Sudden Rain

Chapter 2

Kyungsoo's POV

"Oh, hell no!" Eunbi's brother, Chanyeol, belted when she tried to sit next to me in the back seat. "You are not leaving me in the front seat, Eunbi. I am not your chauffeur!" Eunbi rolled her eyes, and Chanyeol said, "Grandmother told you to stop rolling your eyes at me!"

"She also told you to stop yelling in front of guests," Eunbi retorted.

Chanyeol blinked at her. "Alright. Sit up here with me, and we'll call it even."

Eunbi looked at me as if to ask for permission, and I nodded. "Go ahead. I don't mind."

So, Eunbi obeyed her brother, and we headed to their grandmother's inn. Uncomfortable with the silence, Chanyeol glanced at me through the rearview mirror. "Hey. Where did my sister pick you up from?"

"Don't ask like that." The tips of Eunbi's ears turned scarlet as she cut her eyes at Chanyeol. "You make it sound like I invite strangers into your car every other Tuesday."

I answered, "We met in the airport gift shop. My flight was grounded because of the storm, and Eunbi told me about your grandmother's inn."

"Is that right?" Chanyeol grinned at me before turning to Eunbi. "So you can do something for the inn! Who knew?" He winked at her; she stuck her tongue out at him. Looking at me through the mirror, Chanyeol said, "Grandmother will be happy to welcome another man to the inn."

Before I could ask what he meant, Eunbi turned around in the passenger seat and explained, "Most of the people who visit the inn are women."

"Elderly women," Chanyeol added.

Eunbi assured me, "That's not a requirement to stay or anything." She told Chanyeol, "There's no reason why Kyungsoo shouldn't feel welcome."

"Kyungsoo?" Chanyeol gawked at Eunbi.

She turned her attention out the window and said, "You should keep your eyes on the road."

Initially, Chanyeol obeyed. As we carried on down the road, I noticed his glances in the rearview mirror became more frequent. The suspicion in his glances lessened as the curiosity crew. "So, Kyungsoo—" I squirmed—"what brings you out to the middle of nowhere?"

Although my work felt like a taboo topic in this corner of the universe, I figured I owed him answers as payment for the ride. Straightening in my seat, I started, "I, um—"

Eunbi came to my rescue. She scolded, "Stop being so nosy!"
"I was just wondering!" Chanyeol scowled at her. "Don't you want to ask him something? Like what he's doing here of all places?"

Eunbi shrugged. "He told us that his flight was grounded because of the storm." Then, I strained to hear her whisper, "Why do you have to question miracles?"

I couldn't understand what she meant, but her frown made me frown. I stared down at my hands pressed flat to my rain-soaked pants.

"Before that, I mean," Chanyeol muttered. "Aren't you a little curious about where he was going before his flight was grounded?"

I suppose I wanted to hear her answer. My hands balled into fists, and I leaned forward in my seat. I didn't think I was interesting, but I was surprised that Eunbi hadn't asked anything about me before inviting me along.

"I don't want to bother him with a million questions," she finally answered. "Besides, it's very rude to talk about him like he isn't here, so cut it out."

"Whatever," Chanyeol huffed as he pulled into the inn's parking lot.

The inn was a relatively small building. It couldn't have hosted more than ten rooms. It looked more like a home than a place of business.