YEAR : 2018
╚»★«╝

It began as a whispering in the air. The day had been beautiful and the sky was like a dome of plasma-blue. The clouds had looked like airy anvils drifting under the gleaming disc of sun. But they began to gather in the sky. Large pillows of cloud were forming, blotting out the old-gold colour of the sun.

Then the clouds were sad and began to cry out their tears. The rainfall became more intense. So much rain was falling that the sound blurred into one long, whirring noise. Eventually, the noise lessened and the drops faded into a musical chime.

The atmosphere inside the car was silent. The sound of rain hitting the windows were enough for their ears already. Even in the rain, the driver Mr. Nam drove the car, eyes searching for something here and there, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Once in a while, he checked the man behind him throughout the rearview with concern. But for the last half an hour, the man remained motionless; eyes closed and head leaned against the back seat. He looked broken.

The thunder rolled in the thick clouds, as if the clouds were tightly surrounded by the dense layers of clouds, and the sound was dull. Lightening in the distant sky, on the black cloud of broken cotton wool, east, west, dazzling white light. The nature seemed to relate with the man's feelings.

Suddenly, their cold, scary silence was interrupted by a call. Mr. Nam peaked at the phone screen and gulped down. Looking back at the man, he opened his mouth to speak but pressed them in a straight line, thinking it wouldn't be a wise idea. So he ignored the call and continued driving.

The phone didn't stop. It kept ringing and ringing, to the point it disturbed the driver in his focus. He knew he had to speak sooner or later. So with a clear in his throat, he glanced at the man behind him through the rear-view mirror and asked,

"CEO Kim, Ms. Kim's been calling. Shouldn't you answer?"

He saw the man responding without opening his eyes, "Put the phone on silent mode, please."

Mr. Nam did as he said and tried to open a conversation, "Aigoo, did you have a fight with her? Young couples these days get more closer by fighting, you know." he looked at the man in the mirror and saw no reaction.

Gulping down, he sealed his lips and decided to drive for the rest of the time in silence.

The man finally opened his eyes and looked outside through the window. The rain was starting to fade away as the drops were as little as children. The clouds roared lightly once in a few minutes and the darkness started to disappear.

They say there's a rainbow after every storm.

So where was his rainbow?

Every time he fought with his girlfriend, it's always him at the end, begging for her forgiveness on his knees and oiling her shamelessly. Was it always his fault?

Surely, he loved Jisoo. He fell in love with her the very first moment he had seen her. Her striking beautiful face, long black hair, flawless figure that made her look like a goddess, stole his heart before he realized it. But why? Why couldn't he do anything that made her happy? Why wasn't she happy with him? Why was it always him trying to mend their bond and beg her? Why disn't she ever take a step? Why couldn't she forgive him?

"We're here, Sir."

Mr. Nam's voice pulled him back to reality from his endless thoughts. Letting out a deep sigh, he looked out through his window. The rain had stopped already. Maybe his rain of pain would never stop.

The driver opened the door for him as he stepped out and stood in front of the place, eyes focused on the name and hands inside his pockets.

Children's Hope & Care

For the first time, he actually liked the name of the orphanage.

"Should I come with you, CEO Kim?"

He shook his head and glanced back at his driver slightly, "I'll be quick. Wait here."

Mr. Nam nodded.

The man entered inside the orphanage and he was greeted by the anonymous laughter and giggles of children at a distance. He wanted to smile considering he loved kids, especially the ones with their front tooth missing. They made him remember himself when he was a kid.

"Welcome, Mr. Kim Seok Jin."

A middle-aged man in his fifties ran to him with a wide smile plastered in his face. He bowed to him in respect and offered his hand for a shake, "My name is Choi Min Sik. I'm the manager of this orphanage."

Seokjin held his hand and shook it before retreating his hand back.

"It's truly an honor to have your presence here." Mr. Choi seemed very happy to see him. Who won't be? He came here to donate after all.

He led him to his own office in the ground floor. The orphanage had dull, plain white walls with black scratches. It almost looked like a haunted old building.

Mr. Choi sat behind his wooden desk while he took his seat in front of him. Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced around the room with a hint of uncomfort and disgust. He wasn't used to stay in old places.

"I always heard of your kindness. That you donate a lot of money to orphanages every month. I wasn't expecting you to discover ours as well." the manager tried to look as stable as possible. But unfortunately, his sense of clothes gave away the poverty of his life.

Seokjin showed a little smile in response.

"It's my pleasure. So can we get to business, please? I am a man of hurry, you see." he said as politely as possible.

Mr. Choi nodded vigorously and showed him some documents and files for his signatures. They carried on the next miuntes about the amount of money and stuff.

"Well, I suppose we're done here." Mr. Choi announced happily as he closed the tip of his pen.

Seokjin nodded and said, "The money will be transferred to you by night. I hope I could be of help to you and your orphanage."

