Are You Okay?
Raining

One more week is the birthday of the school Ara attended first at Junior High. All alumni get an official invitation from the school to come to the event, precisely on Wednesday night. Jaehwa of course has accepted the invitation, even a piece of a very beautiful designed invitation is now lying on the television table.

"Who will you take to school?" ask Na Gyumin, her dance community friend.

Jaehwa took a dance class to hone even more in the skills he already has. There he made many friends who also had the same hobby, dancing. Practice together, create video content together, even to play together, more time Jaehwa spends with his dance friends.

"Take my mom, why?" Jaehwa responded in a high tone, annoyed that he was often asked with questions that jutted towards the couple.

There was laughter from across there. "Why not go with Ara alone, it seems like she's still alone."

Jaehwa clucked, "Why should he? Like there's no other woman."

"You don't overdo it with prestige, you failed just once, you can try—"

"Be quiet, goddamn Gyumin, I'm not focused on playing the game." His phone had been loading the speaker since then, while the master kept busy moving his finger to press the play station button, his eyes did not even switch from the screen.

Gyumin laughed again, "Alright, lest you don't come just because Ara came there huh, that woman was never absent when it comes to her beloved school." Gyumin laughed again before finally hanging up the phone call.

Jaehwa glanced at his cellphone which no longer let out a noise from Gyumin's mouth. Jaehwa pressed his teeth inside then threw the play station stick he held onto the table.

...*****...

Getting an invitation like this is not the first time for Ara, but it feels like the woman is not excited to meet the invitation, or maybe so does not want to come to the show. Not without reason, the last two years in a row, Jaehwa did not come to the school event, whereas Ara was looking forward to the presence of the man in order to meet again. It was only during reunion events like this that Ara could hope to see Jaehwa in person. Ara felt bad because her presence might be the reason why Jaehwa was not present, the man did not want to see himself anymore. Ara was just a bus staring at the listless invitation in her hand, plus she still had to enter a class where her lecturer was fierce and unattentive.

"You don't look well, Ara." Hajoon came and sat down beside Ara. Both are in the long chairs of the campus garden just under the shade of the tree.

Ara looked at Hajoon. "I'm fine."

Hajoon's gaze was rehearsed on the invitation scrap in Ara's hands. "That's an invitation?" tanyakanya.

Ara nodded then gave the invitation to Hajoon. "I was invited to come to my first school birthday."

The man beside Ara opened the invitation and read it. "Then why don't you look like this?" Hajoon positioned his body straight on Ara's side, though the woman remained facing forward.

Ara grunted softly. "No dislike, but it looks like this time I won't be coming there."

"Why?" hajoon asked, the man tilted his head.

"Something seems to dislike my presence. I didn't want to come there, after all, I've been coming too often and visiting school. So, not coming this time isn't it okay?" said Ara.

Hajoon swallowed his saliva, he pranked it to gather courage. "Then you want to walk with me Wednesday night?"

Spontaneously, Ara looked at Hajoon with both eyebrows raised. "J-walk?" Ara tried to guess why Hajoon suddenly invited her to walk together like this.

Hajoon nodded and smiled awkwardly. "Wednesday night you're empty, right?"

"Yes." Yeah."

"You want to, will you go with me? I mean, instead of you being uncomfortable at school, I could take you for a walk." Hajoon explained the reason, trying to sound natural.

"Where would I take my way?" ara asked, the woman stared at the leaves above.

"Whichever place you want to go." Hajoon's words sounded very bold.

Ara pressed her lips. Usually men like this only talk nonsense. "What if I say I want to go to the beach?"

"We're going there."

"At night" added Ara.

Hajoon was silent for a few seconds, to smile at Ara who was not looking at him at all at the moment. The woman was more interested in the leaves there. "Of course, we will go to the beach when the sun sinks until replaced by a beautiful moon" said Hajoon full of confidence.

Since the beginning of seeing Ara, Hajoon has fallen in love, but until now the man has not managed to get Ara's heart. Hajoon did not want to be too hasty, not wanting to make Ara feel uncomfortable with his reckless actions during his approach to the woman.

Ara looked at Hajoon. "You're serious?"

Hajoon raised his right hand to stroke Ara's hair. He rubbed it very gently. "For you whatever I do, Ara-ya."

Ara was speechless hearing Hajoon calling out to her with such a call. He remembered Jaehwa who always called his name as Hajoon had said. There was no other man before other than Jaehwa who called himself with this familiar call. Dejavu.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Hajoon waved his hand to resuscitate Ara from her daydream.

Ara blinked then shook her head while smiling thinly. "Thank you for taking me on the road, Hajoon."

Hajoon smiled, his hands still stroking Ara's hair. The woman did not feel uncomfortable or angry, she felt comfortable. To be honest, that Ara really liked it if her head was stroked like this. He felt very loved if he got a soft elucidate in his head.

