The city swallowed them the moment the embassy gates disappeared behind rain.
It was strange how quickly the warm lights and tidy tents turned into wet asphalt, honking cars, and street lamps that looked tired. The SUV's wipers worked hard, squeaking in protest, and the road shimmered like it had been polished by water and headlights. Every puddle reflected a different color. Red from brake lights. White from oncoming headlights. Yellow from street lamps. The world looked like it was constantly blinking.
Inside the SUV, the air was warm, damp, and crowded with breaths that didn't fully relax.
NC kept the phone up between seats, the video call still active. June's face stayed sharp and controlled on the screen, the lighting around her clean and indoor. NS's face stayed dimmer, as if he was somewhere quiet, somewhere private, somewhere he didn't want to reveal.
Cherry's voice from NC's side was faint sometimes, like she was pacing in her room or sitting on the edge of a bed, listening more than speaking.
The call had become its own presence.
A third space.
A witness.
XH felt it, even when he didn't look at the screen. He could feel the pressure of being watched through a lens that didn't understand context. Everything looked more intense on camera. Every small gesture became a headline.
Kitty sat beside XH in the SUV's back row, shoulder close enough that the warmth between them felt shared. Her hair was damp. Her hands were tucked into her sleeves, but every so often she rubbed her fingers together like she was trying to push warmth back into them.
XH noticed.
He kept noticing.
It was starting to feel like he couldn't stop.
JP sat across from them, knees bouncing slightly. He tried to keep his humor alive, but the storm made even JP's jokes sound smaller.
TZ sat near JP, calm, eyes half-lidded, posture steady. TZ looked like he could fall asleep anywhere if he had to. That was his gift. That was also his armor.
Andrew sat in the front passenger seat for this leg, half turned back to check on the group. He looked like he was forcing himself to stay cheerful for everyone's sake, but he kept checking his own phone, likely coordinating the last part of the pickup.
The SUV slowed to a crawl.
Traffic had worsened.
Not just normal city traffic. Storm traffic. The kind where everyone is impatient and cautious at the same time, like they want to get home fast but also don't want to crash. Cars changed lanes late. Horns sounded sharp and angry. A bus splashed through a puddle and sent a wave of water toward the curb.
Andrew looked out the windshield and exhaled.
"Okay," Andrew said. "We're going to a covered pickup point. The vans are rerouting. The driver doesn't want to come deep into this mess."
NC nodded quickly. "Send me the pin."
Andrew's phone buzzed, then he forwarded something. NC's phone buzzed a second later.
NC glanced at it, then looked up. "It's near the embassy outer perimeter, right."
Andrew nodded. "Yes. Small canopy outside a hotel service entrance. Not the main entrance. The service one."
JP leaned forward. "Why do I feel like we're doing something illegal."
Cherry's voice on the call cut in, faint and unimpressed. "You always feel like that."
JP blinked toward the phone. "Cherry, you're still here."
Cherry replied, "Unfortunately."
June's face didn't change much. "Where are you going."
NC said, "A covered pickup point. The storm made the route messy."
June's eyes narrowed slightly. "Stay together."
NC nodded. "We are."
NS's voice came calm, smooth. "Don't let JP wander."
JP pointed at the phone. "Why is everyone attacking me."
TZ muttered, "Because it works."
The SUV turned off the main road into a narrower side street lined with wet trees and parked cars. The lights were dimmer here. The rain sounded louder because there were fewer engines around.
As they drove, XH felt that familiar tightening in his chest again.
Not panic.
Not fear exactly.
More like memory.
Storms. Crowds. movement. sudden reroutes.
His brain liked patterns.
When patterns broke, his body reacted first.
Kitty noticed him inhale slightly too fast.
Kitty leaned closer and whispered, "Slow."
XH blinked.
Kitty didn't look at him. She just kept her voice low, calm. "Slow breathing."
XH did it.
In. Out.
His chest loosened a little.
June watched on the phone screen, eyes sharp like she was reading the whole scene as something else.
NS watched too, face composed.
The SUV pulled into a narrow driveway behind a hotel building. Not the pretty entrance. Not the one with glass doors and valet stands. This was the service side, with a long canopy meant for deliveries and staff, the kind of place that smelled faintly like wet concrete and old air conditioning.
