Sun Upon Dark Clouds

15: Just Acquaintances

The next place that the two women had to go to was the cheap motel that Coley stayed at as soon as she arrived to Peace Town. As Coley said, they left her motorcycle at the parking lot of the club and took a taxi instead going to the motel. As much as she wanted to take her motorcycle already, she could not since it was according to the plan. If they took the motorcycle, the gangsters would be able to find her instantly by searching for every place as the motorcycle was not small enough to be hidden in a tiny place. Basically, leaving the motorcycle at the club would mean that Coley took a bus to leave town. When the gangsters finally leave the town, that was the time when Coley could take her motorcycle back. A bit complicated, but Coley trusted that it would work since Ghrae was the one who thought about the plan.

“Love Motel,” Ghrae read as she stared at the big red neon sign of the motel. It was daytime so the light was not switched on.

The raven-haired woman turned to the brunette on her side as she raised an eyebrow at her like she was asking for an explanation. Feeling the shorter woman’s gaze on her, Coley wore an awkward smile on her face as a drop of sweat slid down her temple. There definitely was a reason on why Coley chose that motel aside from it being cheap. She was caught and she definitely needed to come up with a reason to save her face from being seen as a s*x maniac.

“You see, I’m only staying in this town temporarily and this is the cheapest motel I could find,” Coley cleared her throat after she spoke as she held her ear, feeling her two helix piercings while avoiding the eyes of the latter.

“I didn’t ask,” Ghrae blankly replied.

Coley turned to her with a pout on her face. She was thinking whether Ghrae was just hiding her curiosity or not.

“W-Well, just so you know,” she said, her feet fidgeting. “You know what? Let’s just go in.”

With that said, the both of them moved on as they entered the two-story motel. Just as expected, it was a small motel. The female receptionist smiled and greeted them as they stepped in, which they responded with warm smiles. She seemed to recognize Coley as she spoke, which Coley hoped that she did not instead.

“You’re back, ma’am. Your new girlfriend?” the receptionist asked with an innocent smile plastered on her face.

“We’re just acquaintances,” Ghrae flatly answered.

“Oh, where’s your girlfriend then?” the receptionist asked as she looked at the brunette.

“I don’t have one,” Coley said, almost to a mutter. “Anyway, we’re here to ask you for a favor.”

Coley was basically wondering why she was even worried about Ghrae finding out that she just slept with a woman in that motel two days ago when she never cared about what anyone thought of her. Like what Ghrae said, they were just acquaintances so her judgments about Coley did not matter. Anyway, the brunette decided to ignore it as she focused on the favor that they were going to ask.

“What is it? Anything for you,” the receptionist said with a friendly smile on her face.

“If anyone ever asks you if you have seen Coley Raku, tell them that they had already left town, okay? Nothing but that I already left this town,” Coley said.

“Got it!” the receptionist enthusiastically grinned though her face was replaced quickly to a sad face. “Wait, does that mean you’ll be leaving?”

“Uh.”

Coley threw a glance on Ghrae who was looking at her with a poker face. The shorter woman briefly raised her eyebrows and gave her a nod, giving her the answer that she was looking for.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Coley put on a fake sad smile though she was glad that she did not have to pay for another night in a crappy motel room.

“That’s sad. Do you need help in packing your things?”

“No, thanks,” Coley turned to face the stairs in order to end the conversation already because she knew that the receptionist had a crush on her since the day that she came in the motel. “Ghrae, let’s go.”

As quick as that, the two women left the female receptionist as they walked up the stairs to go to Coley’s motel room to take all of her stuff. It was actually surprising that Coley had a lot of clothes as Ghrae expected her to have only around five sets of clothes. Since clothes and a polaroid camera were what the brunette only needed to pack, packing did not last long as they left the motel right after.

It was as if hours were just minutes as they realized that it was already lunchtime when Coley checked her phone. Since Coley knew more about Peace Town, she was the one who lead the way as she told the taxi driver the name of the restaurant that they were going to eat in.

***

Who would have thought that Coley was going to take Ghrae to a Korean restaurant? The raven actually thought that the latter would take her to a fast-food restaurant since she looked like the type that loved fast food. Ghrae did not complain though as she sat across Coley in the restaurant that was surrounded by the delicious aroma of Korean food. Since it was lunchtime, the restaurant was packed with people. Fortunately, there were no signs of the gangsters that were chasing Coley so far.

