Amid the subsided atmosphere, Sports Day went on. There were noises of balls bouncing off here and there; the sound of shoes skidding on the hardwood floor came over from all directions.

Meanwhile, we could see through the round window in the middle of the dome ceiling that the rain was pouring even heavier than before. To make matters worse, even the sky was getting cloudy. While I heard people asking concernedly, ‘Did you bring an umbrella?’ from everywhere, this time, Yoon Jung In approached right toward our spectator zone and shouted out loud.

“Hey, guys!”

We brought ourselves forward and asked, “Why?”

“It’s eleven o’clock! The delivery would have arrived at the back gate now. Please go get it! It’s from Lotteria.”

Ah ya yay, was it already eleven o’clock? Taking out our phones, we talked about how fast the time was running then drew a round circle over our heads with our arms toward Yoon Jung In to reply, ‘Okay!’ Waving his hand at us, Yoon Jung In disappeared to the courts.

A few bags of hamburgers weren’t that heavy, so the Kim twins, I, or other close people could go bring those snacks to our classmates. Volunteering for the delivery, we borrowed some umbrellas to step outside the gym.

Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of students walking outside. Rolling my eyes, I checked each of their appearances and actions. Some looked like couples, who were secretly dating for a moment during Sports Day, whereas some kids in another direction seemed to be like us who were going to deliver the snacks. Then, all of a sudden, I stopped walking.

“Eh?”

“What’s wrong?” asked Kim Hye Hill casually. Turning her head forward, she then murmured, ‘Oh…’ as if she knew why I was reacting this way.

“He’s indeed a model who’s drawing such attention even in this rain.”

“Very true.”

Listening to Kim Hye Woo agreeing to his sister lightheartedly, I pouted my lips and thought whether I should say hi or not. While I wondered what to do, he turned to look in this direction just in time.

As if the air turned slightly cold due to the rainfall, he was wearing a cardigan over the hospital gown, the class t-shirt for Class 1-1, which made him look even more like a real patient. Probably his pale skin and blue eyes would have played some roles to his appearance.

He was Yoo Chun Young.

Just like what the Kim twins had uttered, only he was standing so vividly among the students, who were surrounding the back gate with rumblings as if someone had cut him out of the crowded scene.

His blue eyes, which were on me, widened for a second then returned to usual. Once his blue eyes, which were observing me nonchalantly, left my face, my cheeks also reddened and burned as if my skin also got peeled off.

While I just bit my lips, Kim Hye Woo murmured beside me, “Didn’t he see her?”

“Oppa,” alerted Kim Hye Hill in a low voice. Her sensitive character might have noticed the weird atmosphere flowing between me and Yoo Chun Young already.

“Let’s go.”

Staring at me with her usual, calm gaze, Kim Hye Hill soon pulled my arm forcefully as if saying, ‘look at us’ to Yoo Chun Young.

The feeling that I wasn’t alone certainly helped. Being dragged by Kim Hye Hill’s arm, I walked past by Yoo Chun Young with light footsteps. I felt a stare directing on the back of my head but wasn’t sure.

‘Please, the delivery guy is here, so that I can leave the back gate as soon as possible!’ I prayed in my thoughts that way, and thankfully, he was already here. Handing out the containers that got slightly wet with rain, the delivery guy started the engine of his scooter again. Shoving the receipt into my pocket which should be returned to Yoon Jung In, I took a box from Kim Hye Woo and carried it in my arms.

Once I became ready to leave, I heaved a sigh of relief. Leaving this way, I wouldn’t have to stay with Yoo Chun Young on the same spot anymore. However, someone’s voice pierced through the rainfall and reached my ears. It wasn’t from Yoo Chun Young though.

“Aren’t you Ham Donnie in freshman year?”

“Excuse me?” Replying unconsciously, I turned to look in that direction. As soon as their faces came into view, I turned stiff. They were the group of girls, who came to our classroom to find me before, of all occasions. Most of them looked pretty, so I could remember them effortlessly.

Once they saw me stiffened without a response, the girls clamored at me without hesitation.

“I think she is, isn’t she? It’s her, right?”

“I told you. Don’t you see the look on her face?”

“You are Ham Donnie, aren’t you?”

When someone asked me straightforwardly that way, I froze in surprise. Being unable to control the look of my face, I heard a cold voice coming from beside me.

“What if she is? What are you gonna do then?”

It was Kim Hye Hill. Grabbing his sister’s wrist, Kim Hye Woo was asking, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ However, her personality wouldn’t get crestfallen to such actions. Scowling at the girls with cold black eyes, Kim Hye Hill flung a question.

“I never saw someone asking such questions in a place like this.”

As if he was trying to stop Kim Hye Hill talking without reserve, Kim Hye Woo threw a glance at the girls and dropped a remark, which made me touch my forehead and utter, ‘Oh lord…’

“Kim Hye Hill, I told you not to talk to weirdos. Why you keep doing that?”

“Sorry, I can’t get me out of this habit.”

Watching the Kim twins making sarcastic remarks as if they were used to it, the girls reddened their faces.

I swallowed a groan since I thought Kim Hye Woo would stop Kim Hye Hill from behaving that way, but I forgot that they both got an attitude. They were indeed twins. Quickly stretching out my arms to them, I pulled the two and shouted, “Yes, I’m Ham Donnie! Bye~!”

Since it even sounded like nonsense to me, the girls wouldn’t just pass over what I had just said to them. Their faces turned visibly red under the cloudy sky.

“Aren’t they insane?!” shouted the girls.

“Hey, you, Ham Donnie! We have something to talk about, so stay here. You guys must leave before we don’t let you go.”

“Who do they think they are to tell us to leave? Such strange people, aren’t they, oppa?”

Kim Hye Hill spoke that way while switching her gaze to Kim Hye Woo. The senior girls blushed even more. Taking a step back, I murmured to myself, ‘Geez, what should I do?’

To make matters worse, those who came out to pick up the delivered snacks at the back gate were surrounding us in a circle to watch our situation, so it seemed difficult to run away.

What should I do? Holding each of the twin’s arm tightly, I rolled my eyes. That was when a voice penetrated the sound of rain and flew over to us.

“Ham Donnie.”

I turned my head. The patient’s pants over the ankle and a black cardigan came into view. Once I raised my gaze, the expected face was there right in front of me.

1

Looking slightly exhausted, Yoo Chun Young uttered, “Come here… next to me.” It was the look that he always had when he was calling me.

A moment of silence swept the spot. Meanwhile, I stared at Yoo Chun Young blankly.

Heavy raindrops were pouring between us. The corners of the paper container I was carrying in my arms got soaking wet in the rain.

I looked at Yoo Chun Young’s hand that was put outside of his umbrella. Raindrops were dropping from his white fingers to the ground continuously.

The whispers around us grew bigger. Those who were gathered at the back gate for the delivered foods talked in an undertone, “Are they close?”

“They went to the same middle school.”

“But still…”

‘But still…’ I perceived the meaning implied in those words sensitively. I didn’t get hurt by those remarks since I was so used to them even in this kind of situation. However, there were only two words that filled in my head.

‘Come here.’