Flashback to a little over a month ago...

The sound of a loud bang and then a sudden jolt of the steering wheel ripped Minji out of her otherwise uneventful drive down the highway.  Another odd whooshing sound immediately followed as she felt the wheel pull against her tightened grip more as she tried not to panic.   Time slowed to a speed of almost suspended animation as her brain processed, giving her body more time to react.  

She’d perhaps made a slight error in putting her foot on the brake pedal in her panic, making the ordeal worse, but she quickly removed it upon hearing the blaring of horns.  Now her vehicle began to slow gradually on it’s own as she did her best to steer it to the shoulder.

Had she hit something without noticing?  

.  

Her heart raced in her chest, adrenaline pumping as she remembered that she’d seen a motorcycle in her rearview mirror only moments before it happened.  Now fully stopped, the blonde checked she was completely off the side of the road and hopefully out of harm's way.  She didn’t see anyone else pulled over so maybe it was just her, but it didn’t stop the fear rising up from her stomach as she scanned around.

After taking a few moments to collect herself, Minji grabbed her phone and exited her vehicle, looking for the cause.

A flat tire.  “Damnit,” she cursed, pressing her forehead against the side of her SUV.  The tension in her muscles hadn’t let out yet.  Of course this was just her luck today.  Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye around the edge of her vehicle.  A person had stopped?  But she didn’t see another vehicle.  

Oh no.  The motorcycle from earlier.  She hesitantly moved around her SUV and sighed with relief, seeing that the other person seemed fine and the bike in question safely parked up next to the guard railing on the shoulder.  

“A-are you alright?” she stammered out slightly, still a bit shaken up by the ordeal.  Minji was unable to identify the rider with their helmet still on.  It was difficult to make out a voice but she was certain she saw a nod as the individual seemed to be assessing the situation as well.

“I-I’m really sorry.  I don’t know if I hit something...or what happened.  But I uuh- blew a tire I guess?”  She guessed?  The blonde wanted to mentally smack herself.  She probably sounded like an idiot.  But when it came to cars, she was lucky to know how to fill the gas tank, much less remember which side it was on.  

Minji waited for a response, as the individual reached up to remove their helmet.  She felt a bit flustered already from the near panic of a car wreck but nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next.  

Sharp features complemented by long raven locks falling on shoulders to frame a beautiful female face.  Minji was so damn distracted by the stranger’s perfectly sculpted jawline that she didn’t realize she’d been staring.  

“You hit your head or something?” the raven haired woman inquired with the wave of her hand and a voice that held a certain unique quality to it that Minji couldn’t quite put her finger on yet.  

“Huh…?  Oh...OH! Sorry, no I-I’m fine.  I just-” she stopped herself, embarrassed at the thoughts running through her head.

“Weren’t expecting me to be a woman hmm?” the stranger jested with a chuckle as if she were used to women acting that way around her.  Clearly a bit full of herself.  Though Minji had to admit she was very attractive...even with the whole dark attire, bad girl vibe she had going on.  

“Uh...no?  But um, I’m glad you’re alright.  I’m just gonna call someone to come get me,” Minji motioned to her phone she was still holding and forced herself to turn away, certain she’d made a total fool of herself and not wanting to give the stranger any indication that she was perhaps a little flustered by her beauty.

“Sure thing hun.”  

The word ‘hun’ didn’t hit quite right with Minji, her muscles tightening even more if that was possible at the moment.  But she did her best to ignore it for now and stood with her back to the dark haired woman as she dialed her best friend.  Sadly it went to voicemail, “Ah Bora, I know you’re working but please call me back.  I uh, have a flat tire and I don’t know what to do.  Should I...call a tow truck?  Or is there a service for this stuff?”  The message probably sounded pretty pathetic.  Or helpless enough anyway.  She hung up and released a deep sigh, though it did little to release the tension in her shoulders.  What was she going to do if Bora didn’t call her back?  

After a couple minutes of the blonde contemplating her options, the stranger cleared most likely in an effort to get Minji’s attention before she spoke, “Do uh, you have a spare?”

“A spare what?” Minji turned back to face the stranger with an eyebrow raised.  Was she asking for a cigarette or something?  The blonde was definitely letting herself make assumptions about this woman clad in a leather jacket that rode a motorcycle. 

Needless to say, she wasn’t expecting her answer, “Tire.” 

It threw the blonde off a little, “I-I don’t know?”

“Most vehicles have them hidden in a recessed space in the trunk.  If you want to check.  And maybe if you have a jack too,” the stranger informed her simply but in a way that didn’t make Minji feel stupid for her lack of knowledge, “No need to call a service if you have one here.  That ’s expensive anyway.”  

“But I don’t know how to change a tire,” Minji admitted.  In fact she was quite clueless on many things.  That was why she had called Bora.  Her best friend always seemed to know what to do in any situation whereas Minji was used to having things taken care of for her coming from a rather wealthy family.  That was until she got out more on her own, which meant taking responsibility yourself and asking those you trust for their input or advice.  

“Don’t worry about that,” the raven haired woman responded with confidence in her voice, “Let’s just see what you have to work with first.”  It wasn’t what Minji expected at all.  That this complete stranger with a rather rough looking appearance would be so level headed.  Yet there was a certain cockiness to her that sort of rubbed the blonde the wrong way at the same time.  

Despite the conflicting thoughts, she nodded and opened the trunk, thankful she’d recently cleaned out the majority of her crap from the back of her vehicle.  “Let me just move this,” she said, grabbing a backpack and a couple other oddities before placing them in the backseat out of the way.  When Minji returned to the back of the SUV, the stranger had already pulled the carpet back and revealed a hidden compartment beneath it