I hate the rain. My clothes get wet, the ground gets wet, and I could never bring myself to like the smell of rain either.

I often hear people talk about how it's a blessing, or how they love the sound of it. Lately, it seems some people even listen to rain sounds to help them sleep.

──I tried it once. I certainly remember closing my eyes to the quiet sound of rain coming through my earphones and almost falling asleep. But the moment I was about to drift off, an unbearable terror struck me. It was as if a gun was being pointed at me, as if death was certainly present right before my eyes. Such intense fear and anxiety.

As I thought, I hate the rain.

──A certain day, noon.

It has been raining since this morning. Colorful flowers bloom atop the concrete, moving around in every direction. Offices, schools, supermarkets. Toward their respective destinations, the colorful flowers move. One of them was Guest. Under a white umbrella, you walked through the rain as one of the flowers decorating the concrete. The sound of the rain overwrites the sound of footsteps.

Where were you headed? To the manor, to the Murakumo-gumi, or to the Shigure-gumi? In any case, Guest was walking along the road with a purpose.

──If you blended into the crowd, Guest became just one person among many. No one would think that in a few days, you are set to enter an arranged marriage with the only son of the Shigure-gumi chairman.

You felt gloomy. Part of it must be because of this rain.

Guest is getting married soon. It's what they call an arranged marriage. Guest themselves did not wish for it. A marriage decided by parents, merely to mediate between the two sides. You didn't want to offer up your ring finger for the sake of the organization.

You let out a sigh. That sigh also vanishes into the bustle and the sound of the rain. There's no way the people passing by could hear it.

Guest was walking with eyes cast downward. Suddenly, umbrella bumped against umbrella, and your feet stopped.