Chapter 4 - A Little Closer Under The Blue Sky

The soft hum of the electric fan circled lazily around Yoo Aera’s room. She sat at her desk, a neat row of colored pencils spread beside her open sketchbook. Outside, the sky was a pale gray, the kind that looked too sleepy to rain, but too heavy not to.

She was supposed to be outlining ideas for the group project. Aera tapped the end of her pencil against her chin, eyes drifting away from the blank page in front of her. Instead of diagrams or presentation topics, her thoughts kept returning to Kang Daewon. The way his hand trembled slightly when he spoke in front of the class. The quiet look he had when he was lost in thought, chin resting on his palm.

Why did she notice those things?

Aera blinked and looked down at her sketchbook. Without realizing, she’d drawn an outline of a boy sitting by a window, looking at the rain. She smiled faintly and flipped the page. It was just a group project. That was all.

Right?

Downstairs, her older brother called out, “Aera! Don’t forget your umbrella! Looks like it’s going to rain.”

“Okay!” she answered, grabbing the same blue umbrella she always carried. The one Daewon had seen her with.

She left the house with her bag and umbrella in hand, walking toward the library where they had agreed to meet. She hadn’t told him, but it was one of her favorite places—quiet, tucked behind a row of cherry blossom trees, even in summer.

Halfway there, the sky finally let go. Rain poured in a soft, sudden sheet, turning the sidewalk shiny and the air thick with petrichor. She popped open her umbrella and stepped into the rhythm of the falling drops.

On the way of go to school, she saw Kang Daewon at the corner of the building...

“You forgot your umbrella again?” Aera asked gently, stepping close with hers.

He turned, startled, then smiled in that quiet way of his. “Yeah… I didn’t think it would actually rain.”

“Come on,” she said, lifting the umbrella higher so it covered both of them. Their arms brushed, just barely. “You’re always like this.”

Daewon chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Thanks for saving me again.”

Aera didn’t say anything—just walked beside him, the two of them moving slowly under the soft blue arc above them.

The clouds looked like spilled milk today—soft, pale, and dreamy. Yoo Aera sat at her desk, legs curled up under her chair, poking the edge of her sketchbook with her pencil eraser. She was supposed to be thinking about the group project. Instead, she was doodling a pair of sneakers under an umbrella. One boy’s. One girl’s. Side by side.

She blinked, then blushed lightly. “What am I doing…”

From the hallway, her older brother's voice floated up, “Aera! Rain’s coming, don’t forget your umbrella!”

“I know!” she called back, hopping to her feet. She reached for her favorite blue umbrella—the one that made her feel a little braver, a little calmer. The one Daewon had noticed.

Her heart did a tiny skip.

Tomorrow was their first project meeting. Just the two of them.

She stepped outside just as the first drops fell—soft and cold on her cheeks like a surprise hello from the sky. The scent of summer rain filled the air, mixing with the faint smell of grass. The blue umbrella bloomed above her like a quiet shield, and she held it close as she made her way toward the library.

And there he was.

Kang Daewon.

Standing under a cherry tree, awkward and adorable, with raindrops clinging to his hair. He looked like he’d just walked out of a manhwa scene—half-lost, half-lovely. He didn’t have an umbrella. Of course.

Aera tiptoed over, holding her umbrella above both of them. “You really never learn, do you?”

Daewon blinked, then gave her a shy grin. “Guess I was hoping it wouldn’t rain.”

She rolled her eyes—but it was the kind that meant she was smiling inside. “Good thing I came prepared. Again.”

Their shoulders bumped gently under the umbrella. Daewon cleared his throat, then whispered, “You smell like peaches…”

“What?” Aera turned to him, eyes wide.

“Ah—! I mean—your shampoo! I just—sorry!” He covered his face for a second, flustered and pink.

Aera laughed. A tiny, bell-like sound. “You’re weird.”

“I know…”

They walked slowly toward the library, both pretending not to notice how close their arms were, or how quiet the rain sounded when they were under the same sky, together.

The Haneul-dong community library smelled like old books, fresh paper, and quiet promises. It wasn’t big—just one floor, a few rows of wooden shelves, and a corner desk with two chairs and a little reading lamp. But for Aera and Daewon, it felt like a secret world.

They sat across from each other, the group project worksheet between them. But neither of them had touched it for five full minutes.

Daewon kept sneaking glances at her. Aera was pretending to look for a pencil in her pouch, though she’d already found it twice.

Finally, she broke the silence. “You’re not going to say anything?”

Daewon blinked. “Huh? Oh! Yeah. The… uh, theme. Of the project.”

She tilted her head. “What should we do? It has to show creativity and teamwork.”

Daewon twirled his pen between his fingers. “Maybe… a story? Like, a visual story. You draw, right? And I… I could help write the dialogue?”

Aera’s eyes lit up just a little. “You’d write with me?”

He gave a small nod. “I mean, I’m not great. But I wanna try. With you.”

A pause. Then she smiled—just a tiny one, like sunlight through a crack in the clouds.

“Then let’s make a story about… rain.”

“Rain?”

“Yeah,” Aera said, looking out the library window where droplets clung to the glass. “It’s sad and beautiful. Just like… middle school sometimes.”

Daewon laughed softly. “Okay. But can it have a happy ending?”

Aera looked at him, eyes steady. “Only if the boy brings an umbrella next time.”

Their eyes met. And held.

Then thud—Daewon’s pencil case fell off the table. He scrambled to pick it up, knocking into the corner of the desk with his knee.

“Ow…”

Aera tried not to laugh. “Smooth.”

He rubbed his leg. “Don’t write that part in the story.”

“No promises,” she said with a tiny grin.

As they leaned in to begin sketching out their story idea, the space between them grew smaller. Their pens moved across the page. The library around them faded.

And for just a little while, it felt like the whole world was made of blue umbrellas, soft laughter, and pages waiting to be filled—together.

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