Echoes of the Rain

We signed a contract

The next day, I arrived at school a bit late, thanks to the bus. Yohan's seat was empty, and Jiho was already sitting beside me, along with everyone else settled in their places. I wanted to ask Jiho about Yohan, but I hesitated, eventually deciding to keep quiet and take my seat.

Yohan hadn't given me his number yesterday, and a part of me was worried. He'd gotten soaked in the rain because of me, and now he wasn't here. As the classes went on, my thoughts drifted back to him. Why hadn’t he come today? Had something happened to him?

During a break, I went to the canteen. A group of boys were gathered nearby, talking loudly.

"Did you know Jiho is doing a part-time job?" one boy said.

"What? Really?" another boy asked. "Did you see him?"

"Yes, yesterday," the first boy continued. "I went to buy a pack of cigarettes from a store, and I saw him working there."

"But he's rich," the third boy chimed in. "Why would he need to do that?"

The second boy scoffed, "Haven't you heard? It's all because of his stepmother. She's a real villain."

"Stepmother?" the first boy asked, surprised. "Yohan and Jiho are stepbrothers?"

"Yeah, they are," the second boy replied. "Haven't you noticed how Yohan just orders him around? It's all because of his mother."

"Yeah, I heard that too," the third boy said. "After Jiho's father died, Yohan's mother took over the entire company, and now she’s pushing Yohan to become the CEO of Jiho’s father's company."

"And his mother never liked Jiho in the first place," the second boy added. "She doesn't even give him money for his tuition fees."

They all laughed after that, their voices echoing in the hallway. I slammed the window shut to block out their gossip, feeling a surge of frustration, even though I didn't want to hear any of it in the first place.

As I walked away from the canteen, lost in my thoughts, I tripped and fell. My shoe had torn — it was old, and I knew this would happen eventually. I looked at the worn-out fabric and sighed. I didn't have money to buy new ones. Slowly, I picked myself up, dusting off my clothes. No one was around to help me, but I was used to that. I always had to get up on my own.

All the classes ended, and as I slung my bag over my shoulder, ready to leave, Jiho placed his book on my desk and said, "Help me with this."

"Now?...Okay," I replied.

"After this, let's go to the store together," Jiho added.

"Okay," I nodded.

As we worked on some math problems, Jiho's phone rang. I glanced at the screen and saw it was Yohan. Jiho picked up the call, talking while sitting in front of me. I watched his face, wanting to ask him why Yohan hadn’t come today, but I held back.

Jiho said into the phone, "Yes, she is here." Then he handed his phone to me. "Here, Yohan wants to talk to you."

I felt a rush of nervousness as I took the phone and placed it against my ear.

"Yuri... aachoo... sorry, I didn’t give you my number. Don’t be mad at me... aachoo," Yohan's voice came through, sounding congested.

"Hello, Yuri? Are you there… Hello?" he continued.

"Ah... Yes, yes, I’m here," I stuttered. My words felt tangled, betraying my nerves.

"Are you coming today?" he asked.

"You... you caught a cold?... Are you alright?" I managed to ask, my voice wavering.

"Yeah, I'm f... aachoo... fine, hehe," he chuckled between sneezes.

I glanced at Jiho, who was focusing intently on his book, seemingly uninterested in our conversation.

"This call is to remind you that we signed a contract, so you have to follow the rules," Yohan said, teasingly.

"Contract... with you? When?" I asked, my voice a little louder than I intended. I noticed Jiho didn’t react to my raised voice. It seemed like he was deliberately not listening to our conversation.

“Okay,” I said quietly and hung up the call, trying to sound composed. I handed the phone back to Jiho, who took it without a word, his eyes still focused on the book in front of him.

For a moment, there was a heavy silence between us, broken only by the faint chatter of other students leaving the classroom. I wasn’t sure what Jiho might have overheard, but he didn’t seem interested in prying. I wondered if he knew more than he let on or if he was just respecting my privacy.

"Let's finish this," Jiho finally said, flipping to the next page of his book, pulling me back to the task at hand. I nodded, trying to concentrate, but my mind kept drifting back to Yohan and his strange contract comment.

"Why are you working part-time?" I asked Jiho, unable to hold back my curiosity.

"Am I not allowed to do that?" he replied, his gaze still fixed on the book, his voice cold and distant.

I hesitated, sensing his discomfort. "I'm not saying you're not allowed. I just thought—"

He cut me off sharply, "I'm not interested in discussing my personal matters." His eyes finally met mine, and there was a hint of warning in them, a silent reminder to keep my distance.

I felt a sting at his words, realizing he wanted to draw a clear line between us. For a moment, I considered pushing further, asking him what was really going on, but his expression told me everything. Jiho didn't want me to pry into his life, and maybe I had already crossed a boundary by asking.