Chapter 17: Watching the rain drop

NOAH

I found myself stuck inside the Winehouse with Melody.
I’m still surprised that, in her world, she never experienced rain.

But who cares, she’s here now.
And now, she gets to experience everything this world has to offer.

Suddenly, someone threw an arm around my neck.

"Hey, man, what’s up?"

It was Wolfgang.

"I’m fine, I’m fine," I said, trying not to sound caught off guard.

He looked past me and spotted Melody. "And who’s this?"

I cleared my throat. "Melody, this is Wolfgang Rachmaninov. He’s one of my closest friends—and a classmate at Amadeus Academy. Oh, and his uncle owns this bar."

Then I turned to Wolfgang. "Wolf, this is Melody. She’s a fr—"

"I’m his date!" Melody interrupted cheerfully, extending her hand toward Wolfgang.

Wolfgang blinked, clearly surprised, before shaking her hand with a grin. "A date, huh? So Cassie wasn’t lying when she said you were seeing someone. And wow—she’s a beauty."

"She is indeed," I admitted without thinking, which made Melody giggle.

"Say, what’s so special about her?" Wolfgang leaned in with that teasing grin of his. "I mean, sure, she’s beautiful—no argument there—but you know, there’s also Cassie and Yuki. Both of them are just as stunning. And don’t forget those medical students… what was her name again? Zoe?"

I sighed. "You’re wrong. It’s not just her beauty that makes her special."

"Oh?" Wolfgang raised an eyebrow. "Then what is it?"

I paused, trying to find the right words. "I guess… it’s because she loves music. Like I do."

He laughed. "Dude, I also love music, but I don’t like you that way."

I couldn’t help but smile at that. "No, that’s not what I meant. It’s not just about that. She—she reminds me of someone."

Wolfgang’s expression softened. "Lost love?"

"It’s complicated," I admitted quietly. "But it’s not just because she reminds me of someone I knew. It’s because she understands me. She understands the love for music, the way it hurts and heals at the same time."

Wolfgang leaned back, smiling faintly. "You really fell for her, huh?"

I didn’t answer, but the silence probably told him everything.

He chuckled under his breath, clearly holding back another joke. "Alright, alright… I won’t tease you. Not too much, anyway, that’s Cassie’s job anyway."
Before I could get too embarrassed, a customer called for Wolfgang from across the bar.

"Gotta run. Nice meeting your date, man. Don’t mess this up!"

Me and Melody just laughed it off as he hurried away.

Then I spotted Misaki. Unlike last time, she wasn’t wearing her disguise, just a plain black uniform and an apron. Seeing her like this was strange… like watching a completely different version of her.

I gave her a small salute, which she returned with that usual blank stare of hers.

"Melody, this is Misaki," I said. "She’s… one of my friends."

It was hard to tell if Misaki was confused or just didn’t care.

Melody, on the other hand, smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you! You must be another of Noah’s special friends!"

Misaki blinked slowly, then gave a small nod. "…Sure."

Melody tilted her head toward me. "So, what are we going to do here? Is there something special?"

"Actually," I said, glancing toward the window, "we’re going to wait until the rain calms down."

"What? Whyyy?"

"Well, we don’t have an umbrella, so we’ll get soaked if we go outside."

"So what? It’s not dangerous like you said—it looks fun!"

I looked through the window again. Everyone else was running for cover, clutching their coats and bags over their heads.

I guess it’s because she’s never experienced rain before.

Still… if we go out there, we’ll get drenched and probably catch a cold.

Suddenly, Misaki approached us, holding out a folded yellow umbrella.

"Here," she said flatly. "You can use mine."

"What? Thanks, but I can’t take it. What about you? If the rain doesn’t stop, how will you get home?"

"Don’t worry," she said. "I have a spare one."

"Oh… well, if you don’t mind—thank you."

I took the umbrella, and Melody’s eyes lit up like she’d just been handed a treasure.

