The Angel Next Door (Rosé X Female Reader)

53: Finding Joy in the Little Things

Word Count: 3,210

By late June, the rainy season was at its peak, and there was this never-ending cycle of clear and stormy weather. The raindrops fell steadily from the gray and gloomy sky, making the air feel thick and gloomy. Everyone was feeling cooped up, probably because the sky seemed even darker than before.

"Ugh, it's so muggy!" I groaned.

"Well, it is the rainy season," Rosé replied.

No wonder the school had this lethargic atmosphere. All the members of the sports clubs were drenched from practicing outside, adding to the overall dreariness. Even Lisa, who usually had boundless energy despite not being part of any sports club, seemed to have met her match. She slumped down in her seat, completely flopped over her desk. I hadn't seen her so drained since last year's rainy season. And to top it off, her hairstyle was a bit different.

Usually, Lisa let her hair down, but that day, she had it tied up into two frizzy bunches, all wild and untamed from the humidity, with one behind each ear.

Despite Lisa's efforts to control it, from time to time, a stray lock of hair would escape from her hairband. There was no doubt that she had struggled quite a bit to tie it up in the first place.

"You seem to be doing just fine, Y/N," Rosé commented.

"Hmm, well, I do usually prefer a quieter atmosphere. I could do without the humidity, though."

"Good for you. I can't stand it when it's like this. It makes me want to run around screaming."

"The ground is in bad shape, so you'll have to wait until the weather clears up to go wild. If you fell, you'd hurt yourself and your clothes would get covered in mud."

"It would never come out in the wash... I'll sit tight, but man..."

Even Lisa's voice seemed dulled by the rainy weather.

Considering how tired Lisa looked, I wondered how Rosé was doing. I could see her chatting with a group of girls, wearing a gentle smile. Somehow, her expression looked slightly more energetic than usual. Rosé didn't seem to notice that I was watching her, and she was enjoying her conversation.

I was staring at Rosé, thinking about how we were going to spend a lot of time together when we got home.

Sana noticed where I was looking and asked, "What, Y/N, you jealous of the girls?"

Sana always observed her surroundings closely, so it was no surprise that she had noticed where I was looking. But I had to smile because the reason she imagined was completely wrong.

"No, I'm not petty enough to be jealous of the girls. It's just that her hair looks different today, giving her a new look, and I was admiring it."

I was too embarrassed to say what had actually been on my mind, so I shifted to another reason in response. Sana understood and responded in an understanding tone, "She's got it tied up today, huh?"

Just like Lisa, Rosé had her hair tied up. But Rosé's hair was longer than Lisa's and had a lot of volume, so she had gathered it all into two loose braids that hung down on either side.

She didn't change her hairstyle often, so it was a new look for our classmates too. I heard some of the boys muttering that seeing Rosé was like a breath of fresh air in the suffocating humidity.

"You seem rather chipper, Sana. I'm jealous, for more than one reason," Lisa grumbled.

Trying desperately to control her hair, which didn't want to cooperate in the humidity, Lisa looked jealously at Sana's smooth locks, which seemed completely unbothered by the damp air. She had also been bugging me about my hair from the moment she saw me that morning; she seemed incredibly jealous of anyone whose hair was unaffected by the humidity.