Chapter 156 - The Man in the Rainbow Raindrops

The first day back to routine after the departure of her father and Madame Jung seemed a little bitter, after the strong emotions of the past few weeks. The conversation the night before left Ye Rim thoughtful about opening the last envelope her mother sent her, and wondering if Nam Joo was okay or needed something.

Ye Rim had spent the whole afternoon taking acting classes. And an unexpected meeting called by his agent, in the late afternoon, brought unexpected and welcome news. The music department was picking some artists for the launch of a solo project. Because of the recent exposure and the good image associated with Ye Rim lately, they're considering her name for the project.

This time, however, Ye Rim received the news with less anxiety. Possibly because, as she told her father the night before, she was more mature to separate success from her talent. But also, because her personal life today was more important than her career, for the first time.

The day was rainy and confusing, and Ye Rim had returned the car to Dr. Kim days ago. The same car he had crashed against Yuna Zhang's car.

"Take a cab, Ye Rim," he said on the phone, as she walked along the wet sidewalks, "Take a cab and go to my apartment. I have things to talk to you about."

"It's not necessary. I'm not made of sugar, hehe. It's just a setback. In addition, Professor Shin is going to dinner at home tonight."

"All the more reason for you not to be there," he said, laughing. A little while ago, Jun Hyeon had said her that he would need to stop by his mother's house to solve a problem. "And I want to see you. I want to talk to you," this time his voice sounded serious.

Ye Rim even straightened up, looking around. People passed by looking at the floor, under their umbrellas, without paying much attention to anything,

"It's nothing like what you're thinking. Madame Jung left a lot of food and Eun Ha invited him to dinner, but she also invited me."

"In fact, you must tell me why your father hated me."

"I'll do it in person," she thought it best to think of a way to explain that her father had no appreciation for doctors. And that right after the presentation between the two, he remembered how Officer Ji had been a perfect 'almost son-in-law'.

"Is it that serious?"

"It's not so serious, after all, it's not like it's an official introduction ..." she reminded him that, in reality, they were just friends.

The phone went dead, in a strange way. At first Ye Rim thought he hung up on her. But even for him, that was unthinkable. She took the headphones off, and also looked at the screen of her cell phone, confused. The cell phone seemed paralyzed, accepting no command. After pressing a few buttons, she gave up, and put the phone in her bag, a little irritated. It wasn't a good way to end a conversation with someone. But the light opened, and she crossed the street, heading for her bus stop. 

Ye Rim was crossing the street when she saw him.

The familiar figure, crossing in the opposite direction to hers.

Ye Rim couldn't take her eyes off him.

The young student in the black raincoat and umbrella.

The light rain seemed to reflect in thousands of colors around him, like small prisms, in a diffuse iridescent blur. People didn't look at him, but they seemed to avoid him instinctively.

He didn't look at her, either. 

Although the scene of the prismatic raindrops around him was mesmerizing, it doesn't fool her. She felt his power even with the soles of her shoes in contact with the floor where he stepped. 

Everything lasted a few seconds. They passed each other, and he turned slightly towards her for a fraction of a moment.

That was when Ye Rim had two frightening findings.

One, he reminded her of the chilling sensation of her dream of the great Big Mouthed Monster.

And two, his face was identical to Yoo Chang Mi's!

ººº

Eun Ha opened the door with a big smile. Hunter Shin had already come to her house a few times, but this was the first time that he would come in an 'official' way. She didn't expect him to have done anything special. He wouldn't wear different clothes or stylish his hair, which again needed a cut.

But he had brought her a dessert!

'Deep down, he knows how to behave, he just doesn't care!'

The first thing the Hunter, no, Shin Hye Seong asked was,

"Where's Ye Rim ssi?"

'Aish, in a little while you want me to call you 'oraeboni'!' she thought, but said,

"She's coming soon, she will just be a little late. You know my mom is going to call me asking if 'kind Professor Shin' has tried all the food she made personally, don't you know? My mom doesn't even cook her own food nowadays, except on special occasions. And guess what! It's so much magic that you'll choke!"

