It was a holiday that even a monster could enjoy, but there were those who couldn’t enjoy such a worthy day….
Students heading to school, which had not declared a closure, faced a storm strong enough to turn umbrellas inside out.
Their recent search terms included ‘Typhoon School Closure’, ‘Incheon Typhoon’, ‘Typhoon School’, and so on.
They were a group hoping for a school holiday due to the predicted natural disaster, but the reality was absolutely pitiful.
The sound of rain hitting umbrellas like a machine gun, patter patter, echoed around them.
The howling wind and the drenched legs from the maddened rain.
The summer typhoon that rendered even large umbrellas useless was, for the students, nothing short of a disaster.
Of course, the two magical girls were no exception.
“Ugh, I’m soaked.”
“My socks are completely wet….”
As they stepped into the classroom, a few complaints escaped the lips of Shiyeon and me.
The longer the walk took, the more soaked we became—an inevitable consequence of the typhoon commute.
Socks and legs were soaked to the point that the umbrella provided no real protection, and by the time we sat down, our waist area was nearly drenched.
Even the bag couldn’t escape the rain, which was wet enough to change its color.
No, in this case, it might be more accurate to say that it kept my back from getting wet?
Perhaps due to the wind from the typhoon, the number of students heading to school was considerably lower than usual.
After closing the front and back doors of the classroom, I immediately turned on the air conditioner and set it to 18 degrees, while turning all the fans in each area to maximum speed.
‘It’s not my electricity—’
With a relaxed mind, I started shutting the windows one by one, completing the classroom setup perfect for a nap.
After sitting down, I took off my sneakers, which were so wet they looked as if they were soaked like a sponge with every step.
A row of metal pipes under the desk served as makeshift footrests.
I slowly raised my feet, still in my damp socks, and began to dry them there.
The slight coolness felt through the tight holes in my socks brought a modest sense of comfort.
The only good thing about a rainy day was the assurance that we wouldn’t have to go outside for gym class.
Other than that, well… not much else.
Maybe the temperature dropped to the level of an ant’s determination?
Due to the humidity, laundry doesn’t dry well, and just moving around leaves you soaking wet.
The wind makes my hair go wild, and even if I try to go shopping, holding an umbrella only makes things more inconvenient than usual.
“I really hate the rain.”
Even as I complained about nature with a grumble, nothing changed.
The relentless typhoon continued to pour down rain even after school ended.
Though the fierce wind and rain were still ongoing, a few unfortunate souls began to appear.
“Uh? My umbrella.”
A common case of loss among students who had left their umbrellas in the back.
The first scenario usually occurred because other students also opened their umbrellas there, and one might mistakenly grab their’s thinking it was theirs and leave with it.
The second scenario was that someone who didn’t bring an umbrella would nonchalantly take it.
Either way, it usually happened among male students.
In my case, I kept my umbrella near my desk from the start to avoid such incidents….
In an attempt to prevent a gentleman from taking it, I have a large and beautiful solid pink umbrella.
A specialty item, an umbrella that would be considered shameful for a boy to carry.
Having experienced male middle school and high school, I’ve seen my fair share of kids losing… No, having their belongings stolen.
To say nothing of the manga or pens that were borrowed and mysteriously disappeared, how much worse would an umbrella be?
With closing time over, it was time to head home.
“Eh?”
A puzzled sound unexpectedly escaped from Taehyun, who was rummaging through the pile of umbrellas.
Shiyeon was waiting, as today was a day off from the academy, so I nudged the slouching boy’s behind gently and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“I can’t find my umbrella.”
“Did you leave it like a fool?”
As it turned out, Taehyun was also a victim of umbrella theft.
Seonhyuk and Dongha had already left the classroom, saying they were off to the PC room.
Since our paths overlapped anyway, I couldn’t just leave him behind, so I decided to take him along.
The school entrance was visible, with thick raindrops pouring down indiscriminately.
With a pop, Taehyun opened his umbrella and turned to me.
“Do you want to share with me, or with Shiyeon?”
“Uh….”
Caught off guard by the suggestion, Taehyun hesitated to make a choice.
Shiyeon, who had been listening, seemed to find something odd and proposed another option.
“What if Taehyun takes my umbrella, and we all share it together?”
