"The rain fell, so you don't have to worry." /Youjin/

Chapter 3

"PLEASE JUST SAY YESSS!!!" Yeeun screamed at Eunbin. The whole cafe was staring at them. Eunbin got embarrassed and shushed her. Yeeun lowered her voice. "That Park Inhae guy barely takes you out on dates. It's just one date, Eunbin-iii."

Eunbin bit her bottom lip. "But he's a bit scary."

Yeeun started to get more and more frustrated. "What a lame excuse. Look, I'm here as your ultimate bestfriend is starting to worry that you might forget how it feels to go out on a date. So just say yes and go with him."

The two girls sipped their drinks at the same time.

"What should I tell Inhae then if I agree to go on that date?" Eunbin fidgeted the edges of her phone.

"Will he be asking anyway?" Yeeun asked coldly. Eunbin stared at her. "I mean, he's a band manager who gets really busy at times, and he also runs a record store. Your existence is just a usual part in his daily life. He's just too comfortable with you that no matter what he does, he believes you will always stay beside him."

Eunbin looked at her phone and saw no texts coming from Inhae today. Yeeun was right. Inhae was Eunbin's friend since they were five. They got so comfortable with each other that even being far away was not a big issue. Texting each other was not a staple thing to do everyday. She knew him more than she knew herself. It worked the other way round as well. Inhae knew her so well that at times he didn't have to bother consoling her when she was sad, knowing that she would prefer to sort everything by herself. She was his first girlfriend, and vice versa.

It's been a while since they went on a date. The last time they spent their day in a huge bookstore reading books to each other. Their dates felt amazing each times that she always longed for another. But at times Eunbin questioning herself whether she longed for dates with Inhae or just dates in general.

"Is he tall?" Yeeun asked out of the blue.

"Taller than Inhae oppa. And wider shoulders." She replied lightly.

"Now I hate myself. That should be me. If it wasn't for that work, I'd be going out with that guy by now." She ranted.

"Well you can go then. He just wanted to spend his coupon that has to be a boy-girl couple to be valid. It doesn't mean that I have to be the one to go with him, right?" Eunbin said out of excitement.

"I would say that the moment you told me an hour ago. But why do I have this feeling that he wants to be with you? Maybe he just wants to be closer to you, I mean as neighbours." Yeeun snapped at her own words. "How come you don't know that you have such tall good looking guy lives next to your flat?? If I knew I would come sleepover there everyday."

Eunbin just sighed. "Fine. Then I will go to that date so you can get close to him. And he has nice build for our live stills, maybe I can ask that for you."

Yeeun smiled from cheek to cheek. "I knew being your friend might pay off one day."

[Thursday afternoon]

It was 5.39 pm when Eunbin walked out of her studio. She was ready to submit her works to the next building. Her final project was almost finished that she could graduate by the next 7 months.

"Is today okay?" A man's voice asked.

Youjin was there outside the building looking all gorgeous only wearing black sweatshirt and jeans. He was waiting for her.

"I'm going to submit my works today. So it's okay so far."

"You haven't forgotten about your flashlight, right?" He brushed his hair with his fingers.

She sighed and for a short moment she completely forgot about the date. "Not really." She stared at him. "Wait here. I have to submit this before 6 pm."

He nodded and waited for her.

She came out of the building and asked him. "Are you busy these days?"

"Not really. Why?"

"I want to make you a model for the live stills. We draw real people in different angles. You seem to have the right proportion of a tall man." She explained. He was just staring at her. "Only if you don't mind."

He started to walk and she followed him walking. "So...?" She asked him while following his big walking steps.

"When is it?" He asked without looking at her.

"Next week monday. At this hour."

He suddenly stopped walking and she bumped on his back. "In one condition."

She enlarged her eyes and waited for his next answer.

"I don't want to be drawn naked." His answer made her laugh so loud that he had to cover her mouth completely to shut her. "Stop laughing it's embarrassing!"

"You won't be naked I promise." She wiped a hint of tears in the corner of her eyes from excessive laughing. "There will be five of us and each draw different parts like hands, face, legs, or a full body. All you have to do is move a bit to different angles, that's all."

Youjin looked really relieved. "Ah, okay then."

"I have made up my mind and I will take your offer to watch that movie."

His face turned from relieved to somewhat surprised.

[Thursday night]

"So the movie starts at 9.50 pm? What kind of movie is it anyway, is it an indie movie? Never heard of this title, it looks sad judging by its poster." Eunbin and Youjin made it to the cinema and had bought the tickets for two using the coupon. The moment she saw the movie poster he became quieter.

"Let's find our seats." He tapped her top part of her head.

They found their seats and only a few people were there. She noticed that the movie was indeed an indie movie after realising it was a documentary.

The movie started and they both just watched without talking. Eunbin's phone suddenly lighted up and she saw a notification from Inhae.

Inhae: 'have you submitted today? good luck with everything I'm proud of you ♡'

She didn't look at the movie screen anymore and got busy texting with Inhae. It had been a week since they last texting each other. Youjin was too focus to the screen to realise that.

After the movie ended, they took the bus home and walked together. Silence was between the two of them. They walked past the convenience store near their flat building and Youjin stopped.

"You go home first, I want to stay here for a bit." He said.

She looked at him and saw a hint of pain and sadness in his eyes. She just nodded and walked away from him. "Okay then. I'll be going."

Before she went too far away from him, Youjin pulled her hand and handed her the flashlight. "Here. My promise to return this after the movie."

Eunbin almost forgot about that little flashlight. "Are you sure you don't need this anymore?" She flicked the small twist on the side of the flashlight. Vivaldi's Spring was heard from it. "I always carry this not because it can light the darkness. When I feel most alone and lonely this will cheer me up in a way."

He just stood there staring at her hands with flashlight in it.

"You look like you need this." She handed back the flashlight to his hand. "Here. I'll be going then. See you later."