jellyfish in the sky.
I.
It’s raining again, and she got stuck a block away from the flat. London rains, she grumbles under her breath as she takes cover under a nearby restaurant. It was packed inside so she settled by the window outside instead, keeping her body close to the wall so she doesn’t get drenched. Suhyun holds the bag of groceries against her chest, puffing out a breath that slightly moves her bangs. The rain gives her a familiar feeling, almost comforting and at times like this, she would immediately drown herself with music in front of a blank canvas to take advantage of the feeling and possibly paint, or draw, or both yet she’s stuck.
“Jung?” she turns, she wiggles her toes as she feels her socks wet. Suhyun could see her breath as she exhaled, she didn’t realize how cold it had gotten. Jinwoo stands on the side almost surprised, umbrella above his head.
“Hey…Ryu.” she answers, feeling a little bit of chill. “I told you not to get out today without an umbrella, look where it got you?” he scoffs, letting out a chuckle when he sees her retort by rolling her eyes. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Suhyun steps out of the hanging canopy, keeping the bag against her chest, and leans against him while under the umbrella. “I got some food for later.” she sniffles a bit, his arm finds its way around her shoulder, she realises that she might catch a cold. “I got us chips, ramen of course, and some Dr. Pepper for you, I noticed you’re out.” she adds, walking alongside him.
The rain kept going, and she found herself warm.
II.
“Are you really not going to talk to me?” Standing by the side of the couch is Suhyun, frustrated at the display of nonchalance. “It’s been a week, it feels like we haven’t–”
“I’m tired, Suhyun. 7 am class, internship after, and I just got home.” he states, pulling his scarf off his neck as she watches. The warmth was gone, she notes, and despite the heavy rain outside, and how she feels comfortable and dry, there’s something missing. She watches him drag himself across the living room, they have been living together for almost two years. “I just want to rest.” he adds, walking inside his room.
Suhyun was greeted with the soft latch of the door, she heard him lock the door after. “I made ramen…” she mumbles, her eyes glancing over at the window. She could see the lightning from across the city, but the thunder didn’t roar until much later.
The silence was deafening, and she didn’t notice it until much later.
III.
Drenched and cold, Suhyun runs up to the apartment in hopes to quickly change yet she is met with luggages, and a couple of boxes outside the door. She reaches for the doorknob to enter but is quickly greeted by a surprised Jinwoo. She feels the drop of water from her bangs to her shoes, and for a moment there she wasn’t sure if it was from the rain or the brewing tears from her eyes. “You’re leaving?” she asks, and he nods to answer. He excuses himself, pushing through the small space left hanging as she stands there by the doorway, unmovable.
She heard the aggressive rain against the window, but she wasn’t sure what to do. Jinwoo drags each box from the side of the apartment down the stairs, handing it over to the movers. When did this happen? Why wasn’t she informed?
When he grabbed the last box, she turned to look at him – eyes locked as if she was searching for an answer. Why?
Jinwoo walked away first. The rain didn’t feel sympathetic over his move, he got drenched in no time too. Suhyun follows him, the squishing of her socks were irritating but she could only focus on him. “Now?” she asks again. “When do you think I should?” Never.
“Dad got me an apartment closer to the hospital, it’s easier for me to focus on my studies there.”
Am I that distracting? I promise I won’t play loud music whenever you’re studying. Or to cook ramen and forget to wash the dishes after– Just… stay – Suhyun stares at him with her racing thoughts. The box in his arms was getting wet but he turned to her, his hair sticking against his forehead.
“I’ll see you around, Suhyun.” you never call me Suhyun.
That night, the rain provided everything but comfort.
IV.
Seoul is much like London, she notes, as she’s once again stuck underneath a canopy, praying for the rain to stop. Suhyun keeps her bag against her side, her head tilted upward to observe. She spots a rainbow by the corner of the street, a tiny one but a rainbow nonetheless.
“I feel like we’ve been here before.” She hears a familiar voice, she quickly turns with a smile and without him asking, she hops off from under the canopy to get under the umbrella he’s holding. “It can’t fit two people!” he grunts, but it only draws out a laugh from her.
She holds against the side of his shirt to keep herself close. Suhyun didn’t really notice the umbrella leaning against her side more, and that Jinwoo’s shoulder is getting drenched, all she noted was the familiar feeling of comfort.
“Should we order Jajangmyeon?”
V.
Summer has always been one of her favorite seasons. Despite being drenched with sweat from time to time, it’s nice seeing the wonder of the world in light. Suhyun raises her arms in the air, feeling the breeze of the wind while pedaling. She wobbles a bit on the side but she couldn’t help but laugh, behind her is Jinwoo, scolding her for almost losing her balance.
“I’ll be fine, I’ve done this a million times!” she says, keeping her hands in the air for a couple more seconds before reaching for the handle before she topples over. He catches up next to her, the side of his face dripping with sweat.
“I still don’t get why you want to go to work riding a bike.” he grunts keeping up with her pace, which was a little difficult since she likes accelerating and letting go on downhill roads while he likes it steady. “Slow down, will you!” he adds as he watches her go ahead of him for the nth time.
“Keep up, will you?” she lets out a laugh, leaning forward to speed up. Jinwoo follows behind her again with a grunt, she knows he’s cursing her in the back of his mind but she doesn’t care, the sun feels nice against her skin – she swerves and goes through the herd of people, slowly coming to a stop once she sees the museum sign. Suhyun hops off the bike, grabbing a small towel from her tote bag and waits for him to catch up.
“You’re a beast.”
“I know, next time we do this, I need you to be ahead of me.” she smiles, handing over the towel. She watches as Jinwoo wipes himself clean, it takes her a little bit of effort not to reach to brush the strands of his hair sticking against his forehead, it was almost too familiar to her. “Are you ready to spend the whole day looking at art?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Suhyun takes a moment to answer, albeit knowing. She gives him a gentle pat on the back, her smile widening. “Not really.”