A small sign read "Service Entrance Pickup."
Under the canopy, a few people stood with umbrellas dripping, looking annoyed. A security light buzzed overhead, flickering slightly like it was tired too.
The SUV stopped.
Andrew turned back. "Okay. We're here. This is where the next ride picks us up."
NC nodded. "Everyone out, quick. Stay under cover."
They piled out into heavy rain again.
The moment the SUV doors opened, water came in like a slap.
XH stepped out first, instinctively turning to help Kitty.
Kitty's foot hit a puddle, and her shoe made a soft splash.
XH reached for her elbow again automatically.
Kitty steadied herself.
It was a small gesture.
But NC's phone was still on a live call, and the camera caught the movement as a blur of closeness.
June's eyes tightened on screen.
NS's gaze sharpened slightly.
Cherry made a faint sound that could have been a sigh or a laugh.
NC didn't notice. She was too busy pushing everyone under the canopy.
Under the canopy, the air felt slightly warmer, but damp. The sound of rain on metal roof was loud, constant.
JP shook water off his hair and yelled, "We are in the backrooms of a hotel."
Cherry's voice crackled. "JP, please stop talking like you're in a horror game."
JP grinned. "It feels like it."
TZ looked around and muttered, "Actually, it does."
Jihye, listening in the SUV before, had not come. She was with NC physically now, but she wasn't on the call. The call had only June, NS, and Cherry.
NC held the phone up again under the canopy. "Okay. We're stable. Covered. Waiting for the ride."
June's voice was controlled. "Good."
NS's voice came calm, almost too calm. "Show the place."
NC rotated the phone, panning slowly. The service entrance. The canopy. The wet concrete. The dim lights. The small group of strangers waiting. A delivery cart pushed by a hotel staff member. The world looked less glamorous than the embassy, more real.
Cherry's voice from the phone sounded faintly amused. "You guys look like you ran away."
JP leaned into frame, hair wet. "We did."
June stared at him. "Where is Andrew."
NC angled the camera toward Andrew. Andrew raised a hand and smiled politely at the phone.
"Hi," Andrew said. "We're safe. Just waiting."
June nodded. "Okay."
NS's gaze slid toward XH again. "You good."
XH nodded. "Yeah."
Kitty stayed silent, watching rain pour off the canopy edge like a curtain.
Thunder rolled again.
Closer.
The sound was deeper now, vibrating through the metal roof. Some strangers under the canopy flinched. Someone laughed nervously.
Kitty's fingers tightened in her sleeves.
XH noticed and spoke quietly. "Thunder."
Kitty nodded. "I know."
Then she whispered, as if admitting it to herself was dangerous, "I don't like storms."
XH's chest tightened.
He didn't know why that sentence felt like it mattered so much. Maybe because Kitty rarely admitted things she couldn't control. Kitty liked control. Kitty liked being composed.
But storms didn't care about composition.
The pickup point began to fill with more people. A couple ran under the canopy laughing. Two teenagers argued about who lost an umbrella. A hotel staff member asked people not to block the service doors.
Andrew checked his phone and frowned. "Driver says five minutes."
JP groaned. "Five minutes in storm time is five years."
TZ leaned against the wall and said, "Shut up. We're covered."
Cherry's voice on the phone said, "He's right."
JP blinked. "Why are you agreeing with TZ."
Cherry replied, "Because you're annoying."
JP sighed. "Everyone hates me."
NS's voice came dry. "Not everyone."
JP pointed at the phone. "You hate me too."
NS replied calmly. "I tolerate you."
JP smiled like he took that as affection.
NC's hand holding the phone began to slip slightly because of wet fingers. She adjusted her grip.
The camera angle shifted.
It caught Kitty and XH closer than it should have, not because they were doing anything romantic, but because the canopy forced people into narrow spacing.
June saw the angle.
June's mouth tightened slightly, just a fraction.
NS's eyes narrowed.
Cherry's voice went quiet.
NC corrected the angle quickly, aiming it back toward herself, but it was too late. The call had already collected that image like a screenshot burned into memory.
Andrew stepped aside to take another call, walking a few steps away under the canopy.
NC looked at the group. "We need to be ready. When the van arrives, we move fast."
Cherry's voice on the phone said, "What time is it."
