The final bell echoed through the halls of Mirae Academy just as the first raindrop struck the classroom window.
Then another.
And another.
Within seconds, the calm afternoon sky disappeared beneath dark clouds.
Thunder rolled across the horizon, shaking the glass panes as heavy rain poured from the heavens.
Students rushed toward the exits, laughing as they covered their heads with bags and jackets.
The once-busy campus slowly emptied beneath the curtain of rain.
I stood beside the classroom window for a moment, quietly watching tiny rivers form across the school courtyard.
Rain had always been beautiful to me.
But sometimes…
Beautiful things carried painful memories.
“Looks like we’ll be stuck here for a while.”
Emmi sighed dramatically while looking outside.
“I just washed my shoes yesterday.”
Yuri smiled faintly as he zipped up his school bag.
“You care more about your shoes than getting home?”
“They’re new!”
“They’re white.”
“They were white.”
I couldn’t help smiling.
Watching those two argue over something so silly made the heavy atmosphere around me disappear for a few seconds.
Then Yuri looked toward me.
“Rubi.”
“Hm?”
“I need to stop by the teachers’ office.”
He pulled a notebook from his bag.
“Our biology teacher asked me to collect some lab materials.”
Emmi immediately raised her hand.
“I’ll come too.”
“You?”
Yuri blinked.
“I thought you hated biology.”
“I do.”
“Then why?”
Emmi scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“…Because I’m your friend.”
Yuri chuckled.
“Fine.”
He turned back toward me.
“The bus stop is just outside the front gate.”
“You’ll be okay waiting there for ten minutes?”
I nodded.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“I promise.”
His expression softened.
“If anything feels uncomfortable…”
“I’ll call you.”
“Good.”
He gently patted my head before walking away with Emmi.
I watched them disappear down the hallway together.
For some reason…
They looked comfortable walking beside each other.
A tiny smile appeared on my lips.
“They really match.”
I whispered to myself before leaving the classroom.
Cold wind greeted me the moment I stepped outside.
The rain had become heavier.
Large drops bounced against the stone pavement while distant thunder rumbled across the sky.
Students hurried toward waiting cars and buses.
Within minutes…
The campus became strangely quiet.
I opened my umbrella and slowly walked toward the bus stop outside the school gate.
Splash…
Splash…
The sound of rain filled every corner of the city.
Normally…
I loved drawing rainy landscapes.
Today…
Everything felt strangely lonely.
I reached the empty bus stop and folded my umbrella.
Only one wooden bench stood beneath the small roof.
I sat down quietly.
My sketchbook rested on my lap.
Without thinking…
I opened it.
The blank page welcomed me.
My pencil began moving almost on its own.
First…
A cloud.
Then…
Raindrops.
Then…
An old oak tree.
The same tree from the forgotten backyard.
I stopped.
Why…
Why was I drawing that place again?
I stared at the unfinished sketch.
And then…
My pencil slowly moved toward the empty space beneath the tree.
I froze.
Without realizing it…
I was about to draw…
A motorcycle.
“No…”
I whispered.
Not again.
I quickly erased the faint outline until tiny pieces of graphite covered the page.
“I don’t want to remember…”
I closed the sketchbook.
The rain only became louder.
Far across the road…
An engine started.
A deep…
Low…
Mechanical growl.
Vrrrrmmm…
My fingers instantly stiffened.
No…
Please…
Not now.
Another roar echoed through the rain.
VROOOOM—
My breathing stopped.
The sound wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t close.
But my body reacted before my mind could.
The umbrella slipped from my hand.
It rolled across the wet pavement.
The rain soaked my hair within seconds.
“No…”
My heartbeat accelerated.
My vision blurred.
The rain.
The road.
The engine.
Everything began mixing together.
Suddenly…
I wasn’t standing at the bus stop anymore.
A younger version of myself stood beside another road.
“Kiyon!”
I laughed.
“Hurry!”
“I promised I’d give you your first ride someday.”
“You have to wait until we’re older.”
“I know.”
He grinned.
“But promises shouldn’t be broken.”
His laughter…
His smile…
His bright eyes…
Everything felt painfully real.
Then—
SCREEECH!!
A truck horn exploded through the air.
Metal twisted.
Glass shattered.
Someone screamed.
“Kiyon!!”
Blood.
Rain.
Broken headlights.
A motorcycle lying across the road.
Someone wasn’t moving anymore.
“No…”
“No…”
“No…”
My knees gave out beneath me.
I collapsed onto the wet pavement.
Both hands covered my ears.
“Stop…”
“Please stop…”
“I don’t want to hear it anymore…”
The roaring engine refused to disappear.
It became louder.
Closer.
Closer.
Until it completely swallowed the sound of rain.
I couldn’t breathe.
My chest tightened painfully.
Every breath felt smaller than the last.
The world spun around me.
Cold.
Dark.
Endless.
Someone…
Please…
Help me…
The roaring engine suddenly…
Stopped.
Silence.
Not complete silence.
Only the endless rhythm of rain falling against the road remained.
My trembling hands slowly loosened from my ears.
Every breath hurt.
The cold rain soaked through my uniform, but I couldn’t move.
I felt completely frozen.
Then…
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Steady.
Someone walked through the rain toward me.
Splash…
Splash…
Splash…
The footsteps stopped only a few inches away.
A shadow covered me.
The rain hitting my face suddenly became lighter.
Something warm settled over my shaking shoulders.
