Under the Rain: Chapter 1
My name is Lee Joon. People call me Joon for short. I'm a senior at National University of Seoul. I love rainy days and I love standing under the rain. Normal people would find this hobby of mine strange.
You could say that I have inferiority problems, but please don't think that I'm not normal.
Ask me why? It's nothing, really. I just like it. It's as simple as that.
I don't like to talk much, especially to girls.
For some reason, usually only small percentage of people would believe what I say. They seem to have trustworthy issues with me.
You could say that I like to act cool, but please don't say that I'm shy.
Ask me why? It's nothing, really. I just don't like talking to girls. It's as simple as that.
When I first transferred to this university three weeks ago, I wasn't able to adapt to so many things. And I still can't. My roommate had always said that I was a weirdo. He even suspected that I had psychological problems.
On the other hand, I always find random girls running up to me and starting a conversation with no particular reason. A simple nod or shake of head from me would make their faces glow and they would run off like they'd just won the lottery or something. The freakiest part was they even gave me a strange nickname - Sunny. And I don’t even like sunny days.
I have pretty bad memory. There are many things in my life which I should remember for I find them hard to keep. But I will never forget the first time she spoke to me.
"Lee Joon-ssi, don't forget to remove that box of recycled paper once you're done. I don't want to see a single sheet lying on the table". I seldom saw her around. But whenever I did, all I remember was that she was always ordering me around. All I would do was nod and nothing else.
She was Lucy, the Editor of our campus newspaper. I love writing and it’s the only thing I am good at. I’m not really good with people. I refused to join other societies which required interaction with people. So I decided to join the newspaper to keep me away from the buzz on campus. It has only been a week since I’ve joined the team. I was still at blur with the way things were run in the campus newsroom. I wondered why I was the only one there all the time.
Well, not really. There was also Lucy. I hope she wasn’t the only one running the whole newspaper. That didn’t even make sen-
Lucy broke my train of thoughts, “Lee Joon-ssi, don’t think that you’ll have it easy just because you’re new. You can keep showing me that I-don’t-want-to-talk-to-you face. But please clean up all the mess that you have made on the table by 7pm or you’re dead!”
I’ve seen many types of girls growing up in the city. I’ve always come across plenty in the past three weeks that I’ve been here. But she is the first girl that I’ve seen who has such a strong personality and seems to be the type who spits threats to her ‘slaves’. I didn’t expect her to threaten me because of a pile of recycled paper!
One day, I sat on a bench at our campus park after classes. I felt a familiar cold and prickling feeling on my arms. Drop after drop, it started to rain heavier and heavier. I stayed still and allowed the silver drops to soak my body, enjoying the sensation.
“Why aren’t you heading home? It’s raining so heavily”, a voice broke my moment of peace. I looked up and saw her standing beside me, holding an umbrella with teddy bear prints. What a childish umbrella, I mocked under my breath. I didn’t answer her and turned away to face the same spot I was staring at earlier.
“So it’s true that you like staying under the rain? I’ve heard a lot of rumours about it but I thought they were just the usual untruths people spread about new students. But won’t you fall sick soaking wet like that every time?” She continued asking countless questions standing under her umbrella. Once again, I looked up at her, and then turned away again and replied reluctantly, “I’m used to it”.
“Not bad. You can actually talk! Your voice sounds really nice. You should talk more. Otherwise you’ll have bad breath and your mouth will just rot away”. I gave her a quick answer out of boredom and because I was sick of her voice and questions. I never thought I’d receive a … compliment from her. This strange girl puzzled me.
“Alright. I’ll leave you alone then. Enjoy soaking and freezing away here by yourself! See ya!” She left without waiting for a reply from me.
Actually, she didn’t seem too high and mighty after all. At least she asked me questions and didn’t throw threats or orders this time.
No, wait. She said something about my mouth rotting.
Who cares?
I continued sitting where I was and enjoyed the rain drops for the rest of the evening.
You could say that I have inferiority problems, but please don't think that I'm not normal.
Ask me why? It's nothing, really. I just like it. It's as simple as that.
I don't like to talk much, especially to girls.
For some reason, usually only small percentage of people would believe what I say. They seem to have trustworthy issues with me.
You could say that I like to act cool, but please don't say that I'm shy.
Ask me why? It's nothing, really. I just don't like talking to girls. It's as simple as that.
When I first transferred to this university three weeks ago, I wasn't able to adapt to so many things. And I still can't. My roommate had always said that I was a weirdo. He even suspected that I had psychological problems.
On the other hand, I always find random girls running up to me and starting a conversation with no particular reason. A simple nod or shake of head from me would make their faces glow and they would run off like they'd just won the lottery or something. The freakiest part was they even gave me a strange nickname - Sunny. And I don’t even like sunny days.
I have pretty bad memory. There are many things in my life which I should remember for I find them hard to keep. But I will never forget the first time she spoke to me.
"Lee Joon-ssi, don't forget to remove that box of recycled paper once you're done. I don't want to see a single sheet lying on the table". I seldom saw her around. But whenever I did, all I remember was that she was always ordering me around. All I would do was nod and nothing else.
She was Lucy, the Editor of our campus newspaper. I love writing and it’s the only thing I am good at. I’m not really good with people. I refused to join other societies which required interaction with people. So I decided to join the newspaper to keep me away from the buzz on campus. It has only been a week since I’ve joined the team. I was still at blur with the way things were run in the campus newsroom. I wondered why I was the only one there all the time.
Well, not really. There was also Lucy. I hope she wasn’t the only one running the whole newspaper. That didn’t even make sen-
Lucy broke my train of thoughts, “Lee Joon-ssi, don’t think that you’ll have it easy just because you’re new. You can keep showing me that I-don’t-want-to-talk-to-you face. But please clean up all the mess that you have made on the table by 7pm or you’re dead!”
I’ve seen many types of girls growing up in the city. I’ve always come across plenty in the past three weeks that I’ve been here. But she is the first girl that I’ve seen who has such a strong personality and seems to be the type who spits threats to her ‘slaves’. I didn’t expect her to threaten me because of a pile of recycled paper!
One day, I sat on a bench at our campus park after classes. I felt a familiar cold and prickling feeling on my arms. Drop after drop, it started to rain heavier and heavier. I stayed still and allowed the silver drops to soak my body, enjoying the sensation.
“Why aren’t you heading home? It’s raining so heavily”, a voice broke my moment of peace. I looked up and saw her standing beside me, holding an umbrella with teddy bear prints. What a childish umbrella, I mocked under my breath. I didn’t answer her and turned away to face the same spot I was staring at earlier.
“So it’s true that you like staying under the rain? I’ve heard a lot of rumours about it but I thought they were just the usual untruths people spread about new students. But won’t you fall sick soaking wet like that every time?” She continued asking countless questions standing under her umbrella. Once again, I looked up at her, and then turned away again and replied reluctantly, “I’m used to it”.
“Not bad. You can actually talk! Your voice sounds really nice. You should talk more. Otherwise you’ll have bad breath and your mouth will just rot away”. I gave her a quick answer out of boredom and because I was sick of her voice and questions. I never thought I’d receive a … compliment from her. This strange girl puzzled me.
“Alright. I’ll leave you alone then. Enjoy soaking and freezing away here by yourself! See ya!” She left without waiting for a reply from me.
Actually, she didn’t seem too high and mighty after all. At least she asked me questions and didn’t throw threats or orders this time.
No, wait. She said something about my mouth rotting.
Who cares?
I continued sitting where I was and enjoyed the rain drops for the rest of the evening.