"I wouldn't miss this dinner!" he replied with a wry smile.

"Professor Shin, my mom told me startling things about my parents!" she was eager to share the news. "Sit down, I'll text Ye Rim to stop by the grocery store before going up, so we'll know when she's coming."

"So before that happens," he said, sitting down as she suggested, "I have something important to say."

"From the way you are talking, I realize that it's really important," Eun was picking up drinks, but she deposited it on the table, showing total attention to her tutor.

"I have scheduled your official presentation to the elemental council. This is an important 'civil' step. As you grew up far from your family, and are considered a 'wild' fairy, you must go through a sabbatical. About the points I listed when we met. With wild fairies, the approval of the elemental council is essential, so they're not considered a threat. Therefore, you must speed up your studies a little."

"Wow! That's great!" the fairy still didn't know if she liked ​​having to undergo an evaluation. But the Hunter looked serene, and even pleased with himself. On the other hand, it meant that he had thought about her a lot and often! "I think I should study a lot. But I still haven't finished solving the problem I caused for Ye Rim. Did the teacher lift the suspension of classes?"

"No, I didn't withdraw. But you can study alone. You can study at my house," he handed Eun Ha a pair of keys. "Use the library and the material I picked for reading."

"Will I… be able to come to your house anytime I want?"

"I'm not there usually, but Ahn will be. Don't wreck his nerves by going where you shouldn't in the house," Shin gave her a wry smile. "Now, tell me ... Unf!" the shock of the little fairy hugging him from behind interrupted Shin,

"Professor Shin! Thank you! Thank you! Professor is so good to me!" she squeezed him, knowing he was curling up in the chair to decrease the contact surface.

"Jung, let go of me!" he snarled, annoyed. Eun Ha obeyed, knowing she had extrapolated. To put it mildly, she went straight to the point,

"Professor Shin, my mother said she knew that they, I mean, my parents, were special. She didn't call them fairies, but said they were a magical couple."

He tilted his head, interested, "Go on, Jung."

"My mother said that she first met my father, as soon as she arrived in the city, on a stormy night. He helped her on the road and as soon as she opened the store, they came to her. My mother wanted to know the 'European' sweets, and that surprised Madame Jung! My father, she said, somewhat resembled her friend the Professor. 'He's also like you, isn't he?' she asked about you you, Professor Shin! I swear she asked, I didn't say anything!" Eun Ha spoke with agitation, without restraining her grin. The Hunter fixed the collar of his shirt, a little embarrassed, but he wasn't truly focusing on that,

"He was probably a Hunter or a Guardian ... But there aren't many of us left in the last thirty years ..."

"Yes. My mother said that he traveled a lot, and that he was a military man. By the time this happened, my mother had traveled to resolve family matters. She came back exactly on the day my mother died!"

"On the one hand, it's a pity, because perhaps the story had been different. On the other hand, it was good that she came back and took care of you so well. Humans are fascinating."

"My mom has some letters that arrived at my parents' old property. She is going to hand them over to me now, but she said that nothing indicates a reason for the events that Ye Rim's mother used to tell. She also believes it was something supernatural."

"It will be important to speak to Ye Rim's mother. I would like to understand what happened. Was she dominated by wraiths and confronted her mother? Or was it something different?"

"I don't know. But I didn't think the Wraiths could influence violence that much."

"They can whisper things that make people paranoid and confused. With the right triggers, wraiths can cause violence as the later moment of regret is delicious for them. In the same way when they let go of a human, they try to cause suicide, to take advantage of low emotions until the last second."

"Ugh ... Is that what happened to Yuna Zhang?"

"..." Shin was about to reply, but seemed to hear something. It didn't take long before they heard the key on the apartment door.

It was Ye Rim.