"And the victory goes once again to the cybernetics master, Hanni Pham!" shouted the fight presenter, pointing with almost sickly excitement at how more bills were going to the hands of the newly named. The sighs of fury and excitement dissipated into dense smoke from cigarettes and exotic cocktails, and Hanni had to take a necessary breath before thanking for another series of rounds, saying goodbye as kindly as she could, and leaving that dirty place, moving through the rest of the people as quickly as her feet allowed her. At some point, she started running and stopped at a street corner, where the moonlight was brighter, only slightly covered by the bus stop’s roof. She wiped a solitary drop of sweat from her temple and roughly rubbed her face before taking out her small robot from her pocket, which was struggling to move one of its prosthetics.

'Looks like another gear is worn out,' she thought, and of course, with the number of hits it took from other robots that night, it was impossible for it to come out unscathed.

Hanni had been participating in those robot fights (practically illegal) for a year and a half, which she discovered thanks to Kim Minji: her high school friend who loved robotics as much as she did, and who, one night at the end of July, had secretly taken her to one of these robot fight tournaments near a sales garage, and that’s when she fell in love. She liked the adrenaline, the euphoria around each battle, the joyful shouts of the winners, and the furious complaints of the losers. She loved it, despite not staying too long that time.

Over time, Minji decided to stop going to those battles because she risked being caught by her parents, but she decided to take courage and do whatever it took not only to observe but also to fight. She built a small test robot, obtained the best materials from her parts kits and other programmers in the area to create a complex system and durable armor, and when she went for her first fight, it was destroyed in seconds. Although she was initially quite discouraged because she kept losing and losing, she didn’t give up. She loved robotics and how machines could come into action and, while it was a bit sadistic, also how one of her own creations could massacre others, and that was one of the most fun things for her.

And now she had come to this point after months of effort and scraping savings from places she didn’t even have to buy better equipment and downloading better programming software, with her most recent robot creation, which she nicknamed ZB12: just a little bigger than her hand, but a lethal machine for tearing off prosthetics and breaking chassis. The most ironic thing was that she had painted the top with yellow and drawn a smiling face, which was completely opposite to all the wires it broke. Sometimes she had her defeats, but most of the time, it resulted in victory, and she earned about forty dollars on a good night: money she saved for any unexpected expenses.

Clearly, she did everything behind her parents’ backs because if they found out she was sneaking out at night while they slept to hide in narrow corners of the city and participate in activities where patrols had come to investigate more than once, they would kill her, but honestly, her desire was stronger. She wasn’t a fan of risks; however, she considered this one she could take, at least for a little while longer. That’s why she took the money as quickly as she could and kept her eyes open after finishing. She couldn’t deny that the people there still scared her.

Once she was farther away, she sat on the small seats at the bus stop and leaned her head against the metal backrest, lazily checking the time on her cheap watch. It was eleven-thirty, and by that time, there were hardly any souls on the streets, nor buses, so she would have to walk home again, when suddenly, something caught her eye.

A few steps away, a girl stood almost sharing the same square meter, dressed in a black hoodie, long pants of the same color, and gray athletic shoes. Her long lashes fluttered like fan blades in the air, and once she turned back, Hanni lost her breath.

She was beautiful.

She was absolutely beautiful.

Probably the prettiest girl Hanni had ever seen.

A bundle of nerves settled in her chest, and she almost felt as if she couldn’t take her eyes off her. What was this? Why was she acting this way? She had never felt anything like it for someone, as if a strong attraction kept her static, admiring the ethereal beauty of the girl just a few meters away, and that seemed the strangest to her. In a quick impulse, she looked away, furrowing her brow as she looked at her own hands, confused by her behavior. She couldn’t let these strange behaviors get the best of her; they were odd, and she didn’t like them, so she tried her best not to look at her, even trying to distance herself a bit in the seat and lower her gaze, but all her efforts were wasted when a pair of feet appeared in front of her, and she had to look up to face who was there, only for an electric current to run down her back, and her eyes widened.

It was her, the girl in the black hoodie.

