First Novel
First Beginning...
[Nine O'Clock at Night]
The twenty-year-old young woman lay on her bed.
She was fiddling with her phone. She'd finished dinner, and by now, everyone in her family must have been asleep.
She always stayed up late, spending most of her time drawing... She loved that hobby intensely, but she kept it hidden... She didn't like anyone knowing about it... It was the one thing that kept her from thinking... The thinking that wore her out... Drawing was her refuge, her escape from it...
She put her phone aside... and closed her eyes, trying to sleep... She tossed and turned in her bed the whole time... couldn't sleep... The scenario of what happened was still right there, in front of her eyes... Even though it happened a long time ago... But for "Ruhi," our young girl, it felt like it happened just yesterday...
"It's funny that I remember that incident... I wonder if he remembers it too..."
(The young woman said to herself)
...Let's go back in time a little... Specifically, "one year, two months, and twenty days."
(Yeah, Ruhi remembered every single boring detail.)
[Six O'Clock in the Evening]
Early December... I remember the weather was super cold... And it was pouring rain... That day, I'd had a stupid fight with my friend "Julia"... So stupid I don't even remember why, not like I remember what happened that day...
I was feeling down. I was quiet the whole time. I'm not really a social person; one loyal friend is enough for me. I loved her and still do... But she got mad at me for no reason, and then she came back to make up when she realized she was wrong... But I wasn't really paying attention to anything she said... (laughing).
After the last class ended, and that tiring day was over... And when I finally decided to go home and crash on my dear bed... That's when the heavy rain hit me... I sighed deeply and went back to hide by the university entrance, waiting for the rain to stop... And just my luck... I hadn't even brought my umbrella...
All the students were running to get home... Some were hiding like me, waiting... And some had already brought their umbrellas... The others took taxis... I just stood there, waiting... I can't deny I was freezing, really freezing... Even with the cold weather and the stinging wind on my face... I really love this season! I adore it...
I was focused on the sound of the raindrops, hitting the tree leaves sometimes, and the little puddles in the streets other times... But that didn't stop me from noticing the eyes that were watching me... I was always glancing around, 'cause feeling watched is unsettling... There were a lot of students, so I couldn't figure out whose eyes were watching me exactly... That's when I decided to leave... The feeling of fear had settled into me more than the cold itself...
I tucked my hands firmly into my coat pockets and headed out to leave... Only to be surprised when my speed slowed... And it seemed like someone had actually grabbed my hand, stopping my movement... That's when my heart started racing with worry. Fear, maybe?
I turned around to see a young man taller than me, dark-skinned, with a wide, beautiful smile... I snapped out of my daze and quickly pulled my hand away... The guy seemed nice... but I shifted my gaze to a serious one...
"What do you want, mister?" (I said it coldly, annoyed.)
I saw his square smile come back again. He looked into my eyes for a long time. There were so many things I wanted to read in those deep looks... He broke that eye contact by pulling out his umbrella... He opened it and held it up, putting it between us... After he did that... I was frozen in place... I could almost hear my heart pounding fast...
I tried to string some words together... 'Cause his gaze was beautiful in an uncomfortable way... Yeah, totally uncomfortable for me... And unfortunately, I'd seen a scene like this in a drama before... And that's what threw me off. Was my life gonna change by chance? But I'm impulsive and always mess things up, even if they're good for me...
"W-who are you? No need for this... Y-you can keep your umbrella. I-I..."
I heard him chuckle at what I said... I won't lie, I was annoyed by that... I furrowed my brows in irritation and said, "Did I say something funny?" (angrily)
I got mad and stepped out of that little space under the umbrella... I tried to say something else, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him so I was under the umbrella again... I couldn't hold back how embarrassed I was then... There was hardly any space between us... I could barely hear the students talking on the side here and there...
I didn't realize what I was doing until I'd given him a slap that made him turn the other way... I did that without thinking... I didn't feel it until I was slapping him... I was in a tough spot. Where did this guy come from? I'd never in my life thought about a situation like this...
He turned back and looked into my eyes again... His expression had changed... He sighed deeply and said, smiling again: "Sorry, miss... I didn't mean to... I'm not a bad guy, believe me."
I swallowed nervously... trying to think of a quick answer... "S-so how do you explain what you just did? Does that seem normal?"
