Chapter Text
“When the stench of the sea and the absence of green
Are the death of all things that are seen and unseen
Not an end, but the start of all things that are left to do ”
Wasteland, Baby! By Hozier
Ever since the day the authorities announced bimonthly lung screenings were mandatory, and that time people were forced to stop fishing, and the dusk at some place’s husk surrendering to heat’s deluge, Gahyeon knew the likelihood of the macabre hazing into the frame of truth always stood a chance. It was something no one under the sun could escape. Storms belonged to the wires of a dream long lost, and the last of surfacing pulchritude twitched its terminal currents soon after the artificials stopped caring. The days it became hard to breathe near the pinnacles of enlightenment derided her chances of embracing subjectivity. Statistically, it can’t all be that bad. And anything by the numbers held some kind of respect not even fear nor desire could halter. She knew that. She felt it. Yet, even then, it was hard to believe.
She didn’t know many people back then, considering she spent most of her time tinkering with the things everyone else had thrown away. After meeting Bora, the first thing she told her was that she should go out more. Get some sun —even if the scorching heat from the lack of vegetation made it so tempting to not experience natural light ever again—, go anywhere other than the landfill with mountains of metal scraps and trash that no one else wanted. Anyone else but her, that is. Gahyeon always thought they were full of possibilities. Either tetanus, or a biocybernetics breakthrough that would pay for her food for years. Both can coexist.
Hunched over the clutter scattered on her workshop’s table, her soldering iron spewed an incessant trail of smoke. With tweezers, and looking through a loupe, she held the resistor's side just over the dot of solder and heated it with her tool. “Easy on the voltage, yeah?” She murmured under her mask as she finished fastening both sides of the component. While twisting the tip of the soldering iron inside steel wool, she stared at the circuit board before her and chuckled. After blowing at the tool, just to keep the habit going, her eyes screened every finished project inside the workshop.
Sure, the endless trips to the landfill drove Bora nuts, but it paid bills. Plus, it kept the mind going, the flexing of skills, the occupation on greens she knew like the back of her hand, the challenge of something that made her pick up a book and the familiarity of repeats.
She sat up, dusted off her hands, and dialed her client’s number. “Your board’s ready for pick up. Yeah… Hold on-”
A series of conspicuous coughs interrupted her call.
Gahyeon lowered her phone, put a hand over the microphone, and glared at the intruder. “Bora!”
“Holy shit, are you sure your lungs pass screening?” Bora strutted into the workshop waving her hand in front of her nose, later barely covering her mouth during loud coughs. “It smells like a clandestine race from 50 years ago.”
Gahyeon tried to deprive her of attention, but she was making too much noise. “Go away! Give me a moment!” She whispered in annoyance while waving her off. “Yes, hello,” she brought her phone back to her ear, “I’m sorry about that. Yes, your order is ready. On tuesday? Alright... I’ll see you then.” As soon as she hung up, she rolled her eyes at Bora and began to take off her gloves. “That’s what masks are for. Hi Handong.” She gestured at Handong, whose presence had emerged from behind Bora’s impetuous demeanor.
“Hi Gahyeon.”
“Go shower and change. We’re going out.” Bora stated more as an order than an invitation.
“No thanks.” Gahyeon responded without looking at her, but rather getting rid of the clutter on the table and putting tools in their place.
“It wasn’t a question. You need this. You look like you’ll crumble down if you step in the rain.”
“Have you ever even seen rain?”
“Gahyeon. The old woman from the grocery store asked me about you. Do you know how much time has to pass before she does that?” She stopped for literally a second, leaving Gahyeon with her remark in her mouth. “Exactly. Too long. Shower.”
After shaking her head, Gahyeon gave her an unimpressed look.
“Maybe she really doesn’t want to go, love.” Said Handong, sliding her hand around Bora’s waist.
“That’s exactly what I said. Thank you, the only friend I’ll ever recognise.” She headed towards a nearby door that led to her house’s living room.
“Quit whining and come back here!” Bora chased Gahyeon into the house. “Please. I promise I’ll stop asking.”
Gahyeon stopped and turned around with narrowed eyes. “Really?”
“Well, correction, I’ll stop asking for a while.”
-
After Bora somehow managed to get her to a furniture auction —apparently that's where her and Handong had been going to hang out these days—, her efforts towards looking for an escape route directed her to the district's plaza. She wondered if going out was a mistake. She could've been working on more orders, taking advantage of her time so she could have free periods much later. But no, she had to give in to Bora's insistence.
