Pairing: Yoona/Seohyun
Genre: Romance
Summary: Seohyun escapes from her troubled past and meets a runaway like her along the way.

Bending down against the white porcelain sink, the girl felt streams of freezing cold water from the shower above her, soaking her long dark locks of hair. She shivered at the ungodly temperature but endured it throughout the whole session.

No one else except for her dear departed mother had ever washed her hair before, let alone had she ever be in this kind of an awkward yet strangely intimate moment with a person she just met. This female stranger, who had discovered her alone and starving in the slums, was washing her hair with the shower gun provided in this dank bathroom of a hotel they’ve checked in. Seohyun was never the type to be so easily trustworthy of people she doesn’t know, but right now, she has no other choice. After running away from her abusive step-father, and with nowhere else to go, letting herself be taken care by this woman who looks to be the same age as her was the only option she had. Why this person wanted to help her, she doesn’t know. But Seohyun could sense that she does not have any bad intentions in her.

Her gut feelings were always proven to be right.

The water pelting down on her suddenly stopped.

“Alright, you’re done.”

Seohyun stood up straight again after hearing that. She felt something soft placed on her left shoulder.

“Here, dry off your hair,” her saviour’s monotone voice filled the small bathroom.

“Thank you.”

Seohyun gratefully used the towel to dry off her soaking wet hair, and getting some much needed warmth from the sudden onslaught of cold air and water combined together. Whilst doing all that, the young brunette watched her unexpected helper putting the shower gun back to where it came from through the mirror of the medical cabinet in front of her.

Yoona.

That was her name.

And that was the only thing she knew about her.

She was such an enigma.

Seohyun could only assume that she was also a runaway such as her, albeit more prepared for the open road and had a lot more cash on her. The hotel was not really five stars quality, but it sure was good enough for Seohyun’s tastes. The large backpack and a suitcase that Yoona had brought with her also confirmed that fact, unlike herself who has nothing but the clothes on her back, and a wallet with an identification card and some money she saved up.

“There are some clothes you can change into in my bag. You’re a bit bigger than me, but I’m sure it’ll fit you nonetheless.”

Seohyun doesn’t know if she was referring to their heights, or something else, but thought nothing of it as she wilfully nodded and went into the shared bedroom where Yoona’s belongings were. Lifting the bulky item from the floor and onto the bed, she zipped open the bag to find a lot of neatly-folded clothes and other necessities inside.

Yoona was definitely not going back to where she came from anytime soon.

Pulling out a dark green t-shirt and a pair of comfortable shorts, she quickly changed into them before the other woman stumbles upon her half- glory. That would make everything a whole lot more awkward than it should be.

After changing her old worn-out clothes, Seohyun checked the bathroom again to see the pony-tailed female in the middle of washing her face at the sink. Come to think of it, Yoona’s face was flawless the first time she met her. No blemishes, no pimples, nothing. It was free of all things that women dreaded to have on their complexion. She wondered what the doe-eyed girl used so that her face was practically immune to all that. It couldn’t be just water that she used, even though she was clearly only using that to wash her face right now. The younger of the two was intrigued by her. Seohyun had no idea why, but something about her just piqued her interests.

And before she knew it, Seohyun was now standing right behind her.

After rubbing her face with a nearby complimentary towel, Yoona was startled to see Seohyun’s reflection in the mirror. She almost thought a ghost from a Japanese horror movie crept up behind her.

“Whoa, you scared me for a second there!” Yoona exclaimed, putting a hand on her chest to calm herself down. Eyeing the girl from head to toe, she gave an apologetic smile when she noticed Seohyun’s cheeks turning red after causing that minor heart attack. “It’s okay, I’m not mad at you. Just don’t creep up on me like that… Hey, glad to see that my clothes fit you just nicely.”

The blushing girl brought her attention from the tiled floor, and up to the person in front of her.

“Yes, they do. Thank you so much.”

“You don’t have to be so formal with me, you know,” she casually said, before turning around again to have one last look in the mirror. “I prefer to keep it comfortable between us two.”

Once she was done, she started to head back into the bedroom, but only to be blocked by none other than Seohyun.

“What’s wrong?” Yoona furrowed her brows at the quiet one’s action. Sandwiched in between the sink and the oddly-behaving girl in front of her, she was taken by surprise when the other girl was inching closer until their bodies came into contact with one another. This time, it was Yoona’s turn to suddenly become tomato red. “S-Seohyun?”

There was an indecipherable expression on the brunette’s face, as both of them stayed that way for a moment’s time, before she finally answered.

“How do you…do that?” She then reached out to one of Yoona’s warm and smooth cheeks, oblivious to the woman’s nervousness and confusion.

“Do what?” Yoona blurted out.

“Your face… It’s so clean.”

All the doe-eyed woman did was to stare blankly at her.

“…My face? Oh wait…” Finally, she realised why she asked that strange question.

The bruises on Seohyun’s complexion… No wonder she was being like this.

Yoona gently grabbed the latter’s wondering hand and held onto it firmly, breaking Seohyun from her state of reverie.