NC checked. "Late afternoon. Almost evening."
June's eyes flicked down. "My mom is asking if I studied today."
NC laughed lightly, strained. "Of course she is."
June's expression didn't change much, but something in her eyes looked tired. "I'll tell her yes."
Cherry's voice said quietly, "She's probably watching you."
June didn't answer.
NS's voice cut in smoothly. "June, you staying home."
June's gaze flicked to NS. "Yes."
XH heard the way June's voice softened slightly when she answered NS.
Not romantic.
Just softer.
XH's chest tightened anyway.
It shouldn't have bothered him.
But it did.
He tried to swallow it down.
Kitty watched XH's jaw tighten slightly. Kitty noticed.
Kitty didn't say anything, but her eyes stayed on him for a second longer.
Then she looked away.
The rain intensified again.
It became a near pour.
The canopy roof drummed louder. Water splashed off the edge onto the ground, bouncing back up like mist. The world beyond the canopy looked blurred and distant, like it was behind glass.
A stranger under the canopy muttered, "This is insane."
NC nodded. "No forecast."
Kitty's head lifted slightly at that phrase.
No forecast.
It echoed in her mind.
The same words she whispered earlier.
She didn't like how often those words were coming up now.
Andrew returned from his call and said, "Okay. Van is two minutes away."
JP clapped sarcastically. "Amazing."
TZ muttered, "Be ready."
NC kept the phone up, still on call. "We're about to move."
June nodded. "Okay."
NS said, "Stay together."
Cherry said, "Don't get lost."
JP leaned into frame again. "If I die, I want my funeral playlist to be Dota 2 theme music."
Cherry's voice went flat. "You are not dying."
JP smiled. "You care."
Cherry replied, "No."
The van arrived with hazard lights blinking, pulling into the service driveway like it was trying to squeeze into a space too small.
The driver rolled down the window and yelled, "NC."
NC waved. "Yes."
The driver said, "We can take six. Get in now."
NC turned to the group. "Move."
They shuffled fast.
JP first, complaining the whole time.
TZ followed, calm.
Kitty stepped forward, but a stranger cut in front of her accidentally, and Kitty had to pause.
XH paused too.
Kitty's eyes widened slightly, not fear, just annoyance.
XH leaned in and said quietly, "Go. I'll block."
Kitty blinked. "What."
XH stepped slightly into the flow, guiding Kitty through the small crowd with his body positioning. It wasn't aggressive. It was protective. It was efficient.
Kitty slipped into the van.
XH followed.
NC climbed in last, still holding the phone. Andrew stayed outside, coordinating a second route for other students.
As the van door slid shut, the sound of rain became muffled, like a world held at bay.
Inside, it was cramped again.
NC held the phone up, call still live, showing June and NS the inside of the van.
"Okay," NC said. "We're in."
June's face eased slightly. "Good."
NS nodded once. "Good."
Cherry's voice said, "Finally."
The van pulled away slowly from the service entrance.
The driver muttered, "Traffic is terrible."
NC said, "We know."
The van turned onto the main road again.
Rain hammered the windows. The city lights blurred.
The call stayed on.
NC's arm began to tire.
She shifted the phone to her other hand.
The camera angle dipped slightly.
It caught Kitty's profile in the dim van light, wet hair, calm face.
Kitty's eyes were on XH.
XH was looking out the window, but his posture leaned slightly toward Kitty as if his body had decided she was his reference point now.
June saw it.
NS saw it.
Cherry saw it.
June's expression stayed controlled, but her gaze sharpened.
NS's mouth twitched faintly, something like satisfaction, something like calculation.
Cherry's voice was quiet. "You guys are quiet."
JP replied loudly, "We are damp."
TZ muttered, "We're tired."
NC adjusted the phone again, trying to keep it steady. "We're heading to a better pickup point now. Andrew says he'll meet us there and then we'll go home."
June asked, "Where is Andrew."
NC said, "He's coordinating. He's safe."
June nodded, but her eyes stayed sharp, like she didn't fully relax when Andrew wasn't in frame.
NS's voice came smooth. "June, you okay."
June replied, "Yes."
XH's jaw tightened again at that soft exchange.
Kitty noticed.
Kitty's eyes narrowed slightly.
