It started raining during last period.
Not a polite drizzle—a full-on, sky-opening-downpour kind of rain. The kind that soaked your socks and made your backpack feel like a sponge.
CJ didn’t have an umbrella.
Of course he didn’t.
Kim did.
Of course she did.
As the final bell rang, CJ stood in the school’s front lobby, watching the rain pound the pavement like it was trying to erase the ground. Students rushed past him, umbrellas open, raincoats flapping. He was just about to make a run for it when he heard a voice behind him.
“You really didn’t check the weather?”
He turned to see Kim, holding a compact black umbrella, backpack neatly secured. She looked... dry. Perfect. Prepared. Annoyingly so.
“Nope,” CJ said, shaking his damp hoodie. “I live life on the edge.”
Kim gave him a flat look. “The edge of pneumonia, maybe.”
He smiled. “You worried about me?”
“I’m worried about my project partner getting sick and leaving me to do everything alone.”
“Sure. That’s the only reason,” he teased.
She rolled her eyes, then hesitated—just a second—and held out her umbrella.
“Come on. I’ll walk you to the station.”
CJ blinked. “Seriously?”
“I’m not letting you drown.”
He grinned. “Wow. You do have a heart.”
“Regret incoming in 3... 2...”
They walked together under the small umbrella, shoulders nearly touching. CJ held it in the middle, tilting it slightly toward Kim without even thinking.
The rain echoed around them, loud but peaceful.
They didn’t talk for a while.
And weirdly... that wasn’t uncomfortable.
“You know,” CJ finally said, “I always figured you thought I was annoying.”
Kim snorted. “I did.”
He laughed. “Wow. Brutal honesty. Love that.”
“But now,” she added, “I think you’re... less annoying. Occasionally useful. Still loud.”
He looked at her. “High praise.”
She smiled slightly, looking ahead. “You’re not what I expected.”
“Expected?”
“You act like you don’t care. But you do. You just hide it behind jokes and bad time management.”
CJ blinked. “You’ve been analyzing me?”
“You’re predictable.”
“Then you should’ve predicted I’d forget my umbrella.”
“I did. That’s why I brought a big one.”
CJ stared at her for a second—half stunned, half impressed. “Wow. You plan everything.”
Kim didn’t answer, just kept walking.
But she was blushing again.
They reached the station. The rain hadn’t let up.
Kim paused before going down the steps.
CJ stood next to her, still under the umbrella, hesitant.
She looked at him. “You should probably watch 10 Things I Hate About You tonight.”
CJ raised an eyebrow. “That your subtle way of saying you hate me?”
Kim smirked. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s just a really good movie.”
CJ smiled. “I’ll watch it. But only if you promise to tell me which part makes you cry.”
Kim’s smile faded into something softer.
She didn’t say anything at first.
Then she looked at him and said quietly, “The poem.”
And with that, she turned and walked down the stairs, out of the rain.
Leaving CJ under the umbrella.
And, strangely, with a storm starting inside him too.
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