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Jisu bit her lip as she looked out the dance studio windows at the pouring rain.  Walking home in this weather didn’t seem like the safest idea, but her husband, Tae, couldn’t pick her up, and she wasn’t going to let her best friend, Jimin, drive her home.  She knew his mom wouldn’t be happy if he was late again.

“Jisu, please just let me drive you home.” Her thoughts were interrupted by Jimin. “You’ll get sick if you walk home in this weather.”

“Jimin, I’ll be fine.” Jisu pulled out her umbrella. “And besides, if I get sick it’s always an excuse to cuddle Tae for hours.”

Jimin scoffed. “And why can’t he pick you up again?”

“His car broke down.”

Jimin shook his head before looking at his watch. “All right.  Well if I’m not taking you home, I have to go.  Make sure to lock up.” He headed for the door but turned back to Jisu for a second. “Bye, bye, Jisu.”

Jisu smiled. “Bye, Jimin.”

She waited a few minutes after Jimin left, hoping the rain would get lighter.  When it didn’t let up, she decided just to go for it.  She stepped outside and locked the door behind her before opening her umbrella.   She took a deep breath and ran out into the pouring rain.

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Jisu sighed as she walked down the sidewalk, the rain engulfing everything around her.  If it hadn’t been raining so hard, she would’ve jumped in a few puddles, but she didn’t want to get soaked.  Just then, she felt something pull on her pant leg.  She looked down to see a little girl.

“Unnie, please don’t walk so fast.”

Jisu raised an eyebrow and looked around before kneeling down to the girl’s level. “Where are your parents?”

The girl’s small lips turned into a pout. “I don’t know…”

“Where did you start following me?”

The girl pointed down the street to the end of the block. “At the dress shop.”

“All right, let’s go back there.”

Jisu stood up and picked the girl up, trying her best to keep the umbrella steady over the both of them.  After Jisu picked the girl up, she laid her head on Jisu’s shoulder, making Jisu smile.  Jisu started back to the dress shop, hoping to find the girl’s mother there.  She hadn’t been walking long when she realized the girl had fallen asleep on her.  She smiled.  Little kids are so cute, she thought.

Jisu soon arrived at the dress shop and walked inside hurriedly, shaking off her umbrella and setting it down to dry at the door.  She gently woke up the little girl.

“Oh my goodness, Xiya!”

Jisu looked up to see a lady in her late twenties running towards her.

“Eomma!”

The little girl climbed out of Jisu’s arms and ran to the lady before hugging her.

“Oh, I was so worried!” The lady exclaimed, hugging her daughter back.  She looked up at Jisu. “Thank you so much!  She must’ve run off when we came back inside due to the rain!”

“Ah, it’s no problem.  I wasn’t too far from here when I noticed she was following me.” Jisu looked around the shop and noticed they were the only ones there, and it occurred to her that the shop closed in a few minutes.  Then something else occurred to her.  She turned back to the lady. “Do you have an umbrella?”

The lady shook her head, and Jisu picked up her umbrella and held it out to her. “Here, take mine.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t.  You keep it.”

“No, it’s ok.  My friend is picking me up just down the block.  I’ll be ok without an umbrella.” Truth was Jisu had about a half a mile walk home, but the lady willingly took the umbrella from her after that statement.

“Thank you, honey, you’re very sweet.” The lady picked up her daughter and walked to the door, opening both it and the umbrella.  She looked back at Jisu and gave her a grateful smile before heading out into the pouring rain.

Jisu waited until she was sure the lady was gone, then she headed out herself, being completely swallowed by the rain.  She shivered but willed herself to keep going, knowing she’d be home soon enough.