Kitten (minsung)

12.5

Special Chapter: Chunhua and Minho's Past

Three years ago.

The sky couldn't get darker than this.

A minute ago, it was all rays and sunshines, but the time Chunhua stepped her foot on the sidewalk, the sky frowned and started to cry on the previously quiet city.

Chunhua didn't fear rain. In fact, she enjoyed having her clothes drenched, her hair showered, her body moisturized, and the list goes on. Occasionally, she would dance alone in the vaporous atmosphere, then suffered from common cold in the aftermath.

But not today.

Today was her worst day. Not like her daily lives were great after all. For Chunhua, being able to sleep well at the end of the day would be absolute heaven for her, whereas it's one of the rarest occasion ever happened in her 14 years of living.

Her family was bundled with unpaid debts. Therefore she had to take part in order to help her family lifts up their quality of life.

But today she has lost her mother by the rising numbers of organized crime groups in South Korea. It's never easy to live in a foreign country, especially when you're short in incomes, just like the case of the Shunsuke's family.

Chunhua had been crying for hours. She decided to quit school and her dance academy since she didn't have enough money to pay them all. She only had an outdated phone within her. Hyunjin had been calling her for the ninth time of the day, asking about her departure from the dance academy, but she couldn't care less. She wanted to leave the boy. She wanted to move on.

She wanted to end everything here; on the road, underneath the rain. She wanted to end it all.

Her body fell limp as she found a bench for her to sit on. She was trembling. Although the rain kept washing away the tears, her eyes continued to pour more of them.

The rain could hide her tears, but it couldn't wipe her sadness away.

"If only I bring my umbrella..." She cried so much that her head hurts. But nothing hurts like a piercing sword in the heart. She was grieving over her beloved mother's death.

She had lost half of her life. She had lost her umbrella when the rain is pouring.

Behind the silence, the rain suddenly stopped. Chunhua looked up, only to be met with the most welcoming generous smile. A boy appeared out of nowhere to protect her from the heavy rain with his umbrella.

"What a pretty girl like you doing in the rain all by yourself?" The boy wiped her leftover tears from her cheeks. Usually she would run away when a stranger approached her with flattering words and touched her without her permission. This time is different.

"Thank you." was all her mouth could say, but it was enough.

The boy smiled upon hearing those words. "By the way, my name's Lee Minho. What's yours?" He offered his right hand, while his left hand was still gripping the umbrella tightly.

"Chunhua." She accepted his hand and shook it with a slight smile. It was her first time smiling that day.

"Now that's the smile I'm looking for."

That's how it all begun.

┉┉

Ever since their first encounter, Chunhua has gotten closer to Minho. They shared laughter and memories together. Several months later, they confessed their feelings and began dating every since.