The sky was shrouded in thick, pitch-black clouds.
On a quiet stretch at the end of the street, a girl walked silently along.
Her thin coat clung tightly to her body in the cold wind, revealing her frail figure.
Under the neon glow radiating from hologram signboards, her figure appeared utterly lonely and adrift.
Right now, each step she took was weary, her legs already aching, as if she could collapse at any moment.
After all, she had been dragging herself along like this for nearly a week already.
Naturally, after all that time wandering everywhere, she was both exhausted and starving.
That exhaustion was not only physical, but a mental fatigue as well.
From the very beginning, where she wanted to go, where she needed to go, even she didn't know.
She just kept walking, with a faint hope that at the end of the road she was walking on, there would be light.
There would be a way out of this sense of alienation.
Yet, just wandering without a destination, in the end, she only circled around in hopelessness.
Now, even that tiny bit of hope seemed on the verge of being extinguished.
Like a dying spark blown out by a howling wind in the freezing winter.
On the girl's beautiful face at the moment, her eyes were as cold as a frozen lake, devoid of the slightest glimmer.
All that remained, was boredom and despair.
She stared blankly at the towering skyscrapers, the modern vehicles on the streets, the strange people around.
Amid this alien scenery, she felt deeply alone and out of place, like a small fish lost in a vast ocean.
"Haaa…"
A sorrowful sigh escaped her lips, carrying away the heavy burdens lingering in her mind.
Then, she collapsed.
***
Nighttime, inside a convenience store.
Among the sparse figures, a detached voice sounded:
"Give me these packs of meat, and a few cans of vegetables. Just the cheapest ones."
"Alright, thank you for your purchase."
…
The glass automatic door of the store parted, followed by a man sluggishly stepping outside.
A worn construction jacket, stained with dust and dirt, clung to his body. That jacket made him look truly out of place amidst the modern streets.
"This should be enough for this week, right?", Jawed spoke, his cold gaze falling on the bag in his hand, filled with cheap canned food, uncertain if they were still within expiry.
Swaying slightly beneath the store lights, the cold glow illuminated his blank expression.
He stopped in front of the glass door of the store, staring at his own reflection.
His eyes were empty, without a trace of light.
Why? Jawed didn't understand.
In his previous life, when he began to lose his passion for racing, every time he stepped onto the track, an icy emptiness would fill his heart.
Everything felt meaningless and tedious.
He had thought it was because of his disappointment with the racetrack, because of his disgust toward the racing world filled with filthy things.
And yet, why now, even after leaving the racetrack behind, did that same numb weariness refuse to let him go, like a parasite burrowing deep into his soul?
Eventually, when would he finally find it, the peace within himself?
Jawed simply stood there in deep thought, quietly looking at himself.
After a long while, he let out a quiet sigh, a heavy, weary breath:
"Haa… I guess… it's about time to head home."
Looking around, the street by now had become deserted, not a single figure in sight.
Only the scattered lights from late-night shops remained, cutting the street into jagged fragments of light and shadow.
"Maybe, a few cans of cold beer are exactly what I need when I get back," he muttered to himself.
Suddenly, at that very moment—
Drip
A faint sound brushed past his ear, making Jawed flinch slightly. When he realized, he already felt a bit of dampness on the top of his head.
Instinctively, he looked up at the sky.
And then, from the pitch-black night sky, heavy drops of water condensed, and fell.
One by one, they hit the ground, the rhythm gradually thickening.
Until, those sounds blended together, becoming the chaotic patter of rain.
It was raining.
Jawed was a little surprised, but quickly regained his composure.
After all, the rain matched his current mood quite well.
His footsteps didn't quicken, on the contrary, they slowed, becoming calm and unhurried.
He walked slowly forward, watching the streets slowly darken beneath the rain, the towering buildings washed clean by the cool water.
When watching the rainfall, people often drift into thoughts, sometimes about the most ridiculous things. Jawed was no exception.
He wondered whether this rain would make him sick? Probably not, after all, through all the hardship he had lived through, he had never once fallen ill.
Perhaps, that was the rare blessing God had given him, because in his circumstances, with no money, no family, sickness meant death.
Then his thoughts wandered to the Mecha humans, beings that didn't exist on Earth. He wondered whether they could get sick from being soaked in the rain, or would they simply rust like machines?
In truth, he was a little curious about them. After all, humans are always curious about new things.
Like, what did they eat? Did they need to go to the toilet? When they transformed into motorcycles, did they still retain their consciousness?
Or maybe, were Mecha humans treated as equals to humans?
While he was sinking into those silly thoughts, Jawed's steps suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened, a faint doubt appearing within them.
Right now, in the middle of the night, at the entrance of an alley in front of him, there was a figure.
Even though it was dark, at this distance, he could still vaguely make it out.
"A… girl?"
Jawed muttered softly, as if he could hardly believe his own eyes.
The girl was sitting timidly, curled up beneath the small eave jutting out from the nearby house, her face lowered toward her knees.
On the other side, that girl seemed to hear the sound, her body trembled slightly. Then, slowly, she lifted her head.
In that instant, beneath the heavy rain—
Their eyes met.
...