A Second Strike Of Lightning

Downpour Rendezvous

If Jin Ah traveled back in time and told the Babylonians that people were going to have access to weather forecast at their fingertips twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week several millennia later, they would have indubitably branded her to be insane - or worse, a minion of the devil. Such significant piece of information was - by all means - handy in 2019, although it was such a shame that even in the current day and age, the odds that the calculated prediction might end up to be inaccurate was at twenty percent.

Perhaps the gods found it amusing to ensure that the aforementioned margin for error manifested itself that evening when she was burdened with the task of working extra hours and when Seo Jin was picking up the rest of his effects from his office.

A stealthy flick of a finger under the tip of her nose pulled Jin Ah from her reverie and threw her back to the dark room that was their temporary refuge.

"What's with the scowl?" Seo Jin asked, stealing a sideway glance at her as he withdrew his hand.

Jin Ah thanked the heavens that the lights were off or else, he would have seen how his hushed baritone reinvigorated the blush on her face and neck. About half an hour passed since they fixed their disheveled selves and yet, his voice was all it took to set her skin aflame again.

While keeping a pretense of being occupied with her phone, she cleared her throat in the hopes that the gesture could do the same for her mind before replying, "According to today's weather forecast, there is a sixty percent chance of rain."

Seo Jin snorted and in spite of the dimness, Jin Ah caught a glimpse of how his smirk etched dimples in each of his cheeks. Almost instantaneously, random recollections of tracing those indentations countless times with her fingers and her lips came rushing back to her. It brought a kind of warmth that ironically made her shiver, causing her to tightly clutch the blazer that he draped over her shoulders right after they buttoned up their shirts.

The rolls of thunder already ceased, but the downpour outside only seemed to gain its momentum. From where they were seated, they quietly observed as torrents of rain relentlessly splashed against the gigantic windows, obscuring their view of the city skyline and rendering everything about that night somewhat surreal.

"We should go home, Seo Jin," the long overdue words finally tumbled out of Jin Ah's mouth. "It's getting late. I'm booking myself a cab."

"Do you despise me so much that you'd rather have me drive in zero visibility?" his question came with a challenging brow.

She heaved out a sigh, her eyes fluttering to close in resignation, then said, "You know that I don't mean it that way."

"I know," he concurred. "I've decided to sit this one out. You should, too."

"Why should I?"

"Finding a taxi at the moment is already out of the question."

"I'll try my luck, then."

"Yoon Jin Ah..."

She tilted her head towards his direction and asked, "Why must the rain always bring us together, Goo Seo Jin?"

-

November 2004

The day of the College Scholastic Ability Test was nothing like Seo Jin imagined. Upon setting foot at the gate an hour before the exams, he saw that over a hundred senior high school students filled the vicinity - not to mention the lower classmen who were camping outside to cheer for their sunbaes and the parents who were anxiously praying on the sidelines for a favorable outcome. It took him about a full minute to realize that he was witnessing the entire spectacle with his mouth agape and his sweaty palms spread over his churning gut.