The chatter of keyboards faded as students began to filter out of the lab. Si-hun glanced at the digital clock near the CSE department exit - 17:43. The corridors were growing quieter, the amber sun outside threatening to dip below the library's roof.
He was about to leave when a familiar voice called out, sharp but elegant, like the click of heels on marble.
"Si-hun."
He turned, already straightening up, the way one might when a senior from another department, especially one like her, addressed them.
"Sunbae," Si-hun said, voice softer now, straightening a bit.
"Going somewhere?"
"I was waiting for you," he admitted, and then caught himself. "I mean, you said you wanted to discuss the upcoming inter-department fashion walk?"
Seona stood with her tablet tucked under one arm, her glasses catching the fading light, giving her an unreadable glow. She was dressed sharply: long beige coat, black slacks, heels, and the same collected air she wore like perfume. While Si-hun was known for his gentle demeanor and boy-next-door charm, Seona was all angles and poise. The two couldn't have looked more different. Or as Soeun had whispered once: more compatible.
"I heard you're helping organize the participants for the fashion showcase," Seona said, stopping beside him.
"I… volunteered," Si-hun admitted, a little bashfully. "Young-do hyung dragged me in."
Seona raised an eyebrow, amused. "And did he also drag you into wearing ruffles?"
He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thankfully not yet."
She opened her tablet. "There's been a theme change. They want a more fusion concept. Traditional with urban minimalism. Most of the boys are still stuck on tuxedos and joggers. We need people who can carry themselves with expression, not just walk like lost mannequins."
His brows knit slightly. "But, our department's idea of fashion is hoodies and headphones."
"Exactly why I'm here," she replied, brushing back a strand of hair. Her glasses glinted under the softening light. "We are looking for someone who will be an impactful show stopper. Don't worry about theme, we'll improvise. You'll walk the final act."
Si-hun looked alarmed. "Me?"
"You're tall. You're symmetrical. You've got the deadpan face that's very 'editorial male lead.'"
From a distance, just past the glass walls near the stairwell, Na-ri and her crew watched the exchange.
"She called him elegant," Minji hissed, her eyes wide.
"She's literally praising his charm," Soeun whispered back, already opening a group chat titled: Si-hun & Sunbae: Slowburn Begins .
Yubin crossed her arms. "I told you! It was obvious from the way she fixed his collar during the tech-fest."
"Exactly," Jiae nodded. "They're like opposites. He's soft, she's sharp. Both add up to give a perfect K-drama pairing."
Meanwhile, one girl stayed oddly quiet. Minji, whose phone wallpaper still had a photo of Tae-ri tying a friendship band around Si-hun's wrist. She stared at him now, standing there under Seona's gaze like a golden retriever being lectured by a graceful cat.
Back at the scene, Seona looked up at the sky. A dark cloud was rolling over the campus.
"It's going to pour," she said, glancing at her watch. "I should head."
"You don't have an umbrella, do you?" Si-hun asked.
"I didn't expect rain. I left it in the faculty seminar room."
"Take it," he told Seona sunbae, already handing the umbrella over.
She blinked. "But-"
"You'll get soaked. I'm okay."
She held his gaze for a moment. Her lashes were long and still. "You're very considerate, Si-hun."
He dipped his head. "Walk safely, Sunbae."
She nodded, and for a moment, they looked like a movie poster. The boy standing under gray clouds, the girl walking away with his umbrella, turning back once to glance at him.
The girls at the corner lost it.
"She turned back!" Soeun whispered-shrieked.
"He gave her his umbrella! Someone write this down!"
Only Na-ri stayed oddly silent.
She was focused on something else or rather, someone else.
As Seona disappeared around the curve of the road, Si-hun stood quietly in the drizzle. Rain began to pick up, soft at first, then heavier, drumming down on the concrete.
He sighed, brushing his damp fringe from his forehead. Water was already dripping down the back of his neck. His hoodie was getting heavier by the second. He thought he'd just jog it out.