After he heard me, I noticed he looked regretful... He avoided making eye contact with me... He must have been thinking of a convincing answer... He sighed deeply and said: "Sorry... Your face and nose were red. I figured you were the type who gets sick easily if they get caught in the rain." (The guy said it innocently.)
I couldn't speak... Quickly, I replied, "Huh? And what does that mean? Even if I am..."
He cut me off and said, "Keep this umbrella. I don't think the rain's gonna stop. So you better get home quick. If the sun sets while you're out here in weather like this, I doubt you'll make it back home." (with a laugh)
I raised my eyebrows at how weird that sounded. I tried to refuse, but he grabbed my hand, put the umbrella in my hand, and closed my hand around it tightly.
"Don't say anything. I don't need it. I live close by."
Those strange looks came back again... Why do I feel like there's a deep story behind those looks, hidden in the sparkle of his eyes...
"B-but why?"
He ignored my question and left quickly... "Get home fast, little one," he said and left quickly... He was totally drenched, for real...
I held the umbrella, confused... Then I checked the time... I gotta hurry... I left the spot, protected from the rain by that umbrella... Yeah... I didn't know who that person was or his name... I didn't know why he did that... Why me, out of the huge crowd there? Those looks, the smile... were still stuck in my head... My head was full of questions and tons of thoughts... I didn't even notice until I was right in front of our house... That night, it was pouring rain... I sat in my room that day, thinking about what had happened...
I remember deciding I had to find him... and give him his umbrella back... But I didn't know his name... or what class he was in... I wasn't sure, but I felt like he was a year or two older than me... The day I found him... I'd ask him why... Then I'd stop thinking about it so much...
The next day, I told my best friend, Julia, what had happened... She and I didn't keep any secrets from each other... I described the guy to her so she could help me look for him... She was shocked by what I told her... She said I was lucky... and that stuff only happens in fairy tales...
We searched for him every day after classes... For a while, I even wondered if maybe I'd imagined it... But how could I imagine it when I still had his umbrella? How could a fantasy have that kind of presence?
A week really went by... and I decided to give up... I put his umbrella in my closet... and decided I'd give it back to him when the time was right...
A month after that incident... Julia invited me to watch our university's basketball game... That's because she was dating a player on that team... I remember his name was "Yoongi"... I hadn't seen him before... Julia looked happy when she talked about him... I was curious about him...
We sat down in the stands... Waiting for the game to start. There was a huge crowd... I remember perfectly that Julia was holding a sign with "Yoongi" written on it, all just to cheer him on... She looked really sweet... I wondered what he was like with Julia... Did he support her the way she supported him?
After half an hour... The players started coming in... I was totally bored; I hate basketball... I was looking around without really caring... The players were really tall... That was the only thing that grabbed my attention... I was looking at the players... until my eyes landed on him...
I stood up in shock and put my hand over my mouth... And the worst part of all was, he noticed me... He even stopped and looked at me from where he was... He waved at me, smiling, then ran off to join his friends... After leaving me in a new fight with myself...
That's when Julia grabbed my hand to make me sit down.
"You know Tae?"
I looked into Julia's eyes and said, "H-he's the g-guy I told you about... the umbrella guy."
She jumped up in surprise, "Taehyung? Our team captain?"
I looked at her, not getting it, then I grabbed her hand, pulled her back down, and nodded yes to what she said...
"Ruhi, you're so lucky!! Don't blow this chance, believe me!! Tae is the most popular player here, you know how many girls he's turned down!! He's never dated before, he's smart and athletic, so what else could you even want?"
I looked at her in disbelief.
"Julia... I was looking for him to give him back his umbrella... I don't have any feelings for him... I don't know him, and he doesn't know me either. Stop talking like that, everyone's looking at us..."
Julia let out a frustrated sigh... and said, "You'll regret it, Ruhi... Taehyung is a great guy... You're crazy if you turn him down..."
I sighed impatiently at her words... Her thinking was really over the top... It was just an umbrella, why all this drama? We'd never even really met before...
...The second half started... and a tall guy with white skin came in... I was spacing out, watching them... Until Julia startled me when that guy entered...
"YOONGI!!!!!" (She said it loudly.)
(She stood up, holding the sign, jumping.)
