Moonbyul spent the rest of the day in a hazy rush. She mixed up four orders which earned her some sharp words from her boss. Several hasty apologies and four long hours later, Moonbyul found herself peering nervously through the glass doors of their café. Sure enough, Solar was there, waiting patiently. The afternoon sunshine brought out the highlights in her hair and she seemed to be completely at peace, watching the passers by calmly.

A knot loosened in Moonbyul’s chest. She had spent the whole day worrying that she was either going to be late or Solar just wasn’t going to show. Now that Solar was actually waiting out there, Moonbyul found herself frozen at the door. All at once, she regretted volunteering to show her around. Why, why, why did she say she could so this?

Thankfully, Solar spotted Moonbyul through Blitz’s doors which jolted Moonbyul out of her anxiety-induced spiral of regret.

“Hey,” Solar smiled when Moonbyul approached. Moonbyul waved awkwardly back.

“Shall we go?” Moonbyul nerves faltered for a moment but then her local instincts kicked in. She was born and bred in this city she could show anyone around here blind. She took Solar down the main street, showing her how one could get to any part of the city from here. As they walked, Solar peppered her with questions.

“How long have you lived here?” Solar’s questions were always accompanied by a slight tilt of her head, which Moonbyul found endearing. As they talked and walked, Moonbyul found her nerves melting away. Solar was hilarious and not as intimidating as she looked. But still, every time their eyes met, Moonbyul’s heart skipped a few beats.

After Moonbyul showed her the main parts of the city, Solar sighed. “You’re such a great guide. I wish you could show me around the university as well. That place is huge; I lost my way three times just on orientation day.”

“I know the way around the uni,” Moonbyul replied hastily, her heart leaping at the thought of spending more time with Solar. The other girl turned around, her surprise obvious in the widening of her eyes.

“You study here too?”

“Yeah, I take night classes. I’m trying to get a business degree. It’s taking me a little longer then I expected, but I’m getting there.” Moonbyul’s mind turned to the mountain of assignments waiting for her at home and winced internally.

“Do you want to open your own café someday or something?” Solar was clearly joking around. Moonbyul flushed and look away, embarrassed. “Oh, you actually do want that, don’t you? I wasn’t teasing!” Solar seemed mortified. “I’m really sorry. It’s a cool idea, I swear.”

Moonbyul smiled ruefully, she had heard it all before. “A barista having dreams of opening her own café? Its fine, I know how it cliché it sounds.”  

“No, no,” Solar reached out and placed her hand on Moonbyul’s arm. They had stopped walking now and were simply facing each other.

The sun was now low in the sky and was throwing it orange rays all through the city. In this light, Solar’s hair looked dark, almost black. Her eyes were wide and beseeching as she took Moonbyul’s hand.  

“I didn’t mean to be condescending. I know how it feels like to have people laugh at your ambitions. It’s a great idea, I swear.” Moonbyul was taken aback. It felt strange to have someone’s genuine support after being snubbed for so long. She smiled her thanks at Solar which earned Moonbyul another beam.

They continued their tour of the university. Solar had given her a list of all her classes and Moonbyul showed her the easiest way to them. It was dark by the time they had finished.

Solar plopped herself down on a bench and sighed. “That was exhausting. But thank you.”

Moonbyul took a seat next to her, enjoying how comfortable she felt around Solar now. “No problem. It’s pretty easy to get around once to know the main buildings.”

They sat in silence for a while. Moonbyul was mulling over Solar’s words from earlier. She was hesitant to ask, but their sun lit evening together had seeded as sense of intimacy between the two girls.

“What did you mean?” Moonbyul asked quietly.

“Hmm?” Solar seemed to be miles away, her eyes on the velvety evening sky.

“When you said you knew how it felt like to have people laugh at your ambitions.” Solar’s face turned a little stony at Moonbyul’s question. Moonbyul prayed it wasn’t a mistake. She genuinely liked Solar and wanted to spend a lot more time with her. But if she ruined it now …

Solar sighed, “I always wanted to study music. My dad always scoffed. He told be there wasn’t any real future in the arts. When I insisted, it became personal. He told me I wasn’t talented enough and that I was too ugly to make it. It was painful, to say the least.”

Moonbyul nodded. She had been through the same sadness that was now reflected in Solar’s eyes. Slowly, she placed a comforting hand on Solar’s knee. “How did you get here then?”

“I ran away. My trust fund is funding my studies now. We’ll se if my dad’s right I guess.” Solar’s voice was bitter. Moonbyul squeezed her knee.

“For what it’s worth, you have a fan in me.” Solar placed her hand on Moonbyul’s and smiled gratefully. Moonbyul felt the beginning of something new springing between them and silently wondered if it would ever be something more.

They spent the rest of the evening in companionable silence, each wrapped in thoughts of their own future. 

Note: Everything in this story is completely fictional and is no way a reflection of Moonbyul and Solar's real lives.