“You don’t like vegetables?” Ghrae asked as she watched Coley put the vegetables in her kimchi fried rice to the edge of her plate.

“Yeah, they’re so not my taste,” Coley put on a disgusted face as she continued to separate the vegetables away.

“But you ordered kimchi fried rice.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I like the vegetables in it,” Coley replied.

“Okay,” Not wanting the food to go into waste, Ghrae reached for the vegetables on the edge of Coley’s plate with her chopsticks as she transferred them to her bowl of bibimbap.

Coley stared at the latter in surprise as she watched them eat the vegetables that she did not want. That was when she realized that the rich woman was not picky as she might have thought she was. She then let out a chuckle in amusement and continued to eat her meal. Since it was meal time, they did not bother striking up a conversation to each other but just focus to eat. While they were eating, a waitress who was actually Korean, approached them with a smile on their faces.

“Do you need more kimchi?” she politely asked the two women who were enjoying their meal.

“No, thank you,” Coley answered and took her glass of water to drink after giving the woman a friendly smile—the kind of smile that she always gave to women who she thought was pretty.

“How about your girlfriend, ma’am?” Coley choked at her water as she heard that question. It was literally the second time that they were seen as girlfriends. “Oh my. Are you okay, ma’am?”

“I-I’m fine,” the brunette stuttered as she coughed a few times.

“We’re not in a relationship,” Ghrae straightforwardly said as she handed the woman across her a tissue, which she accepted. “And yes, I’d like some more kimchi, please.”

After the awkward interaction with the waitress, she apologized as she walked away to get some more kimchi for Ghrae. After that situation, they moved on as they continued to finish their meal. Well, they could not really stick into thinking about a certain thing when the food was good, after all.

As they finished their lunch, the brunette offered the latter to take a walk around the street to have their full stomachs digest and to spend more time with each other, which the raven agreed. There was a lot of people on the streets as the sound of people chattering from a distance and the sound of traffic could be heard while they walked side by side. The sun was calm as it shone above the blue sky.

“What do you think are we going to do next?” Coley asked as they walked.

“I don’t know. Wait for a few days before we can assume that they’ve left the town, I guess,” Ghrae answered as she watched a flock of birds flew around the sky.

“You’re not gonna kick me out right after, aren’t you?” The brunette turned her head to the raven as she waited for her to answer.

“I will.”

A smile of pain appeared on the brunette’s face as she heard her answer. There really was not any reason for Coley to stay over Ghrae’s apartment even after their deal on letting her hide in her apartment, though Coley actually anticipated her to say no. Basically, Coley had to get used to the bluntness of the latter if she wanted to help her cancel her suicide plan.

The both of them were walking when Coley spotted a familiar group of men that were walking from a far distance, making her widen her eyes and stop on her tracks. Ghrae stopped as well as she looked at her with questioning eyes. When she saw the look in Coley’s eyes, she knew that there was something wrong.

“We have to hide,” Coley hissed as she held Ghrae’s wrist and ran across the alleyway that they just passed by.

With Coley’s grip on Ghrae’s wrist, the shorter woman was able to catch up with the speed of the taller woman. As they stepped out of the other end of the alleyway, the gangsters suddenly appeared on the same sidewalk. That was when the both of them knew that they were being suspected and that they must quickly think of a plan to escape without looking suspicious to them. Coley knew that the men had not recognized her because of her facemask and hoodie, though she could see how they were looking at their way.

As they got closer, Coley silently hissed a curse as she turned to face Ghrae who seemed to not look worried at all. She did not mind that as she looked at her with a serious look on her face.

“You’ve kissed someone, right?” Coley asked.

“Yeah?” Ghrae answered, almost like a question because of how random the question was.

“Then, can I kiss you?” Coley asked as she bit her lip.

“What?” The brunette saw that the gangsters were getting closer as she cursed and pinned the raven on the wall.

“Say yes already,” Coley whispered as she pulled her facemask down and moved her face closer.

“Yes,” With that, the brunette leaned in and capture the raven’s lips.

Footsteps of different people along with the sound of vehicles could be heard from the background though the two women suddenly forgot about them all as they shut their eyes and let their lips move in sync. To not expose her face too much, Coley placed her right hand on the wall next to Ghrae’s face as her other hand went to gently cup the shorter woman’s cheek. The arms of Ghrae stayed on her sides as she followed the movement of Coley’s lips. It was as if they were in their own world when they kissed passionately that they forgot about why they had to kiss in the first place even though the gangsters had already walked away.