“Good evening,” the girl greeted with an apparently shy smile, by the way her lips trembled. 'She has a pretty voice...' she thought. It sounded a little high-pitched, but it was calm, without any signs of agitation. “You’re the one they call the Master of the Circuit, right? I was in the crowd; I came to accompany my brother. You tore him apart with your robot! Wow, you’re incredible… I feel a little sorry for him because he left fuming at the ears, but I felt I should tell you something for what you did. You’re like the Great Wall of China.”

Hanni simply blinked, nodding to everything without paying much attention. She was, instead, admiring the delicate features of the girl in front of her. Her dark, wavy brown hair falling over her shoulders, her large, bright doll-like eyes, puffy, adorable cheeks, and those lips...

“Uhhh…, y-yes, yes, thank you...” Suddenly, Hanni felt a tremendous need to know more about this girl. She didn’t understand why she was so nervous; normally, she wasn’t like this, and anyone who frequented that place would make fun of seeing her act this way, in contrast to her impassive, almost cold attitude she always adopted while fighting, but it was as if she couldn’t do anything else. “W-what’s your name?”

“Danielle. Danielle Marsh,” the girl named Danielle Marsh introduced herself. 'Her name is cute,' she thought. “And yours, Master of the Circuit?”

“H-Hanni... Hanni Pham.”

“You’re not Korean, are you?”

“Vietnamese...” she replied, insistently wiping her hands on her pants, which were already starting to feel sweaty. “I’m Vietnamese.”

“Wow, I wouldn’t have guessed,” said Danielle, with another of those smiles that mesmerized Hanni.

Hanni, too timid to handle it but genuinely curious about this girl, was about to ask her something else; however, the voice of a boy seemed to call her from afar, causing Danielle to say she had to leave and say goodbye, leaving everything there. Hanni ran a hand over her chest in confusion. Why did she feel this way? What kind of spell had this almost stranger cast on her? Was it possible she had fallen in love at first sight? Yes, it could be possible, and that terrified her a bit, but she tried to think about it as little as possible.

In her next fight, a week later, the same boy, Mo Jungmyeon, fought her again, losing miserably in the first round. But Hanni didn’t even feel as happy about it; no. She had felt happy seeing a now familiar face among the crowd, someone who had taken her breath away the previous week and, in recent days, her mind. Danielle Marsh was there, witnessing her battle, admiring her, and that made her a bit nervous, to be honest.

But it was also an opportunity to talk more with her. After leaving the place quickly, she met her at the same bus stop, and that time they did talk. They talked about many things, hobbies, interests, anecdotes. That’s how she found out that Danielle accompanied her brother there because he practically forced her to keep up appearances with their parents, that she was half Australian and half Korean, that she liked rice cakes, that she went to a high school about half an hour from hers, that she loved taking bike rides in the afternoons, among other things. She listened to Danielle, and Danielle listened to her, and she swore she hadn’t felt so comfortable with someone in a long time. Danielle was beautiful, attentive, and lively; a radiant sun that, strangely, had come out for a walk at night. It felt like hours when they said goodbye, leaving Hanni’s heart pounding and her hands sweaty.

The following weeks weren’t much different; they were better than she had thought. The first time she saw Danielle away from the narrow alleys at night was an afternoon when she was leaving school and had run into her by chance, and since then, Danielle had started coming to her school so they could go home together, even though they lived in different neighborhoods, but those twenty minutes of the journey where they could walk side by side made it completely worth it because, for Hanni, there couldn’t be a better moment of the day... if you also counted their conversations on KakaoTalk.

Those little chats had officially started their friendship one night in August, strangely cold, and it was an afternoon in late September when Hanni mustered up the courage to go back with Danielle to her house, to visit the Marsh residence. Only her parents were home, and she got along very well with them, and as for her brother... he had to endure seeing her face for at least the two hours she stayed there. They had stayed in her room, with pastel colors and beautiful decorations and posters of her favorite bands, and with the sunset in their hands, they decided to go for a bike ride, with Danielle at the handlebars and Hanni sitting in the back seat.