...*****...

Pairing the sickle earrings further made Ara look very elegant with the hair she tied high. By wearing a dress over the knee colored peach and also shoes that are not too high heels. Ara looked at her face through the reflection of the mirror before her, she was amazed to see the decoration on her body and face. Feel the most beautiful.

His attention was shifted when he got the incoming message from Hajoon.

"I'm ready? Send me your address, let me pick you up."

The Wednesday Hajoon was waiting for finally arrived, where he and Ara will enjoy the sunset until the night.

Ara bit her inner lips, stared at her reflection in the mirror once more, then replied to Hajoon's message.

"Hajoon, if I wear a dress and a little makeup is that okay? I just want to take a good picture there."

It didn't take long as Ara instantly got her reply from Hajoon.

"Of course, you can wear whatever you want. You'll look beautiful anyway."

Lying if Ara is not mistaken if she is praised like this, women to puff her cheeks to hold a smile, but there is no one she should avoid while being misbehaved like this now.

"Can you wait for me in front of the pet food store at the intersection of the Seoul cafe? I'll meet you there."

Ara put her phone on the table and again Hajoon immediately replied to her.

"Of course, let me know when you get there."

Again Ara mirrored to check if he was neat or not. In the sense that she was satisfied and there was no need for additional makeup, Ara moved from her seat and took her sling bag on the bed.

His hand stopped to move as he looked at the school invitation. His gaze became sad. He was supposed to go to school tonight, but he also wanted Jaehwa to be able to come there without feeling awkward. So inevitably he is not present at the event, just so Jaehwa can come.

...*****...

The place where Ara met Hajoon was not too far from the woman's house. Ara told Hajoon to wait there because the man would not be able to bring his car to get in front of Ara's house because he had to pass through a small alley, just fit for a motorcycle. So, Ara walking a little bit is not a big deal.

On the way, Micha calls herself. Ara immediately lowered her shoulders resigned, because Ara did not get permission to not attend school events from Micha. The woman insisted that Ara keep coming.

"Well, you have to come here right now!" Micha continued to persuade Ara.

"I can't Micha—"

"Why, huh? Didn't you say you wanted to see Jaehwa? Don't you still love her?" Micha kept shooting at Ara with her chatter, even Ara to the point of keeping the phone away from her ear.

Feeling that there was no attack from Micha, Ara put the phone close to her ear and said, "I really want to, but will not be able to, Micha. Jaehwa would not have been there if I had come, so I chose not to come so that Jaehwa could come there loosely, without being awkward or displeased at seeing my presence," ara said at length hoping that Micha would understand the current situation.

"Jaehwa has come to school, and she won't be able to just walk away if you come here."

Ara was silent, her mind was starting to rage to get a choice whether she should go to school or stay away with Hajoon.

"You remember our conversation at the cafe? If you're serious, this is your chance." Micha again spills Ara to keep the woman coming.

"T-but I'm su—"

"Don't come if you're in doubt, Ara. Believe me, there are a lot of women out there who want to be Jaehwa's girlfriend," Micha managed to make Ara burn jealous just by hearing Micha's last sentence.

Ara doesn't like it if Jaehwa belongs to another woman. Ara didn't want that to happen. Ara only wanted her to be the only one of Jaehwa's.

Micha disconnects her call and stops a taxi on the side of the road to school.

...*****...

Upon arriving at the school, Micha immediately accompanied Ara who had just come to enter the school area. Ara was agape with all the preparations for this event. Everything was very pretty, lots of lights and also lots of food and beverage stands. In the middle of the field there is one medium-sized stage with several musical instruments available on it, it looks like there will be a display of the ability to sing and play musical instruments there. Already Ara make sure this event will run very festively.

"Hurry to get here?" Micha looked at Ara's appearance from top to bottom. "There's no way you're getting ready so soon after talking to me on the phone, is there?" coined.

Ara looked at Micha sinin. "It's not a matter of—astaga I forgot something." Ara immediately reached into her bag to retrieve the phone so she could notify Hajoon. That man must still be waiting for him there. Ara was too carried away until she acted spontaneously to go here without thinking about Hajoon.

Unfortunately Micha does not give Ara a chance to hold the phone, instead Micha takes over her bag and takes Ara to go and stand near Jaehwa's gathering with other friends.

If it was this close Ara so can not move properly, even his brain like it can not function. Believe me, now Ara can only stand sculpting, his gaze towards Jaehwa who is wearing a shirt in color matching with himself. Peach. This was a coincidence that was very unexpected Ara, but deep down, Ara was very happy. At least they look like lovers wearing matching clothes like this.

