Joohyun's jaw dropped, her eyes closed shut as the remaining liquid freely slide down her face and unto her white blouse. She breathed in, filling her lungs with the much needed air before opening her eyes and watch the heaving woman in front of her, holding an empty glass. 

“How dare you.” the woman seethes, her insides boiling as she watched Joohyun calmly fetch a clean handkerchief from her bag and wipe it against her wet face. She scoffed. 

“H-Honey, it's not what y—” a slap came across the man's face as he tried to explain. Joohyun frowned, as much as she currently hate him, she couldn't bear seeing him get hurt. The woman dragged her eyes back to Joohyun who's eyes are now looking at her. 

“You . You ruined my fami—”

The rest of the sentence seemingly faded as her eyes lowered, she couldn't fight the humiliation eating her insides as the woman kept on screaming at her. She couldn't fight, couldn't talk back as she knew that she was the one who got the short end of the stick. It is unfair, yes. But that's life.

--

Seulgi frowned at the sound of water splashing across the face of a rather, very young woman. The steak that she was eating no longer holding her attention as she focused her eyes on the young girk with water dripping down her pretty face. She looked at the angry woman who's probably twice of her age and the man beside her who looks like he's torn.

“Another drama.” Seulgi heard her companion murmur, eyes still trained at her own steak. “Sometimes, I think I'm inside a movie.” 

Seulgi didn't answer, she flinched when the sound of a palm hitting the man's face echoed through the whole restaurant, everyone kept quiet, even those who aren't part of the commotion stopped eating just to watch the seemingly live show. The restaurant's staff whispered to themselves, afraid to intrude and stop the woman from creating a bigger scene.

But Seulgi's eyes seems to be temporarily locked on the young woman's face who now has a frown etched on it, she wants to run her hand on that creased eyebrows to straighten them and to erase that frown. 

The woman starts yelling, throwing insults and offending words towards the young woman who had her eyes trained on the ground, seemingly embarrassed but that didn't stop the woman from continuing her monologue. She grabbed another glass of water and emptied it again on the young woman's face who lowered her head even more.

Seulgi thinks that she couldn't just stand stand there and watch when the woman continued her insults directed to the young girl, Seulgi pushed her chair backwards and stood up, her companion looking at her with widened eyes. She sent her a small smile than walked towards the scene.

“—and you think you're that pret—” 

“Hi Babe.” Seulgi greeted, her hands snaking around the young woman's waist to pull her closer to her warmth, stopping the other woman's words as she looked at her with confusion in her eyes. 

“What's happening here? What happened to you?” Seulgi worriedly asked the girl in her arms, fetching a clean napkin from the table then gently tapping the girl's face with it to dry the remains of water. She removed her coat and draped it around the girl, her blouse had became transparent because of the water so she buttoned the coat to cover her chest. Seulgi smiled at the girl when their eyes met, she secretly sent a knowing wink to signal her to just go with the flow.

“And Who are you?” the older woman asked, brows raising because of Seulgi's actions. Seulgi glared at the woman, her hands protectively wrapping around the girl's waist. 

“That doesn't matter. Anyway, who are you to do such things to her?” Seulgi's calm. Her tone's calm but firm. But her eyes, gosh, her eyes seems to be spitting fire when her eyes had locked on the older woman. She does not know the woman or the girl in her arms, but she feels this burning sensation inside of her because of what she had seen earlier. She doesn't even know the whole story but she knows that she needs to help this girl.

“That—I don't know what that thing is— is sticking with my husband because of his money—” 

“I am not after his mone—” Seulgi heard the girl in her arms talk for the first time, her voice sounds soft, velvety and more but it was draped with insecurity and devastation. Such voice shouldn't be covered with negativity. Such woman shouldn't be in this kind of situation, Seulgi knew she doesn't deserve this. No one does.

“Shut Up, you !” 