A leather jacket.
Its faint scent of rain, sandalwood, and fresh wind surrounded me.
For several long seconds…
No one spoke.
Whoever stood beside me didn’t try to pull me up.
Didn’t ask unnecessary questions.
Didn’t tell me to calm down.
He simply stayed there.
Protecting me from the rain.
Slowly…
My breathing became steadier.
The painful ringing inside my ears faded little by little.
I opened my eyes.
Rainwater blurred everything.
All I could see was a pair of black boots standing in front of me.
Then…
A familiar black helmet rested quietly on the wet pavement beside them.
My heartbeat skipped.
No…
It couldn’t be…
Very slowly…
I lifted my head.
Takoru Ryuzaki was kneeling in front of me.
His dark hair was completely soaked.
Rainwater rolled down his forehead and jawline.
His school shirt clung to his body, but he didn’t seem to notice.
His eyes…
They weren’t cold today.
They simply watched me quietly.
As if making sure I was breathing.
“You…”
My voice cracked.
Takoru didn’t answer.
He quietly picked up my umbrella from the road before another gust of wind could carry it away.
He folded it.
Placed it beside me.
Then looked back.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
His calm voice barely rose above the rain.
That was all he said.
No questions.
No pity.
No curiosity.
Only concern.
I lowered my eyes.
“I’m…”
My throat tightened.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
His question surprised me.
“I…”
“I made you stop.”
Takoru looked toward the empty road.
“I stopped because I wanted to.”
Silence returned.
The rain continued falling.
Neither of us knew what to say.
Several passing students looked toward us from across the street.
Some whispered.
Some secretly took pictures.
Takoru ignored every single one.
His attention never left me.
Finally…
He slowly stood up.
Then…
Without warning…
He offered me his hand.
Not forcefully. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Simply…
Waiting.
I stared at it.
My fingers trembled.
The last time someone had offered me a hand near a motorcycle…
Kiyon had smiled.
“Come on.”
“I promised I’d take you for a ride someday.”
Tears suddenly filled my eyes again.
My breathing became uneven.
“Kiyon…”
The name escaped my lips before I could stop it.
Takoru froze.
“…What?”
I immediately covered my mouth.
“I…”
“I’m sorry…”
“I…”
His eyebrows pulled together slightly.
“Kiyon?”
I quickly shook my head.
“It’s nothing.”
Another lie.
Another painful lie.
Takoru looked at me for several seconds.
He clearly knew I was hiding something.
But…
He didn’t ask again.
Instead…
He quietly lowered his hand.
“If standing is difficult…”
“I’ll wait.”
Those simple words somehow made my chest ache even more.
Who was this boy?
Everyone in school described him as arrogant.
Untouchable.
Cold.
Yet…
Here he was.
Standing in heavy rain beside a crying girl he barely knew.
Not because anyone told him to.
Not because he wanted attention.
Simply because…
He couldn’t leave.
Almost five minutes passed.
Finally…
I slowly stood up.
My legs still felt weak.
The leather jacket slipped slightly from my shoulders.
I quickly tried giving it back.
“You’ll need this.”
Takoru looked at the soaked jacket.
Then at me.
“You need it more.”
“But—”
“You’ll return it tomorrow.”
His tone made it sound less like a request…
And more like a quiet certainty.
Before I could answer…
A familiar voice echoed through the rain.
“Rubi!”
Yuri.
He came running toward us with Emmi right behind him.
Both of them were completely out of breath.
Yuri immediately stopped in front of me.
His eyes quickly checked my face.
My hands.
My breathing.
“Rubi…”
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head.
“I’m okay.”
His shoulders relaxed slightly.
Only then did he notice the leather jacket covering me.
Then…
He looked toward Takoru.
The two boys silently stared at each other.
Neither smiled.
Neither spoke.
Emmi finally broke the silence.
“What happened?”
I looked down.
“I…”
“I heard a motorcycle.”
Everything suddenly became clear.
Yuri understood immediately.
His expression softened.
He gently placed a hand on my shoulder.
“It’s okay.”
“I’m here now.”
Takoru quietly picked up his helmet.
He brushed rainwater from the visor before putting it on.
As he walked toward his motorcycle…
Yuri suddenly spoke.
“…Thank you.”
Takoru stopped.
Only for a second.
Without turning around…
He gave a small nod.
Then started the engine.
This time…
The sound still made my heart tremble.
But…
Something was different.
For the first time…
The roar of a motorcycle wasn’t followed by the image of blood.
Instead…
I remembered a soaked leather jacket.
A quiet voice.
And someone who had stayed beside me…
Without asking for anything in return.
The motorcycle disappeared into the rain.
I stood there watching until even the sound faded into the distance.
Without realizing it…
My fingers tightened around Takoru’s jacket.
And somewhere deep inside my frightened heart…
A tiny crack had finally appeared in the wall I had built around myself.
Maybe…
Not every biker carried tragedy.
Maybe…
Some carried warmth.
I wasn’t ready to believe that yet.
But for the first time…
I wanted to understand the boy named Takoru Ryuzaki.
To be continued…
Thank you for reading Chapter 8.
Sometimes the loudest battles happen in complete silence.
Fear doesn’t always disappear in a single moment, but one act of kindness can become the first step toward healing.
What do you think about Takoru’s actions today?
Do you think Rubi will ever overcome the fear that has haunted her for years?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Your support motivates me to keep writing.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
See you in the next chapter.