Prompt: Person A gets caught under the rain and goes to Person B’s house!

The push and pull had to come to a stop one day, and it happened to be this very night in 1965.

The pouring rain outside pelted against the roof of Joohyun’s house relentlessly, its sound distracting her from her book. The string of words before her seemed to even run away and jumble up as the rain continued to get stronger, fumbling with her concentration until she just groaned and closed the book once and for all for the night. Silence lingered around her home, a sense of loneliness permeating the air next to that subtle whiff of rainwater. All by herself tonight after a long, long day.

And an even longer afternoon.

To paint the scene, I’ll take you to where it all happens. Beneath the roof of that grand and regal building were all the young bucks walking with books in hands and gossip at the sleeves. The nicely dressed boys with crew cuts and fine sweaters, peering over at the fresh and sweet girls with light dresses and big hairdos. Bae Joohyun was the subject of popularity at this time. The woman with a cold presence and girl-next-door-like beauty. The woman who was clean cut and desired by all the future army-boys and big stars of hollywood.

And yet, her eyes never stayed with any of the brave (or foolish) guys that attempted to take her on a date. Instead, her eyes always drifted to that intriguing character at school, wearing a leather jacket with pride and not caring a bit about the stares she received. Her hair, relatively short and chestnut brown, to the side like a true Marilyn Monroe aficionado. And yet, it held an unique quality, like you couldn’t tell this girl what to do. That was Kang Seulgi, who only looked at Joohyun from afar and with infinite desire, but hasn’t dared to get near her since… that incident in the bathroom.

The incident where a desolate and desperate Joohyun clung to the leather-wearing bad girl for consolation, where she exchanged one fatal moment of passion. A kiss, a strong kiss of all consuming passion that lasted a second too-long. No one was a witness, but when they pulled away Joohyun felt something had shifted completely. Shifted without her wanting to, with someone who she – by rules of her clique and by rules of society – should hate and shun away from ‘the normal people.’

Joohyun was understandably spooked, running away from the scene like she had committed murder.

From that point forward, all they did was glance past one another and continue forward. Seulgi kept the secret, kept her cool, undeterred from what happened which made Joohyun wonder why she seemed so normal about it. Perhaps it was the old-fashioned way of Joohyun’s thinking and upbringing that made her feel so shaken over anything remotely ‘out of the norm’ and the poor girl didn’t know where her two feet were standing to begin with. Still, she kept her distance and never interacted with the social outcast.

Until that night at the mythical drive-in theater. A hot spot in town where all the youngins went to hang out and watch a movie – if only for a second or two before they got distracted with their drinks, their dates or their friends. In reality, the people that went there were rarely watching a movie, only there to soak up on the company and the possibility of something exciting happening.

That exciting thing happened to be Joohyun’s own little disaster. A date she begrudgingly accepted, a dude with a real case of cockiness and lack of respect for personal space, who pathetically weaseled his way out of coming with a car and with a wallet – leaving Joohyun to pay for the snacks and the ticket. Sitting there in the small row behind the sea of cars for all of those who preferred to watch a movie out in the open, subjected to the cool breeze of the night, was Joohyun next to her date who was not at all focused on the movie but rather on how good he looked with his arm around Joohyun. Until he started to get the idea of trying to kiss her. Joohyun felt small, like she was compressing more and more at how uncomfortable she was, trying to push away.

Then it was like god played a puny little trick on her, just a small tiny one. 

“Hey, man, knock that off,” came a cool voice from behind.

When the man and Joohyun turned around, only Joohyun felt like she turned pale. Seulgi, wearing her leather jacket and those tough looking boots. Around her were people like her, other social outcasts that were too busy chatting and laughing among themselves to care about the situation right before them. But her and her presence alone, Joohyun didn’t notice herself uncoiling and relaxing once she realized Seulgi was there.

“We’re trying to watch a movie,” Seulgi said firmly, glancing over at Joohyun for a brief moment and trying not to let the stare linger. “And she doesn’t seem to like that, knock it off.”

“Shut up, hood,” the man said with laughter.

And that’s when Seulgi got off her chair and stood up tall and menacing. “What did you say?”

“I said shut up, hood–.”

That’s when the first fist flew, straight to the face. More than enough to start a bit of a riot. Joohyun only stepped away and kept far away as a bout between two people became a bout of many against many. Before she could even see where it lead, she ran and walked back home, only the sound of clapping thunder in the sky announcing itself to accompany her on the way home.

And now, here she was. Safe and sound, dry and disappointed at home. At home where her parents were not, out having their anniversary dinner. She was not supposed to be home until way later, and they were supposed to be home by then but things didn’t quite work out the way she expected them to that night.

