The sound of a canned coffee dropping from the vending machine echoed faintly. I grabbed one and handed it to Yona.
“You don’t mind coffee, do you?”
“… Thanks.”
While I immediately popped the tab open, I saw her just staring at it for a second before pressing the hot can to her cheek.
“… Feeling better?”
Yona nodded silently. Taking a sip myself, the warmth spread down into my stomach. A bit of steam escaped my mouth when I finished.
“… I didn’t know the Track Club had a rule that you still have to practice even when it rains.”
“… Are you mad, Ren?”
She looked at me. Her eyes seemed a little glassy, though I couldn’t tell if it was rainwater or something else.
“Rather than mad, I’m just confused. Or… did you want an excuse to skip school tomorrow?”
“I… I kind of spaced out earlier.”
“I think ‘kind of’ doesn’t really fit here. No one runs through pouring rain if they’re just ‘kind of’ spacing out.”
“… I’m sorry.”
Hearing her apologize made me scratch my head in frustration, though there were no bugs in my hair to begin with. I said I wouldn’t get mad at her, but here I was, losing my temper anyway.
Even though… honestly, this was partly my fault too.
“… Look, I’m fine now, Yona. You don’t need to blame yourself. Yesterday was an accident. In fact, I should thank you for staying by my side at the hospital.”
“…”
“So don’t dwell on it, okay? You have a tournament coming up soon too. I’d hate it more if you ended up sick.”
Yona just stayed quiet at my words. After a moment, she lowered her head again, pulling the towel closer to hide her face from me.
Unfortunately, that only shifted my attention to her gym shirt, now a little see-through from the rain—revealing a rather sacred sight.
“… Ren, you really are a good person, aren’t you?”
“Other than my parents, no one’s ever told me that.”
“Then I’m the first after your parents. The first one to receive so much of your kindness.”
Her hand tightened around the coffee can.
“It’s so much that I don’t even know how to repay you. And yet, I keep causing you pain.”
“… There’s no need to repay someone who hasn’t done anything to you. Besides, I don’t feel like I’m suffering at all.”
“See? That’s exactly why you’re so kind, Ren.”
“… ”
This time it was my turn to fall silent. Not because she was right, but because I genuinely didn’t understand how she could think I was a kind person.
She then continued:
“I don’t know if I deserve to be by your side.”
“… God made all humans equal. No one can decide someone’s worth except Him.”
“… Then, I must be one of His mistakes.”
“I said no one can decide someone’s worth except Him, didn’t I?”
The conversation was drifting into nonsense, and it was all my fault. The coffee in my mouth had already lost its taste. I wanted to say something else, but I stopped.
Because I noticed her legs trembling under the towel. She was still holding the hot coffee, but her legs wouldn’t stop shaking.
“… Yona, you need to change your clothes first.”
“I… I’ll do it later.”
“Why later? You’ll catch a cold if you don’t.”
“… Because you’re here.”
… She had a fair point. For a second, I felt stupid for telling her to change right away.
“I’ll wait outside then.”
“… No. Just go home, Ren.”
“… Why?”
The Track Club building didn’t have a porch or a covered area where I could wait out of the rain, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to just leave now.
Besides, I had an umbrella. Sure, I’d still be cold, but still.
“You’ll get sick again if you wait outside.”
“I’m not that weak.”
“… Being strong doesn’t guarantee anything. You got sick last time just from a bit of rain, didn’t you?”
“… That’s because it hit my head and I went straight to sleep after. I won’t let it hit my head while I wait. I’ll take a bath as soon as I get home too.”
Wait, why were we arguing about this now?
“That still doesn’t guarantee anything. There’s always a chance.”
“Alright then. I’ll just wait in the school buil—”
My sentence hung in the air. Not because I choked or bit my tongue, but because Yona pulled the towel off her head.
Even though she kept her eyes down, I could see a faint, tired smile on her face.
“… Please, Ren. You’re never this stubborn. Why only today?”
“… Because it’s you.”
“It’s cold.”
Her legs were still trembling. After she said that, I couldn’t say anything back. If I stayed, she might not hold out much longer.
Worse, she could end up with a worse fever than mine yesterday.
… Seriously, I hate drama.
Drama that keeps dragging on, because you can’t wrap it up with just words.
“… Fine. I give up. I’ll go home. You have an umbrella, right?”
Yona only nodded in reply. With no other choice, I stepped outside.
But the hollow feeling in my chest lingered stubbornly. So instead of heading straight for the gate, I quietly slipped into the school building.
Sitting somewhere away from the windows, I strained my eyes to keep watch on the club building where Yona was.
The rain kept pouring. A few minutes passed until she finally came out. Now back in her uniform, she opened her umbrella and left the school grounds.
Trailing her that far would only make things worse if I got caught. All I could do was sit here, staring at her back as it grew smaller and smaller in the rain.
“… It feels like she’s hiding something from me…”
What happened after I passed out at the amusement park yesterday? Did something happen while she was taking care of me? Questions kept circling in my mind.
“I hope I can ask Mom about this…”
My mom said she met Yona at the hospital last night. Maybe she knows something.
Staring at the floor, the thought of going home suddenly felt exhausting.
I had an umbrella, but I was stuck at school now. No friends to talk to, not in the mood to mess with my phone, just sitting here, staring down.
“I wanna play MonHun…”
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report