the rain drenched his shirt, feet splashing around the puddles as he continued walking on the pavement. he was in no hurry. the tall man held a small stack of papers close to his chest, his head nuzzled into his chest, with long wet hair sticking to his face like a second skin.

it was the kind of warm summer rain he usually appreciated so much. there was no wind, just water melting his clothes to his body and nature hugging him tight like it knew he really needed it right now. 

he passed the same old familiar buildings of his neighborhood. one of the balconies were decorated with once blooming flowers, now they hung their heads low under the weight of the day, heavy raindrops meeting their overflowing pots. cars speeded past him, picking masses of muddy water from the ground to send them in his direction. the man didn't flinch, continued in a steady pace until the bright yellow paint of his apartment appeared. 

and as he got closer, he saw a figure standing on his doormat, knocking on his door vigorously. his shoes squelched —water coming out of their sides as he climbed the few stairs. 

the figure turned around. "oh, hwang." it was his neighbor from next door.

"i was about to tell your lovely roommates to shut the fuck up before i fill a noise complaint but you're capable of doing that for me, right?" hyunjin sighed but nodded his head yes.

the music coming from inside was loud enough to stand out against the rain falling, as well as the aggravating voice of the brunet male. "you look like a wet dog, how stupid can you be to walk while it was pouring like this?"

he brushed strands of his hair out of the way to look at his neighbor. "well it's pretty warm out, i'll be just fine," hyunjin said. a small smile formed on his lips.

"yeah sure, if i wanted to miss work because i got sick, i would say that too." the smile wasn't returned by his neighbor. "oh wait, you don't have a job." instead, he faced a mocking grimace.

he was considering saying something back, but he knew the man good enough to let it be. they never conversed much, other than this kind of encounter.

"i missed the shuttle bus from down town, so i walked," hyunjin told him. he didn't give up on striking a conversation with him though, maybe one day he'll understand where all that internal anger came from. 

because it was clear to see, hear and feel that his neighbor didn't like him. "that's rather stupid if you ask me; could've just waited wherever you were." he was blocking the entry, body language somewhere in between wanting to talk down on hyunjin some more or getting something else off his chest. hyunjin bet he needed a therapist. 

lee minho, that's his name.

"what were you up to?" and he liked to put his nose into the business of other people.

"i was at the vet. my dog, kkomi, had to be...put to sleep," hyunjin said while swallowing a cough forming in his throat.

minho shrugged. "the yapper? i mean pets aren't allowed here anyway." minho never showed the will to be considerate or kind to the people he despised.

"right..." hyunjin and his roommates are one of those -if not the top ones on his list. he looked down at the papers in his arms. they were soaked. he felt eyes scan him from head to toe, judging.

"your zipper.." following his gaze, hyunjin spotted the zipper of his jacket barely hanging on. a big hole gaped from the fabric right next to it. he sighed.

"could you be so kind to let me through?" he was still smiling. a little crooked but still smiling.

minho rolled his eyes, harder than appropriate. "sure." 

but he didn't move an inch as hyunjin squeezed past and searched for his keys. they landed on the ground with a soft jingling noise. minho scoffed as the tall man crouched. 

then the papers in his arms slipped, spreading across the wet floor and partly down the stairs too. hyunjin closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. this is fine.

"well hwang, you can kick those in the bin now, can't you?" the man jumped down the stairs, hopping up the ones to his apartment. a print of his shoe was left on one of the pages.

"oh no, i'm sure i can fix them." hyunjin looked up from the pile of dripping documents. minho raised an eyebrow. the papers on the stairs appeared glued to them by the rain non-stop falling.

"don't forget to tell your roommates to be quiet." he heard the door slam shut. how can a person radiate so much negativity?

he straightened his back and put his keys into the lock. it was already unlocked.

"hello?" he screamed over the music coming from the second floor, shutting the door with his bum. 

"did you hear something?" a voice from upstairs asked. "nah mate, you're hallucinating." and then they turned the volume up.

he shook his head —similar to the way his dog used to— and tiptoed to the small living room. he began spreading the papers on the radiators. they were the death certificate and other documents of his dog. he smiled at the sight of that name, even though it was a bit blurry and the ink smeared across the page. he brushed over the tattoo on his right ankle at the thought, where the paw of kkomi was depicted.

after shedding from his wet attire, a trail of footprints followed him up the stairs. "guys?" he peeked his head into the recording room.

two watched as changbin rapped into the microphone at an incredibly fast pace. no one had heard him.

"guys!" he yelled.

"glory fuck!!" jisung flinched. as his eyes found the man standing in the door, he jumped up. "oh my god, hyune you're back!"

his arms flew around him, hugging hyunjin as close as he could. he didn't seem to care that he was dripping wet nor that he was wearing his yellow striped underwear he swore to return a few months ago. 

jisung was a petite male. his blue hair and dark fashion were one of the many reasons people kept their distance. oh, what fools they were. because behind this dark attire a very soft boy hid. he was scared of society's norms and judging eyes. just like his other two roommates and himself.

they hurried to embrace him. the way good friends did they mourned with him. one of the reasons they all shared the same tattoo on their ankle. the group hug parted. "oh my god, you're so cold.." chan said, rubbing his arm. "go and take a bath."

he looked at the other two. "i'll order pizza. margarita with extra cheese for you, right?"changbin was already dialing the number of their favorite pizzeria. hyunjin just nodded, the smile coming back to his face.

"don't worry too much about me, i'm fine." he brushed a stubborn curl out of his view."things like this happen; we couldn't have done anything to ease his pain." his friends nodded, though the usual soft energy around their house dimmed together with the shimmer behind hyunjin's smile. 

"i was supposed to tell you that mr. i am a walking black cloud wants to fill a noise complaint if you don't stop recording so loudly," hyunjin said on his way to the bath. 

chan chuckled. "mate really has no chill, lives like he's eighty or something."

hyunjin liked chan, well he liked all of the three, but he appreciated chan because he was so genuinely himself since day one. you would never ever catch him losing his strong australian accent or dad-like behavior.

"bath, relax, everything is okay."

hyunjin nodded his head. "thank you."