When Leo left the canteen, Pearl finally felt like she could breathe again.
Her trembling slowly calmed, but her thoughts refused to settle.
Her eyes remained fixed on the direction Leo had disappeared.
Her diary.
Her star hairpin.
Her moon-and-star charm.
Why was he carrying her things?
Her chest tightened.
A strange thought entered her mind.
Was he angry?
Maybe after the library.
Maybe he thought she had disrespected him.
Running away.
Hiding.
Ignoring him.
Maybe that was why he had been searching for her.
To question her.
To scold her.
The thought made her nervous.
On the other side of the school—
Leo searched.
Every corridor.
Every staircase.
Every empty classroom.
Every garden.
But he found nothing.
Again.
His frustration burned deeper.
His fingers tightened around Pearl’s star hairpin.
His Melody Girl.
Always close.
Yet every single time—
fate stole her away.
Whispers spread all over school.
“Leo is looking for someone.”
“Who is it?”
“What happened?”
But Leo didn’t care.
His dark eyes stayed sharp.
Restless.
Cold.
He stopped walking, rain clouds already gathering above.
His hand tightened around her diary.
His jaw clenched.
His voice lowered into a whisper.
“Where are you…”
His eyes darkened.
“…Melody Girl?”
As if the heavens had heard his frustration—
the sky darkened instantly.
Heavy clouds swallowed the sun.
The wind grew stronger.
Rain was near.
Leo laughed bitterly.
Every time he got close—
fate pushed her away.
How much longer?
Pearl returned to class.
But her mind stayed far away.
Mia noticed.
“You okay?”
Pearl blinked.
“Yes.”
But it wasn’t true.
She needed silence.
Needed space.
Needed time.
There were still free periods left.
So she stood.
“I’ll be back.”
Mia frowned.
“Where?”
“Just… somewhere quiet.”
Mia thought for a moment.
“There’s a garden behind the east building.
Nobody goes there.”
Pearl nodded.
“Thank you.”
And with that—
she left.
She had never been there before.
It felt hidden.
Far from the noise.
Far from people.
Exactly what she needed.
Soon she reached it.
A small silent garden.
And in the middle—
stood an old tree.
Tall.
Beautiful.
Alone.
The wind moved softly through its branches.
Pearl walked toward it.
And then—
rain started.
Tiny drops at first.
Soft.
Gentle.
She quickly stepped beneath the tree.
Its branches sheltered her.
But not completely.
Rain still slipped through.
Touching her hair.
Her shoulders.
Her face.
She leaned her back against the trunk and closed her eyes.
Trying to calm herself.
Trying to forget Leo.
Trying to forget the fear.
And without realizing—
she started humming.
That melody.
Warm.
Soft.
Dreamlike.
The melody that always brought her peace.
Not far away—
Leo had stopped searching.
His frustration had become unbearable.
He walked through the rain.
The cold drops touched his shoulders.
His hair.
His face.
But he didn’t care.
Then—
he heard it.
That melody.
His body froze instantly.
His heartbeat stopped.
Then raced.
Her.
It was her.
His Melody Girl.
His eyes lifted.
This time—
there would be no fate.
No interruption.
No distance.
Nothing would take her away.
He ran.
Following the sound.
Fast.
But just as he turned the first corridor—
three boys carrying sports equipment blocked the path.
“Watch it, Leo!”
He pushed past them without a word.
The melody was still there.
Closer.
Then—
the rain suddenly became heavier.
A violent downpour.
Water blurred his vision.
The sound of rain crashing against the ground nearly drowned her humming.
Leo wiped his eyes and ran harder.
Not now.
Not this time.
His foot slipped on the wet stone path—
and he fell hard.
Mud stained his hand.
Pain shot through his arm.
He stayed there for one second.
Breathing hard.
Frustrated.
Angry.
His fist slammed against the ground.
“Damn it.”
The melody was still there.
Faint.
Fragile.
Like it could disappear any second.
He stood up immediately.
Ignoring the pain.
Ignoring the blood on his palm.
Then—
an old gardener pushing a heavy cart crossed right in front of him.
Blocking the entire path.
Leo clenched his jaw.
Seconds felt like hours.
The moment the way cleared—
he ran again.
Rain hit harder.
His breathing rougher.
His vision blurred.
But his heart stayed fixed on one thing.
Her.
And when he turned the final corner—
he stopped.
Because under that tree—
fate had finally surrendered her to him.
She stood there.
Eyes closed.
Her back resting against the old tree.
Completely lost in her humming.
Unaware of him.
Unaware of everything.
At that exact cosmic second, a sudden gust of wind swept through the archway, carrying a heavy spray of rainwater across her face.
The clear, pristine water droplets caught on her eyelashes, her pale cheeks, and the curve of her lips, refusing to fall.
As the dim, moody afternoon light filtered through the gray clouds, it struck the droplets on her skin.
They didn’t look like water at all.
They shimmered with a brilliant, iridescent luster—looking exactly like precious, genuine pearls scattered across her flawless face.
Nature itself seemed to have adorned her in her namesake.
Leo’s breath was utterly stolen.
He stood paralyzed.
He had always imagined what his Melody Girl would look like—
but reality completely shattered his expectations.
She was breathtaking.
The untouchable, freezing armor he wore every day dissolved into nothingness.
His intense, dark eyes softened into something raw.
Fierce.
And undeniably consumed.
She looked unreal.
Simple.
Soft.
Pure.
Not the kind of beauty that demanded attention.
But the kind that quietly stole it.
The kind that stayed.
The kind you could never forget.
As if sensing a shift in the air, Pearl’s humming abruptly ceased.
Her eyelashes fluttered.
And she slowly opened her eyes.
And for the very first time—
their gazes locked.
Pearl froze.
Her breath caught.
Leo.
Standing there.
Watching her.
Her body stiffened instantly.
No.
This couldn’t happen.
Panic took over.
Pearl turned—
ready to run.
But suddenly—
warm fingers wrapped around her wrist.
She stopped.
Her heartbeat turned wild.
Slowly—
she looked back.
Leo stood close behind her.
Rain falling around them.
His dark eyes locked onto hers.
And for the first time—
they felt less cold.
Less distant.
Then—
without a word—
Leo slowly placed something into her hands.
Her diary.
Her star hairpin.
Her moon-and-star charm.
All her lost pieces.
Returned.
Pearl stared at them.
Her fingers shook.
Her heart raced.
And Leo’s gaze stayed on her face.
As if confirming to himself—
that she was real.
That he had finally found her.
Leo stared at the shimmering water droplets on her face, his deep baritone voice cracking with an emotion he had never shown anyone before.
“I found you,” he whispered.
Pearl heard it.
And somehow—
those three words made her heart shake more than anything else.
But her mind filled with fear.
Now what?
Is he angry?
Will he scold me for running away?
She looked at him—
unable to understand what was hidden behind his unreadable eyes.
And Leo—
still holding her wrist—
had no intention of letting fate steal her away again.
But when the rain falls like pearls— destiny begins to speak.
With Love Kiaan