The rain, mixed with the June air, was a bit cold. A light breeze blew, occasionally and annoyingly pushing raindrops under Sajuna's umbrella, dampening her coat.
The temperature had dropped several degrees from normal, and the air was filled with a mixed scent of rain and grass, making everything feel damp and chilly.
A few birds flew across the sky, letting out shrill cries, as if discussing the terrible weather.
Sajuna held an umbrella in one hand and looked at her phone in the other.
Still no message. What on earth happened?
It had always been fine before.
Sajuna felt a strange unease. It was perfectly normal for her boyfriend to be busy and not see messages, so was she overreacting?
Would Aki-Kun be angry if he saw her showing up at his doorstep just because she hadn't received a message from him?
After all, many female classmates said to give boyfriends some personal space.
Her behavior certainly seemed like she wanted to know everything about Aki-Kun.
However, her relationship with Aki-Kun wasn't like others, and Aki-Kun wasn't her childhood friend.
She didn't really know Aki-Kun well.
Sajuna looked up at the sky, then down at the ground.
Tiny raindrops fell from the gray sky, forming thin trickles on the pavement. Drops slowly dripped from the eaves, forming a fine line and making a soft pat-pat sound as they hit the ground.
The sound was quite pleasant to listen to.
Sajuna thought that if only Aki-Kun could appear at a time like this.
Thinking this, she felt that her relationship with Aki-Kun wasn't very close.
Although Aki-Kun told her everything, and his social circle wasn't complicated, it seemed that besides being Aki-Kun's girlfriend, she rarely offered him any other support.
With these thoughts, Sajuna stepped over puddles, walked to the platform, swiped her card, and boarded the train heading to Akira's home.
The morning train wasn't crowded, and because of the rain, the people on board all looked dispirited.
Stepping out of the station, she found that the rain had lessened considerably, but it was still enough to require an umbrella.
Sajuna felt the wind blow rain onto her face, making her worry about her makeup.
Aki-Kun would surely be unhappy to see her with smudged makeup.
Finally arriving at Akira's doorstep, Sajuna hesitated for a moment, then gently pressed the doorbell.
The doorbell rang, but no one answered.
Sajuna hesitated, then pressed it again.
Still no response.
Is he not home?
Or has Aki-Kun not woken up yet?
Sajuna thought it was probably that Aki-Kun hadn't woken up yet.
She somewhat wanted to let Aki-Kun continue sleeping, but she felt that if Aki-Kun knew she was waiting outside just to let him sleep longer, she wondered how much he would scold her.
He would definitely say she didn't care about herself at all.
Sajuna couldn't help but smile at this thought.
But turning around and leaving also felt unbearable. She hadn't gotten the answer she wanted in her heart.
She always felt empty, and even if she imagined countless questions and answers, she would only be satisfied when she truly knew the truth.
So Sajuna decided to keep pressing the doorbell.
The ringing doorbell finally woke the sleeping Akira. He felt his head heavy, as if a lead ball were weighing it down.
Since he had transmigrated, he hadn't encountered a situation like this.
Akira felt that he might have overthought things yesterday. His fluctuating thoughts might have finally settled at some point, leading to such deep sleep.
But it was really too uncomfortable.
He hadn't expected such a result.
Akira felt that next time, he really should control his sleep.
He finally heard the doorbell ringing inside the house. Realizing what was happening, Akira grabbed his phone and checked the time.
"It's already past seven!"
Oh no, he had overslept today.
Before he could complain about anything else, he saw the message Sajuna had sent last night.
He truly felt that he had messed up.
With that thought, he walked out of the bedroom with his phone and spoke into the intercom.
"Moshi moshi."
Sajuna's faint voice came through.
"Aki-Kun, it's me."
"Sajuna!"
Akira's head swam for a moment, feeling incredulous.
He had only overslept, so why had Sajuna come directly to find him?
Could it be that she couldn't help but miss him?
As this thought crossed his mind, Akira noticed the living room was unusually dark and then realized it was raining outside.
"Sajuna, I'm coming!"
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Akira rushed to the front door and welcomed Sajuna, who was waiting outside, into the house.
"Aki-Kun."
Sajuna called Akira's name, her head bowed, her voice carrying a hint of guilt.
"Why did you come at such a time?"
Akira said with a bit of reproach. The weather outside was so bad, yet she still came to his house to find him.
No matter the reason, it was truly too irrational.
However, for Akira and Sajuna, love itself was irrational.
Otherwise, their relationship wouldn't have progressed so quickly.
"Wait here, I'll go get you a towel."
Akira left Sajuna to take off her shoes in the entryway while he went to get a towel.
Sajuna removed her leather shoes, which had gotten some water inside them, gently shook the rain from her umbrella, and placed it in the umbrella stand nearby.
Without putting on indoor slippers, she stepped onto Akira's floor in socks damp at the heels.
Step by step, she walked to the sofa and slowly sat down.
Akira came out of the bathroom with a towel and handed it to Sajuna.
Sajuna didn't take it.
"Could you please dry my hair?"
She spoke with her head bowed, cheeks flushed, but her mood was clearly low.
Akira didn't know why Sajuna had come to his house in the rain, nor what she had been thinking along the way.
But he knew she needed companionship right now, and Akira was very willing to provide it.
He sat beside Sajuna and gently dried her hair with the towel.
Not much of her hair was wet from the rain, but to prevent Sajuna from catching a cold, Akira carefully dried every strand.
Then he took another clean towel and tried to wipe Sajuna's face, but Sajuna turned her head away.
"I'm afraid of smudging my makeup."
"I love Sajuna, not the makeup on Sajuna's face."
Akira said gently, slowly turning her face back and carefully wiping it.
Watching Sajuna's mood gradually stabilize, Akira finally felt relieved.
"Can you tell me what happened?"