Then-
The dormitory doors slammed open.
"Ya!" a familiar voice barked.
Seo-woon.
He came running: soaked, flushed, breath ragged. His umbrella popped open mid-step, snapping loudly like punctuation. A small, pitiful thing barely big enough for one.
"You gave your umbrella to her?" Seo-woon asked, voice rising above the rain.
Si-hun blinked. "You- how did you- ?"
"I saw her walking away holding it," Seo-woon grumbled. "You're an idiot. You'll catch a cold."
Si-hun smiled slightly. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" Seo-woon snapped. "Sharing this."
Without waiting for approval, he grabbed Si-hun's wrist and pulled him under the small blue umbrella. Now both boys stood close, shoulders nearly brushing. It barely covered them. Half of Seo-woon's shoulder was still under open sky.
"She didn't have one."
"And now you don't either."
"Why are you yelling-"
"Because you're dumb!" Seo-woon snapped. "You're going to catch a cold. Or pneumonia. Or die. And I'll have to write your obituary and say, 'He died because he gave his umbrella to someone else. AGAIN.'"
Si-hun blinked, taken aback. "You… came running for that?"
"Stop moving," Seo-woon muttered.
"I didn't ask you to-"
"You don't have to."
Just then-
"Sudden Shower" from Lovely Runner started playing.
Some girl had dropped her phone nearby. The screen lit up, and suddenly, the air was filled with slow piano pain and forbidden feelings.
He moved an inch closer, just enough that their soaked shoulders brushed.
"You always do this," he whispered.
"What?"
"Give yourself away. Like you're nothing. Like anyone deserves your kindness."
Si-hun's breath hitched.
Seo-woon's voice dropped even lower.
"Next time… don't give your umbrella to her."
Si-hun turned. "Why?"
Seo-woon looked at him, truly looked. "Because I'm here."
Meanwhile, hiding behind the cycle stand, Na-ri clutched her phone like it was her lifeline.
"Oh my God," she whispered to herself. "This… this is BL GOLD."
That wasn't a confession. That was a warning.
She turned to her stunned friends. "Did you guys see that tension?!"
Soeun frowned. "Um. I was watching Seona sunbae walk off. What tension?"
"Are you blind?" Na-ri shrieked. "That was a confession scene!"
The music hit its peak.The piano screamed. Si-hun forgot how to breathe.
"I'm wet," Si-hun whispered.
Seo-woon's lips twitched. "Not as wet as I am."
The girls slowly backed away as Na-ri began muttering fanfic tropes to herself under her breath.
Back on the road, Si-hun finally stepped aside under a tree's shade.
"I think we'll fit better here," he said quietly.
Si-hun swallowed. "Your hair's dripping."
Seo-woon didn't blink. "Yours is sticking to your cheeks."
Seo-woon adjusted the umbrella, still scowling. "Next time, don't give away your only umbrella. You're not a K-drama male lead."
Si-hun raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I am."
Seo-woon turned sharply toward him, surprised.
For a moment, Si-hun looked back, a little smirk playing at the corner of his lips.
Then he stepped out from the umbrella into the rain again.
Seo-woon stared.
"Yah, Si-hun!"
"Thanks for the rescue," Si-hun called over his shoulder. "But I'm a lead who walks in the rain dramatically."
Seo-woon stood there, flustered and dripping, watching him walk away with too much attitude for someone so damp.
Yubin rolled her eyes. "They're just friends."
"They aren't just anything!" Na-ri wailed. "Si-hun looked up into his eyes! That's literally BL staging 101!"
"Stop making it weird," Minji groaned. "We're rooting for Sunbae."
"NO! THIS IS A LOVE TRIANGLE!" Na-ri declared. "AND ONLY I SEE IT!"
"I love them so much," she whispered to herself.
The other girls simply shook their heads and walked off, dragging Na-ri, who was already planning an edit titled "Umbrella Tension: Episode 1."