The rain did not come like weather.
It came like memory.
Soft drops first, spaced out enough to feel harmless. Then more, closer together, like footsteps approaching behind you. By the time XH left the rooftop, the sky had settled into a steady gray and the campus pavement had begun to shine again.
Students rushed with their bags over their heads, laughing, cursing, improvising shelter. Umbrellas appeared like magic. Jackets were lifted. Towels from yesterday's festival reappeared from backpacks like people had been waiting for a reason to use them again.
XH walked slowly.
He didn't lift his jacket this time.
Not because he didn't want to protect someone.
Because there was no one beside him to protect.
That hurt more than the rain.
He reached the ground floor hallway, water trailing off his hair, and saw the reflections in the glass doors. The rain made everything look cinematic. Too cinematic. Like a scene someone would replay later and say, that's when things started breaking.
He blinked hard and forced his mind back into reality.
Reality had a schedule.
Reality had exams.
Reality had rumors that moved faster than any lecture.
By the time he entered the main building, the buzz had already spread.
The rooftop.
Someone saw June go up.
Someone saw Kitty follow.
Someone saw XH come down alone.
Nobody knew what was said.
So they invented.
Inventing was easier than admitting they weren't part of it.
XH kept his head down as he walked. His phone buzzed twice.
Group chat.
JP: RAIN AGAIN. THE SKY IS A ROMANCE WRITER.TZ: The sky is trying to ruin my shoes.JP: Your shoes ruin themselves.NS: stop joking.JP: Sorry.
Another vibration.
Private message.
NC: kitty is okay.
XH stared.
He typed slowly.
XH: are you sure?
NC: she's calm. which means she's not.
XH swallowed.
He typed again.
XH: tell her i'm sorry.
NC: don't send apologies through other people. if you're brave, say it to her.
XH's chest tightened.
He put his phone away.
He didn't feel brave.
He felt like someone who kept arriving late to his own life.
That afternoon, Mr. Kim announced a paired practical for next week.
They would practice blood pressure measurements, blood glucose monitoring, and basic patient interview structures, including counseling concepts. It was supposed to be simple.
But nothing was simple anymore.
The moment Mr. Kim said "pairs," the room shifted.
Students looked around as if choosing partners would reveal secret loyalties.
Mr. Kim wrote names on the board for those who hadn't decided yet.
He didn't look like he was trying to create drama.
But the campus always turned structure into tension.
XH sat still, waiting.
He had already paired with Kitty before in labs. It was natural. Comfortable. Quiet teamwork.
But June had been drifting closer lately too, especially during tutoring sections, the kind where two people could sit side by side for hours and start to feel like a unit.
XH felt eyes on him from multiple directions.
He refused to look up.
Mr. Kim's marker squeaked.
"XH," he said calmly. "You will pair with…"
XH's breath caught.
Mr. Kim paused, scanning the list.
"For this practical," Mr. Kim finished, "you will pair with June."
A small ripple moved through the room.
Not loud.
But enough.
Enough to be felt.
June's head lifted slightly, her expression unreadable. Kitty's pen stopped moving for half a second, then continued as if nothing happened.
XH felt heat crawl up his neck.
He wanted to object. Not because he didn't want June.
Because he was afraid of what it would do to Kitty.
Mr. Kim continued assigning pairs.
Kitty was paired with NC.
NS was paired with TZ.
JP got paired with Andrew.
The world moved forward as if pairings were just academic.
XH knew better.
When class ended, June walked out immediately, not waiting, not glancing back.
Kitty packed slowly.
NC stayed close to her, saying something softly.
Kitty nodded once, then looked up and caught XH's gaze.
Her expression was calm.
But her eyes were not calm.
They were bright in a restrained way.
Like tears were possible, but pride refused to allow them.
Kitty looked away first.
XH's stomach dropped.
Outside, the rain thinned into mist.
The campus light turned pale gold, reflecting off wet pavement.
The kind of light that made people feel nostalgic for moments that hadn't even ended yet.
That evening, Kitty sat in her room and removed her contact lenses carefully, hands steady.
The mirror reflected her face clearly.
Sometimes, she forgot that she used to look different. That her eyes used to draw attention in ways she couldn't control. That surgery had given her normal, but normal didn't erase the memory of being stared at.