“Watch your mouth, woman.” Seulgi took a threatening step closer when the woman surged forward, after seeing Seulgi's glare, the woman back down but didn't removed that glare directed to the woman that's now hidden behind Seulgi. Seulgi had pushed her back when she saw that the older woman was about to attack her.

“You can keep your useless husband, she doesn't need him or his money because she's with me. I bet you that those jewelries that you're wearing are fake, it suits you anyway because you look cheap.” The woman's face is now burning with anger, her jaws clenching and hands curling into fists. Seulgi smirked, she held the girl in her arm's hand and intertwined it before grabbing a bunch of cash from her pocket and placed it on top of their table.

“I'll pay for your meals, just in case you don't have the ability to. But in one condition—” Seulgi grabbed a glass of water and splashed it to the woman's face, she grabbed another and did the same thing to the man.

“Enjoy your meal.”she mockingly said before she yanked the girl, pulling her towards the empty parking lot and inside her car. 

They settled inside the quiet car, breaths heavy and hearts pounding. Seulgi rested her forehead on the steering wheel as she silently chuckled to herself. She never imagined that she would do such thing, she couldn't even interact with people properly but she just humiliated a person in public just because she felt this strong pull towards the girl beside her.

“You shouldn't have done that.” the silence broke when Seulgi heard that calm voice that shouldn't have been there. Seulgi felt confused, the girl should be furious or hysterical and not this calm. She's now starting to feel scared because of this mysterious girl. 

“What do you mean?” Seulgi encouraged herself to ask. She held the steering wheel tighter while her forehead rested on it, willing herself not to look at those lost pretty eyes that would seriously pull her in.

“You shouldn't have interfered. I—It was my fault, you shouldn't have...saved me.” The girl lowered her gaze as Seulgi looked up to watch her, hearing the girl saying those words made her feel something within her, something she couldn't comprehend. Seulgi felt weird. 

“Any sane person would do the same thing.” Seulgi reasoned out. “She was also at fault, she shouldn't have humiliated you in front of everyone.” 

“So those people inside weren't sane?” The girl chuckled, but Seulgi could hear the sadness lingering on her voice. “I think you're insane.” 

Seulgi smiled. She felt satisfied for helping this girl. She knew she made the right choice.

“I'm Seulgi. Kang Seulgi.”

“I'm Bae Joohyun.” 

ΔΔΔ

They didn't meet after that. They never bothered to exchange more information except for their names. Seulgi never knew what's the story behind the commotion but she didn't really care. She's satisfied at what she had done and that's more than enough.

Though that didn't mean she didn't think about Joohyun. At some time, Joohyun's face would appear in her mind, reminding Seulgi those lost eyes and the melancholy air around the girl. Seulgi would shake the image away, letting her mind drift to something different, something that wouldn't remind her those slumped shoulders, stony expression and eyes free from life. 

“You should really go out, Seul.” Seungwan suggested when she spotted Seulgi on the couch, surfing the internet with snacks beside her. This scenario isn't really new, she would always see Seulgi in that same position every time she drop by, she'll always ask the girl to go out but as always, she gave the same exact answer.

“I don't want to. I'm tired.” Seulgi didn't even spared her companion a glance as she sat by her feet. Sighing loudly.

“You know, I still don't know why you helped that girl.” Seungwan didn't need to be specific to what she's saying, she was there with Seulgi, she saw how Seulgi looked at the girl as if she knew her, as if she was someone that Seulgi had spent her life with. There were Sparks in her eyes that Seungwan haven't seen until then. 

“It was a spur of the moment, Wan. You know me, I don't really think before I do something.” Seulgi answered nonchalantly. Seungwan nodded, accepting her answer. 

“But still, go out.”

ΔΔΔ

Seulgi found herself walking down the pavement of the bridge overlooking the han river, Seungwan had pulled her out of her couch and kicked her out of her own apartment. Seulgi still can't believe how it happened.

Though, she would thank Seungwan later for pushing her out of her apartment as she found herself relishing in the feeling of freedom and inhaling the refreshing air. She felt lighter, every nerve had untangled inside her, stress-free. 