Oh God, anyone please don't let Jaehwa realize that he's staring at the amazement of the man he likes. Jaehwa really performed perfectly. It feels like Ara is not willing if Jaehwa's face is enjoyed by many pairs of female eyes here.

Stupidly Ara kept thinking like that in her daydream, until she did not realize quickly if Jaehwa had already twisted her body and the man saw her looking at him long-goals.

"Ara, don't be so uptight, just plain." Micha pushed Ara's body slowly, breaking the woman's daydream.

Ara worked her eyes and swallowed her saliva. Controlling himself and throwing his face away so as not to stare at Jaehwa for longer. Ara turned her gaze in another direction, but the tail of her eyes could still catch the main object that had been the center of her attention since it was walking away from its previous place. Stay away from her friends' gatherings as well as from Ara and Micha's.

Ara rubbed her face in a huff and sighed violently. "I told you I couldn't. You see that, she even went away as soon as she knew I was here" lamented Ara Pepper Micha.

Micha still keeps an eye on Jaehwa who goes to the school backyard, then refocuses on her frustrated friend. "Don't give up, we'll follow him." Micha pulls Ara's arm to follow Jaehwa's direction away.

"Take off, Micha."

"You're giving up so easily" Micha said.

Ara rolled her eyes, "It's not like that, I'm not as aggressive as you are, Micha. It's hard for me and the result of what we're doing right now is going to be very distracting to my mind."

"You're right, it would be very upsetting to your mind if the results didn't match expectations, but this time you'll be made very disturbed because Jaehwa will be yours." Micha is still excited to reunite Ara with Jaehwa.

Ara could not argue with Micha anymore, the woman was too persistent for her. Ara is only able to follow Micha's body towards Jaehwa's place, in the school's backyard.

When they arrived in the backyard, they did not see anyone there at first, the lighting is dim because anyone who will come here at night even though there is an event at this school.

But Jaehwa actually walked this way. Ara and Micha slowed down, trying not to make any noise. It shouldn't be necessary to do this, but because the place is rather gripping, reflexes make both of them as if they are in a very dangerous place and are life-threatening if they make a sound.

His second step came to a halt when he heard a voice behind the wall in front there. Both Ara and Micha's eyes squinted to sharpen their eyes to see the shadow there.

"That's Jaehwa, he's there" Micha pointed to Jaehwa's back half of the wall.

"What do we want?" ask Ara. Honestly, he really doesn't know what to do.

Micha straightened her body and then considered her upper lip, again sighing in anguish. "You meet Jaehwa and then invite him to drink together or dance together. Start your closeness again, make him feel comfortable with you until finally you can go back to how you used to be. With so much hope you can be his girlfriend" Micha said.

"You sure?" ask Ara, because she's not as sure as Micha.

Micha nodded steadily. "We won't know the outcome if you don't try it from here."

Ara lowered her head, thinking that Micha's words had a point as well. He wouldn't know the result if he didn't try it. He hopes this is the right time to get Jaehwa to like him again.

Ara looked at Micha. "But if it fails again, I don't want to continue" he told Micha.

"certain."

Ara set her foot towards Jaehwa who was still standing behind the wall, while Micha was just waiting for Ara in a far away place so as not to disturb the two.

"Jaehwa—"

But when Ara had arrived right behind the man, Ara's originally radiant face instantly turned red withstanding the cries. Ara closed her mouth, not expecting what she saw. Jaehwa was kissing a woman there. They make out with a very lustful, no, rather Jaehwa who looks like that because the man is very enthusiastic to continue getting what he wants from the woman he is with.

Unbearable, Ara escaped the tears. It was so bad to see the man she loved and make out with another woman.

The universe seemed to mourn Ara's heartache, because suddenly the rain fell and soaked everything in this school. Because the back yard of the school is not roofed, everything automatically gets wet. Ara immediately ran away from the location for a second as Jaehwa ended his activities. Whether the man saw Ara or not, the woman did not care anymore. It's too hurt now.

"Ara, what's going on? Where are you going?" Micha follows Ara who leaves her.

...*****...

On the other hand, Hajoon is still faithfully waiting for the presence of Ara who until this moment does not come. Hajoon had contacted Ara many times and sent messages as well, but there was no reply from the woman. Until the rain fell, Hajoon was willing to go in and out of the car just to find Ara who who knew the woman was trapped in the rain and was sheltering in one of the shops or wherever it was. But there is no result.

His clothes were wet in part because this rain was accompanied by wind that made rain water that fell in a direction that was not straight.

"Ara-ya where are you, huh? Don't worry me."

"Call me if you get caught in the rain, I'll pick you up."

"I'll keep waiting for you until you come, so you don't have to worry, you can come when the rain has subsided."

"I'm still waiting for you, please let me know."

"I'm still here."

There were many messages Hajoon had sent, but there was not a single reply from the woman he had been waiting for.