“Jeongyeon, what do we do now?”, the older girl stuttered. The fear and confusion as a consequence of the fresh event lingering in her head, like a movie on repeat, it was almost like she could feel the sting on her face again and again, forcing the tears out, even if her mind wasn't working well enough to have a proper reaction.

Earlier that day, Nayeon and Jeongyeon had made the most important decision of their relationship: coming out to their parents.

“Are you sure it's time?”

“We couldn't even spend our anniversary because we didn't have a good excuse for our parents to let us spend the day out, see the problem? It's more than time to”, that was a fact. They both had family appointments and there wouldn't be a convincing explanation for such a special day.

“I’m scared”, Nayeon whispered. The younger girl pulled her closer into her embrace.

“It's a 50% chance. Let's pursue it. Do you love me?”

“You know how much”, Nayeon looked up for a peck on her girlfriend’s soft rosy lips.

“Then there's no reason to be scared.”

What they didn't expect was that Nayeon's parents would react in the worst way possible. They knew Jeongyeon as a friend, but as the truth spilled from their daughter’s lips, the disgust and disappointment expressions took place of interested eyes. Her mother cried. Her father tried to lock Nayeon in her bedroom and kick Jeongyeon out. They resisted. After a war of words, the man lost the patience he had left, putting his hand up in the air and landing on his child’s face, and if it had stopped there it would be good compared to what they suffered. Nayeon had a wound on her eyebrow, her arms shading purple, and Jeongyeon's back aching from being pushed against a counter to not intervene.

At Jeongyeon’s also but not as fervently christian household, it wasn't much different, although not aggressive. They cleaned Nayeon's blood, but that was all before stating they wouldn't accept that inside their home. Her sisters tried to change their parent's mind. No success. It ended up with the couple in the middle of the night, sitting on a bench in a square. The lighting wasn't enough for the place, no one but them. Nothing but two backpacks of clothes and a handbag of some of their stuff, plus a hand mark on the left side of Nayeon's face. What hurt the most wasn't being hit, but knowing no one supported them. Answering her girlfriend's question, she said:

“I don't know, but I don't care.”

“How come you're so calm?”, there she was, desperate like it was the end of the world, and her girlfriend exhaling confidence and peace.

“I'm calm because I’m at home”, simple as that, but it wasn't enough for her.

“What do you mean?”

“Nayeon, my home is any place on Earth with you. As long as I’m by your side, I don't fear anything”, now both of them crying.

“Jeongyeon… I love you”, they interlaced one of their hands, and with the other, she held her face.

“It's going to be hard for us, but let's be each other's hope.”

“You already are my hope”, Nayeon cooed, leaning in for a kiss. Their lips touched softly like the first time, deepening like it was the last. It wasn't a happy kiss, but not entirely sad. It was a new beginning for them, a start.

“Nothing matters anymore. It's only you and me now, whatever comes next, we will face together”, Jeongyeon said between pants. They heard someone from far behind, shouting:

“Go find a studio!”, only fueling them to kiss once again, with all their lungs and hearts.