The stars accompanied her as she walked down the familiar bridge. She closed her eyes and softly smiled, it is rare for her to feel this kind of feeling. 

But then a grumble on her right made her open her eyes and look at the direction of the sound, her eyes widened when she saw a girl staring at the waters below, her head dangling and her right foot stepped on one of the railings. Seulgi acted fast, grabbing the girl's waist and pulling her away from the railings.

“What are you doing?” Seulgi screamed, her hands going up to her own hair to grab a handful as she dropped the girl on the ground, trying to stop her from approaching the railings again. 

“I—I don't know. L-Leave me alone.” Seulgi's frustration died down when the girl choked on her tears, her head bowed down and her hair covering her face like a curtain hiding the mystery inside. She crouched down and tried to catch the girl's eye.

“H-Hey, it's okay. I'm so—”

“Y-You?” 

Seulgi's jaw dropped, her eyes losing it's focus when the girl had looked up and locked her gaze on her. 

Joohyun.

“Why do you always see me in such a pathetic situation?” Joohyun bitterly chuckled, her hands wiping harshly on her pretty face to erase the tears that had stained her, Seulgi frowned then stopped the soft hands that are roughly wiping on her face. 

Joohyun looked up, her gaze softened when Seulgi summoned a handkerchief and starts gently dabbing her cheeks with it. 

“You don't look pathetic at all.” A soft smile was offered and all Joohyun could do was to break down. Her tears uncontrollably escaping her eyes and freely sliding down on her face, down to her chin, she sobbed, she weeped, she couldn't take the heartache anymore as she continued crying her eyes out in front of Seulgi, in front of a stranger.

Seulgi didn't say a word, she understood. She wrapped her arms around the girl's small frame and gently pulled her in to let her rest and cry on her shoulder. She started rubbing her back to comfort her as she hummed a soft tune to calm her down. Her eyes darted upwards as she stared on the bright moon, she blinked, once, twice, thrice..

She almost cried. Almost.

ΔΔΔ

“Hey, good morning.” Joohyun closed her eyes once again as the bright light had greeted her once she opened her eyes, she then opened it once again when she feels like she's already used to the brightness of the room. 

Her eyes widened when she realized she isn't inside her room and she's laying on top of a bed she doesn't own. She quickly looked at her clothes, a loud sighed of relief had made it's way out of her lips when she saw that she's still wearing the same clothes she wore yesterday. 

She looked at the girl leaning against the doorframe, eyes looking amused and arms crossed right on her chest, a small smile playing on her lips. Joohyun almost smiled but confusion still dominated inside her, how did she end up in this room?

“You got knocked out last night at the han river, I didn't know where you lived so I just took you home. Hope you don't mind. I slept on the living room's couch, by the way, if you're worried.” Seulgi explained, Joohyun slowly nodded. Her fingers tightening it's hold on the white bedsheets.

“Anyway, breakfast is ready. You should go down and join me after you freshen up.” Seulgi left but not before shooting Joohyun a soft smile. Joohyun looked away, afraid of the awakening butterflies inside of her, afraid of her throbbing heart, afraid of the feelings that she couldn't comprehend. 

Afraid of the feelings that she shouldn't feel.

ΔΔΔ

“What happened last night?” Joohyun quietly asked as she played with her pasta, she couldn't look up, not wanting to look straight on the monolid eyes of the person who had took her home even though she's practically a stranger.

“I should be the one asking you that.” Joohyun bit her lip, she couldn't just spit out the reason why she broke down and why she had tried to kill herself last night. 

“Anyway, it's none of my business, I don't wanna pry on your life.” Seulgi offered a small smile when Joohyun looked up, She then avoided eye contact with the taller one, Joohyun thinks the pasta is the most interesting thing in the world. 

Why do I have this feeling that I want it to be your business.