He stood up from his seat, following by the manager who praised the CEO for his popularity, kindness and hard works for the country. It was obvious he was very grateful by the donation and could almost cry if needed.

The CEO replied a few thanks before finally taking his leave. As he was about to exit the office, Mr. Choi spoke,

"Speaking of which, why don't you visit the kids, Mr. Kim? I'm sure they are gonna be very happy to see you."

Mr. Choi's offer sounded honest and helpful. However, Seokjin didn't have that much time in his hands. He had to go back and probably spend the rest of the day, apologizing to his girlfriend.

He looked at the manager and with a gentle smile, he refused, "I appreciate the offer, Mr. Choi. But I have to return to work."

The manager was a little disappointed but he showed with a bright smile.

Seokjin came out of the shabby office room and stood in the open field. Releasing a loud sigh which he hoped no one heard, he proceeded to leave the place.

But a ball was thrown at his head from the back.

Fortunately, it was a deflated ball.

Seokjin rubbed the back of his head and turned behind swiftly. He caught the sight of two boys giggling naughtily at him, hiding behind a tree.

"You kids! What was that for?" he asked playfully.

"Ahjussi (mister), you are an intruder!" one of them replied.

Seokjin widened his eyes and pointed his finger at them, "Yah! It's Hyung! I'm only 24!”

The kids giggled and ran away with their ball.

Seokjin couldn't help but to check out them out of curiosity. He always liked kids. He grew fond of them as when he was a child, he didn't recieve love and care from his parents. It made him think about other children since then.

He walked to the courtyard where he found many children, playing, laughing around, climbing trees etc. All of them looked so happy. It was as if the pain of not having parents never affected them.

He smiled and decided to watch them for some time. When he was a child of five year old, his father left him and his mother to live on their own. His mother spent her entire life, working many jobs like a slave to raise her son alone. She had to stay out late every night which caused the young boy to spend most of his time with loneliness. He wasn't being cared for like most children were. His mother got into an accident when he was eighteen and since then, she's been in that coma for years, never waking up. The rest of his life was hard to imagine how he climbed up the ladder and rose to a CEO of now.

Out of nowhere, this time a pebble was thrown at his forehead by the same boys from earlier. Seokjin let out a yelp and held his palm over the spot in pain. He slid down on the ground, eyes shutting immediately in burning sensation. The boys laughed, pointing their fingers at him, "Look! The intruder came to kidnap us!"

In a short time, a crowd was formed by all the children in the playground around them. Some were staring at him as if he was a clown, some were laughing, some were looking around. Seokjin couldn't believe these days kids could be this evil. Throwing a stone at a person? That's kind of a criminal thing.

He found his forehead bleeding in a few seconds. Great...

And then suddenly, he heard a voice shouting from a distance.

Most of the children looked behind and ran to her without any hesitation. They all circled around her, a few hugging her waist, a few holding her arms, some telling her about everything. Seokjin hadn't opened his eyes yet. Or else, he would've seen her.

He heard speedy footsteps towards him which caused him to open his eyes.

"Oh my God, are you alright?"

In no time, he found a young girl, kneeling in front of him and scanning his forehead with wide eyes.

"You're bleeding..."

Seokjin couldn't blink by the closeness of her face in front of him. He was flustered and his heart skipped a beat.

The girl swung her head towards those two boys who hit him before and scolded them, "Kim Sunwoo, Lee Heesung! Who taught you to throw stones at strangers?"

"Noona!" both of them whined together. "He's an intruder!"

"Even if he is, are you supposed to attack him? That's violent!"

In this serious situation, Seokjin found her way of scolding them funny. She looked like their mother. The boys looked down at their feet with pouts.

The girl returned to his face and spoke in an apologetic voice, "I'm sorry. They tend to get excited if they see something or someone new.”

She added, "Can you please come with me? If you allow me, I'll treat your wound, Sir.”

Seokjin shook his head and stood up in his feet, holding his bleeding spot, "I'm fine. No need."

"Please, Sir. I insist. I am really sorry for what they've done, and I will be guilty for the rest of my life if you leave like this. Please allow me to treat it. It looks bad."

The girl wasn't insisting. She was pleading. That too, to treat his small wound. No one ever begged him for his own good. He was flattered, highly praised by the world. But never was he begged in his life, as if she could give her life for him out of remorse.

"I-I'm okay. You don't need to worry."

A little girl who looked no more than four spoke in her tiny voice, "We are all sorry, Oppa. Please listen to Unnie."

The elder girl didn't forget to caress the little girl's head before looking at him with pleading eyes,

"Please Sir. It will only take a few minutes. You look hurt enough."

Seokjin couldn't ignore the thousand eyes watching him and two eyes begging him to come with her. He could walk away if he wanted. But that'll break so many hearts. He could waste a few more minutes with them, right?

"Fine."