Chapter 19: The Sound Beneath the Rain

The sound of the rain felt almost like human screams.

That was what Yoon Jiwoo thought as he sat facing his lover.

There were less than three weeks left until their wedding.

They had never moved in together while dating.

Neither of them had suggested it first, and casually coming and going from each other’s homes whenever they wanted had felt comfortable enough.

Because of his busy schedule, Jiwoo hadn’t seen his lover’s face properly for days.

With the wedding drawing near, Seha’s obsession with finishing his work had only gotten worse.

Jiwoo had been quietly upset about it, but his lover only smiled as if pretending not to notice.

“Seha.”

“What?”

“It’s about that person, Choi Haesu…”

“Stop. You think too much.”

Seha, who had been lying on the sofa, looked down at Jiwoo sitting on the floor and staring up at him with restless eyes.

Those round eyes tried to hide it, but anxiety still lingered inside them.

Seha stretched out his arm and gently brushed away the emotions hanging at the corners of Jiwoo’s eyes.

As if he had been waiting for it, Jiwoo closed his eyes.

On the way here, Kwon Seha had walked much faster than usual.

Using work as an excuse, he hadn’t spent even a single proper day with his lover lately.

Whenever Jiwoo crossed his mind, guilt followed shortly after.

Still, Seha had wanted to finish everything first and meet him with a lighter heart afterward.

Since Yoon Jiwoo was meticulous and sincere by nature, Seha assumed he probably felt the same.

Maybe Jiwoo had heard the sound of the door lock password being entered, because a loud noise suddenly came from inside the apartment.

Then the door swung open violently.

The moment Seha saw the face waiting behind it, something inside him twisted strangely.

It was clearly the lover he had missed so much, Yoon Jiwoo.

Before Seha could even say he was home, Jiwoo crashed their lips together.

Seha could only accept it helplessly.

“Mmh… ngh…”

The lips pressing against him carried a strange sadness, almost violent in their desperation.

When the rough movement of Jiwoo’s tongue became a little overwhelming, Seha slipped his hands beneath Jiwoo’s arms and lifted him away.

Jiwoo reluctantly pulled back.

“Haa… haa…”

“What’s with you? You didn’t even close the door. I’m going to die of embarrassment if the neighbors see.”

“…All you ever said every day was that you were busy. Asshole.”

By the time the presence of two people finally filled the silent living room, it was already well past ten on Friday night.

There were barely two hours left before the day ended, which meant Seha had practically left Jiwoo alone for almost ten days straight.

Only after counting it himself did Seha finally understand why Jiwoo had been so upset.

Even while fighting off sleep, Jiwoo seemed deeply lost in thought about something.

He acted like he wasn’t, but it was obvious.

Was he sulking because of Seha?

Even so, Seha knew very well how to calm him down.

“I didn’t think I’d end up this late today too. You should’ve just slept first.”

“I waited for you. Did you get rained on? I couldn’t even see your face once at the office today.”

“I went down hoping to see you for a bit, but they told me someone had taken a half-day off and hadn’t come in yet.”

“You came down? To see me?”

At Seha’s words, Jiwoo’s sleepy eyes widened immediately.

While straightening his clothes, Seha escaped his brief guilt and smiled softly at the sight.

He shrugged casually.

He could feel his disappointed lover staring at his back.

Sure enough, a dejected voice struck the back of his head moments later.

“You should’ve called… Ah, seriously. What a shame.”

“Anyway, even with an umbrella, the rain was useless.”

“I thought the rain sounded insane… Want to wash up?”

Being soaked by rain wasn’t really something worth debating, but for some reason, Jiwoo’s words sounded unusually suggestive tonight.

The four missed calls piled up on Seha’s phone, Jiwoo forcing himself to stay awake despite being exhausted, and those tightly pressed lips that refused to say much—

It all felt like proof of the anxiety he couldn’t hide.

Kwon Seha didn’t know what had happened during Jiwoo’s day.

That was exactly why he couldn’t just ignore it.

Once you knew the truth, pretending not to know became much easier.

From the weather to the people around him, Seha’s entire day had felt strange.

Even the sunny morning forecast hadn’t mentioned anything about the weather changing so suddenly.

Around lunchtime, rain began pouring down relentlessly and never really stopped.

“Did something happen to you today, Jiwoo? You don’t look good.”

“…No. Nothing.”

“You and Lee Doyoon really look alike sometimes. Completely different faces, but the same expression. He looked terrible today too.”