ΔΔΔ

“Kang Seulgi, tell me that that wasn't the same girl.” Seungwan barged in after Joohyun had walked out of her door, Joohyun wanted to leave early, thinking that she's becoming a burden to Seulgi, Seulgi had told her she wasn't but she seems like to be determined to leave, as if she doesn't want to be in the same space as Seulgi.

Seungwan had probably saw Joohyun walking out.

“That was the same girl.”

“Damn.”

Seulgi buried her face on her hands as she groaned frustratedly.

“Dude, I think you got it bad.”

ΔΔΔ

Joohyun walked down the streets of her neighborhood, she then opened the glass doors to enter the familiar room with scent of newly brewed coffee and fresh from the oven cakes greeting her. She smiled. 

“Good Morning, Joohyun Unnie!” Sooyoung enthusiastically greeted the new comer, handing her her usual apron and urging her to get dressed already. She greeted the younger one back while ruffling the girl's bloody red hair, earning her a groan from her.

She stood behind the counter to greet the customers and serve them like what she usually do. Happily, with bright smiles and carefree eyes. She acted like how she used to, she doesn't need anyone to pity her here.

“One medium sized Cappuccino and a slice of red velvet cake.” She punched the orders happily without taking a glance at the customer, and once she did, her smile dropped.

“Your name?” she asked hesitantly.

“just write Seulgom.” the girl smiled and Joohyun almost dropped the cup, she couldn't take her eyes off that dazzling smile and crescent eyes, those eyes that had seen her breakdown, those eyes that had comforted her with no words needed. Those eyes that she searched for the past few days. 

“O-Okay. Just wait for your order at the side.” She switched to her professional mode but not without breaking her voice when she made a mistake of looking at Seulgi right when she was biting her lip, suppressing a giggle. 

She continued her work, pushing the thoughts of Seulgi just right beside her counter and waiting for her cup. She didn't even dare to steal a glance at the girl, but she did feel Seulgi's stares boring hole on her face, she knew.

“A cup tea.” Joohyun looked up and saw the most dreaded person she never wished to meet. The woman is staring at her phone, nonchalantly spilling out her orders and not even giving Joohyun a glance. She wished she would never tear her eyes away off her phone. 

Joohyun gulped before voicing out her usual lines, “Your name?“

“Nam Daey—” upon realizing the sound of her voice, the woman looked up and locked her eyes with Joohyun. Joohyun's eyes clearly shows fear of meeting the woman's eyes. The woman who's her ex-boyfriend is married to. 

“Look who we have here.” amusement and a hint of mischief laced her voice as Joohyun lowered her gaze to the ground, embarrassment consuming her again. “So, this is where you work.” 

“Y-You can wait for your c-cup at the side, m-ma'am.” Joohyun barely heard her own voice, but she did feel the cracks and she heard the laugh coming out from the woman. 

“Everyone,” Joohyun's head snapped to look at the woman who just gained everyone's attention at just one word. “This girl right here is my husband's mistress.” she pointed Joohyun who starts panicking.

Everyone stopped to look at Joohyun who couldn't say a word, she stood there frozen, letting the woman voice out her thoughts to humiliate her more. 

“She wants my husband's money because she just works here as a cashier. She's a user.” everyone is quiet, She saw Sooyoung looking at her worriedly, Joohyun tried to smile at the younger one to tell her that she's fine. Her co-workers are starting to move and talk to their customers so that they wouldn't be staring at Joohyun but they failed to grab their attention as they continued looking at Joohyun with disgust in their eyes.

“She slept with my husb—”

“I think you need to calm down, Miss.” A voice interrupted the woman, Seulgi stepped forward and all of the customer's eyes are on her, watching her every step. Seulgi had a steaming cup of coffee in her hand as she glanced dangerously at the woman.

“Why are you here again?” The woman boldly asked.

“It seems like every time we meet, you always create a commotion. Aren't you shameless?” Seulgi stared at the coffee in her hand, the woman gulped in fear but still determined in facing Seulgi head on.

