"It always rains when my heart forgets how to stay quiet."
The first drop landed on the windshield right as I turned onto the highway.
I glanced over at him—still unconscious, his face turned toward the window, skin pale but peaceful. There was something about him in that moment, something achingly soft that made my chest feel too tight. I couldn't stop watching him. Couldn't stop feeling like I'd just broken every rule I thought I had.
"Great," I muttered as more raindrops followed. "Of course it's raining."
The storm built slowly, like the thoughts in my head. Quiet at first. Then louder. Then consuming. The kind of storm you feel in your bones before it even hits the ground.
The road blurred under the wipers, city lights smudging into streaks of gold and blue. I drove slower than usual. More careful. My apartment wasn't far, but it felt like a lifetime away. Or maybe it was the way his soft breathing kept tugging at me—how even sick and half-lost, he still looked… fragile.
Not Lucian Kim. Not the one who'd challenge me in class with sharp questions and that frustrating smirk. This version of him was different. Breakable.
I clenched the steering wheel tighter.
"You scared the hell out of me today," I whispered, voice barely louder than the rain. "You have no idea."
The car was too warm. Or maybe it was just the heat rising in my chest, bleeding into the space between us. I turned the heater down a notch, then reached across and gently tucked the blanket tighter around him. My knuckles brushed his jaw, and I froze at the warmth of his skin.
His head shifted slightly, lips parting with a faint sound. A whisper. My name.
My heart stopped.
I looked at him. Really looked. Took in the curve of his lashes, the faint line between his brows, the softness of his mouth. "Lucian," I said quietly, not expecting a response.
Nothing.
God, this boy…
I took a deep breath and turned my eyes back to the road. The storm outside mirrored the one in my head—wild, relentless, impossible to ignore. The city lights shimmered through the rain, casting broken glows across his skin, turning him into something unreal. Like he didn't quite belong to this world. Like we weren't supposed to be anywhere near this.
I shouldn't have let this happen. Should've kept my distance. So many rules I'd thought were solid—and I'd trampled every single one the moment he looked at me like I was more than just his teacher.
The rest of the drive was silent—except for the rain and my racing heart. And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't sure which was louder.