Yuna stepped out of the shelter after her shift, only to almost bump right into a pacing Hwang Eunbi who was still psyching herself up to enter the shelter for oh, maybe the last hour or two. Yuna didn’t even notice the smile that curled her lips as she caught herself quickly, even as Eunbi swore loudly from the near-collision.

“Hey watch it--” Any further words were ignominiously swallowed when Eunbi realized who it was that had nearly crashed into her. Yuna had an amused look on her face, and Eunbi briefly wondered if it was too late to turn tail and run away. 

“Uh...hi.” Eunbi wanted to slap herself for that, but her brain wasn’t working fast enough for a wittier opening line. Yuna’s eyes formed tiny crescents as her smile extended to the rest of her face, stepping closer to Eunbi and noting with pleasure how the other girl backed up in response, skittish as any feral stray. It made Yuna want to reach out and pinch the slightly pink cheeks, but she restrained herself and allowed Eunbi to put a safe distance between them.

“Do you want to go in or something?” 

Yuna’s tone was lightly teasing, and Eunbi flushed. As if that annoying woman didn’t know what she was here for! Wait, maybe she didn’t. Eunbi couldn’t be sure. Yuna looked so positively angelic that she instinctively didn’t want to attribute any negative qualities to her. It was probably bad to put anyone on a pedestal, but Eunbi wasn’t thinking straight at this point.

“No! I mean, I came to see you.” Eunbi blurted, then turned an interesting shade of red when what she realized what she said. Yuna chuckled, finally giving in to the temptation and reaching forward to pinch the rosy red of Eunbi’s cheek briefly, only letting go when Eunbi gave her a shocked, disbelieving stare at her action.

“Oh, whatever for?” 

Truth be told, Yuna enjoyed watching Eunbi squirm. After all, she had already given the girl her number once, a move that surprised even herself. Yuna didn’t think she was ready to mingle like this again, but Eunbi was cute, and an innocent baby gay could hardly hurt her...right?

Eunbi glared at the unrepentant Choi Yuna, who had one arm on her waist, thumb hooked in one of the belt loops on her shorts as they stared each other down. Perhaps it was the daylight, and also the lack of intimidating makeup on the taller’s face, that moved Eunbi to be more brash in her moves, because the smaller dancer moved forward aggressively into Yuna’s space and grabbed her wrist impulsively.

“We’re getting coffee.”

That wasn’t an invitation, it was practically a command. Yuna raised an eyebrow, but allowed herself to be led from the steps of the shelter and out onto the street. They hadn’t walked more than a few steps when what remained of Eunbi’s impulsive courage failed her, but when she tried to let go of Yuna’s wrist, the taller reversed the grip and took Eunbi’s hand in hers, deliberately interlocking their fingers together. 

“Coffee sounds great.” 

Eunbi’s ears went red when Yuna leaned in to whisper that into her ear -- really, just because she was taller was no excuse to keep doing that!! -- but the choreographer was able to keep her expression steady even though her heart was dancing to a rapid staccato from the proximity.

Yuna beamed at her shy companion, absently running her thumb across the back of Eunbi’s hand, feeling a light shiver run up the smaller girl’s arm at the contact. It was curious how sensitive Eunbi was, really. She never really had someone respond to her every move like this, not even before, when she had actually been dating someone. It was...interesting, having someone so easily affected by her, and it was more curiosity than anything else that led Yuna to keep testing Eunbi’s boundaries. 

If Eunha were here right now, she’d have scolded Yuna for being an irrepressible tease. Eunha was a lot more principled about such things, whereas Yuna’s thought processes often went down unorthodox routes that made little to no sense to others. 

However, since the voice of reason was not here to restrain a curious pup, Eunbi simply just had to suffer the consequences. If her hands were clammy, she didn’t have time to regret it, not with Yuna gripping it tightly enough to keep her from pulling away. 

Then again, she couldn’t quite complain, could she? She had a beautiful girl clinging onto her arm, their fingers intertwined as if they were lovers, and more than a few heads were turning to look at them. Unconsciously, Eunbi pulled Yuna closer, as if to protect her from the passing gazes. No one else needed to notice her angel except her.

“So where are we going?” 

Yuna’s sense of direction was questionable at best, and Eunbi had dragged her off her usual route between the animal rescue and home. Short of calling a taxi or asking Eunha to come look for her, Yuna wasn’t actually sure how to get back. She looked down at their joined hands, wondering what had possessed her to allow Eunbi to lead her away. They barely knew each other, and she wasn’t blind enough to not notice that Eunbi was interested in her. It was probably unwise to follow a virtual stranger god knows where, even if it were in broad daylight.

“Um…” Eunbi’s mind ground to a halt again, having just let her feet wander randomly as the majority of her brain cells were still hyped by the fact that Yuna was pressed against her side. Fortunately, her eyes spotted a sleepy little cafe tucked away between two other quaint shops further down the alley, and she quickly pointed to it.

“Right there!”

Yuna looked over. She would have missed it entirely if Eunbi hadn’t pointed it out. A faded sign with a sleepy cat curled up on a piano sat next to the shop’s name, in fanciful lettering.

Moonlight Cafe.

An old memory, of playing the piano by moonlight, spilling through tall windows and gauzy curtains that left long shadows across gleaming marble. Yuna’s jaw tightened unconsciously, her grip on Eunbi’s hand slackening as she took a step back, eliciting a concerned glance from her companion.

“You don’t like it? We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Eunbi’s voice was careful, her gaze earnest as she looked into Yuna’s dark eyes. For all her outward brusqueness, Eunbi was a surprisingly sensitive girl, and had sensed the shift in Yuna’s mood almost instantly. Her hand was warm in Yuna’s suddenly clammy ones, and Yuna’s eyes fell on their intertwined fingers, her own long and pale against the warmer tones of Eunbi’s skin.

You can’t be stuck in the past forever, Yuna.  

Eunha’s voice echoed in her ears, a timely reminder. Yuna took a deep breath, settling her rattled nerves, a slow smile climbing back onto her lips. She didn’t want to be held hostage to the shadows in her past. She wanted, no, deserved better. 

But first she had to take that step out on her own.

“I don’t mind, but only if the coffee’s on you.” Yuna’s voice was more confident than she actually felt, and Eunbi’s answering grin was like a ray of sunshine melting the frost on her heart.

“Anything you want.”

A gentle smile crept onto Yuna’s face. Eunbi was about as transparent as a kitten taking its first steps, but it was endearing, and it was about time she gave herself a chance again.