Was there a hole in the sky? It rained endlessly here a few days ago. I sat on the low steps, listening to the rain, and unfolded your letter.

The ink soaked into every corner of the letter paper, like petals soaked in rain and spreading out. Words that came from deep within your heart reached me, separated by a single sheet of paper.

It felt as if even the sound of the rain was fading away, and the whole world was focusing on your story.

"Why do unfortunate things happen in our lives? Why do we have to suffer by meeting bad people?" Your words made me reflect on things again after a long time.

You said that I am a person who shines too brightly, but I too have days when I shine less brightly than a candle. It's a secret no one knows, but I've also suffered from the feeling that "maybe bad things happen to me because I'm a bad person."

But everyone, being human, sometimes gets weak and doubts themselves. Enduring those dark moments is what brings the gift of maturity.

"If I were a good person, I would meet good people, but I think all this misfortune is my fault."

You said this, but doesn't it seem strange no matter how much you think about it? The one who inflicted the hurt was the other person, not you. You did your best to be polite.

Can you blame yourself even for the other person's rudeness?

I don't think so. We can only control ourselves. The other person's actions and attitude are entirely up to their character.

And life is too short to feel guilty or self-loathing because of someone who doesn't even have basic manners. I hope you won't be hurt by bad people.

You said you've only been getting hurt and feel like there's no happiness or growth in your life, but think about it carefully. This incident will have made your own boundaries clearer.

Yusuke Suzuki, the author of "Life is Not Long Enough to Live With Regret," said, "The more sensitive you are to the intrusions of others, the more you realize what you dislike, what you don't need, what you truly feel comfortable with, and what you hoped for."

Looking back, I did too. I met someone who was shameless, saying they didn't like people who didn't know how to be grateful, but didn't know how to be grateful to others themselves. At that time, I clearly realized, "Ah, I don't get along with people who don't know basic etiquette," and I don't interact deeply with such people.

As you know, it's rare to find people who truly feel gratitude to others while saying such things to others, isn't it? Like a con artist saying, "I'm not a con artist, though..."

As I finished reading your letter, I also had this thought:

Maybe the fact that you are hurt and going through a difficult time because of people is similar to getting caught in a downpour for a short time in order to meet a better person. Rainbows originally appear after a torrential downpour stops, don't they?

We can't change anyone, but we have the right to choose whether or not to interact and communicate with them. I believe that the pain and sadness you've experienced is just a short downpour to meet a better person.

Don't forget that the bad things we often experience in life, and the bad people we meet, are a sign that good things will happen soon, and that we will meet good people. A rainbow will soon appear for you.

P.S.

I'll tell you another story by letter soon. Be happy today, like a shining star.

A Chinese idiom originating from the contents of the book "Huainanzi" from the Han Dynasty. Literally translated as "the old man's horse on the frontier," it means that the fortune of life, both happiness and misfortune, is full of variables and is therefore difficult to predict or determine. Simply put, it means that "you can't know how happiness and misfortune will turn out."

It is usually used in the form "인생사 새옹지마" or "인생만사 새옹지마" (which translates to "The fortune of life is like the old man's horse on the frontier"). It means that the events of life are like the old man's horse.
-Source: 나무위키