Kitty didn't like this new rhythm where June and NS were talking in soft tones while Kitty was physically near XH.
Kitty didn't know what she wanted.
She only knew she didn't like being watched through someone else's eyes.
The van slowed.
Traffic again.
They were stuck behind a line of cars at a light that seemed to last too long.
The driver muttered something under his breath.
JP muttered back, "Same."
Thunder cracked louder this time.
Not just a roll.
A sharper crack.
The van vibrated slightly.
Kitty flinched.
Her body moved before her mind. Her hand grabbed XH's sleeve.
It was instinct.
She froze immediately after, realizing what she did.
XH turned his head and looked at her.
Kitty's cheeks warmed.
Kitty whispered, "Sorry."
XH's voice was soft. "It's okay."
Kitty didn't let go right away.
She didn't even realize she didn't.
On the phone screen, June watched that moment.
NS watched too.
Cherry made a faint sound.
NC was too busy checking the route to notice the phone had angled slightly and caught it.
June's voice came controlled. "Kitty doesn't like storms."
NC blinked, surprised. "You know that."
June nodded. "She told me once."
Kitty's hand loosened slightly.
XH felt it.
Kitty's voice stayed quiet. "It's not a big deal."
NS's voice came smooth. "It's normal."
JP, overhearing, said loudly, "I don't like storms either. I'm brave though."
Cherry's voice snapped. "Nobody asked."
JP sighed dramatically. "Cruel."
The van turned into another covered pickup zone. This one was closer to the embassy main road, a wide canopy over a curbside lane, with a cluster of rideshare cars waiting. The driver pulled in and said, "This is as far as we go. Andrew said meet here."
The door opened.
Rain hit again immediately, but the canopy provided cover.
Andrew was there, standing under the canopy in his soaked suit, hair damp, phone in hand.
He waved. "Over here."
NC stepped out first, still holding the phone.
Then JP.
Then TZ.
Then Kitty.
Then XH.
Kitty stepped onto the curb and immediately heard thunder again, close enough to make her stomach drop.
The wind pushed rain sideways under the canopy.
The canopy wasn't enough.
Kitty's breath caught.
XH stepped closer instinctively, body blocking some wind again.
Kitty's voice was small. "It's getting worse."
XH nodded. "Yeah."
Andrew hurried over. "Okay. Next step. We have two cars. One rideshare sedan, one SUV. We need to get everyone home."
NC nodded, still on call.
"June and NS are still on."
Andrew glanced at the phone screen and nodded politely. "Hi."
June nodded back, controlled. NS nodded too.
Andrew spoke briskly. "We'll do this quickly."
JP leaned in and said loudly to the phone, "June, NS, we survived."
June replied calmly, "Good."
NS said, "Don't die."
JP grinned. "No promises."
Cherry's voice said, "You're exhausting."
JP replied, "Love you too."
Andrew started calling names.
"NC, Anna, Jihye, Cherry," Andrew said. "You take the SUV."
NC nodded. "Okay."
"JP, TZ," Andrew said, "you take the sedan."
JP protested, "Why do I always get split from my audience."
TZ muttered, "Because you're loud."
Andrew turned to Kitty and XH. "Kitty and XH, you'll wait one minute. I'm calling another car for you."
Kitty blinked. "Another."
Andrew nodded. "Yes. The drivers keep cancelling. I don't want to cram you into a full car. You'll get a direct ride."
XH nodded slowly.
Kitty's chest tightened.
Waiting again.
Storm again.
The call still active.
June's eyes sharpened on screen. "Kitty and XH are waiting."
NC nodded. "Yes. Just one minute."
NS's voice was calm. "Don't let them stand in the open."
Andrew replied, "They'll be under cover."
The SUV arrived first. NC and the girls climbed in.
The sedan arrived. JP and TZ climbed in, still arguing.
Andrew stayed under the canopy with Kitty and XH.
For a moment, the crowd thinned.
Two cars pulled away.
The canopy space opened slightly.
And suddenly, the world felt quieter.
Not actually quiet.
Rain still pounded.
Thunder still rolled.
But quieter in the way it feels when the group energy steps away and leaves only two people standing in the same pocket of air.
Kitty's breath came faster.
She tried to hide it.
XH looked at her. "You okay."
