Shadows chasing a car as it burns in the orange glow of the setting sun. Long black hair trailing out of the window, carried by the wind, light glinting off her sunglasses as her tongue toys with candy in . Pale fingers pluck out the stem of her lollipop, tossing it out onto the highway where it tumbles across tar. Dirt and sand and dust cover the white plastic in seconds.

"Shuhua, you really shouldn't litter," a quiet voice admonishes.

Twenty-year-old Yeh Shuhua turns with a grin, running her fingers through her hair. Drawing up the window, she tugs off her sunglasses and places them atop her head. She kicks up her bare feet and rests them on the dashboard of the car. As she turns to her companion and current driver, a careless grin crosses her face. "Aw, Soojin, really? There's no police here. In fact, there's nothing out here, so who cares?"

"I care," Soojin says calmly, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Seo Soojin, the environmentalist." Shuhua's toes curl playfully as she draws out trees in the clouds with a finger. She tries to imagine Soojin with her striking looks and stoic demeanour and shy smile standing among the crowd, protesting against climate change. Shuhua laughs. "Can't picture it. You're too quiet."

Soojin sneers and indicates herself. "But I look the part."

Shuhua raises her brows. Really, in a (faux) leather jacket and ripped jeans and combat boots, Soojin would probably fit in better with a biker gang. But sure. She lifts her shoulders and drops them, scooting further down in her seat as she lounges. "Mhm."

"You should know better than that, anyway, miss rich girl who decided to get away from home on her birthday." Soojin glances at her briefly before turning a corner. "And please, for the love of god, pull down your dress."

"Well, aren't you all uppity today?" Exactly because Soojin has said that, Shuhua makes it a point to pull her grey dress up so the hem rides mid-thigh - or what her parents like to call 'The Danger Zone'. Any higher and she'd be exposing a lot more than just leg. Not that she cares, there's only Soojin here to see everything on display, and considering their relationship, what exactly has the older woman not seen?

Soojin glances over again and huffs. She reaches out to adjust Shuhua's dress. Shuhua takes the opportunity to grab the hand and have it brush on the inside of her thigh, teasing. Soojin jolts at the touch of smooth skin. She gulps audibly.

"Shuhua."

"Hm?"

"Pull your dress down, or else."

"Or else what?" Feigning ignorance, Shuhua chucks Soojin's chin with a finger. She notices how Soojin's hand hasn't moved from her thigh, fingers tracing random shapes on her milky-white skin.

"Or else I won't let you kiss me any more." Soojin retracts her hand and drums her fingers on the steering wheel.

Shuhua gasps, scandalised. Sitting up straight, she hurriedly tugs her dress down to its normal length. "How dare you threaten me like this, Seo Soojin."

"Oh, I dare." The smirk on Soojin's lips is infuriating. It's the look she always gets when she knows, just knows she's going to get her way with Shuhua, because Shuhua is hopelessly whipped for her and her y dance choreographer .

Groaning, Shuhua flops down in the seat again. There's no way of winning against Soojin. Pursing her lips, she stares out of the window. Her stomach growls at the same time as thunderstorm clouds overhead. In no time at all a gentle drizzle starts, quickly escalating into a storm. Droplets of water rain down on the windscreen of the car like bullets from a machine gun, obscuring the view outside. 

"Looks like we'll need to take an emergency stop somewhere," Soojin mutters. "Keep your eye out for a diner or something, won't you?"

"A diner?" Shuhua perks up. She directs her best puppy-eyed look at Soojin. "Does this mean we can get... food?"

Soojin chuckles. "Of course."

There is no better incentive for Shuhua than the prospect of food, Soojin thinks. Sure enough, Shuhua has her face pressed against the cold windowpane, staring out into the grayscale world of endless highways and empty plains in search of an oasis. Her eyes, opened as wide as she can, scan their surroundings for a place to take shelter in.

"There!" Shuhua suddenly shouts, finger erratically tapping against the glass. "Do you see it? Do you do you do you?"

Soojin has to squint to see what Shuhua's pointing at, but she soon sees a sign flashing neon pink against the backdrop of rain. Swerving towards it, she parks by the diner. Both women turn around to check the backseat. No umbrellas. They exchange glances. Shuhua grins and wiggles her eyebrows. Soojin sighs and shrugs off her jacket, leaving a simple tee underneath. She flicks the jacket onto Shuhua, covering the younger girl's head.

"Use it," Soojin instructs before stepping out into the pouring rain and slamming the car door shut behind her.

