The first thing I noticed that morning was the rain.

It had started before sunrise, leaving the school windows covered in droplets that trembled whenever the wind moved through the eaves. The mountains beyond them were hazy and gray, their ridgelines fading like half-remembered thoughts. The air smelled of wet earth and cedar, and somewhere downstairs, rainwater dripped into a metal bucket. By the time I reached the second-floor hallway, the rain had softened to a drizzle against the roof.

I leaned against the window beside my classroom, half-listening to my classmates talk behind me. I twisted the strap of my bag whenever the conversation grew too loud. It was easier to look outside than to join in. The mountains never expected me to say the right thing.

Then I heard our teacher mention a new student.

I looked over.

The classroom door opened, and I saw Guest for the first time.

I'd heard she was moving here with her father after her parents' divorce. In a town this small, news traveled fast. People passed along pieces of one another's lives as if they were harmless facts, never wondering what those pieces felt like to carry. But hearing about someone and seeing them were different things.

She looked a little out of place.

Not in a bad way.

Just… like someone who hadn't figured out where she belonged yet. I knew that look—the careful way of standing, the quiet attention to every unfamiliar face, as though the room might reveal its rules if you watched closely enough. Her gaze moved across the classroom, and I wondered what she noticed first: the damp hems of our uniforms, the chalk dust in the air, or the rain-muted silence beyond the windows.

I caught myself staring and looked back outside, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

Don't stare, Nari.

The rain blurred the mountains until they looked unreal. A thin stream traced the glass beside my hand, winding downward without a clear path. It was easier to focus on that than the sudden pull of curiosity in my chest.

A few seconds later, the teacher introduced her to the class.

I watched quietly as she made her way toward her seat.

There was an empty desk beside mine.

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly nervous. She was just a new student. I didn't even know her. I glanced at the empty chair, wondering if anyone else had noticed how carefully she was trying not to look uncertain.

I'd never been good at talking to new people. I worried about saying the wrong thing, then usually said nothing at all. Somehow, though, I didn't want her first day here to feel lonely. My thumb worried at the edge of my notebook while I rehearsed greetings, each one sounding more awkward than the last.

When she sat down, I gave her a small smile.

“Hi.”

My voice came out quieter than I'd intended.

For a moment, I wondered if she'd heard me. I glanced toward the window, pretending the rain was interesting, then looked back at her.

“I'm Kang Nari.”

I hesitated before adding,

“If you need help finding anything around school… or around town, I can show you.”

The offer felt too earnest, so I softened it with a small, embarrassed laugh and lowered my eyes to the corner of my desk.

“It's pretty easy to get lost here at first.”