“D-Danielle, slow down a bit!” she tried to shout, holding tightly to Danielle’s waist. She could feel the wind rushing past her face, almost like sparks, and she refused to open her eyes.

“Come on, I’m not even going that fast!” Danielle responded in an animated voice. “Besides! You enjoy participating in illegal fights and you’re afraid of a bike ride? Oh, the things of Hanni Pham!”

Hanni blushed violently, hiding her face in Danielle’s back. Anyway, she knew Danielle couldn’t see her, but she mustered up a bit of courage and slowly opened her eyes, taking in the view. The streets sped by, and the bright Busan sun shone at its brightest in the sky, turning everything warm colors and complementing the mobile ice cream stands. She embraced it, took a breath, and let herself be carried away by the energy of the moment, the little sparks running down her arm, the big smile that Danielle showed, even though she was facing away, and the little bit more alive she felt.

Danielle Marsh made her feel more alive. There was no more radiant sun than Danielle Marsh.

And one night in mid-October, she had decided to show her her set of parts for building robots and other things. She had also shown her a couple of prototypes she had made and the mess her room was, while her parents worked all day outside.

“It has infrared sensors and a microcontroller that is programmed to follow this small line on the ground,” Hanni explained, as she activated it, making the robot move across the floor along the small line made of black tape she had attached. Danielle watched everything with attention and wonder. “It’s... one of my oldest prototypes. I made it when I was fourteen.”

“It’s amazing...” Danielle said in a murmur, gently touching the exterior structure of the small robot, and she turned to Hanni with a smile. “You have a lot of talent, unnie.”

Hanni nearly choked on her own saliva at hearing how Danielle referred to her, and she swore she felt her heart beat a little faster. She definitely had to ask Danielle about it.

“D-did you just call me...?”

“What’s the matter? Aren’t you a year older than me?” Danielle asked matter-of-factly, laughing, though the laughter gradually gave way to a calm expression. “If... you don’t like me calling you that or don’t feel comfortable with it, it’s okay; I understand.”

“Oh, no, no! Not at all!” Hanni quickly responded. “It sounds nice when you call me unnie.”

Danielle looked at her with slightly raised eyebrows, and Hanni realized what she had said. She covered her face with both hands in embarrassment, and a laugh echoed through the room, so it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

“Okay,” Danielle said, approaching until there was no space between them, and as she brushed her nose against Hanni’s shoulder, she said, “unnie.”

Hanni became even more nervous; it was inevitable not to, and she watched Danielle, with her usual smile, which she had rarely seen falter and which she had managed to lift more than once, with her angelic profile and big, bright eyes, illuminating so beautifully against the sun peeking through her curtains, so lovely, so perfect... that her heart skipped a beat.

It was in that moment that Hanni realized she had fallen in love.

She had fallen in love with Danielle Marsh, with everything about her. She treasured every bike ride with her, every walk together after school, every hour in her room, every moment at the bus stop or every little gift between them; every word of support, every hug, every dedication. She had fallen deeply in love with her dark but bright eyes, her long and beautiful lashes, the scattered beauty marks on her face, the sound of her laughter, the way she smiled, and her lips, which she had wondered how it would feel to have them against hers. She couldn’t find the exact way to describe Danielle in just a few words. She was a person she had met suddenly and hadn’t known for long, but already wanted to spend more time with her and build a world together where it was just the two of them and no one else.

Because she couldn’t believe how quickly she had fallen in love with someone, and even so, there she was, with her first love beside her, and to whom she would never confess her true feelings, even though Minji had already made comments about it.

 

“You two look so cute together,” she remembered Minji saying one afternoon in mid-September, as they wandered through the neighborhood park and ate candies. “You know? I don’t know much, but it’s like you were made for each other.”

 

Hanni hoped that was the case.

The last days of October were approaching, with shouts of excitement for the upcoming Halloween and the terrifying costumes, and for her, a deep sense of nerves. Around the time, a robot fight tournament would be held, lasting quite a while, but offering a grand prize of two hundred dollars, and Hanni had agreed to join. It was needless to say how nervous she was.

