The rain stopped before sunrise.
That was the cruelest part.
It didn't linger long enough for anyone to blame it. It didn't flood the campus or cancel classes or leave lasting evidence that something had happened. It ended quietly, like it had only come to deliver one message and then leave.
By morning, puddles remained like scattered mirrors across the walkways. The festival banners sagged with leftover water, colors darker from being soaked. Trash bags were piled near the lawn. Volunteers walked around half asleep, collecting cups and wet paper plates, trying to restore order to a campus that had performed youth a little too hard.
But the real mess wasn't on the lawn.
It was in people's mouths.
Rumors traveled faster than the cleanup crews.
Before first period, XH heard it. He heard it in the hallway whispers. He heard it in the way people looked at him when he passed. He heard it in the fake casual tone of classmates who normally didn't speak to him but suddenly had opinions.
"Did you see them under that booth?""She grabbed him first.""No, Kitty was there too.""He looked like he didn't know what to do.""June is basically his girlfriend, right?""Kitty doesn't act like someone who lost though."
Every sentence was sharp. Every sentence took a real moment and turned it into entertainment.
XH kept his head down and walked into class.
His body still felt damp, even though his clothes were dry. Like the rain had sunk into his skin and refused to leave.
He sat near the middle as usual.
June arrived two minutes later than usual.
She sat without greeting anyone, her expression controlled, hair pulled back tighter than yesterday, eyes focused forward like the board was the only thing she trusted.
Kitty arrived last.
She looked normal.
That was what made her dangerous.
Normal face. Normal posture. Normal calm.
But XH could see the small signs.
Her hands were slightly colder than usual when she took her seat. Her gaze stayed fixed on her notebook longer than necessary. Her breathing was steady, but forced.
She was calm the way a blade was calm.
Mr. Kim started the lecture like nothing happened. He talked about vascular transport, membranes, and pressure gradients, writing diagrams with clean strokes.
"Movement," he said, tapping the board, "always follows balance until something disrupts it."
XH's pen paused.
He couldn't stop hearing Kitty's voice from last night.
Bravery is action.
He could not stop hearing June's voice.
Don't make me regret wanting you.
His chest tightened again.
He took a slow breath and forced his pen to move.
Break Time
Students poured into the hallway like released tension.
June stood quickly and walked out without looking at anyone.
Cherry chased her.
"June," Cherry said, voice too sweet. "Are you okay?"
June didn't slow. "Yes."
Cherry snorted. "Liar."
June stopped near the stairwell and turned sharply. "Do you want me to say no? Do you want me to break down so you can feel entertained?"
Cherry raised her hands. "Okay, okay. I'm just checking."
June exhaled, jaw tight. "People are talking."
Cherry leaned closer, eyes glittering. "Let them talk. You were the one who grabbed him first. That's dominance."
June's eyes flashed. "That's not what it was."
Cherry blinked. "Then what was it?"
June's throat tightened.
She looked away. "It was… instinct."
Cherry smiled slowly, satisfied. "Instinct means love."
June didn't reply.
Because she wasn't sure if that was true.
Across the hall, Kitty stood near the water dispenser, filling her bottle. NC stood beside her, watching her closely.
NC spoke softly. "You didn't sleep."
Kitty took a slow sip. "I slept."
NC shook her head. "You're doing that thing again."
Kitty frowned slightly. "What thing?"
NC leaned closer. "Where you act like you're fine because you're scared if you stop acting, you'll fall apart."
Kitty stared at her bottle.
NC's voice stayed gentle. "You don't have to be graceful all the time."
Kitty swallowed. "If I'm not graceful, I'll look desperate."
NC's eyes softened. "So what if you do?"
Kitty's throat tightened.
She didn't answer.
Because the truth was messy.
She wanted him.
And she hated wanting someone who could not choose her loudly.
Lunch
By lunchtime, the rumor wave had become a tide.
Students filled the canteen, voices loud again, acting like the world was normal.
But their eyes kept drifting.
XH sat with the boys. JP was unusually quiet for the first five minutes, which meant something was wrong.
TZ smirked. "Bro, you're quiet. That's scary."
JP sighed dramatically. "Everyone keeps asking me if June and Kitty are fighting over XH."
TZ laughed. "They are."
JP slapped the table. "No, I mean people are asking me like I'm the gossip correspondent."
NS finally spoke, voice low. "You are."
JP glared. "I don't even know what to say."
TZ shrugged. "Say the truth."
JP pointed at him. "The truth is complicated."
XH stared at his food.
NS watched him.
Then quietly, "You're going to make enemies if you keep letting this drag."
XH looked up. "Enemies?"
NS didn't look away. "You think people only get hurt quietly? Pride turns pain into anger."
XH swallowed.
TZ leaned forward. "He's right. Even outside our group, people are watching. You're becoming a symbol of something."
XH frowned. "I don't want that."
JP laughed bitterly. "Nobody wants to be the main character until they are."
XH's chest tightened again.