She sighed again and shifted on the bench she sat on. After putting her elbow on the backrest, she rested her head on her hand and let her gaze wander. Unraveling. And it stopped on the display window of a store dotted by ceramic pieces placed with intent. “Hm.”
Before she could think about it twice, she decided to follow her curiosity. The store wasn’t there the last time she visited this place. It's not entirely because she's not used to going out; it's truly been a while since she's seen a store like this, more so considering the dying state of such art. Changes, changes everywhere.
"Hello?" She called out, low enough, as soon as she took a step inside. It seemed solitary.
No one answered, so she ventured into the farthest shelf aisle to check out the pieces. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps approaching her, though. Ah, I'm about to-
"Hello, excuse me, do you know the price of this piece?"
Oh, no… Gahyeon blinked a few times when she turned her head and encountered a woman holding up a yellow teapot. From facing the shelf, she turned her whole body to face the woman in front of her, hesitating to tell her that she had absolutely no idea. The woman would surely say thank you and leave. That was not… the ideal. She hadn’t seen her around here. What if she’s a hitchhiker? "I'm sorry, I don't work here."
"Ah, no, I'm sorry. I thought-"
"But I can help you look for the owner!" Ugh. That was too loud. Gahyeon's head fell.
"You know them?"
"Y-Yeah, they must be over there… somewhere…" Hasty steps took her towards the counter, while she looked around for signs of life anywhere. "I'm Gahyeon, by the way." Maybe to buy time, or whatever the reason was, she spun to face the woman trailing behind her.
The latter smiled a bit. "I'm Yubin."
She totally knows I'm bullshitting. Gahyeon thought while unknowingly inhaling a big chunk of air and forgetting to let it out.
"Hi, how can I help you?" Someone came out of the back door and Gahyeon thanked the universe and every star there is. Even more when she noticed who it was.
"Hi, hello Minji, how is it going?" Gahyeon spoke fast and melodic, dragging the last word upwards in relief.
"Gahyeon! Where have you been?" Voiced Minji, with her ever-sweet tone.
"Just home. I've been working almost nonstop these days… Also, did you quit your job at the grocery store?" Blunder. Around the corner of her eye, she noticed how Yubin put her hand over her mouth to cover a smile and immediately cursed at the bloody neuron responsible. If she didn’t already know I was lying... "She has a question about merchandise." She spoke fast, again, and pointed at the yellow teapot Yubin held.
"Yes, I was wondering about the price…"
Yubin continued speaking, but Gahyeon somewhat stopped listening midway. Instead, she ended up staring at her as the meaning of her words faded out to the distance.
Wow, she's so pretty…
"What do you think?"
"Huh?" Gahyeon shook her head lightly as her pupils worked to refocus.
Now Minji held the yellow teapot on the counter, and looked at Gahyeon expectantly. "Do you think it would look better in blue?"
"Ah," Gahyeon put her hand on the back of her neck, "doesn't it look pretty as it is?"
-
"Tell me everything!"
"I have nothing to tell you." Gahyeon quickly shoved the item under her jacket.
"What is that? Who was that!"
"Do you have any idea of what personal space is?"
"Lame." Bora distanced herself from Gahyeon and clicked her tongue. She got closer to Handong and held her hand to continue walking.
"Wasn't it Minji? There, in the ceramics store." Handong suggested.
"Yeah, but there was someone else." Bora retorted, poking Gahyeon's arm.
"It was just another customer."
"Okay, but-"
Gahyeon groaned and crossed her arms on top of her chest. "Ugh. This is why I can't go out with you two!"
The other two laughed. And they didn't really stop until they walked Gahyeon home.
-
I lied. Yes. What was I supposed to do? I was nervous out of my mind and then I get this and then Bora’s interrogating me… But now, I really have no idea of what I need to do now. The problem is this: Yubin gave me a paper. At first, I thought, wow, no way she gave me her number. Already? Where was this charm of mine all my life? But no, it’s not her number. It’s not her full name, nor her customer ID (for whatever reason she might want to give me that). It just says “do you like the library?” Literally only that, and I think, how the hell can I answer that question if I don’t know where the library is? I didn’t even know there were libraries still standing. At least in this town. Do we really have one? Heck, even if I had the answer, I wouldn’t be able to respond because I don’t have her number nor… anything. All I know is her name.
Think.
