The city is a blur of movement around her. Tears blind Solar as she turns, running as quickly as her legs can carry her, bolting down the street way like a marathon runner in their prime; quickening her pace to an all out sprint. The pounding noise of her shoes resonating off the pavement of the sidewalk with a clanging echo that matched her heart throbbing inside her chest with the thick grief and fear she felt as she ran. Solar continued to run, like the winter breeze colliding into inanimate objects and crashing waves hitting the shore line. Like eagles soaring across indigo skies and a herd of cheetahs racing through verdant meadows. Her long, coffee coloured locks whipped back and forth behind her like a waving tale as she flung herself over guard rails and zooming through a large field in Yeouido Park. She didn’t know where she was nor did she know where she was heading. All she knew was she had to keep running forward. Not stopping for anything. At the edge of the pond she trips, falling by the rim of water. Getting into the kneeling position, she gets a good look at her reflection in the shine of the water. Solar gazed at her own face but she did not see what regular people saw. If people saw her they would just think she was a regular pretty girl. But to Solar she sees a face that didn’t belong to her, a face of a dead girl that she was modeled after. Something flashed beneath the surface of her hardened expression, she slowly rubbed her face as if it was a piece of art. She felt her gentle features, her perfect facial shape. Solar bites on her lower lip and her eyes turn glossy with tears. She tries to blink them away and when she realizes that she can't, she starts brushing them away with her hand and stares at the ground.

She hides her tears, and with it all the pain she's been through. She turns to her reflection again trying to see herself. She manages to fake a smile that buries her pain deep inside her heart. But her eyes remain cold, like nothing in this world could melt them. Standing up from the ground, she presses the right side of her face, making a seam appear across the center of her facial features. She pulled the right panel of her face off revealing her robotic self underneath. Cold, mechanical, expressionless, and a stark contrast to the other side of her face. Whether or not Solar liked it, this was her true self. A mere copy of an actual person, she may of had her own memories and feelings; but she would never have her own face. The emptiness in her heart, the numbness pounding her brain, the synthetic tears that flowed unchecked from her eyes, the shear nothingness that now took hold of her soul threatened to engulf her entirely. Her legs buckled, knees sinking into the sodden earth. She holds the panel of her face, despising every feature on her robotic self. “AAAAAAAAH!” She screamed throwing the panel of her face into a nearby bush. Solar stood on the brink of something She couldn't describe. The weight of everything seemed to press down on her shoulders and she struggled to even think. It was too much. All of it. And somehow, She had to stop thinking about it. The darkness grew darker; her grief grew sharper; all of it seemed to only grow in strength and she began to wonder if things could ever get better. A rustle of movement sounded making Solar turn around to see Byul, standing there.

“Um....Ugh.....You dropped something girl”~Moonbyul said holding onto the piece of Solar’s face.

“How did you find me?”~Solar asked tentatively 

“Wasn’t hard.... asked  around if anyone saw a brown haired girl running real fast away from my apartment”~Moonbyul said walking closer

“Why...... are you here?”~Solar mumbled standing up to face Byul

“Look I know you hate me right now....”~Moonbyul spoke steadily

“You think I’m still mad with you?”~Solar hastily responded

“Well yeah..... Are you not?”~Moonbyul asked nervously 

“No. I just........”~Solar said clasping her hands below her waist

“It wasn’t you fault, She was encrypted we wouldn’t of even been able to access the SLR’s memory......”~Moonbyul stated

“Not that...... its what she said... she was right”~Solar said sitting down near the ponds edge

“What do you mean?”~Moonbyul asked sitting down next to her

“I am just a synth Byul. Just like any other SLR”~Solar retorted crying into her hands

“You’re not like them....”~Moonbyul said resting her hand onto Solar’s shoulder

“But I am! I’m not like a person, I was made in a factory. Same as any other SLR, put together from pieces like a car”~Solar said looking up at Byul.

“Well you’re prettier than any car I’ve seen”~Moonbyul joked making Solar giggle 

“You always know how to brighten my day”~Solar said smiling a bit

“But you’re unique, baby girl”~Moonbyul said caressing Solar’s face plate

“How? I’m only a SLR”~Solar said a single tear streaming down the side of her face

“No you’re not, after we met you became so much more”~Moonbyul said wiping away her tear. Solar looked at Byul intensely seeing the raw comfort that she exhumed. A gentle yet almost warm comfort that one would feel from a hug, yet the only contact they had at the moment was through Byul’s soft hand.

“You may be a synth, that feels human. But you don’t have to be either. For me you just have to be Solar, the girl I fell for”~Moonbyul said bringing Solar in for a kiss. For the time their lips were locked together the world itself ceased to exist, unimportant and indistinct as a wet painting left out in a torrent of rain that fell from the dark cloud above. When they pulled back Solar’s eyes were like every fantasy Byul ever had of her, every moment she had wished could exist between the two of hem. The kiss, the look, a stolen moment that could have just washed away but instead was set, colour-fast, and unforgettable. Byul handed Solar her face panel and gave a small smile. 

“Now make yourself decent and lets go home”~Moonbyul said as Solar attached her face panel with a click and hiss, reforming her face again.

“Ok lets go”~Solar said reaching out to hold Byul’s hand as they walked back through the park.

“Also did you every think about going pink with your hair?”~Moonbyul asked coyly, a small grin engulfing

“What?!”~Solar said slapping Byul across the face

“OK I deserved that”~Moonbyul said laughing.