He drank water slowly.
Then looked toward the girls' side of the cafeteria.
June sat with Cherry and Anna, posture straight, expression unreadable.
Kitty sat with NC and Jihye, laughing softly at something Jihye said.
But XH saw it.
Kitty's laughter ended too quickly.
June's eyes kept flicking toward him like she was checking if he was paying attention.
Two different kinds of waiting.
Kitty POV
Kitty knew the campus was watching her.
She could feel it like heat on her skin.
Girls from other majors smiled at her too brightly, like they wanted to see if she would break. Boys who had never spoken to her before suddenly acted polite, trying to test if she was free.
Kitty hated that.
She hated being treated like a prize.
She hated that June was being treated like the rightful winner.
And she hated that XH was being treated like the trophy in the middle.
Kitty wasn't angry at June for wanting him.
Kitty was angry at the world for making love feel like competition.
She stared at her tray without eating much.
Jihye leaned close. "Kitty, are you okay?"
Kitty smiled. "Yes."
NC sighed. "Stop saying yes like it's a shield."
Kitty's fingers tightened slightly.
She whispered, "If I show pain, people will celebrate it."
NC's eyes softened. "And if you show nothing, you'll suffer alone."
Kitty looked away.
Because NC was right.
And being right didn't comfort her.
June POV
June pretended the rumors didn't reach her.
But they did.
Every whisper felt like a needle.
Girls from other majors looked at her like she was arrogant.
Boys looked at her like she was a challenge.
Even her own friends looked at her carefully, like they were measuring how fragile she was.
June hated fragility.
She had been raised on expectations.
She had been taught that a girl who loses becomes a story people laugh at.
She stared at her phone, then locked it, then unlocked it again.
She wanted to message XH.
Not to flirt.
To demand.
To force clarity.
But she couldn't.
Because she knew something about herself she didn't like.
If she asked directly and he hesitated, she would feel humiliated.
So she waited instead.
Waiting looked like pride.
But it was fear.
Evening
After classes, the sky darkened again.
Not full storm clouds, but heavy enough to make the air feel charged.
XH walked toward the library, hoping to escape both girls for a while.
He didn't make it.
Kitty was there.
Sitting near the back, headphones in, notebook open.
June was there too.
Standing near a shelf, pretending to browse.
XH froze for half a second.
Then forced himself to keep walking.
Kitty noticed him first.
Her eyes lifted.
June noticed second.
Her posture stiffened.
XH's chest tightened.
He took a slow breath.
He walked toward the table.
Kitty removed one headphone slowly.
June stayed by the shelf.
Kitty spoke quietly. "You look tired."
XH nodded. "I am."
Kitty's gaze softened. "Is it the rumors?"
XH hesitated. "It's everything."
Kitty's voice stayed calm. "You can stop it."
XH swallowed. "How?"
Kitty's eyes held his. "Choose."
Before he could answer, June stepped closer.
Her voice was controlled, but sharp. "Choose what?"
Kitty didn't turn toward her. "The truth."
June's jaw tightened. "And what is the truth, Kitty?"
Kitty finally looked at her.
"The truth," Kitty said softly, "is that we're both waiting for him to become brave."
June's eyes flashed. "He doesn't owe you bravery."
Kitty smiled faintly. "Then he doesn't owe you silence either."
June stepped closer, tension radiating. "I'm not asking for silence."
Kitty's voice stayed steady. "You're asking for control."
June's cheeks flushed.
XH stood between them, feeling the air tighten like a rope.
His chest tightened again.
Stronger.
He took a slow breath, but it caught.
For a moment, his vision blurred slightly.
Kitty noticed instantly.
She reached out, hand hovering near his arm. "XH?"
June's expression shifted, alarm flashing through pride. "What's wrong?"
XH swallowed hard, forcing air into his lungs. "I'm fine."
Kitty's eyes narrowed. "No, you're not."
June reached toward him too, then stopped herself, as if afraid of what it would mean to touch him in front of Kitty.
XH exhaled shakily.
The moment broke the fight.
Kitty lowered her voice. "Sit."
XH obeyed, more from instinct than choice.
June stood still, arms crossed, but her eyes stayed on him with worry she couldn't hide.
Kitty's voice softened. "You don't get to collapse quietly. Not while we're here."
XH looked up at her.
Kitty's eyes glimmered. "You keep trying to carry everything alone. That's not love. That's punishment."
June's voice was quieter now. "XH… stop acting like you're okay."
XH stared at both girls.
For the first time, he saw something clear.
Kitty's calm was love.
June's control was love.
Both were real.
Both were hurting.
And he was the reason.
Outside, the first drop of rain hit the library window.
Then another.
And another.
The sky started again.
Soft at first.
Then heavier.
Like the world was reminding them.
After the rain, everyone talks.
But before the rain, someone always chooses.
XH sat between Kitty and June, breath steadying slowly, knowing he could not stay in the middle much longer.
Because this time, the rain wasn't just weather.
It was a warning.