“If you don't leave my girlfriend alone in five seconds, I assure you that this coffee that I'm holding will be right on your poor excuse of a face in an instant.“ Seulgi threatened, the woman's eyes widened at how Seulgi had addressed Joohyun, a glare was sent to the woman as she started counting.

“one...” 

The woman turned and walked away, leaving the cafe without taking her boring order. Seulgi smirked, dropping the act and walking back towards Joohyun who still had her head hang low.

“H-Hey.” Seulgi started, she felt her heart got ripped in pieces when she heard a sob from the smaller girl. Seulgi didn't think twice before leaping up the counter and onto the other side to cradle the girl in her arms, her hands softly caressing Joohyun's soft locks to comfort her.

“Shh, it's okay now.” Seulgi murmured, she caught a sight of a staff with blazing red hair signaling her to take Joohyun out, she nodded and mouthed the unknown girl a thank you as she lead Joohyun out of the cafe and into her car.

“This scene is so familiar.” Seulgi heard the girl beside her say as she grabbed more tissues to wipe away her tears. A sad laugh had emit from the small girl and Seulgi almost cried.

How can a person hurt this much? 

Despite the humiliation she received from the woman, she never said a word to take as a revenge, instead she let the woman be, she received the humiliation with open arms. 

How can this girl be so nice, she ends up hurting even more.

“I'll take you away.” Seulgi said, finality lacing her voice as her car roared into life. Joohyun's protest went unheard as she drove her car away from town.

ΔΔΔ

“You know, I still don't think you deserve that much of humiliation.” Seulgi broke the silence as they sat themselves on the car's hood while staring at the stars above. They had been driving around for hours without a certain destination in mind and now they found themselves parked just beside the seashore, stargazing with blankets draped on their laps and hot chocolate between their hands.

“Believe me, I deserve more than that.” Joohyun quietly said, sipping on her cup while gazing above. Seulgi sighed as she admired the girl beside her.

“No one deserves that.” Seulgi said, their eyes met and Joohyun felt like drowning in the pools of Seulgi's warm eyes. “You definitely don't deserve that.”

Joohyun kept quiet, she let herself be calm as she listened to the sound of waves hitting the shore, she let her hair be tangled up because of the cool wind, she let the stars stare at her because she knows they don't look at her with judgement in their eyes. She feels one with nature. 

“I didn't know he was married.” Seulgi looked at Joohyun who started talking about what happened. She kept quiet, letting the silence comfort the girl.

“He didn't told me and I didn't ask. We first met at the cafe, he ordered warm milk and that caught me off guard because he's a grown man and he still wants milk.” A soft chuckle and Seulgi frowned. “That made him stand out.”

“Yes and I knew that the first time our eyes met, he was interested in me as I was in him. He started courting me a few weeks later, pampering me with expensive gifts and meals. He showered me with everything and I fell even more. I'm stupid, I know.” Joohyun took a deep breath, probably to stop herself from breaking down. 

“I said yes when he asked me to be his girlfriend. We started going out more often, we held hands, we hug, we kissed, but we never went to that point.” Seulgi never felt even more relieved as she heard what Joohyun said. She then frowned a second later at the thought of that bastard kissing Joohyun's lips. 

You're one lucky douche.

“What the woman said wasn't real, I never slept with him and I wasn't after his money. I wanted to be with him because for the first time in my life, I thought that I was appreciated, not because of what I look but because of just me being me.” 

I appreciate you, Joohyun-ah. I admire you.

“But I was wrong. H-He's married and now I'm in this mess. I broke everything off weeks after the restaurant incident. That was the time you saw me at the bridge. I wanted to kill myself for being stupid.” Tears starts streaming down Joohyun's cheeks and Seulgi didn't waste anytime to pull her close and rest her head against her chest while her arms surround Joohyun's petite form. 

“It's okay. I'm here. I won't let anything bad happen to you.” Seulgi said, her hand pushing the cup of hot chocolates away from them to avoid being scalded. She continued caressing the girl's arm to reassure her that she's always there for Joohyun.