Who would know? I need to ask. Not Bora, she will only get more annoying after the inquiry. Not Handong, that’s like telling Bora. Not Minji, I’ve topped that relationship’s embarrassment limit for the week. That only leaves… Yoohyeon.
Gahyeon groaned and dialed her number.
‘Hello my favorite hermit crab, how is it going?’
“Hello Yoohyeon. I have a question.”
‘Yes, I’ve been great, it’s been a great day, thanks for asking!’
“Shush. I know you’ve had a great day, thanks.”
‘Why are you so grumpy? Gosh. I liked you better when you still liked me. When you were obsessed-’
“Anyway. I wanted to ask if you knew about a library in the city.”
‘Gahyeon!’ Yoohyeon paused, and then spoke again in a teasing tone. ‘Who invited you?’
Gahyeon’s heartbeat stopped for a second. “What? No one invited me. Why would you ask that?”
‘You’re lying…’ Yoohyeon dragged the phrase, ‘so romantic!’
“Shut up! No one invited me.” Gahyeon almost started sweating. “Tell me about the library. I need books. About… graphene. I can't find it anywhere on the web. It must've been a victim of server cleansing...” Bullshitting is a sport and I'm winning.
‘Boo, robots… okay, the library is… Gahyeon, no one stumbles upon the library on their own. We’ll get back to that later… remember the diner near the mountain of tires?’
“Mhm.”
‘At the back of the diner there’s a door.’ Yoohyeon didn’t say anything else.
“...That’s it?”
‘That’s it.’
“Huh…”
‘So who invited you?’
“Kim Yoohyeon, no one invited me!” Gahyeon groaned and made a movement to hang up.
‘Stop! Don’t hang up!’
“What.” Gahyeon deadpanned.
‘I’ve missed you.’
“Yeah, me too…” Gahyeon sighed. “Honestly.”
‘Want me to go with you?’
“We’ll talk later, bye.” Gahyeon hung up hastily.
She sat back on her chair and slumped down. She held the piece of paper between her index and thumb, resting the hand on the table as she stared at it from afar. “How will I know when you’ll be there…”
-
Procrastination. A person can procrastinate meeting someone, too. The following days, even if she couldn’t get the encounter at the ceramics store out of her mind, she ended up focusing on projects, spending more time than average at the landfill, and even feeding and attending to Handong and Bora’s escapee cat. It took her quite some time to convince herself to actually go. Six days, to be exact. She hoped it wasn’t too late, and that the universe made its moves so that they could coincide.
There she stood, in front of the diner once colored by the stories exchanged through the encounters of the locals and the hitchhikers, the ones declaring it a bathroom stop in between, and the ones no one ever knew their name —though most the joy and pain in their voices was unforgettable—. Now, it was a mere relic in this city of residue; a former mainstay somehow still standing through decadence and relinquished lemures. The paint on the walls had lost its gloss to dust and environmental affronts a long time ago, and panels of wood covered the big windows in front. Gahyeon found it hard to believe that this was her destination, but even if Yoohyeon could be a handful sometimes, she had never lied to her.
If I get killed I’m haunting you forever, Yoohyeon. She took off towards the back door.
Once inside, the scenery changed. It felt less warm, even. Books filled almost every corner and furniture in the place; stacks of books upon books upon books patterned the profile of a space gold and cozy, a stark inconsistency in the figures everyone grew familiar with. The pastry showcase reimagined as storage shelves, neatly placed books adorned what held food back then. Moreover, five or six candles scattered around the floor gave the room a yellowish tint. A tint of comfort, utterly different from the yellowing light shadows from an airborne haphazard day. She wandered inside, took a leap into the smell of waning lignin, and inhaled deeper. An unfair comparison to the evermore red proof of corrosion; one never considers that decay is capable of smelling so good.
It felt solitaire. Like the ceramics store. But this time, she noticed her first.
“Hi,” voiced Gahyeon, standing parallel to the woman who hid behind a book.
Yubin looked up from the browning pages and gave a hint of a meek smile. “Hi.”
Ouch. The fibres of a one to a zero wove into compositionals Gahyeon knew too well. A barely perceptible smile was enough. Grubbing polarities, they worked hard to instate, as the classics of logic insist. What was true, what was not, what didn’t belong in the equations and what was secure, regardless of any greeting proof. Proof, like the sudden jolt she felt from Yubin’s eyes meeting hers. Something, somewhere around her head, —a silent advocate, perhaps— claimed shelter. It wasn’t a tautology; the way her muscles unconsciously tensed around the other woman felt like a deletion of constants. A map in four colors, a strike at her logic; nevermind! She still loved being around her. Including the nerves and everything.