With one last exhale into the night sky, she adjusted her hood and turned toward the tournament site: a small warehouse, not far from the city center. Danielle would also be there, accompanied by her brother, and that gave her even more motivation not to miss it.

She took the subway, and once she arrived at the site, she entered. With various arenas strategically placed on the floor, the competitors were already preparing their models, downloading sources, and making the necessary repairs before the fights. Hanni brought one of the largest robots she had managed to improve, with a heart drawn in the center, which she called AUGUST17: after the day and month she and Danielle had met and made their friendship official, and after the words Danielle had said to her a few days before, while walking along the narrow edges of the path.

 

“Hanni unnie, you can do it; you know I trust you.”

“But I don’t know how many skilled people will show up. Also...”

“Have a little confidence in yourself too,” Danielle looked at her, with those big and bright eyes that conveyed so much, and listened to her words, taking them deeply within. “You’re incredible and have a lot of talent, and even if you lose, I wouldn’t doubt that many will think you’re great. You have to give your best, unnie, but also remember that losing is okay. Give your best and show everyone what you’re made of, and I’ll be there for you.”

 

Those words were etched in her heart, as if branded with iron.

The presenter began to speak, announcing that they should take their positions for combat. Hanni, gathering her pieces with lightning speed, settled into one of the arenas, waiting for her first opponent, with a small control in her hands and her heart racing.

But she would give it her all, for herself and for Danielle.

The first wasn’t difficult to defeat, nor the second, nor the third, nor the fourth. She advanced so quickly that it seemed the fights were consumed in just a few mechanical blows, with all the pressure and the eyes of many spectators on her, while a large screen kept track of the winners of each battle. Hanni felt nervous, a lot, but when it came to demonstrating her invested effort in those machines, she took a posture of complete seriousness and challenge that went unnoticed, maneuvering the control with skill and delivering precise attacks and defending herself, without cheating or protesting, which earned her applause and brief compliments on more than one occasion.

One, two, three, four, she kept advancing and breaking enemy heads until she passed the semifinals and reached the coveted final, against a man in his twenties. The arena seemed to glow like gold even with small barriers around it that kept anyone else from passing, like monuments, and Hanni looked among the crowd, searching for someone familiar until she saw her. She hadn’t seen her all night, but she was there, watching, cheering her on, and Hanni smiled. Danielle was there for her; she hadn’t broken her promise, and that gave her the strength to make a promise too: win this match and the tournament. She wouldn’t lose having come this far; she would do it for her and for Danielle.

The first few minutes began. The opposing robot was strong; hers was agile, and with each attack, it seemed never-ending. Hanni started to sweat profusely the more she saw the sadistic smile on the guy’s face. She felt her hands couldn’t take it anymore from pressing the buttons so hard, until finally, she delivered a decisive blow that shattered the other robot into a thousand pieces, winning the battle.

“And the victory in this great tournament dedicated to Halloween goes to the legendary Master of the Circuit, Hanni Pham! A big round of applause for the winner!”

Hundreds of cheers began to be heard, amid applause and excited shouts saying her name, putting it up high. Hanni dropped the control with a loud clatter and ran her hands through her hair, breathing a sigh of relief and almost on the verge of tears. It was over, after so many hours, and the best part was that she had won; she had kept her promise, and she couldn’t have been more excited to talk to Danielle.

With many thanks for the compliments, especially to the presenter, and claiming her grand prize, which she pocketed safely, she left there with her prototypes in one hand and sparks in her shoes, searching for Danielle with her eyes until she found her. She was there, outside the nearest bus stop, with a smile and open arms waiting for her, and Hanni didn’t hesitate to run towards them to embrace her in a tight and comforting hug.

“Dani, I did it, I did it!!” she exclaimed with excitement, her head buried in Danielle’s chest as she shed a few tears of joy, while the taller girl gently her head. “I did it for both of us.”

