his hand immediately but couldn’t; her fingers were twitching instead.
“You’re ridiculous. You cause this mess and then just vanish. You ruined everything, you know that?”
“…”
“I should’ve chased you down, but I couldn’t. Do you understand?”
Uttering those words in disbelief, the woman finally said something.
“…Why didn’t you follow me?”
So, why didn’t you go and chase after him?
To her question, which she didn’t understand, he remained silent.
“…”
This time, Gu Yangcheon couldn’t come up with an answer either.
Is he pondering? After a long quiet pause, he turned his head slightly and said.
“I know.”
His tone seemed as if he didn’t even comprehend what he’d said.
“…Crap, I should’ve gone. Why didn’t I? Am I really that dumb?”
A statement resembling a lament.
Even as she heard those words, the woman’s eyes were fixed on Gu Yangcheon.
“Oh, never mind. Even if I did go, I wouldn’t have caught him anyway. Ah. Damn it. This is all your fault!”
“…What?”
“People are so annoying! Why the hell is it raining again? Ugh.”
Ruffle! He raked his hands roughly through his hair, standing up abruptly.
“…Damn it… Everything’s messed up.”
There were things he needed to do, yet it all got tangled up.
It really gnawed at him, and he sighed heavily.
Then, Gu Yangcheon looked from the woman to say.
“Stop staring and get up. Are we not going? Are you going to stay out here, getting soaked?”
“…”
The woman stood up at Gu Yangcheon’s words. She contemplated whether she should raise her hand and say something but decided against it.
Because she intuitively knew he wouldn’t listen.
“Come quickly. I won’t wait for you, so don’t drag your feet.”
After confirming the woman was standing, Gu Yangcheon began to walk away.
Regardless of what he said, his pace seemed slower than usual.
“…”
Seeing this, the woman hastily followed alongside him.
“Hey, stay away from me!”
Seeing the woman cling to him, Gu Yangcheon grimaced. But this time, he only spoke, without pushing her away.
The woman gazed at Gu Yangcheon, then looked up at the sky.
“…A rainbow.”
“What?”
“A rainbow.”
When he heard her words, Gu Yangcheon looked up at the sky.
“What the hell are you talking about? Can’t you see the rain over there?”
The sky was filled with torrential rain, and not a hint of a rainbow could be seen.
Yet still.
“No. There’s definitely a rainbow.”
The woman saw it.
Very vividly.
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