This city's so pretty when your light's on | PURINZ

Would you let me inside your world?

Yunjin doesn't remember much of the day she had before she met her.

Bad clients, her body functioning on four hours of sleep and bad coffee, horrible work conditions, a slip, a bad fall, an angry manager and then she's flipping everyone in the establishment while she throws her apron on a random guy's face.

"I QUIT!", she yelled before storming out with none of her belongings, just her phone, her wallet and whatever she had left of her dignity.

As she marches down the street she hears her manager yelling and coming after her, swearing inside her head while closing her eyes, trying to figure out how she was going to get out of this situation without ending up behind bars. Suddenly, Yunjin hears the sound of tires screeching on the street to her left and, as she opens her eyes, she sees her for the first time.

Driving a reddish pick up truck – that made her look tinier than she already was – there was her, peeking through the open window, in all her glory, sporting a tank top, baggy jeans and a smile so bright that Yunjin felt like it could cure all the pain in the world.

"Want a ride, love?" She asks, sounding in equal parts flirtatious and concerned. "I see that guy's bothering you...?"

In her right mind, Yunjin would've thought twice before getting inside a stranger's vehicle and probably wouldn't even go through with it, she's way too paranoid to be that reckless. But she just had such an awful day, and her manager's breath just stinks so much, and the girl is just so pretty that it made her feel like saying no was the insane thing to do at that moment, so she hops inside reaches for the door's handle and closes the door before yelling a last "fuck you" to the man as they drove off.

Hearing the girl's laugh, Yunjin turns to her, mirroring her expression without even noticing. "Is this funny to you?"

"Oh, very much so." She replies, not taking her eyes off the road. "The name's Chaewon, by the way."

"Chaewon." She tests the name on her tongue as she rests her head against the car seat. "I'm Yunjin. Thank you for saving my skin."

"You're more than welcome, Yunjin." Chaewon winks at her, which should have worried Yunjin with the fact that her eyes were off the road for a bit too long, but Chaewon was just so angelic, she didn't even mind. "So, where to,?"

"I'll go wherever you go tonight, Chaewon." Yunjin sighs, asking herself if she's taking too much advantage of the girl's goodwill.

And yet, Chaewon, being the bundle of light she is, just smiles and nods, biting her lower lip.

"Sure thing, hot stuff."

After a quick trip to the convenience store filled with stifled laughter and the worst dad jokes that Chaewon has ever heard in her entire life, Yunjin ends up at the side of a poorly lit highway with the girl, laying down on the truck bed by Chaewon's side, stuffing her face with chips.

At this point, the fact that she was with a total stranger in the middle of literal nowhere didn't even worry her anymore, because Chaewon was pleasant, welcoming and made her feel the safest she's ever felt outside of her bed with her stuffed toys. She might as well have put her in a trance and, thinking about it, Yunjin realized she wouldn't even be mad if she did.

As they talked, she felt progressively more drawn to her. Chaewon was the leader of a band – hence the pick up truck to help with the instruments – and had a side job as a bartender. Today was her day off though, and she usually comes here at night to watch the stars and write some lyrics whenever she has the time to do so. Yunjin also learned that Chaewon's cheeks get tinted with red whenever she calls her pretty, and that the cheap beer they bought looks expensive whenever she drinks it from the can.

"When I come here," Chaewon starts, taking in a deep breath as she looks at the sky filled with stars, feeling her heart beat fast like she was seeing it for the first time. "I feel bigger, like the world is mine to rule."

Propping her chin in her hand as she admired Chaewon, Yunjin couldn't help but notice that, although the stars were lighting up her face, the girl seemed to emit her own light; heat radiated from her smile and made Yunjin's chest warm.

"Would you let me inside your world, Chaewon?" Yunjin whispered, taking Chaewon's hand into hers, entangling their fingers.

Her answer didn't rely on words to be understood, the way Chaewon's lips touched the back of Yunjin's hand as her gentle eyes drew her in felt clear enough.

Yunjin had a whole new world to explore, and she knew Chaewon would guide her through it all with pleasure.