“I knew you would, unnie. You’re unique and very talented; I never doubted you for a second,” Danielle said, her voice almost as emotional and tearful as Hanni’s, and Hanni felt her heart break in two at hearing Danielle’s beautiful words, so lovely... And she was sure there was no happier moment than that.

She wiped away the last of her tears, her heart overflowing with renewed energy, and looked directly into Danielle’s eyes. She could almost see small diamonds twinkling in her orbs with pride, and if only she could tell her that she decorated her fighting robot for the tournament thinking of her...

Danielle her lips, and Hanni felt like she stared at them for an eternity. They looked so lovely and so shiny... that she simply didn’t care, and in an impulse, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Danielle’s, closing her eyes as softly as the fragile flutter of a butterfly’s wings.

At first, it was clumsy, a bit awkward, and Danielle’s lips remained tense until Hanni pulled away and realized what she had done. The embarrassment at that moment was so much that her cheeks turned red, and she stepped back a few steps, fearful of Danielle’s reaction.

“I-I’m sorry, really, I... didn’t mean to do that...” she quickly tried to explain, trying to think of some justification. Danielle’s expression was one of pure confusion and disbelief, with furrowed brows and wide eyes, and that only made Hanni’s throat close up, as if she couldn’t speak. She feared she had crossed the line with that and, worse, angered Danielle. “F-forgive me, it... it wasn’t my intention, I didn’t...”

Hanni was trying to justify herself when, suddenly, she heard laughter. Yes, that had been laughter, and the most amazing part was that it had come from Danielle. She looked at her, confused, as she watched her approach slowly, almost like a dance move.

“Oh, unnie...” Danielle said with a light and carefree tone. “I didn’t know this was your way of getting excited, but... I must admit I did enjoy it.”

“W-what?”

“Sorry for not reacting in time; you took me by surprise and, Han, I don’t know exactly why you did it, but... I like you,” Danielle said. She did it with a hand brushing Hanni’s arm, the moonlight bathing the lines of her face. “I had a feeling we would get along from the first day we talked at the bus stop; you won me over the second time we met, and... unnie, I fell in love with you. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I can assure you there’s no one I want more than you.

“I showed you so many things about my world, about me, because I felt you were someone I could trust, and you did the same. I’m so grateful you accepted me into your days and let me bring you smiles; that’s all I want to do now because... unnie, I adore you, I adore you so much. You’re a wonderful, talented, and beautiful person who I enjoy spending my time with, and these might seem like abrupt words, but...”

Danielle’s words got stuck in when, suddenly, a pair of lips crashed against hers with more force, as if wanting to etch themselves inside her, and this time, she reciprocated. Dedicated, she pulled Hanni towards her until her back pressed against the small walls of the bus stop, and when they separated, searching for air, Hanni rested her forehead against Danielle’s, in a silent agreement where their breaths were the only sounds.

“Forgive me for... not letting you continue, but I felt my heart was going to burst from so many beautiful words...” Hanni said with some difficulty. Still, she smiled at seeing the laughter curving Danielle’s lips, those she had just kissed, so surreal as it seemed. “I love you too, Dani, I love you so much, and... I’ve fallen in love with you too. I really don’t know what would have happened to me now if I hadn’t met you because you have no idea how happy it makes me to know you’re still here by my side and that you feel the same way.” Hanni dared to look into Danielle’s eyes, so bright and so dark at the same time, and it seemed she would get lost in them. “Dani... don’t disappear from my life yet, okay? Don’t do it, please.”

“Never, unnie,” Danielle swore, with a hand gently caressing Hanni’s neck. “You can be sure.”

Danielle didn’t wait any longer and kissed her again, letting herself be carried away by the emotion and happiness of the moment, while taking Hanni’s pieces and prototypes with one hand and, with the other, touching one side of her hip. The moonlight illuminated Hanni’s face, highlighting how beautiful it was, how beautiful she was, and for Danielle, there were no more doubts. Hanni was made for her, and she for Hanni, and they found each other in nights where the bus stops were deserted and distant murmurs of victory shouts from battles echoed through the alleys, and that was all both needed now.