Kitty swallowed. "I hate storms."
XH nodded. "I know."
Kitty's voice cracked slightly. "It's stupid."
XH said quietly, "It's not."
Kitty laughed once, short, not happy. "It feels like the sky is angry."
XH's voice stayed calm. "It's just weather."
Kitty's eyes lifted to his. "It doesn't feel like just weather."
XH didn't answer right away.
Because he knew what she meant.
Rain had become a symbol in their lives. Rain showed up when things were about to change. Rain happened without forecast like the world was sending warnings without permission.
XH looked out at the street. The rain blurred everything. The canopy edge spilled water like a waterfall. Wind pushed mist into their faces.
Kitty's shoulders rose slightly as she shivered.
XH stepped closer.
Not touching.
Just closer.
He spoke softly. "Stay here. Don't move."
Kitty's eyes widened. "Where are you going."
XH pointed to a stack of folded umbrellas near a hotel staff station. "I'll ask."
Kitty whispered, "Don't."
XH paused.
Kitty's voice was small, embarrassed. "Don't leave me here alone."
The sentence landed in XH's chest like a weight.
He nodded. "Okay."
He stayed.
Kitty's breathing shook slightly. She tried to calm it.
XH watched her.
Not as a crush.
Not as a trophy.
As a person he didn't want to see afraid.
He said quietly, "Look at me."
Kitty blinked. "What."
XH repeated, gentle. "Look at me."
Kitty's eyes lifted to his.
XH's voice stayed steady. "Breathe with me."
Kitty's lips parted slightly.
XH inhaled slowly.
Kitty inhaled too.
XH exhaled slowly.
Kitty followed.
The moment felt intimate, but not romantic. It felt like survival.
Behind them, Andrew was on the phone again, speaking to a driver. His voice was low, businesslike.
NC's phone call was still active somewhere, still connected. The screen was likely showing Kitty and XH because NC had handed the phone to Andrew to hold for a second while she loaded into the SUV, and Andrew hadn't ended the call yet.
Andrew looked down at the phone, realized it was still live, and his eyes widened slightly.
He didn't end it.
Not immediately.
Because he was mid-call with a driver, trying to secure the last ride.
And because he assumed the camera was pointing at the street, not at the two students under the canopy.
It wasn't.
The phone was angled slightly, propped against Andrew's chest, and it captured Kitty and XH in the frame.
Not full close-up.
But enough.
June saw it.
NS saw it.
Cherry saw it.
June's face tightened.
NS's eyes sharpened.
Cherry's voice came quiet. "Oh."
June's voice was controlled but sharper. "Why are they standing like that."
NS replied calmly, "They're waiting."
June's voice didn't soften. "They're close."
NS said, "It's raining."
June's jaw tightened.
Kitty did not know she was being watched.
XH did not know either.
They were inside their own small pocket of storm.
Kitty whispered, "I'm sorry."
XH blinked. "For what."
Kitty's voice shook slightly. "For being scared."
XH shook his head once. "Don't apologize for being human."
Kitty's eyes stung.
She blinked hard.
The rain noise covered the small tremble in her breathing.
XH felt something in his chest break open slightly.
He said quietly, "You're okay."
Kitty whispered, "I don't feel okay."
XH nodded. "Then you don't have to pretend."
Kitty's lips parted as if she wanted to say something else, something bigger.
She didn't.
Thunder cracked again.
Kitty flinched hard this time. Her body moved before her mind. She stepped into XH's space, pressing her forehead briefly to his chest like she needed something solid.
XH froze for half a second.
Then his arms lifted slowly, uncertain, then settled around her shoulders.
Not tight.
Not possessive.
Just holding.
Kitty's hands gripped the front of his damp shirt for a second, then loosened slightly, still resting there.
XH's chin hovered above her hair.
He didn't kiss.
He didn't even think about kissing.
He just held her like he was keeping her from falling apart.
June watched through the phone and went completely still.
NS watched too, eyes narrowed like he was calculating.
Cherry's voice whispered, barely audible, "Oh my god."
Andrew, still on the phone with the driver, finally realized the angle and shifted the phone away quickly, aiming it at the street.
But the damage was already done.
A few seconds is all it takes for a mind to write a story.
June's voice came sharp. "NC."