She pointed to her umbrella and then at Taehyun, indicating the two of us.
“Ah, that works too.”
After a moment of rolling my eyes in thought, I realized that would be better.
It was better than having strange misunderstandings arise from sharing an umbrella between a boy and a girl.
As we walked down the rain-soaked path home, two large and beautiful specialty shame-pink umbrellas strolled together.
Taehyun seemed to be keeping close, perhaps to avoid looking like he was alone, walking almost side by side while ensuring the umbrellas stayed apart.
Shiyeon also kept close under the same umbrella, like conjoined twins, to avoid getting wet.
When facing a crosswalk with large puddles from heavy rain, it became essential to maintain a considerable distance from the puddles.
Otherwise….
“Ahh?!”
‘Just like that.’
With a splashing sound, a turning car sprayed water onto the person standing near the crosswalk.
To prevent such misfortunes, I always keep my distance from puddles on rainy days.
I had heard that some twisted people purposely splash water at others in that manner.
As the green light turned on at the crosswalk, we began to move forward awkwardly.
Shiyeon and I were almost in an embrace as we walked.
Just as things seemed to be going well, we, who were not used to walking in a two-to-three position in the rain, encountered trouble.
“Oops….”
“Ah…!”
Just as I stepped on a corner of the asphalt that had sunk, my balance unexpectedly collapsed.
The short cry of surprise wasn’t even able to finish before I fell right into the puddle.
“Ugh….”
Trying to rise from the puddle that soaked my bottom and back while Shiyeon was on top of me made it difficult.
With Taehyun’s help, I finally stood up, nearly soaked through, and resumed walking home.
“Ugh, I’m soaked….”
A sigh escaped due to the shirt clinging to my body.
I undid the button that was fastened at the top, and pulled my drenched shirt out, flapping it in the air.
Of course, even that wouldn’t make my clothes dry in a few seconds, so it was in vain.
It was a tiring walk home for everyone.
As we entered the communal entrance of the apartment building, Shiyeon, who had been clinging to me but was equally drenched, finally slipped away and received her umbrella back from Taehyun.
While returning the specialty shame-pink umbrella, Taehyun spoke a few words of concern.
“Thanks for the umbrella, are you okay?”
“Yeah, not really, but… I’ll have to shower as soon as I get home.”
Having been drenched from the bottom up to my waist and back, I wasn’t wet solely from the rain—I had taken a dive into the puddle.
My shirt and skirt, which had soaked down to my waist, would squirt out water if I squeezed them.
The shirt clinging to my skin due to the water was an added bonus.
Although being a little better for having fallen onto the water rather than dry land, my right buttock, which had touched the ground first, ached slightly.
Shiyeon had been on top of me, so she got off mostly dry, but a shower was inevitable.
Once I got home, I would crank up the air conditioner, take a hot shower to warm up, and then enjoy the air conditioning for the day.
“Ugh, I’m soaked.”
As I stepped into the elevator, I undid the top button and pulled the loosened shirt around my waist with my thumb and index finger while pressing the buttons for the 4th and 17th floors.
With my shirt completely soaked and flapping, there was a faint breeze that penetrated the cloth slightly.
Thinking back, I remembered that Taehyun had a similar academy schedule to Shiyeon, and I turned to him to ask something.
‘Huh?’
However, I found him in a rather awkward posture.
With his bottom pushed back, hands resting on the armrests, and head bent low, the question I was about to ask vanished.
The only reason I thought a boy would take such a posture was that he was hiding something, and my gaze involuntarily drifted to myself.
The moisture that had soaked my back gradually spread, until it soon reached the front as well.
A faintly blue undergarment, though light, was slightly visible through the shirt.
Since it was summer, I wasn’t wearing anything underneath my shirt, and now being completely soaked made it a ridiculous situation.
They say such a view is secretly appealing, right?
Honestly, it wouldn’t have looked too bad if the curves were more prominent, but the clinging shirt combined with the soaked look certainly gave off that vibe.
“The 4th floor.”
The elevator seemed to be going up for a bit before the doors opened with a quick voice announcement that matched the short ride.
Though it had been a dreary day due to the typhoon, it was still a pleasant Friday.
I left a short greeting that hinted at Monday.
“See you next week—”
“Ah, yeah….”