“I-I know. Seulgi, From the very first moment you saved me, I know that you're going to play a big part in my life and I'm right. You became my shoulder to lean on, my savior, my guide to help me stand up when I'm down, and my knight in shining armor. I couldn't thank you enough for doing all of this for me.” Joohyun mumbled against her chest, Seulgi prayed so hard that Joohyun wouldn't hear how her heart is beating wildly right now and how her stomach make back flips every other second because of what she had been saying. She felt the grip on her shirt tighten as she noticed Joohyun calming down.

“But Seulgi, I'm afraid.” Seulgi's about to ask what she's afraid of but Joohyun beat her to it. “I'm afraid that you'll get tired of protecting me, of guiding me. I'm afraid of being a burden that'll bring you down. I'm afraid to pull you down with me, Seulgi-ah.”

“You know what I'm afraid of, Joohyun?” Joohyun looked up to her with tears in her eyes, Seulgi felt her eyes tearing up as she looked at the girl.

God, she's falling in love.

“I'm afraid of disappointing myself for letting someone hurt you, that's why I'm always there when you're in trouble to save you. I'm afraid of letting you down, because the moment that I had laid my eyes on you at the restaurant, I felt this sudden urge to protect you and be responsible of you, I told myself a promise to not let you down and not let you feel alone again the moment I pulled you away from the bridge that one fateful night.” Seulgi stopped, feeling her breathe got away from her lungs when Joohyun smiled that genuine smile that she was looking for. 

“And lastly, I'm afraid of my growing feelings for you. I don't know how this happened or when it started but I know that I want you so bad. I want to be the only one to protect you everytime, I want to be there when you're feeling scared, I want to hold you when you break down but I'm afraid that you won't let me. I'm afraid that you don't feel the same way.” Seulgi broke their eye contact by pulling Joohyun closer and resting her forehead on Joohyun's shoulder. “Joohyun, I'm also afraid.”

“Don't be.” Seulgi felt her heart throbbing again when Joohyun spoke. 

“Seulgi, wait for me, okay? Wait for the time that I've fully moved on and ready to be with you. I want you too. Believe me, I do, but I'm afraid that if we rush this we'll both get hurt in the end, so please, wait for me.” Joohyun pushed Seulgi away from her to look straight to her eyes. She cupped the girl's cheeks and sent the taller one a smile. Seulgi couldn't do anything, she couldn't let out a word nor return Joohyun's smile. 

Joohyun's smile dropped.

“Seulgi, answer me. You understand my reasons, right? I-I just don't want you to get hurt. Please, Seulgi. I don't want to lose you.” Joohyun feels her tears welling up again, her hold on Seulgi's cheek loosened. 

“I won't wait.”

She knew that asking Seulgi to wait would be too much for the girl, she knew Seulgi wanted more but she's not ready for such commitment after getting her heart broken just a few weeks earlier. But could she blame Seulgi? She removed her hands off Seulgi's face and started distancing herself.

She's brought back to Seulgi's protecting arms a second later, a hand pressed behind her and lips crashing on hers for a few seconds before pulling away. Joohyun almost whimpered for the lack of Seulgi's warm lips on hers.

“I won't be sitting here and just wait for you to recover, Joohyun. I'll be helping you to move on. I'll be the one to hold you so you could stand back up, so you could be ready. I understand you, Joohyun. Of course, I do. But I'm sorry if I couldn't just wait and do nothing cause I'll be by your side every step of your way, I won't ever leave you alone.” 

Joohyun cried. She broke down, she threw herself on top of Seulgi, making Seulgi lay down on her car's hood, they almost tripped the smoking hot chocolates but they didn't care. 

What matters now is the future to come.

They may not be together now but they knew that they'll end up in each other's arms soon.

T H E E N D

a/n: my exams are coming up, next week to be exact, im dead. Omg. 

Anyway, Rv's first solo concert is lit! They slayed my whole existence. I just audiostreamed by the way, im poor. And i dont live in korea so yeah.

I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS BY THE WAY. YALL ARE SO CUTE.