“We haven’t gotten to know each other a little better except for our names. I think this is the right time to do that.” She said, giving a comforting smile to her timid friend. And besides, Yoona really wanted to know who had done this despicable act to this angel in the first place.

Hanging the damp towel around her long neck, Yoona led the latter back into the bedroom. After hopping onto the queen-sized bed and making herself comfortable, she patted the empty space beside her for Seohyun to sit on. Seohyun shyly obeyed, and crawled next to the doe-eyed woman, all the while darting her eyes from making eye-contact with her. They both shared a few minutes of awkward silence before the younger one finally opened .

“I apologise for making you surprised by my actions just now.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Leaning her head back against the wooden headboard, she decided that it was time to break the ice. “So, may I know a little more about you?”

The brunette hesitated at first, not sure on whether to tell about her past to the doe-eyed woman, but when Yoona reached out to hold her delicate hand again, Seohyun was compelled to tell everything that was eating away the insides of her being.

“My real name is Seo Juhyun, but I prefer to be called Seohyun.” She stopped for a while, but continued from where she left off after feeling her companion’s thumb rubbing her knuckles, reassuring her that everything is going to be alright. “I recently ran away from home because…I was physically abused by my step-father.”

‘So that’s the reason why…’ Yoona thought.

“What about your mom? Does she know about this?”

“She doesn’t. My mother is dead. She died in a car accident.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.” Yoona mentally smacked herself for asking her that.

‘Great, I think I just made her more miserable than before.’

“It’s okay. I’m used to it already.” Seohyun gave her a smile, but her eyes say otherwise.

“He’s your step-father right? Then what about your real one?”

Seohyun knew she was going to ask her this.

“He went missing a few years back when he went on a business trip to another country. My mother was heartbroken to hear that the authorities were not able to locate him. But then, another man decided to sweep her off her feet when she was in the most vulnerable state. And that man was my step-father.”

This was the longest speech spoken by the quiet girl, ever since Yoona first met her.

“Um, I know this is a sensitive topic to talk about but, how often does he hit you?”

Seohyun sighed bitterly.

“It depends. On some days, he would hit me a lot, but then he doesn’t on other days. Maybe he didn’t want my injuries to be so obvious when I go out in public.” The broken girl unknowingly touched the bruises on her face as she recalled all of those terrible memories. “I couldn’t take any more of this suffering. And so, I ran away when I had the chance.”

Tears were on the verge of spilling out from the corner of her eyes.

Seohyun felt the bed creaked by a movement and something warm pulling her into a hug.

“It’s okay,” the doe-eyed woman whispered into her ears, while rubbing her back. “Just let it all out.”

And thus, Seohyun did.

She poured out all of her emotions she trapped inside her heart onto this person.

This kind and considerate woman who had listened attentively to her tale.

She felt better now.

When she had stopped sobbing, Yoona thought that it was her cue to do something.

“I can help you.”

“P-pardon?” Seohyun stuttered, not believing what she had just heard.

“I said I can help you,” Yoona repeated, whilst staring back at the astonished girl. “I want to make your life anew again.”

Yoona knows that it was a long-shot, especially since she herself had ran away from home, albeit more of a different reason than Seohyun’s extreme one. Lucky she ‘borrowed’ some of her parent’s money to make this situation somewhat easier for the both of them.

“How?” the younger of the two questioned the older one. “I’m only a bother to you, aren’t I?”

“Okay, I admit, I actually had other plans. But then, I met you and you told me your story. You’re not a bother to me. I’m the one who practically picked you up in the first place, and got myself into this mess. Believe me, I WANT to be involved in this mess and help clean it up. That means I won’t leave your side until I’m sure that you’re happy again with your life. You hear me?”

Seohyun was speechless.

‘She’s willing to help me no matter what?’ Seohyun thought.

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. Just accept the fact that you’re going to have a good life from now on.”

Seohyun’s lips tugged into a bright smile. It had been an awfully long time since she felt this happy before. She couldn’t help but to hug her again.

“Thank you, Yoona.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t even done anything,” the woman sheepishly said.

“But you DID do something. You offered your help, and I’m truly grateful for that.”

Both of them stayed in that position, enjoying each other’s warmth, before the brunette pulled back to look at her rescuer in the eye. Once again, Seohyun’s curiosity kicked in to gear and she found herself inches away from the other’s flawless face.

‘It can’t hurt to try, right?’

She went in with her gut instincts, closing the distance between Yoona and her. On the other hand, Yoona was caught by surprise by the younger one’s daring move, but willingly returned the innocent kiss whilst enjoying the feeling of Seohyun’s soft lips on her own. She could get used to this.

Unfortunately, a loud knocking interrupted their moment.

“Room service!”

The two occupants of the room immediately broke away from each other, now suddenly embarrassed at what they were doing seconds ago, but then burst into a fit of giggles and laughter.

“I’ll get it,” Yoona said through her laughter, as she got up to answer the door. “I hope you have an empty stomach right now, cause’ I ordered a lot!”

The now happy Seohyun watched her open their hotel room door to let in the cart full of food.

She was truly grateful and glad that she crossed paths with this one of a kind woman.