"You're here." Yubin put the book on her lap. "I thought you forgot."
"No! No. Uh... I was busy. And I didn't know when you'd be here..."
"Ah, no problem. I just hoped to see you again."
Gahyeon broke into a huge grin and thanked the universe that Yubin turned her attention back to the book, the latter's incredibly nonchalant tone calming her a little bit. She looked around for something to grab before sitting down beside the other woman.
Maybe it’s the book I picked up to read, but I can’t stop thinking about Yoohyeon’s words. After 87 years. That idiot. What if I did tell her that, possibly, it felt romantic in the end… or, at least, exciting. I can’t tell the difference. Screw... Gahyeon briefly closed the book to look at the cover, Jane Austen. There’s no time for this now. There’s no time.
Time went by too fast.
Between chat and silence, between the questions for a complete stranger and the quiet acknowledgement of the avoidance of ornate pleasantries, they spent most of the time sitting beside each other, both engrossed in their own subjects of attention. In the end, it felt nice. Sitting there, existing there without expectations. Getting to know someone by the things they choose to spend their time on. Waiting for someone to laugh at their book so you can ask them about it. Gahyeon did that several times.
Yubin’s laugh was something you could listen to for days and it would never cease to make you smile too. And then, the way she talked. About absolutely anything. Her thought articulations resembled what prose jumping out of ink and paper would sound like; her mind, her wires, something about her… Gahyeon had never experienced anything like it. And it excited her.
It all went by too fast.
"See you around, then?" Gahyeon spoke as she pushed herself into standing.
"Yes." Yubin closed the book she held before putting it down beside her. "I'll see you around. Today was fun." She stood up. "Sorry for inviting you that way. I had to think fast."
Gahyeon couldn't help but return Yubin's smile again. As she did many times today. Again, and again. "It's fine. I admit, I thought I was going to get kidnapped or, I don't know… I didn't know this place existed." She let herself look around and took the place in. Her feet ached to turn around at step away, tasks scratching at the back of her head, scheduled deliveries waiting for her at her workshop, but she didn't really want to leave.
"...I have a few places I can show you if you want."
"Yes." She started to turn around. "I don’t go out much, to be honest." A few steps away and the urge to stop lingered.
"I tend to be out mostly. Because of my job and all... Though, my sister has told me I need to socialize more…"
"People tell me the same thing… tch." Gahyeon shook her head. "They say I only care about machines."
Yubin snickered. "Yes?"
"Well, it is my job." Gahyeon waved her off as she began to walk towards the door. "I can show you what I do later. If you're still interested in this attempt at socialization, I'd like to see what you do, too. If you want...”
"I'd very much like to forge alliances to stop others from meddling in personal business." Yubin deadpanned, and stretched out an open hand.
Gahyeon tittered before straightening up her posture and mimicking Yubin's serious facial expression. "It's a deal." She gave her the most professional, strong handshake she had ever given.
Standing in the middle of the deserted road, after getting out of the library with heavy steps, she looked around to make sure Yubin or anyone else was not around. The sight of empty premises ignited a current of joy through her veins, like a single zap. "Ah, what's this!" She exclaimed, dragging the words melodically, all through a wide grin and widened eyes.
-
She needed food. Screws, too. And a new spool of solder.
It was an uneventful day. Gahyeon spent most of it at the workshop, and only the fact that she was out of material made her stop working. And then she noticed the lack of snacks in her pantry. It warranted a quick trip to the district’s plaza. Also, Handong wouldn’t mind the visit, maybe.
She didn’t bother to change clothes, nor wipe away smudges of grease in her face and arms. It was going to be a short trip, and most of the people in town know who she was and what she did anyway. Something normal, never regrettable, if she didn’t catch a glimpse of Yubin pushing a hand truck with stacked boxes around the premises. She panicked. A lot of time had passed since they met at the library. Gahyeon thought about her most days, wondered how she was doing, cursing at herself for forgetting to at least get the other woman's number or something, and the hope of seeing her again lingered. Not like this, though!
"No, no! I look like absolute shit today…!" She shouted as discreetly as possible after running to hide behind a corner. Panting, she found the window of a car to try and fix her hair, but the window rolled down to reveal a smiling Minji. Gahyeon jerked back and froze, and later looked around while scratching her head.
