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Again it happened—the rain.
Every time it rains, I'm in trouble. I've always believed, since my childhood, that rain is a curse on my life. It's not just some baseless superstition either. I have enough memories to back it up. Skinned knees from slipping on wet pavement, phones drowned in sudden downpours, failed school tests, breakup texts—it's as if every bad thing in my life has happened under this damned sky.
So when I pulled back the curtains this morning and saw the world outside cloaked in grey, drowning under the soft, persistent fall of rain, I sighed. Not the kind of sigh that comes from sleepiness or grogginess, but the kind that settles deep in your chest when you already know the day's going to punch you in the gut.
I stood there for a while, watching raindrops race each other down the glass, blurring the buildings outside into vague watercolor forms. Then I forced myself away from the window and began my mechanical morning routine: dragging myself out of bed, brushing my teeth while half-asleep, pulling on whatever clothes didn't look completely offensive, and sipping my usual cold coffee while my brain tried to convince my body it was okay to be alive.
Out of habit, I powered on my phone. Not for messages,no one really messaged me these days,but to check the chapter I was reading last night on my favorite web novel. Something about desperate protagonists fighting in apocalyptic settings always felt weirdly comforting. Misery loves company, I guess.
But instead of my app opening, a notification popped up.
<[Messenger – New Message]
Time: 6:23 AM
Sender: Tls123
Hello,
I'm a fashion designer and I'm coming to Seoul.
You're my old friend, so I'm calling you.
Come meet me at the KFC near the station around 18:00 today or I'll bomb your house.
Bye.
[Received: 8:02 AM]>
I blinked.
Then I read it again.
What the hell?
Who writes something like that? A threat of domestic terrorism paired with a casual dinner plan. My brain short-circuited trying to make sense of it. For a second, I hovered over the block button. It felt like a scam, a prank, or maybe someone mistaking me for someone else. "Tls123" didn't ring any bells. I didn't have many old friends left,none who'd remember me enough to send a message like that.
Still… curiosity is a dangerous thing. Especially on rainy days, when everything feels like it's already on the edge of unraveling.
I stared at the message for a long time. Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen. Something about it gnawed at me. Maybe it was the sheer absurdity, or maybe some desperate part of me wanted a distraction. Either way, I finally messaged back:
> [Me]: KFC near the station at 6. Got it.
I instantly regretted sending it, but I also felt something else. A tiny spark of adrenaline, maybe. The kind that flickers to life when something breaks the monotony of your daily loop.
I packed my bag, grabbed my old umbrella,the one with the black and white patterns, the only one that hadn't betrayed me yet,and stepped into the storm.
By the time I reached the station, my shoes were soaked and my thoughts were even messier. I passed the KFC. It looked the same as it always did: noisy, crowded, the smell of fried chicken barely masking the scent of wet coats and umbrellas. Weirdly perfect for a meet-up. Familiar. Public. Safe-ish.
Still, the rhythm of the rain felt heavier now. Like it wasn't just falling,it was pressing down on everything, including me.
At the office, I dropped my bag at my desk and tried not to look like I had just walked through a thunderstorm. The fluorescent lights buzzed above, and the dull chatter of keyboards filled the room. Nothing ever changed here. Except for one thing.
"Good morning, Dokja-nim! You look really tired today," said Miss Sangah, her voice light and smooth like tea on a cold morning.
She was one of the few bright spots in this dreary building, and probably the only person keeping me sane at work. Ever since I joined the company,and started noticing just how close I was to being quietly fired,she had been kind, helpful, and disarmingly cheerful.
I turned to her, managing a weak smile. "Good morning, Miss Sangah. Sorry for the dull look. I couldn't sleep last night. The rain affects me too much."
She laughed gently, like the idea was both funny and endearing. "You and the rain," she said. "You always talk about it like it's a person with a grudge."
"It kind of is," I muttered.
Her smile softened. Tulip-like,that's the word that came to mind. There was something about her that felt effortless. Not just the way she dressed or spoke, but the way she saw people. She never looked through you. She saw you.
Even someone like me.
We chatted for a few more minutes,mostly her asking questions and me giving awkward, half-honest answers,before she returned to her tasks and I settled into mine. Or tried to. My eyes kept wandering to the clock.
6:00 PM. KFC. Fashion designer. Bomb threat.
Was I really going to do this?
.
.
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The day crawled by. Meetings. Paperwork. Boring emails about metrics I didn't care about. Every now and then, I'd glance out the window. The rain never stopped.
At 5:45, I packed up, ignoring my manager's side-eye. I mumbled something about a dentist appointment, then bolted before he could ask questions.
When I arrived at the KFC near the station, it was as loud and chaotic as it had been this morning. I stood near the entrance, scanning faces. Families. Teenagers. Office workers. No one looked like a fashion designer or a bomber.
Soon enough, I heard a strangely loud thug that possibly wasn't made by a slim looking woman, but it surely was contradict my thoughts. The lady opened the door and stood there, her black outfit all wet, a bad day for wearing layered clothes. I guessed by her expression that she had a pretty rough day too.
After a few seconds she looked around and eventually found me, yeah I guessed it, a fashion designer would surely dress nice. Looking at her the second time, I noticed her mole under her eye, which awoke some weird nostalgia over me that I couldn't really figure out. She smiled at me and so did I, the smile just came out,I didn't had to force it like every other time, just like I smile reading yoo joonghyuk's adventures. I love this feeling.
The lady was a bit too... extraordinary, even tho we were 5-6 feet away, she didn't walk to me, nor did she run, she jumped. Yes at me. It was too quick for me to react, still I held her tightly in my arms. She was warm, so is this how the people in those dramas feel like when they are in love and they hug? Oh no I'm surely not in love! I just met this person and I haven't even talked. I gently push her back, my ears and face warm, they probably were red too.
"I didn't knew that some people greet strangers this way"
"Stranger? Didn't i text you that I'm your old friend?"
I got nervous, I'm such a dumbass, why didn't I ask who she was, oh god i felt so awkward and pathetic.
"Y-yeah you did say but i didn't quite recognise you and your thre-"
"It was ofcourse a joke"
"Yeah surely it was..."
After a break off 5 secs i speak again
"So...can you introduce again?"
She stepped back as she began to speak.
"Someone you weren't supposed to forget"