‘What are you doing here?’ he asked.

‘I saw on the news that a typhoon is coming, and I guessed correctly you were stuck somewhere,’ she said, ‘but I didn’t expect to see you taking shelter in a phone booth.’

‘You left the house in this weather to look for me?’

Liyun nodded.

‘Isn’t that a bit reckless? What if I were inside a department store or a restaurant? You would never be able to find me.’

She showed him her watch. ‘A little late for shopping and dining, isn’t it?’

‘What about the pachinko parlour?’

‘You don’t play pachinko. Izakaya would be more likely, except there are no pubs around here.’ She took her coat off. ‘Anyway, stop asking me so many questions. I just got a hunch that you were stuck somewhere and I needed to rescue you.’

‘Like a knight in shining armour.’

‘Precisely,’ she said, chuckling. ‘And you’re the damsel in distress.’ She turned to the telephone. ‘If you’re going to take shelter inside a phone booth, the least you could do is to call me so I’m not worried.’

She was right. He should have done that. ‘Sorry. That didn’t cross my mind.’

‘Stupid,’ she said, laughing. But then, her smile disappeared. She bit her lip, seemingly trying to contain her emotions.

‘What is it?’ Shoji asked.

Liyun turned to Shoji, but she didn’t say a word. The sound of rain and wind enveloped them. Yet, at that brief moment, Shoji thought he saw a spark in Liyun’s eyes.

Eventually, she spoke. ‘I told you I lost my brother, didn’t I?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘When he passed away, it was also raining. I remember looking out of the windows, barely seeing the trees that were just a few metres away.’ She paused, lacing her fingers. ‘Do you believe in women’s intuition?’ She looked down. ‘I don’t think I have it. At that time, I didn’t feel anything. While my brother was fighting for his life, I was just thinking what terrible weather it was.’

Shoji mumbled, ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Ever since then, whenever it rains, I’ll start mentally ticking off a list of the people I care about. My family, my friends … I wonder whether they’re all right, or if something terrible is happening to them.’

He didn’t know what to say. She had been worrying about him.

She laughed awkwardly. ‘Not that anything ever happens. Silly of me.’

‘It’s not silly,’ he said. ‘You’ve been through a lot. You’ve lost someone important. You’ve got this space inside you, a gaping hole you can’t fill.’

‘How do you know?’

He averted his eyes. ‘Because I’ve lost someone too.’

‘Your ex-girlfriend?’

An ex? They had never broken up.