[TAENYFic] Grow old with me?

24>Dancing in the rain~

Author's POV
Taeng was outside, and she was wet. This was not surprising, for she was walking back to the dormitories after practice, and it had begun to rain. What started as big drops of water that landed on her forehead and made her blink quickly turned into biting bullets of water that stung her cheeks.
She was in no hurry, though. Practice hadn't gone so well, and she felt like being alone. Her body was bent against the cold wind, cutting the grey sky in half, and she sloshed through the mud with no respect for her shoes.
And then suddenly, she heard a girl's voice through the curtain of rain. She stopped, mud squishing beneath her dainty feet. The girl was humming a rather familiar tune. It snagged at her brain and pulled her closer to a figure dancing around awkwardly in the distance.
She found herself in front of Hwang Mi Young, who was skipping around in the mud and humming loudly. Taeng stared at her.
Miyoung's uniform was soaked through and she didn't seem to realize that the white uniform shirt was actually kind of thin or that the grey uniform skirt was actually kind of short. Her skirt was covered in mud and her shoes were completely gone, lost somewhere in the ground. Miyoung didn't seem to mind. In fact, she kind of hoped they might grow into shoetrees. Where some Gucci or Prada might sprout.
She skipped her way right in front of Taeyeon and stopped. For a minute, all the smaller girl could see was the top of Miyoung's lowered head, her hair slick, like fluid strands of sunlight. The air didn't seem so cold anymore.
Then, she looked up towards the sky. Her eyes were hidden by her eyelids, and Taeng was presented with a view of her upturned nose. Her innocent lips spread into a smile, two clouds parting to reveal the sun, and she laughed.
A crack of lightening exploded above their heads, followed by a laughing peal of thunder. The thunder sounded as if it was answering Miyoung, as if they had some secret joke between themselves.
Taeng felt left out.
Her face was lined with water droplets, framing her features like melted crystals running down to her neck. She began singing again, indistinct syllables and notes that had no logical progression or rhythm.
Taeng opened her mouth to say something, but Miyoung interrupted her.
"Would you like to dance?" she asked. Her voice was soft, but Taeyeon heard her words with a clarity that made her ears buzz. It was like a knife cutting through the rain, aimed for her heart. It hit its target with precision.
"There's no music."
"We can make our own," she replied, holding her hand out.
Taeng didn't take it. She was noticing that the girl's pale skin was almost translucent, and that she could see her veins. "Miyoung-ssi, don't you think you should go inside? It's cold."
Miyoung looked at her curiously, and she felt like a Hyoyeon on a live broadcast. Her stomach was all tingly, and she felt like the world was spinning around them. She blinked.
The curious look was gone and she still held her hand out for Taeng. She didn't say anything, but Taeng had the feeling that her offered hand meant more than any words could ever mean; it meant that she would follow her, if she would lead
So Taeng grabbed her hand and marched purposely towards the blurred building. Miyoung's hand was as cold as ice; Taeng held it tighter.
Miyoung hopped alongside her, still humming under her breath. Every now and then the girl would stop to stare at something in the distance or a lonely flower sprouting from the ground or, at one time, a bug taking refuge under a large leaf.
Her hand felt even colder than when Taeng first grabbed it. It felt like death, and it scared the smaller girl.
Finally, the dormitories was in front of them and she stumbled inside the warm building, Miyoung trailing behind her, like it was some great accident she would arrive at the same place as her. Taeng knew that there was some type of medicine to warm someone up, but nothing came to mind. Taeng was stuck rubbing Miyoung's hands in her own, much smaller, hands. Her skin was still very pale, but Taeng could only see a faint trail of blue across her cheeks and her lips.
"Er . . . ." Now that the thundering background music of the rain was gone, she was aware of a ringing awkward silence that made her hands sweat. She hoped the girl didn't notice. "Are you going to be . . . er, okay?"
She hoped Miyoung said yes. Her body was tired, and she was cold. She wanted to sleep.
No words could cross her shivering lips without being shaken beyond recognition, so she simply looked at Taeng with an eye smile that said yes and thank you.
It was then that their eyes connected, and Taeng took a deep breath because her chest suddenly felt like something very heavy and large had fallen on top of it. Miyoung's eyes, like looking glasses, reflected little tiny Taeyeons, but underneath that there was something else: a secret knowledge that was more important than any other knowledge on earth. There was a universe of swirling stars and a love for everything that ever lived and everything that ever will live and everything that was living . . . .
She coughed, and Taeng tore her gaze from the girl's eyes and redirected it towards her mouth.
"Are you getting sick?"
She shook her head, her wet hair slapping against her cheeks, and coughed again. Taeng felt a startling worry for her. Her body was thin and frail, and it seemed like each cough shook her whole frame.
"Come on," Taeng said, taking her firmly by the hand, "let's go to the hospital wing."
The hospital wing was empty, save for Madam Lim sitting at her desk, reading a newspaper. She looked up when the door slammed shut behind Taeng and Miyoung, and she rushed over to them.
"What's the problem, my dears?" she asked.
"She's catching a cold," Taeng said, her voice sounding much more worried than she had intended it to sound. She then added, with a very non-worried shrug, "I think."
Madam Lim clucked her tongue disapprovingly, noticing Miyoung's wet and muddy clothes. "Well, bring her over here and I'll give her some hot tea. You should probably have a seat too," she said, noticing that Taeng's clothes were dripping wet as well.
Taeng sat and drank the warm liquid that was handed to her. Her clothes were drying, and she began to feel quite awake. She watched as Miyoung's color quickly came back into her cheeks, and her looking glass eyes sparkled once again with that hidden knowledge.
She wanted to know what the girl knew, but insecurities prevented her from just blurting that out, and she relied on what she hoped was a friendly smile.
Miyoung smiled back at her.
When Madam Lim was satisfied that they were in much better health, she ushered them out of the infirmary. Taeng was left standing across from Miyoung, feeling like a shy first-year. She felt like she was on a date and that Miyoung expected her to kiss her or something. She didn't know why she felt this, for their encounter had been the farthest thing from a date.
"Thank you, Taeyeon-ssi," she said.
"Er . . . right," she replied, sticking her hands in her pockets and looking everywhere but at the girl's eyes. They made her feel strange.
She stood up on the tips of her toes, and Taeng thought: She's going to kiss me.
And she did kiss her, but not on her lips like she had been expecting.
No, Miyoung kissed her on her nose.
And then she planted her feet on the ground and looked at Taeng. Taeng frowned, wondering why she felt so disappointed.
"I like your nose," The eyesmiling girl said. "It's nice."
Not sure how to respond, Taeng made a strangled sound that could have been a "thank you," or it could have been a "I like your nose too," or possibly even a "I have to go study for a test I have tomorrow."
Miyoung didn't seem to mind her lack of conversational skills. The girl smiled serenely and walked away, her hair bouncing against her back, humming that same tune under her breath. Only this time, Taeng could hear her words echo clearly against the walls.
"Taeng Taeng Taeng Taeng. . . She's a King king king king. . . Taeng can sing anything . . .Taeng is our king . . . ."
fin.