So, this was Yoongi... He seemed like a quiet guy, the opposite of my friend Julia... He looked at her and smiled... I didn't like his reaction... Why didn't he wave back, at least? She was cheering for him so enthusiastically... I swear I'd make his life hell if he made her sad... She's my best friend... and I won't let anyone mess with her...
...Our team was strong... But our opponent was no joke either... Yoongi was trying to make a shot, but another guy blocked him... And took the ball... That's when Taehyung faced him... Tae was standing right there in front of him... But that guy was short and fast... He dodged him and got away with the ball...
In that moment, I noticed his movement slow down... His expression suddenly got messed up... Making me sure he'd twisted his leg... Weird, Tae hadn't even bothered him... I wondered how a short guy could even be a basketball player...
After Yoongi noticed that guy had twisted his leg... He took advantage of the chance... And took the ball from him... And scored a goal...
Tae looked at Yoongi with pride... Then he turned his eyes right to me... My heart was pounding hard... I felt nervous then... So I quickly turned my face away...
That's when I saw Julia looking at me with anger... "Idiot, Ruhi, I swear!!" I sighed in frustration and kept watching the game... But suddenly the ref ordered the game stopped...
The opposing team's coach... wanted to substitute players... The short guy was probably coming out... and another player was going in... As soon as that young man left... the noise got louder... and the cheering picked up the pace... Girls from the other university stood up, really enthusiastic... I felt weird... Just a player substitution, why all this excitement?
Until that player entered... And he seemed to be the answer... to all my questions... I felt a strange aura when I saw him... He didn't look like an athlete... He never smiled, not once... And on top of all that, he had tattoos on his hand?? How do they even allow an athlete to have tattoos?? As soon as he walked in, he looked at the crowd and smirked provocatively... I won't lie, I wasn't happy to see him... and my heart didn't feel comfortable with him at all...
Taehyung, please win the game... Tae and that guy faced each other, challenging looks between them... The whistle blew... The referee started the game... I'd never been a sports fan, but I seriously wanted our team to win...
After several attempts... The game ended in a tie... I sighed in frustration... Damn it, I wasted my time and we didn't even win... Julia quickly stood up, grabbing my hand... "Come on, this is our chance!!" I blinked a few times, trying to understand what she meant... She grabbed my hand and ran...
We left the stands and went down toward the players' rooms... I stopped dead then... "Where are we going, Julia?? I'm not going in!!" Julia's face got all serious and she said, "Look behind you... Look at the number of girls... We're not the only ones. I just wanted us to be the first ones to meet them..."
I rolled my eyes, bored... They didn't even win... And if I didn't listen to Julia, she'd definitely kill me... I turned around to see several girls carrying water bottles and towels and some fast food... A sarcastic laugh escaped me. "Do you think the players are actually gonna wait for what we bring?? Seriously, Julia!! This is so embarrassing."
Just as I finished talking... Taehyung and some of the players came out, including Yoongi and the short guy... That's when Julia grabbed my hand and put a water bottle in it... I looked at her blankly... Then I noticed the girls racing toward Tae and the rest of the players... Tae just smiled... and easily walked past them... until he stopped right in front of us...
That's when I felt shy... nervous... I even felt kinda dizzy... it was awkward... I must have looked weird in front of him... I could hear my heart pounding fast... He looked at my hand to take the water bottle... He leaned down to my level and said with a smile, "Is this for me? Can I take it?"
I could barely notice a huge smile spreading across Julia's face... I swallowed nervously... couldn't say a single word... So I just nodded yes... He laughed at how I reacted and stood up, saying, "Thanks, you're really sweet." He gently patted my head and left...
I didn't realize what had just happened... The same situation... He picked me out of everyone... I turned to Julia... But she had just... vanished... I frowned 'cause she'd left without telling me... I barely even noticed the hateful looks from the other girls... Damn, it was just a water bottle, why all the hate...
I got away from that spot... looking for my friend... I held my cheeks, blushing, remembering what happened... I was walking, spacing out... until I saw my friend from a distance... I ran toward her to tell her... But... I swear I didn't do it on purpose... I didn't see him 'cause I was spaced out, I'd just gotten myself into a new mess... I'd bumped into that player... That scary player with the tattoos... He'd suddenly come right into my path... The problem wasn't just bumping into him... but his phone that fell... and the screen that cracked...
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