She stared at herself now and whispered something she didn't say out loud often.
"I hate being watched."
NC sat on the bed behind her, scrolling on her phone. "You're not being watched. You're being measured."
Kitty's throat tightened. "Same thing."
NC sighed. "Do you want to talk?"
Kitty shook her head, then nodded, then shook again.
NC waited.
Kitty turned away from the mirror. "Mr. Kim paired him with June."
NC nodded. "I heard."
Kitty's voice stayed steady. "Of course he did."
NC frowned. "You think it's on purpose?"
Kitty's lips curved faintly. "Everything is on purpose in this campus. Even accidents."
NC's gaze softened. "Kitty…"
Kitty swallowed. "I'm not angry."
NC leaned forward. "Then what are you?"
Kitty looked down at her hands. "Tired."
That word carried too much.
Kitty continued, voice low. "I can accept losing. I can accept rejection. I can accept reality."
She paused.
"I can't accept being slowly erased while everyone calls it timing."
NC's chest tightened. "You're not erased."
Kitty looked up, eyes bright. "Then why does it feel like I'm always the one who steps aside?"
NC had no easy answer.
Kitty turned back to the mirror and whispered, almost to herself.
"I prayed for clarity."
NC said softly, "And?"
Kitty's jaw tightened. "And clarity hurts."
On the other side of campus, June sat in the library with Cherry, pretending to study.
Her laptop was open. Her Notion notes were organized. Flashcards were laid out neatly.
But she kept rereading the same sentence from yesterday's reflection.
Love is not expecting much.
She stared at it, then closed her eyes.
Cherry leaned back in her chair, smirking. "He got paired with you."
June didn't look up. "It's academic."
Cherry laughed softly. "Everything is academic until it becomes a memory."
June's jaw tightened. "Stop."
Cherry leaned forward. "Do you know why you're tense?"
June finally looked at her. "Because I'm tired."
Cherry's smile widened. "No. Because you want him to choose you in a way that makes you feel safe."
June's eyes flashed. "I don't need safety."
Cherry tilted her head. "Then why do you keep checking if he's looking?"
June's throat tightened.
She looked away.
Cherry continued, voice sharp but not cruel. "You say you don't expect much. That's your definition. But your eyes expect everything."
June's hands tightened around her pen. "Shut up."
Cherry shrugged. "You can silence me. You can't silence yourself."
June swallowed hard.
She didn't want to admit it, but she could feel it.
She wanted him to choose her publicly.
Not because she wanted to humiliate Kitty.
Because she was tired of being uncertain.
Because her pride demanded proof.
Because her heart was softer than she allowed people to see.
Later, when June left the library alone, she walked toward the train station path, the one that always felt like a bridge between campus life and real life.
The rain had stopped again.
The sky stayed gray.
June looked up and whispered quietly, as if speaking to something above her.
"Don't make me hope."
The words sounded like a warning.
Or a prayer.
Meanwhile, XH sat alone on a bench near the main building, watching students walk past.
He felt an odd tightness in his chest again, like his breathing wanted to become shallow.
He swallowed, forced a slow inhale.
It passed.
He told himself it was stress.
He told himself it was nothing.
But the rain had returned too many times.
And his body was starting to feel like it was responding to something he couldn't name.
His phone buzzed.
A message from June.
June: don't be late next week. mr. kim will kill us if we mess up the practical.
XH stared.
Then he typed.
XH: i won't.
A message from Kitty arrived seconds later.
Kitty: don't overthink everything.
XH's throat tightened.
He typed back, fingers slow.
XH: i'm trying not to.
Kitty: good.
Kitty: also, don't catch a cold. you're always walking around wet like you're in a drama.
XH almost smiled.
Almost.
But the smile faded quickly.
Because he could feel the weight behind the jokes.
Because he could feel the distance behind the words.
Two girls.
Two messages.
Two different kinds of care.
And a campus that treated love like a public sport.
XH put his phone away and stared at the wet pavement.
Above him, clouds moved slowly.
Not threatening.
Not storming.
Just present.
As if the sky was waiting too.
As if the rain was learning their names.
As if it would return again when the story needed pressure.
And XH, sitting there with the tightness in his chest and the silence in his hands, finally understood one thing.
The next phase wasn't coming gently.
It was coming like weather that didn't need a forecast.