Meteor

Eight

"It's OK, I won't be mad at you anymore", she wrapped her arms around his soaking body and gave him a tender hug, "No matter what happens, I'm here with you, alright?"

"Hey Eun Chae..." He put his head on her shoulder.

"Huh?" She gently patted on his back.

"Can I...can I cry right now?"

"Of course you can, if it makes you feel better"

"I'm sorry for being weak," his voice became shaky and he soon bursted into tears.

"Don't worry, it isn't bad to be weak. From now on, you don't need to act strong in front of me anymore, understood? Just be yourself, I'm fine with that," she said and gently patted his back. 

Yu Jin did not respond. He just kept sobbing and embraced her tighter. He was still feeling cold because of being out in the rain. However, as soon as Eun Chae hugged, a pleasant warmth began to spread throughout his body.

"You feel better now?" Eun Chae let go of him and gave him a grin.

"Yeah, thanks a lot!" He nodded his head and wiped away his tears. 

Never had he thought that he would enjoy the feeling of being hugged by a girl like this. It was even stranger that he wished that this comfortable moment could last a bit longer. Her hug had just given him a fling of escapism from the harsh reality that he was facing, putting a bandage onto the bleeding wound deep inside his heart.

******

It was another rainy evening, Yu Jin was having his instant noodles and relaxedly watching a movie on his laptop on his sister's Netflix account. Suddenly, Eun Chae approached him and asked him a question.

"Hey Yu Jin, are you free this Saturday evening?"

"I think so."

"Nice, then do you play football? Wanna go out for football on that day?"

"I did play it in Busan, but I wasn't really good to be honest. By the way, why do you want me to go play football on that day?"

"Some of my ex-Hansung friends booked a field. The match was supposed to be five-per-side, but they booked the wrong field, which is for seven-per-side and now we need more people. You should really go, trust me!"

"No thanks, I'd rather stay home, I'm not in the mood," he shook his head.

"Come on, just go," she grimaced and wiggled her shoulders, "Make your life more vibrant! You have been on the same commute back and forth only between home and work for so long. Just go outside and socialise, won't you?"

"But I play really badly, they will probably laugh at me. And socialising is not that important either, am I right?"

"Your Wernicke area will become atrophied through disuse if you keep being anti-social like this, you know?" She raised her voice in irritation.

"Technically, it should be the Broca area instead. But fine, bio is not your major so I don't blame you," he snickered.

"You gotta stop being a nerd and go out to see the world!" Eun Chae grumbled. "There will also be a senior from SNU med playing, so if you wanna meet him, you gotta go," she came by and stood in front of him, blocking his vision so that he could not see his laptop.