Shuhua grips the sleeve of the jacket in her hand, a bashful grin on her face, cheeks flushing pink. Who gave Soojin the right to be so cool? Tugging at the jacket, she makes a mad dash out of the car. Her bare feet splash through small puddles as she hurries into the relative warmth of the diner. Tracking footprints on the tiled floor, water drips down from the jacket, soaking into her hair and dress.

Shuhua wonders whether she looks like a ghost right now in her plainest dress and wavy long hair covering half her face. Her skin, pale like a vampire, feet bare for no other reason than the fact that she doesn't like to wear shoes. Peeking out from under her hair, she stares around at the diner. It's empty save for a mildly terrified pimply-faced waiter and the rotund cook behind the counter.

And Seo Soojin, of course, damp shirt clinging to her skin and showing the outline of her bra, bangs swept aside, waving at Shuhua. Shuhua scoots over towards her, wiggling into the adjacent seat. The waiter, gangly with too-long limbs that didn't really know how to function or where to go, shuffles up with a pencil and notepad in hand. He refuses to make eye contact with Shuhua, possibly too freaked out by how odd she probably looks right now, and instead addresses Soojin.

"Um, would you, um, would you like to order?"

Shuhua discreetly drapes the leather jacket onto Soojin's front, covering her up.

Soojin considers her options for a while. "I want a chocolate milkshake. How about you, Shu?"

Shuhua's eyes focus on Soojin's cherry-red lips hungrily. "Vanilla milkshake with whipped cream." She her own lips and meets Soojin's gaze. "And a cherry on top."

Soojin's hand sneaks out under the table to squeeze Shuhua's thigh. Control yourself, the gesture says. "That's all, thanks," Soojin says aloud to the waiter. She diverts her attention back to Shuhua. The waiter takes that as his cue to leave them alone.

"Can you believe it's raining?" Soojin grumbles once he's gone. "This major, I was supposed to have you back home by tonight. Your parents are going to be furious."

"It's fine," Shuhua waves her concern away. "My parents don't actually care about me all that much."

Soojin shoots her a glare. "They do, and you know it."

"I know they think of me more as an investment than anything else," Shuhua sniffs. "Study hard, get a good degree, go find a high-paying job, find a rich husband who will marry me and spend lots of money."

"I mean-"

"I don't care about any of that stuff, and you know it." Shuhua snuggles up to Soojin, ignoring the copious amounts of rainwater that have pooled where they sit. "I just want you. Even if they're against it. them."

Soojin sighs and with great difficulty extracts herself from Shuhua. "You might think that, but I still would like to have their approval."

"You're oddly traditional." Shuhua her head. "Where did that cool world-famous dancer persona go to?"

Soojin chuckles. "I'm still here. But the "cool world-famous dancer" bit doesn't apply here. That dancer is free-spirited, couldn't care less about the world, can't be tied down." She reaches out and takes Shuhua's hands in hers, drawing circles on the smooth skin on the back of Shuhua's hands. "But sometimes I have to be very serious. Especially with you. Especially with us."

"Jinjin-"

"I care about you, Shu. A lot, like crazy, I love you so much it drives me nuts just even thinking about being away from you. I can't even imagine you marrying some random rich douchebag who doesn't give two s, I think I'd rather ing die." Soojin takes a deep breath and gazes into Shuhua's eyes, searching for constellations in a sea of stars. "So I'd ditch that stupid persona in a heartbeat if it means your parents will let me be with you."

Shuhua's breath hitches in . She lunges at Soojin, wrapping her in a hug, pressing their lips together, kissing with such force until they turn breathless and their lungs cry out for oxygen and even then it's minutes until they part because it's that sort of desperation that they'll fight with, to fight for each other.

"I know." Shuhua is seriousness, all playful air discarded for the moment. "This isn't some fling. This isn't some dumb teenage phase I'm going to grow out of." She grabs onto Soojin's shirt, holding it tight, never letting go. "Because I love you, Seo Soojin."

Soojin lifts her hands to cup Shuhua's cheek, tilting her face up and leaning in until they are barely inches apart. Her thumb brushes the mole under Shuhua's eye where it mirrors her own. "I know," she echoes.

Sunset gold glinting off milkshake glasses. Lips that taste like like chocolate and cherries and everything else sweet. Fingers that tangle in hair and cotton and skin that scrapes against leather and dresses that hitch up past thighs.

"I know, because I too love you, Yeh Shuhua."