The weather forecast obviously didn't do a very good job of predicting the weather. It should be sunny with only a few clouds--at least that's what the anchor said. Which is why Jeonghan decided not to bring any umbrella along with him.
However it was just past lunch time when suddenly the sky became dark and it started to rain heavily.
"Ah damn." Jeonghan sighed underneath his mask.
He was on his way to the agency building. That day he told the team that he would be driving himself because he wanted to stop by the convenience store to buy some snacks for the members and staff. He was standing right at the exit door with a big plastic bag filled with five big boxes of choux pastries. He'd been eyeing the newly opened shop for a while.
"Damn it." He groaned while staring at his car at the end of the road.
Jeonghan decided to wait another ten minutes, hoping the rain would let up a bit so he could at least run to his car without getting too wet. Besides that, he was also worried about the choux he just bought. In his opinion, it tastes best when the filling is still cold. If he waited too long, it might turn lukewarm later.
Watching the rain reminds Jeonghan of his younger days. He used to get caught in the rain a lot because he lent it secretly to someone. To be honest, he always carried an umbrella in his backpack, it's just that he would rather get caught in the rain than let that person get soaked.
"I'm really sorry! I think I'll be late today."
Jeonghan heard someone said to the phone.
"I didn't expect it to rain this hard-- I know, I always forget my umbrella I'm such a grandma."
I'm such a grandma, hehe.
Hearing that, Jeonghan immediately turned his head to the right.
Suddenly his bad mood had subsided. Seeing that person was actually someone he knew. Even when the lightning suddenly struck, the movement that person made was still the same as he remembered--covering both ears with eyes tightly shut.
"That was really loud." Jeonghan said while picking up the phone that was accidentally dropped.
"You're welcome." He then added when he received no thanks--instead, he got a dumbfounded face of yours.
"What are you doing here?" You ask in confusion because Seungkwan said their group had arrived earlier.
"What am I doing in a bakery, let's see." Jeonghan put his free hand on his hip, "Looking for aliens. And I think I've found one." He tilted his head looking at you.
"Wow. So lucky." You play along, giving him a few slow claps.
Your attention is then directed to Jeonghan's plastic bag. Inside, there are as many boxes in it as there are in yours. Jeonghan also did the same, he glanced at yours for a bit but then his gaze looked so suspicious.
"What?" You blurted out.
Before Jeonghan manages to say anything, you quickly add an explanation, slightly guessing why he looks so suspicious.
"This is not for me, I'm not stressed or anything. This is for everyone at the agency later."
"Guess we bought too many then." He shrugged.
"Why did you buy so many?" A hint of sulkiness can be heard from your tone.
Jeonghan looked like he was about to snap your head but he restrained himself from saying, "I've been there for almost thirty minutes. I was the first one here."
Unable to deny it, you stared at the gray sky while sulking. You also keep checking the time back and forth when the rain shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. As time went by, your anxious attitude made Jeonghan even more anxious than you.
"Can you stop checking the time every two seconds?" He finally said, couldn't take it anymore.
"I'm just worried about the choux. They won't taste as good when they get too warm."
Jeonghan took a deep breath and nodded. He agreed.
He then suddenly handed over his choux to you. Even though you flinched slightly, you reflexively held onto it tightly with your empty hand. Before you could ask anything, you already saw Jeonghan running. Under the pouring rain, he of course immediately got drenched.
With not many choices, Jeonghan decided to run through the rain to his car. As soon as he unlocked the door, he quickly threw himself inside. The feeling of success felt so good that he didn't really care about his wet car seat.
"Are you crazy? That was dangerous you might slip and fall?" You snapped as Jeonghan's car stopped in front of you and the window rolled down.
"Are you getting in or not?" Jeonghan said while drying his hair with the spare towel he got from his gym's back, "Or you can put the choux and wait here for another hundred years."
For a moment you are taken aback by Jeonghan's visual when his hair is wet. He looked as though he'd just taken a shower--looked refreshed. Even though her hair is messy. You're a little bit annoyed at yourself for not being able to stop stealing glances.
"Alright, alright!" You quickly came back to your senses when Jeonghan rolled up the car window deliberately.
The Choux are safely seated in the backseat. Jeonghan drives at a steady speed while you sit next to him feeling a little sleepy. The radio songs kept changing from slow songs to up beat songs and then back to slow songs.
The AC temperature has been set to the lowest, the heater is also on but Jeonghan notices you still rub your palms occasionally. Even though you've done it as naturally as possible, it's undeniable that former lovers must already know each other's habits.
"I used it to dry my hair earlier but it was clean." Jeonghan grabbed his towel with one hand easily then casually threw it into your lap.
"I'm okay--"
"I'm not going to turn off the AC to suffocate and I don't want a frozen corpse in my car." He shoves the towel back at you when you try to return it.
"Such a gentleman." Contrary to your sarcastic tone, you're actually grateful for the towel.
The towel wrapped around your shoulders tightly closed. You can smell the fragrance of the detergent mixed with Jeonghan's signature scent. Your have mixed feelings as the smell awakens a lot of memories. But you stay silent. There's a bit difference about the perfume--you'd bet he's wearing a way more expensive perfume now. But the scent of a Jeonghan is still there--it reminds you of a sweet fruit in a summer walk.
"Seungkwan talks a lot about you." Jeonghan looked to his right to check the other cars before turning left, "He really enjoys being close friends with you."
"I also like being friends with him." You smiled imagining Seungkwan's funny judgmental face.
"He's a good friend. A loyal one too." Jeonghan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the current song, "All of them are."
From the corner of your eyes you could see Jeonghan's warm smile. You leaned your head to the backseat and turn to have abetter look of that smile.
"When and how did you meet them?"
"Someone recruited me and honestly I didn't think to go this far before. It just felt nice to have a company at that time."
"At that time?" You muttered asking.
Jeonghan hit the brakes smoothly when the light turned red. He then turns his head to look at you too. He hesitated for a moment to answer your question, although he already had the answer on the tip of his tongue.
"After...we broke up." He cleared his throat after he said it.
You were wondering if Jeonghan had a hard time after the breakup too. If so, does what he felt compare to how you felt back then. If you're still as angry as before, maybe you already blame him, because he was the one who chose to leave.
However on the other hand, the last few months of knowing Seventeen members make you feel that his decision was the right thing.
"I've seen you happy, but it's not as close as when you are with them." You muttered, still not breaking the eye contact you had with him, "I'm glad our breakup brought you to this point."
You ended the sentence with your crescent moon smile. When you looked out the window, Jeonghan was still staring at you. Until finally he was startled by the car horn behind--turned out that the light had turned green. Jeonghan wiped his eyes that were blurry with some tears--which he hadn't realized since when--then continued driving.
"Y/N?" He called after a moment of silence, "Sorry for being an ass the other day."
Not getting an answer from you, Jeonghan took a glance at you who was already fast asleep. He noticed your eye bags that looked darker compared to when you two met again months ago. He feel thankful that you worked hard for the sake of his group.
As for you, sleeping surrounded by Jeonghan's scent makes you feel safe and relaxed. It's been a long time since you haven't slept that well. You even dream of feeling Jeonghan's warm touch like the old days. You miss him. You miss Yoon Jeonghan so much even his touch feels so real.