And with that, the two of us stepped out into the rain, much to Melody’s uncontainable excitement.The rain kept pouring harder. Even with the umbrella, droplets still found their way through, sliding down my arm, splashing against my shoes.

But we only had one umbrella, so Melody and I were forced to stand close to each other.
Too close.

I could feel the warmth of her shoulder brushing mine. My heart raced, and I hoped I wasn’t making things awkward by just… standing there.

Melody, on the other hand, seemed lost in a trance, her eyes wide and full of wonder as she watched the rain fall. She wasn’t bothered by it at all, if anything, she looked completely enchanted.

I thought of heading home since I had no idea where else to bring her in this weather.
The only problem was figuring out how to sneak her back into the house. I already made things suspicious with Minnie earlier.

Even during the train ride back to Willowmori, Melody didn’t look away from the window once. She kept tracing the raindrops with her finger, following each streak as it slid down the glass.

She looked like a child seeing the world for the first time.
Cute… and a little heartbreaking.

Then, out of nowhere, a sharp pain hit my head.
A flash of light—
And an image of a little girl… dancing in the snow.

What was that?
Why am I seeing this?

The pain faded as quickly as it came, but the image stayed with me.

When we finally arrived, I reached for the umbrella, but one of the ribs had snapped, leaving it half-collapsed.

"…This isn’t great," I muttered.

Melody stared at the umbrella, then gave a straight-faced sigh. "Ahhh, that’s too bad. Oh well—I guess we’ll just have to get wet!"

Before I could react, she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the open street.

We ran, laughing as the rain splashed against us. But then, just as suddenly as it began, the rain slowed… and stopped.

I blinked, looking up at the clear sky. "That was… rather quick."

It was strange. The world looked freshly washed, glistening rooftops, the scent of wet pavement, clouds breaking apart.

I turned to Melody. Her back was still to me, shoulders rising and falling gently as she looked up at the clearing sky.

I thought she’d be disappointed that her first rain didn’t last long.

But then she turned around with that same bright smile.

"I guess we can resume our date," she said cheerfully.

Not sad at all. Just smiling, radiant, like nothing could ever weigh her down.

I couldn’t help but smile back. She’s always positive, no matter what happens.

I smiled back, but something in my chest ached.
The way she smiled, it reminded me of her.So for the rest of the day, we just did what couples do, whatever that means.
And honestly… I never expected to feel this happy.

It’s different from when I’m with everyone else. When I’m with Melody, it’s like all my problems disappear for a little while.

For a moment, I wondered where she could sleep tonight. My house was big enough, but with Minnie around, it would only make things awkward.

While I was still thinking about it, Melody began to fade, her outline breaking apart like mist in the air.

"What’s going on?" I asked.

She looked calm, as if she already knew. "I guess I’m going back to my world."

"Well… it was fun while it lasted."

She smiled softly. "It doesn’t have to end here. We can plan for next time."

"I’d like that."

"If you want to see me," she said, her voice almost an echo now, "you know where to find me."

"Goodnight, Melody."

"Goodnight, my Running Man."

"That still doesn’t make sense," I said with a faint smile. "You really need to tell me why you call me that."

"Not today," she replied, already fading into light. "Next time."

And then she was gone.

I stood there, alone, in the middle of the quiet street. The night sky stretched above me, full of stars. Two people from two different worlds, Living under the same sky,
Bound by the same love.

But as I took a step forward, something inside my head snapped.
A sharp pain, splitting through my skull like a needle of light.

My vision blurred.
Static flickered across my sight—
And then the whispers began.

"Kill yourself"

They weren’t words at first, just fragments, like broken voices bleeding into my mind.
They sounded like her.
That same gentle tone… twisted, hollow, beckoning.

I clutched my head, stumbling.
The whisper grew louder, until it was everywhere, inside, outside, beneath my skin.
My own thoughts drowned in the noise.

And then, silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.

I fell to my knees, gasping for breath.

It was her voice again, familiar, sorrowful,
but now filled with something… wrong.

"Kill yourself"

And as everything went black, one thought cut through the chaos.

"Why did you let me die?"