"Good morning." Minji said.
"It's a good day, isn't it?" Gahyeon refused to look at her.
"It is. Are you looking for someone?" Minji supported herself on the car’s door and stuck her head out of the window. She tried to follow Gahyeon's gaze.
"Not at all." Gahyeon dusted off her shirt. "I'm on my way to the hardware store. More robots. Gotta be quick!" She dashed away.
“O-okay!" Minji waved in the distance.
Gahyeon powerwalked, looking around to make sure Yubin wasn't around. Success! She chuckled in victory and smirked. Though, when she looked back to see if Minji was around, she bumped into someone.
"Woah, there."
Shit! "Yubin! Hi." She instinctively ran a hand through her hair while smiling in a way Bora would definitely tease her for days. Wait, she wasn’t alone. She locked eyes with the other, taller, intimidating, woman who looked back at her with pure suspicion. Or she was already planning her murder. “Hello, too, hehe.”
“This is my sister.”
“Siyeon.” The woman gave her a slight bow, though her slight eyebrow raise didn’t lessen Gahyeon’s unease.
This is the person that told you you need to socialize more? “Nice to meet you.”
She saw Siyeon looking at her up and down with the same look of aversion. Gahyeon’s initial smile threatened to turn into a grimace under that woman’s harsh gaze. Or maybe she was imagining it. Still.
Her eyes averted to Yubin, who apparently just pinched Siyeon’s back.
“Ow!” Siyeon whined and scowled at her sister. “...nice to meet you too.” She muttered, and gave Gahyeon the most unconvincing fake smile she had ever seen.
Impressive.
Yubin hesitated a bit before speaking, “it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Gahyeon only nodded, the awkwardness of the situation was already making her restless.
“...I won’t keep you here longer, sorry,” Yubin eyed her, “you seem busy.”
Gahyeon smiled to hide the Pain. She felt a strong urge to crawl into a hole until both women left, while cursing at grease. Why do we even need grease for gears?! Why can’t we move on to magnetics already?!
“I’m also working.” Yubin smiled and took hold of the hand truck. “Freight. Soon I’ll be replaced by a drone.”
Siyeon shook her head and focused her gaze elsewhere.
“Ah! Yes, go. It’s me that’s interrupting your job.” Gahyeon smiled back and stepped aside, gesturing at them to continue forward on the sidewalk. “See you… see you soon.” She spoke low, and stood there as the other women walked away. Yubin’s faint complaints towards her sister weren’t low enough to go unnoticed, but Gahyeon didn’t really pay attention. All she wanted was to get out of there, fast.
She ran to the grocery store. Fortunately, it wasn’t busy. After spending time searching in a haste, she found Handong organizing fruits on a shelf.
"Don't come any closer. You reek." Handong spoke without turning to look.
"Don't say that!" Gahyeon whined. "Why do you get so much meaner when you're an individual?" She pouted and then tried to dissimulate an armpit sniff.
"Life is annoying."
"I come here for emotional support and all I get is half-assed cynicism. Give me love!"
Handong turned to look at her, almost in slow motion. After staring at her for what felt like hours (seconds), she burst into a laugh. "I can't take you seriously with all that dirt on your face. And that hair. What is that black thing on your cheek?"
Gahyeon whined again.
"I'm kidding! Mostly…"
“Give me my food!” She hit Handong’s shoulder while her face got stuck in a pout.
-
Gahyeon sat in her dining room and her heel tapped against the floor in a rhythmic manner. Time seemed to pass at an excruciatingly slow pace today. Her eyes locked on the front door, her fingers brushed her lips, and her other hand held a cup of sugarless black coffee. For the kicks. She wanted the exchange with her client to be over before it even began, this one being particularly distasteful given the overlap it caused. She couldn’t stop thinking and thinking and-
I forgot to ask for her number again. Yes. But, for some unimaginable reason, Yubin witnessed the haphazardous hygienic wreck of a human I embodied that one day, and still had the nerve to ask Minji about me about a week later. That may mean that she’s thinking about me too, and that’s beyond nice even if I would pay to delete every trace of that day because of the scarring it caused me. No, seriously, I’ve had like two nightmares about it ever since. I’ve also picked up a habit of looking in the mirror before I go out. Even when it’s only to take out trash. A bag of trash and it’s a runway. TRAGIC.
