Tap... tap... tap...
The sound of raindrops tapping against the window played in a steady rhythm, like a final gesture before the storm's departure.
From his seat, Leo stared out the window.
"Finally, it's cleared up..." he muttered to himself, beginning to pack up his belongings.
It had been raining for hours, trapping him inside. His colleagues had either driven off in their cars or disappeared beneath umbrellas, wasting no time in leaving the office.
Leo slung his bag over his shoulder and sighed. He not only lacked transportation but had also forgotten his umbrella.
As a result, he'd been left behind to finish the remaining work. Now, after four hours of compiling data and running multiple codes, the rain had finally relented.
Leo walked toward the exit, the quiet click of his shoes echoing through the near-empty hallway. The fluorescent lights buzzed faintly above, casting a sterile glow over the polished floor.
As he pushed open the glass doors of the office building, a cool breeze brushed against his face. He paused at the threshold, taking a moment to breathe in the crisp, post-rain air.
Just as he stepped outside…
Tap... tap... tap...
The familiar sound returned.
Within seconds, the sky opened up again, and a heavy downpour crashed down without warning.
Leo let out a groan, instinctively taking a step back under the awning.
"You've got to be kidding me..." he muttered, watching the sudden sheets of rain drown the sidewalk.
The downpour fell heavily, as if mocking Leo for his inability to remember something as simple as an umbrella.
If only I could control the weather…
The thought lingered for a second before he shook his head. He knew better than to indulge in unrealistic fantasies.
Not after that day…
"Mr. Leo…"
A familiar voice startled him, snapping him out of his thoughts. The last thing he wanted was to run into a colleague, but he turned anyway.
Somehow, without noticing, someone had come to stand beside him.
Elizabeth...?
What was she doing here?
Don't tell me...
Leo let his gaze rest on her for a moment longer. "Were you still working on something inside?"
Elizabeth gave a small smile. "Yeah, there was still some work that needed my attention…" She paused, seeming unsure. "I saw you were still around… but I didn't know what to say."
Huh… Where was this coming from?
Leo narrowed his eyes slightly. Her blond hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, suiting the sharp gray suit she wore. And those amber eyes stood in stark contrast to the gloom of the storm.
No wonder everyone calls her the most beautiful in C&Q.
She shifted nervously, then pulled a small umbrella from her handbag. With a soft click, she opened it and gave him a sidelong glance.
"Come on," she said, stepping into the rain.
F**k.
The most popular woman in C&Q just offered to walk with me, and…
There's no way I'm telling her I forgot my umbrella.
Leo didn't move. He watched her walk a few steps ahead before she stopped and turned to look back at him.
He quickly averted his gaze, then pointed wordlessly at her umbrella.
Elizabeth stared at him blankly for some seconds, then suddenly her eyes widened with realization.
Took her a while… for someone so popular she can be an airhead at times.
Leo thought to himself as Elizabeth offered to share her umbrella.
"Where are you going?" asked Leo.
"Well, my cycle got spoilt so I'll be taking the bus." Elizabeth replied with her usual warm smile. "What about you?"
Leo pushed back his glasses, not sparing her a glance. "I'll be taking the bus as well."
"Really?"
Leo didn't reply, he only nodded.
Her remark almost made him fall on his feet. He hadn't expected her to be that ecstatic about the fact that she'd be heading to the same bus stop as he was.
What if she's planning something?
Leo gave her a side look as they walked further.
"You know, I was thinking of changing jobs but when I knew…" She was definitely talking about something but Leo's mind was too preoccupied to listen.
Elizabeth Fox, 24 years old, his senior intern, despite coming in after him. She was kind and the hot topic of the company.
Meanwhile I'm just the intern without a good degree….
Leo's grip on his backpack strap tightened as Elizabeth went on about something he couldn't focus on. His feet moved in rhythm with hers, but his mind wandered somewhere far darker.
A good degree…
He scoffed inwardly.
He could've had one. Should've. But instead…
Being a writer. That had been the dream. The grand plan.
He had poured everything into it… his time, his heart, his future.
But despite trying his best, his book had flopped.
Not just a quiet failure… an embarrassing one. Sales were abysmal. Reviews were worse. Friends stopped talking about it, and family stopped asking.
He had buried the manuscript in a folder labeled "old files," but the failure clung to him like a shadow. He dropped out shortly after. Not because he wasn't capable but because he had nothing left in him.
That moment had broken something inside him.
Now here he was. An intern, older than most of the staff, constantly reminded that he lacked what they all had… a piece of paper and the confidence that came with it.
He glanced at Elizabeth again.
She probably never failed at anything in her life.
"Achoo…"
Both came to a sudden stop.
Elizabeth's face flushed red as she quickly turned away, covering her mouth.
"I… I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… Oh God, I should've stayed further away… "
She fumbled through her words, clearly embarrassed.
Leo gave an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head.
Well… that was unexpected.
He didn't know what was more surprising… her sneezing mid-walk or the fact that she looked genuinely panicked over it. Most people wouldn't have cared.
They continued walking in silence for a while after that, the sound of raindrops pattering gently on the umbrella between them.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the bus stop, quiet, empty except for a flickering street lamp nearby.
Leo stepped slightly aside from her, putting a bit of space between them as they waited. The silence settled again, but this time it didn't feel awkward. It just… was.
His thoughts drifted back… again.
Back to the first printed copy of his novel.
He remembered holding it with shaking hands, the smell of fresh paper filling his nose. He remembered the hope, the belief that it would change something.
It didn't.
No one bought it. The handful who did either ghosted him or gave bland, forgettable feedback. Some even laughed.
He remembered deleting his author page.
He remembered walking past bookstores, avoiding the shelves, pretending he didn't care.
He remembered giving up.
That was the real failure… not the book.
Giving up had been the true defeat.
Now he was here. Wet shoes, soaked cuffs, standing beside the most popular intern in the company, waiting for a late bus, pretending he was just another quiet, invisible face in the crowd.
But inside, the words were still there.
Unwritten. Caged. Screaming to be released.
He looked up at the rain.
And for the first time in a long while, he wondered…
What if I wrote again?
"Hey, Elizabeth….." he called out but there was no response.
He looked at her.. just a glance, really…
But something in her expression made his chest tighten.
Elizabeth's face had gone pale.
Her lips parted slightly, and her eyes were fixed on something above them.
Not surprise. Not curiosity.
It was fear.
Real fear.
Leo followed her gaze, tilting his head up slowly.
Then he saw it.
The sky…
It was red.