LOVE:ZERO

Hunter walked leisurely, his shoulders straight and hands stuffed into his pants pockets. He wore only a white button-down shirt, no school blazer in sight.

Watching him, Jiyu couldn’t help but wonder if the rain was pouring down solely over Hunter’s head. She tilted her umbrella slightly to check. The rain was falling harder than before. Jiyu shook her head fretfully.

‘Doesn’t he feel cold?’

Hunter had roamed around in just a shirt since March, when daylight saving time began and the clocks jumped forward. March in New York felt closer to late winter than spring.

He stubbornly stuck to his shirts until November, when daylight saving ended and the clocks reset. Only then would he reluctantly throw on a blazer.

Lately, Hunter had been complaining about the heat every time they crossed paths.

“Why does seeing you always make me so hot? Annoying.”

Meanwhile, Jiyu was always shivering, chilled to the bone. She pursed her lips and glared at the back of Hunter’s head.

‘I’m not a heater. How is his running hot my fault?’

Hunter also never used an umbrella, rain or snow. Back in lower school, Jiyu had seen him a few times under the umbrellas carried by his nanny. But since Hunter started commuting alone, he’d never bothered.

He’d stroll through drizzles unfazed, and when downpours hit, he’d sprint down Fifth Avenue at full speed, kicking up gusts.

Most parents would panic about catching a cold, but Lauren seemed to let Hunter do as he pleased… whether because she knew her son was as hardy as a wild animal or because she aimed to raise him even more beastlike. Or maybe she’d simply given up.

When the “Prince of the Hamilton family” dug in his heels, no one could stop him.

At any rate, Hunter’s fiery constitution apparently let him wander around in just a shirt on a rainy 59°F day.

But today, Hunter… who usually strode ahead with impossibly long, fast steps was unusually slow. By now, he should’ve been two blocks ahead, leaving Jiyu to stare at his retreating back. Instead, he stood waiting at the crosswalk, letting the rain soak him.

This was odd, too. Since when did the king of jaywalking wait for signals?

The rain began pelting harder. The sound of droplets pounding Jiyu’s umbrella grew ominous.

‘What should I do…’

Stopping a few steps behind Hunter, Jiyu agonized.

His shirt, half-soaked, clung to his shoulders under the thickening rain.

The downpour intensified. Common decency dictated offering to share an umbrella with an acquaintance caught in such weather.

‘Ugh, this’ll be awkward…’

Before she could decide, the light changed. Jiyu trailed behind, hoping Hunter would speed ahead as usual.

But he paused at the next crosswalk, leisurely as a summer beach stroller. By now, his sleeves and back were drenched.

Jiyu eyeballed her umbrella’s size. Small, but enough for two. Guilt twisted her stomach.

‘Ugh. I don’t know.’

She gulped dryly and called out in a strained voice, ready to pretend he hadn’t heard if he ignored her.

“Hey… Hunter?”

Hunter turned, unsurprised, as if he’d expected her call. He brushed his rain-slick hair back irritably, droplets falling from the darkened strands onto his collar.

Tiny beads of water clung to his lashes, half-veiling eyes as deep blue as the Mediterranean. He blinked, wiping his face with a palm.

“What?”

Their eyes met.

“Um… It’s raining really hard. Since we live in the same building… do you want to share my umbrella? No weird intentions, so don’t overthink it! I mean… you can say no.”

“…”

He stared down at her. Jiyu stumbled over more excuses, avoiding his gaze as she lowered the umbrella.

‘Shouldn’t have said anything. Even in this downpour, sharing an umbrella with Ju Parker was unthinkable. She’ll probably snap at me any second.’

She quickly shifted the umbrella handle to her other hand and rambled.

“Just forget I said anything. I’ll just… Huh?”

At that moment, Hunter closed the distance in one swift motion, ducking his head under the umbrella. Jiyu flinched, inhaling sharply.

The scent of rain-soaked Central Park flooded the space beneath the umbrella. His face was uncomfortably close.

She blinked, frozen, as he plucked the umbrella from her grip and raised it higher. Just then, a yellow cab speeding around the corner plunged into a murky puddle, sending a wave of muddy water spraying upward.

“Ah!”

Hunter tilted the umbrella horizontally, shielding them from the sludge. Before Jiyu could react, rain cascaded over her head like a waterfall.

He sighed in relief, then stiffened as he slowly turned to face her. Silence hung between them. Clearing his throat, he righted the umbrella.

“Hmph. Better than mud.”

“…”

Jiyu wiped rainwater from her face with her cardigan sleeve and glared. Hunter gestured toward the crosswalk with a tilt of his chin.

“Light’s green.”

She glanced at the signal. The white walking figure had already begun flashing red. Hunter angled the umbrella slightly toward her and nudged her forward.

“Let’s go.”

They crossed the street in step. After alternating between striding ahead and halting awkwardly, he finally matched her pace midway down the block.

His forearm occasionally brushed her shoulder. His broad frame had left his left shoulder jutting beyond the umbrella’s edge, while hers stayed dry. Jiyu tilted the handle toward him… only for him to readjust it. She shot him a sidelong glance.

‘Has the Hamilton family’s relentless drilling of manners finally taken root in their “wild animal”?’

Maybe there was hope for him yet after all.

After several silent blocks, Jiyu blurted out.

“Why don’t you ever carry an umbrella?”

He shrugged.

“Dunno. It’s Annoying.”

‘Typical.’

She clamped her mouth shut. The rain’s roar muffled her hearing. Steel-gray clouds darkened the sky, while car tail lights smeared into dreamy red streaks on Fifth Avenue’s wet pavement.

The awkward quiet was filled by the rain’s relentless drumming. She wanted to ask more but hesitated… How did one make small talk with Hunter Hamilton?

Peeking at him from the corner of her eye, her stomach fluttered. Walking this close, she realized how much he’d grown recently.

Noticing her stare, Hunter rolled his eyes downward and cocked his chin.

“What?”

“Huh?”

“You’re staring.”

“No I’m not.”

She feigned innocence, avoiding his gaze.

“You were. You had that… I wanna say something face.”

Her pulse jumped.

‘How does he always know?’