SARANG 사랑 | EOY After Story ✓

08

JOO-DA LOOPS HER ARM AROUND HER BOYFRIEND. "We'll see you guys later."

The scene is still playing but they are not in the cafeteria anymore. Instead, they're out in the sun, and Sae-mi and Soo-chul aren't with them.

She waves them goodbye, and it's only then she notices Ha-ru standing beside her. The lovebirds look so intimate; it's sweet, but also in a sickening kind of way. The Writer sure likes to make them so mushy; it's bordering on disgust.

They watch as the two of them disappear in the crowds and it looks like Ha-ru is just as relieved as her. He lets out an audible sigh; rubbing the bridge of his nose as they make their way to class in the drizzle that appears out of nowhere.

"Why does it always rain when I'm with you?" She hears Ha-ru grumble from beside her- so low that he might be talking to himself- peering into the greyish sky with squinted eyes.

"You're acting like I'm the reason why it rains," she replies, warm moisture trickling down her cheeks like tears but all the more pleasant.

"Maybe it is. Who can tell?"

She barks out a laugh. "Then you should keep an umbrella with you, just to be safe. Or-," she looks at the wet strands of hair falling in his eyes, resisting the urge to brush them back with her fingers. Once again, she is at a loss if it is her character on the Stage or her instinct that overwhelms her at the moment, so much so that she feels her fingers twitching at her side.

"Or-," she sucks in a breath, as if to reign in her thoughts, "you can just not be where I am."

Her words are completely contrary to what she is feeling inside. But he only lets out a huff, with an emotion that was too hard to place in his perfectly crafted face which forever remains stoic. He doesn't speak a word after that, but his pace remains slow to not leave her behind. She watches the rain collide with the lashes above his eyes, dripping down his nose in small rivulets down to his neck, all the while this unmindful action on his part makes a small smile appear on her face.

"Are you practicing today?" She asks out of the blue, taking her real consciousness by surprise with the sheer bluntness of her question. And without waiting for an answer, she adds, "How is your game coming along anyway?"

Well, fashionable or not, her character this time surely sucks at making small talk.

"It's fine." He doesn't look at her as he speaks, his eyes focusing at a distance as his face morphs into one of thoughtfulness. It leaves her no way to decipher if he too felt the abruptness of her inquiry, but only to hear him say, "Yes, I'm practicing today." And then lower, maybe only to himself, he mutters, "And the entire week after that."

She isn't sure if it was meant for her ears or not. "You look tired," she frowns, looking up and feeling the rain directly hit her cheeks. "Is everything okay?"

He nods.

When he doesn't say anything in return, she smiles, "Don't take it too hard. I know tennis is important for you, but happiness is more important than that. Your well-being should be your top priority."

She's surprised by her own words. The Writer is making her sound so compassionate towards him, especially after her awkward initiative at conversation; for one second, it almost makes her forget they are still on the Stage.

"How would you know?"

She lets out a breezy laugh, tasting the warm rain on the tip of her tongue. It's sweet, but more so in a reassuring kind of way. "I just do," she says, raising her head and staring directly into his eyes. "Just take care of yourself, that's all I'm saying."