No answer, because NC was in the SUV, already moving.
NS's voice stayed smooth. "It's fine."
June snapped, "It's not fine."
Cherry's voice said quietly, "June, breathe."
June didn't.
Andrew finally ended his driver call and looked down at the phone screen, realizing the group call was still active and now tense.
He whispered, "Oh no."
He lifted the phone. "Hey. Sorry. We're handling rides. The call is still on."
June's voice was cold. "I saw."
Andrew swallowed. "It's raining. They're waiting. Kitty was scared. That's all."
June's tone stayed controlled. "Okay."
NS's voice came calm. "End the call. Handle logistics."
Andrew hesitated, then nodded. He ended the call.
The screen went dark.
But the image stayed alive in the people who saw it.
Under the canopy, Kitty slowly pulled away from XH, cheeks warm, eyes wide like she had woken up from a moment she didn't plan.
She whispered, embarrassed, "Sorry."
XH shook his head. "Stop saying that."
Kitty swallowed. "I didn't mean to…"
XH's voice stayed quiet. "It's fine."
Kitty looked up at him. Her eyes were still wet, but now the wetness felt different. Not fear. Something else.
XH's chest tightened.
He looked away first.
Andrew stepped closer, phone in hand, expression apologetic. "Okay. Your car is coming in two minutes."
XH nodded. "Okay."
Kitty nodded too, shoulders stiff now, like she had remembered suddenly that people were watching, even if she didn't know the call had caught it.
The rain continued pouring.
The wind continued.
Thunder rolled again, but Kitty didn't flinch as hard now.
Because she had already broken the wall.
She had already leaned into XH.
She had already created a moment that couldn't be unseen, even if she wished it could.
The rideshare sedan pulled into the canopy lane with hazard lights blinking.
Andrew waved it forward.
"This one," Andrew said. "Kitty and XH."
Kitty stepped toward the car slowly.
XH followed.
Andrew opened the back door for them quickly.
Kitty hesitated for a split second, then climbed in.
XH climbed in after her.
The door shut.
The sound of rain muffled again.
Inside the car, it was quiet.
Kitty stared at her hands.
XH stared out the window.
Neither of them spoke for a few seconds, because words felt dangerous now.
Finally, Kitty whispered, barely audible, "That was embarrassing."
XH swallowed. "It's okay."
Kitty's voice trembled slightly. "I don't want you to think I'm…"
XH turned his head slowly. "I don't think anything bad."
Kitty blinked. "You don't."
XH shook his head. "No."
Kitty's breath released slowly, like she had been holding it.
XH looked away again, jaw tight.
Because the truth was he did think something.
He thought he liked holding her.
He thought it felt too easy.
He thought it felt like trouble.
Outside, the city moved through storm.
Inside, two people sat beside each other, damp, quiet, processing a moment that had already been seen by the wrong eyes.
June had seen it.
NS had seen it.
Cherry had seen it.
And even if nobody said anything tonight, the story had already started to shift.
The car pulled away into the rain.
XH's phone buzzed.
A message from NC: "Home safe. Update when you arrive."
Kitty's phone buzzed too.
A message from NC: "You okay."
Kitty stared at it.
She didn't reply yet.
XH's phone buzzed again.
A message from JP: "Bro. Storm romance is real."
XH didn't reply.
Kitty's phone buzzed again.
A message from June.
Kitty's breath caught.
She didn't open it immediately.
She stared at the screen like it might bite.
XH noticed the pause.
He didn't ask.
Because he didn't want to know yet.
The car drove on.
Rain continued pouring with no forecast.
Thunder rolled like a drumline.
And somewhere in the city, June sat indoors with her phone, watching the memory of a hug under a canopy replay in her mind like proof of something she refused to name.
Somewhere else, NS sat in dim light, mouth calm, eyes sharp, feeling the satisfaction of a seed planted perfectly.
And Kitty, sitting beside XH in a quiet car, realized something that made her chest tighten again, but this time it wasn't fear.
The storm had given her an excuse to be close.
Now she had to face what closeness actually meant when the sky was clear.
The car's headlights cut through rain.
The road stretched.
And the next chapter waited, hungry, because the call had already done its job.
It had turned a moment into a spark.
And sparks, once seen, do not go back into the dark.