Cold and empty was what Jungeun felt. It wasn’t a new feeling, but something she had grown accustomed to over the years. Something that took over her whole body whenever her eyes glazed over the shining city in front of her. No matter how long she watched, no matter how beautiful it looked, the emptiness was always evident. “Hey Jiwoo,” Jungeun’s voice was soft, a stark contrast to the blaring sounds that escaped the city. 

“Why don’t we run away?” She turned her body so that she could be face to face with the girl besides her, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. The both of them had nothing left for them in the city, no one else that they cared about, all they had left was each other. “We can go away to Emerald.” Jungeun continued, her voice pleading, worried that Jiwoo would tell her no and leave her like everyone else. 

Jiwoo’s knitted brows thought over Jungeun’s words, the idea sounded nice and very tempting, but neither of them had the resources to just pack up and run away to somewhere they’d never been. Jiwoo wasn’t even sure if Emerald was any different, and she didn’t want them to end up just as worse. 

“We don’t have the money to run Jungie, and even if we did, we have no way of getting there.”

A sigh escaped Jiwoo’s lips and she could see the specs of hurt in Jungeun’s expression. She didn’t want to brush off the girl’s offer but she also needed Jungeun to know that now wasn’t the right time. “I’m not saying no, ok? It’s just…We need to stay a little longer. Only until we’ve managed to figure everything out.” Jiwoo took Jungeun’s hands with hers, rubbing small circles to reassure the girl in front of her. 

Moments passed and Jungeun finally looked up, a faint smile on her face. “That’s probably a better idea,” her smile grew when Jiwoo giggled and soon enough Jungeun was laughing along with her. Jungeun’s laughter died down and she leaned her body forward, resting her head in the crook of Jiwoo’s neck. 

They both stayed like that, neither of them wanting to say or do anything that would ruin the moment. Jiwoo’s hold around Jungeun’s waist tightened and she felt her body relax as the sky turned darker and the starts came out to shine. 

A blaring alarm started to ring throughout the city and Jungeun groaned, there was 15 minutes until the gates of the city would be closed and no one could get in. Neither of them wanted to be outside when that happened. 

Reluctantly, Jungeun pulled away, a small smile on her lips, which Jiwoo returned with her own. “Lets go.” She stood up, arm stretched out so that Jiwoo could take it, and when the both of them were on their feet, Jungeun laced their fingers together and headed back inside the city walls.