Blue Umbrella Days

Chapter 1: The Blue UmbrellaHaneul-dong

Seoul – Early Spring

It rained that morning.

Not the kind of rain that poured with thunder or scared you with lightning—But a soft, sleepy drizzle that made the sky look pale and the streets shimmer like glass.

Kang Daewon stood by the school gate, holding his sketchbook tight against his side. His black hoodie was already damp from the walk. He had forgotten his umbrella again. Typical.

He sighed quietly, brushing wet strands of hair off his forehead.

That’s when he saw it.

A blue umbrella.Not navy or sky-blue, but soft and pale—like the color of a dream right before you wake up.It moved gently in the rain, swaying with each step, and under it was the girl he always noticed but never talked to.

Yoo Aera.

She wasn’t talking to anyone. Just walking, holding her bag close, her black shoes splashing little puddles as she passed.

Daewon felt something stir in his chest, like a page flipping in his sketchbook.

She paused at the gate. Looked up.

Their eyes met.

Just for a second.And just like that—she smiled. A little one, soft like the rain.

Then she walked inside.

Daewon blinked. The wind brushed past him, cool and damp.

His heart said:Maybe today… something will be different.

The first class hadn’t even started yet, but Kang Daewon was already sitting by the window—His usual spot, third row from the back.The rain tapped gently against the glass, like a soft rhythm only he could hear.

He opened his sketchbook slowly.

It wasn’t a new one. The corners were bent, and a few pages were wrinkled from water stains or crumpled from nerves. But it was his world. His safe place.

And today… he turned to a blank page.

No one was watching. His classmates were loud, chatting, still waking up.Even the teacher wasn’t there yet.

He picked up his pencil.

The lines came softly at first—like a whisper.An umbrella.A girl beneath it.Eyes lowered, lips slightly parted. A calm expression.

He didn’t draw fast. He never did.

But today, his hand didn’t hesitate.The curve of her cheek.The way her bangs brushed her eyebrows.The delicate shape of her hand holding the umbrella.

He didn’t even realize he was holding his breath.

“Yah, Daewon!” someone called from the back. “Still drawing that manga stuff?”

He closed the sketchbook quickly, hiding the page like a secret.

Park Jinwoo flopped into the seat beside him, grinning.“Let me guess—your mystery crush again?”He nudged Daewon’s arm.“You gonna tell her someday, or are you planning to write a love letter through your drawings?”

Daewon didn’t answer. Just looked outside again.

A drop of water slid down the window, tracing a slow, lonely path.

He whispered, almost to himself—“…She smiled at me.”

Jinwoo paused. “Wait—who?”

Daewon shook his head, cheeks warming. “No one.”

But in his sketchbook… the girl with the blue umbrella smiled.

And maybe, just maybe… she was smiling at him.

After lunch, the sky turned even grayer. Some students stayed in, chatting over milk cartons and sticky rice, while others dared to run in the drizzle. Yoo Aera, however, sat quietly under the eaves of the art building, her blue umbrella resting beside her, not open this time.

Daewon passed by with his sketchbook clutched close.

She was humming something. Soft and pretty. He slowed.

Then it happened—his foot caught on the step. His sketchbook flew from his hands, flipping through the air.

It landed right in front of her.

Aera blinked, then gently picked it up. Her fingers brushed against the corner.

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “This is yours?”

Daewon froze. His mouth went dry. “I… uh… yeah.”

She looked at the open page. The blue umbrella. The soft smile.

Her smile.

She didn’t say anything for a moment. Just looked at the drawing, then at him.

“It’s… beautiful,” she whispered. “Did you really draw this?”

Daewon’s ears turned red. “I just… draw what I see.”