But maybe that wasn’t so bad.

The unexpected knock on her front door had her bolting from her seat and away from her thoughts, the clap of thunder further exacerbating her fright to the point she didn’t respond and hesitated to even walk up to the front door.

It wasn’t until the next set of knocks that she stood up from her cozy couch and asked with a trembling voice.

“Who is it?”

After a moment of silence, the voice on the other end of the door spoke.

“It’s me, Seulgi.”

And suddenly all fear went out the window. Like Joohyun felt protected by her mere presence again, comforted. Without realizing Joohyun had opened that front door and allowed herself to just face Seulgi. Face to face, without looking away. The woman was wet from the rainwater but not so much so, being safe and sound under the porch’s roof, but the cold breeze outside got to even her – the tough and cool. 

“What… what are you–.” 

“It’s…” Seulgi interrupted, trailing off for a moment before she composed herself, clenching her jaw to avoid even shivering. “It’s cold out here.”

Joohyun looked at her confused, blinking in total silence a few times before she shook her head. “Ah, yes. Get inside.”

With a nod, Seulgi walked in and took her time, never in a hurry despite feeling like she was closer to hypothermia more and more. In contrast, her cool and slow movements looked so uncaring next to the fast and hasty moves of Joohyun. Joohyun who closed the door, removed Seulgi’s leather jacket, hung it on the coat hanger, and hastily told her to stay there as she went to get a towel.

In all of that moment, all Seulgi did was stare at her with a vague look of surprise and wonder, watching her run so fast to get a towel for her. 

When Joohyun came back with the towel, she came back slower, like she had realized how unusual she looked at that moment. With no words spoken above a simple “thank you” from Seulgi, Joohyun reached over and began to dry Seulgi’s wet hair – usually styled so beautifully now looked so human and mundane. Like she was human like the rest of folks. And yet, Joohyun couldn’t help but to notice that ballerina-like physique with some awe. Someone great was right before her eyes and without the leather jacket and the menacing stare Joohyun felt like people were losing on a great individual. A young woman who Joohyun has seen in class answer so cleverly, a young woman with a heart of gold that always helped those in need even if they shunned her right after, a young woman who Joohyun has seen go toe to toe with teachers when they’re a little too ‘square’ and unfair.

A woman she felt intrigued to touch like last time, remembering the feeling of strong biceps she felt in her fingertips when she squeezed those arms; she felt compelled to hug her close and closer, feeling how steady and sure she was, hoping to be wrapped under that invisible blanket of security that this mysterious girl somehow had. 

Joohyun hadn’t realized it at that moment, looking up into Seulgi’s eyes, she found the woman staring back at her. A gentle look, no rebellion and no attitude, just a look. Joohyun’s hands idly kept brushing Seulgi’s wet tresses with the towel but at that moment it began to matter less and less. In the cozy, warm comfort of that house it didn’t matter. They could address something entirely different, something unspoken, without hurry. The clock stopped to tick, a malfunction that Joohyun kept fruitlessly trying to mend, and the rain stopped making so much noise.

The confused normal girl felt the safest in the presence of the bad girl. Who would’ve thunk it. 

These were the butterflies she was supposed to feel when in close proximity to someone she was going out with, this was the security she should feel.

“You’re not drying me up at all,” Seulgi absentmindedly said, her words drifting apart in the middle as she realized words were just noise at this golden moment.

“I know,” Joohyun nodded slowly and said equally slower, she understood it as well.

Then, with little words, it was like their bodies pulled each other closer. Hungry lips met with calm and sure ones, a kiss that was slow but never lacking feeling. In that moment, Joohyun was present, feeling every little detail and savoring the taste of wildness on Seulgi’s lips; she felt her hands place the towel around Seulgi’s neck to cup Seulgi’s cheeks almost desperately, like in the movies. Seulgi’s own hands naturally fell on Joohyun’s waist and kept her closer, vaguely possessive in nature as she relished in the softness of Joohyun’s lips. Those lips that nervously pursed when she walked by, those lips that gave way to a gorgeous smile, now kissed so zealously after pretending she didn’t like Seulgi for quite some time.

Seulgi’s wet hair and pants almost seemed to bother none to either of them, melting together as their kiss continued. Only when the grandfather clock made its thunderous noise out of time, they both pulled away from one another in surprise. Joohyun was left more surprised than Seulgi, admittedly.

Strangely enough, the woman who was once so against talking to Seulgi… 

“T-thank you.”

Was the first to speak.

“For what?”

Joohyun shrugged. “For everything tonight…”

And the rest is history.