FREAK, seongjoong

ep 01: rainfall

⛓️

Seonghwa had always liked the rain. As a kid he'd harboured this unusual affinity for it, always anticipating the downpour and the icy cool feeling it left on his exposed skin. During the colder months, his mother would frequently open the door to her son drenched to the bone, an impish smile on his face and his limbs dripping with rain.

Of course, she'd often gotten mad at him for it, because more often than not, his school bag and school supplies got affected by his rash decisions. But, her irritation never lasted long though, even when it meant investing in raincoats and waterproof bags whenever rainy season was near.

As the dark grey clouds rumbled overhead, the ominous growl of thunder slipping past the skies, Seonghwa frowned at the memory of his mother.

It wasn't that he didn't want to think of her, no. It was because she was dead, and thinking about her would've done no good for his already unstable mind.

"It's okay to grieve," was what his therapist frequently said during the sessions he'd had with the man months after his mother's passing. "It allows for a healthier mindset..."

Seonghwa looked up at the twilight skies and shut his eyes as soon as he felt the first drops of rain pelting against his face. He had a grey sweater on, the hood doing next to nothing to shield his already damp black locks from the drizzling.

The rain had formed miniature pools on the granite roads which appeared as dark as they were unsettling. Raindrops rippled over the surface, distorting Seonghwa's empty expression as soon as he'd peered down at one of them.

With his hoodie starting to stick to his body, Seonghwa began his trek down the road. The water from the troubled skies were like icicles slicing down his skin, forming droplets on the curve of his eyelashes and dripping off his jaw. But Seonghwa didn't mind. He liked this.

The more it rained, the more it calmed him down. It made him feel weightless, trapped in between the roar of the skies and the serene rainfall that cascaded all around him. If people were around now, they would've thought him mad or crazy, but Seonghwa...Seonghwa needed this. With his life overflowing with a flood of responsibilities and values, Seonghwa just wanted to feel some type of freedom for once.

And that freedom was here.

He started to run, arms outstretched and palms wide open to feel the droplets that wove themselves within his fingers, soaking all the way through his sleeves and somehow warming his frozen heart. His sneakers mindlessly punctured the puddles on the roads as he bulldozed further and further into the calming downpour, the force creating drops that exploded like glittery fireworks and reflected off the dim moonlight.

Seonghwa continued to run, lungs burning and chest heaving until he unceremoniously came to a stop. With his pale hands firmly gripping his knees, he released hasty gasps and a satisfied, wet smile.