Echoes of the Rain

Raw and hurt

And one day, I found myself in Yohan's class on an errand for a teacher. The room was quiet, the atmosphere thick with concentration, just as you'd expect from an elite class. The teacher noticed me. "Oh, Yuri," he called out.

"Sir, here are some papers. Madam Yoona asked me to give them to you," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Yuri, can you please take these papers to the president's room?" he asked.

My heart sank. Of all the places I wanted to avoid, that was the first on my list-because Yohan would be there. But I had no choice, so I nodded.

I reached the president's room, hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open. It was empty. I exhaled a sigh of relief, quickly placing the papers on the table. Just as I turned to leave, Yohan appeared, standing in the doorway. His presence filled the space, and I felt my heart clench. I wanted to keep my distance, to keep the wall I had built intact.

"Yuri!" he called my name, his voice calm and familiar, a sound that had once brought comfort but now made everything inside me tremble. I didn't turn around.

"What?" I replied, trying to keep my voice cold, distant.

"Some papers are missing," he said softly.

I swallowed hard, fighting back the emotions rising in my throat. "Madam Yoona only gave me these. I didn't check through them," I answered, my voice almost breaking.

"Oh... I see," he murmured.

The silence between us was suffocating, heavy with all the words left unsaid. Without warning, tears began to well up in my eyes, spilling over before I could stop them. I could feel my defenses crumbling.

"Oh, you see...!" I choked out, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.

"This is the only thing you would say... 'You see'?" I whispered, the words tumbling out, raw and hurt.

I turned and fled from the room, slamming the door shut behind me, leaving behind a silence that seemed to echo with all the things we never had the courage to say.

Wiping away my tears, I rushed back to my room, but before I could reach it, someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me into the art room, covering my mouth with a hand. My heart raced as I struggled, until I saw who it was.

"Shhh..." Yohan whispered, his face inches from mine, his eyes pleading.

He slowly removed his hand. "I'm going to take my hand away, please don't make a noise," he said softly.

I nodded, avoiding his gaze, my chest still heaving with emotion.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"For what?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"For everything I did to you," he replied, his tone filled with regret.

Tears began to stream down my face again, unbidden and uncontrollable. I didn't want Yohan to see me like this, to see how broken I felt, but I couldn't stop.

"Is 'sorry' enough?" I demanded, my voice breaking.

Yohan didn't respond. He looked at me, pain written all over his face, but it only made me feel more betrayed.

"I waited... and waited," I continued, my voice rising, "but you never contacted me. Did you know how many times I called you? How many times I checked my phone, hoping for a message, a sign... but it was always off?"

Yohan tried to reach out, but I stepped back, the hurt pouring out of me like a dam breaking. "Do you know how worried I was? You were always the first one to reach out to me, but suddenly you just disappeared. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months... It was so hard for me to see you at college, to pretend like everything was normal when I felt like my world was falling apart."

I paused, my breath hitching. "I didn't even know where your house was... You... How could you do this? For the first time in my life, I trusted someone. I kept thinking, did I do something wrong? Was it wrong to not respond to your confession? Or were you just fooling around with me this whole time? So many thoughts... And all you have to say is 'sorry'?"

He offered me a handkerchief, but I pushed it away.

"No, I don't need your explanation," I said, my voice steady but filled with pain. "I just want you to stay away from me."

I pulled my hand free from his grip and turned to leave the room. I didn't have the courage to look back, to see his expression. I just walked away, feeling the weight of everything between us pressing down on my heart.

Graduation day.

After that day in the art room, we never spoke again. Whenever we crossed paths, we acted as if the other didn't exist. It was as if all the words we had shared, all the moments we had spent together, had never happened.

The campus buzzed with excitement and laughter. Everyone was busy taking pictures with their friends, capturing memories of their last day together. I watched from a distance, feeling like an outsider looking in, without a single friend to share this moment with. The loneliness felt sharper today than ever before.

I didn't want to linger. The ceremony had ended, and I made my way to my old school. I had thought maybe, just maybe, I would see Yohan there one last time, as if some part of me still hoped for a final glance, a silent goodbye.

But he wasn't there.

The rain started pouring halfway home, drenching everything in its path. I broke into a run, my feet splashing through puddles, my clothes soaked through. All I wanted was to reach the shelter of my house as quickly as possible.

As I turned the corner, I saw a figure standing in front of my door. It was Yohan, his hair and clothes dripping with rain, looking like he had been there for a while.

"Hey..." he called out, his voice barely audible over the downpour.

I hesitated for a moment, my heart racing, but then I brushed past him, ignoring the flutter in my chest. I pushed the gate open, rain still hitting my face.

"Come inside," I finally said, my voice firmer than I felt.

"Really?" He looked surprised, a mix of hope and hesitation in his eyes.

I nodded, turning back to open the door. Without waiting for a second invitation, he followed me inside, leaving the storm behind us.

I handed him a towel, watching as he tried to dry his hair, droplets of water still sliding down his face. The silence between us felt heavy, almost suffocating.

"Yuri, I'm hungry," he finally broke the silence. "Do you have anything to eat?"

I kept my voice steady. "Why did you come here?"

"Oh, I was just passing by, and the rain started suddenly. Your house was the closest... so I thought..."

I didn't let him finish. "I'm making noodles," I said, turning toward the kitchen.

He nodded. "Oh, noodles... It's been a long time since I've had those."

I prepared a bowl for him, placing it on the table. We sat down, the sound of rain hitting the windows filling the awkward silence between us.

Yohan tried again, "So, are you going to get a job or start a business?"

I cut him off sharply, "It's none of your concern. Just eat your food."

He looked down at his bowl, then spoke softly, "Jiho called me yesterday. He asked about you."

I paused for a moment, my heart tightening at the mention of Jiho. "Jiho and I never shared any bond that would make him care about my well-being," I replied coldly.

Yohan sighed, the weight of everything unsaid settling between us. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

I shook my head, my voice firmer now. "Let's not talk about the past. I don't want to remember any of it again."

We fell silent, both lost in our thoughts, the rain continuing to pour outside, as if the sky itself was crying for everything we'd lost.