But that’s not the main problem. The main problem is what Minji did. What did she do? Call Bora, of course. Cause apparently I don’t have a number? I’m pretty sure I’ll never forgive you for the exponential havoc you summoned into my life, Minji. I’ll get you back. Some way, some day, somewhere. I have no clue how but that’s not important for now. The thing is, I can’t stop thinking about stuff and it’s your fault! Mostly.
What happened is that we met up, Yubin and I... She looked pretty as always and there I was pumping up her beauty rank by association (for personal reasons, this is a joke. I made the mistake of saying something like this to her in a miscalculated attempt at flirting (a sorry excuse, at best) and she spent the next thirty minutes fighting the debate of her life. It was… See, I’ve never seen someone debate so fervently with such a still face. She could tell me the sun orbits the earth and I’d believe her… maybe not. Maybe I’d think about it. That’s a lot.) Yes, we met up at her house because back at the library I told her I knew about electronics and Siyeon’s computer had something wrong with it. I went to check and we ended up talking while I worked with the computer. Siyeon just roamed around without saying a word and only nodded when I explained things. She’s kinda scary. Otherwise, I had a really good time and Yubin is nice. Also, score, I finally got her number that day. Though we usually just text to meet up somewhere.
One time she invited me to go to a bridge but it ended up being closed off so we just walked and talked about a lot of things, and there’s also that one time I organized a gathering at a restaurant because I told her I wanted her to meet my friends. I’m still not sure if that was a mistake, but Yoohyeon and Minji hit it off with Siyeon right away so that’s good. Bora made a scene that day. That’s why I don’t know if it was a mistake. And I’m rambling. Stop rambling. 01101111 01100110 01100110. In the end I’m freaking out because she’s coming to my house right now and what if I don’t have the food she likes?!
The doorbell rang and snapped her out of her daze. She forced out an exhale before opening the door.
"Hey." Yubin's head bowed with her greeting.
Gahyeon invited her in and closed the door behind her. "You're here early.” Hearing her own awkward laugh felt like torture. “At some point I'm going to have to leave you here alone, by the way. I'm waiting for a client."
"That's fine." Yubin smiled and looked around. "Oh, nice." She stood up and walked over to stand before a set of metal shelves, then pointed at the ceramic panda.
Gahyeon was about to carry the conversation further, but all she did was nod since the doorbell rang again. She got out of the house and accompanied the client to the workshop's entrance. When the transaction was over, Gahyeon came out of the workshop's door, the one that led to the inside of the house, and left it open.
"Want to take a look?" Gahyeon stood beside the door and held her arm loosely stretched, pointing into the workshop as an invitation.
Yubin nodded.
Already inside, the first thing Gahyeon noticed was the difference from the diner they visited weeks ago. Her eyes wandered, not as a value judgment, but as newfound considerations. She watched the other woman pace around, silently looking at tools and metal and electronics.
"What's this?" Yubin pointed at a metallic white strip with microwires attached to the bottom.
"Ah!" Gahyeon rushed closer and picked the item, excited to speak about her work. "This is an augmented reality neural connector. It's for modded individuals. People pay a lot for these." She carefully placed it back where it was before, and then picked up a black cybernetic forearm. "This looks fancy but it doesn't have holograms nor screens nor anything. It's just a prosthesis."
"It looks good."
"I know, right? It didn't take as long as I anticipated. I actually want to make more."
"Hm, do you think I'd look good with one of those?" Yubin raised her arm and looked at it.
Gahyeon laughed. "Keep your biological arm, please."
The rest of the day went by fast. After staying in the workshop for a bit, talking about Gahyeon's work and an extra speedy masterclass about basic electronics —with visual demonstrations—, they decided to go outside and walk around. The day was getting cooler and dimmer by the minute, but they kept walking. Gahyeon didn't notice that they ended up following the same path she took almost every Sunday morning, all the way to the landfill. Mountains from where she scrapped metal parts broke the city's linear landscape, where accidental pixelated curves contrasted against the edges still standing; a cemetery of purpose only those willing to recycle the forgotten forsaken dared to venture in.
It's where abstracted souvenirs go to die.
Gahyeon isn't afraid of keepsakes. Repurposing the tossed, it felt like second nature by now.
"It's getting late… I'm sorry for keeping you out this long." Said Gahyeon while noticing the sky reddening into sundown.
"It's fine." Yubin shook her head and smiled towards the floor.
Gahyeon tilted her head in thought, and pursed her lips before speaking. "You can stay the night. If you want."