✿ 𖥦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 in the hands of two individuals who were so young wasn’t exactly ideal , especially when they’re forced to become adults by other adults . the pair was separated as soon as they arrived , which he didn’t appreciate as he didn’t want to be away from sujin during the event . by now , zihao would think that he’d get used to the attention they’ve been gathering lately , but it was becoming exhausting . being pulled into conversations , receiving backhanded compliments from strangers— he was running out excuses to get away from them . zihao felt at ease when he was finally reunited with sujin , immediately moving closer to her frame when he felt her touch . “ let’s go outside first , ” he nods in response , gently rubbing his hand against her arm for comfort before taking her hand in his as he guides her through the crowd . there was a garden outside the venue , he thought they could stay there for a while to get some fresh air . “ are you okay ? it got crowded in there , i was trying to look for you , but i kept getting pulled away , ” he took his jacket off & draped it around her shoulders . “ should we make up an excuse to leave ? i really wanna leave , too . ”
having to keep up with pleasantries and boring small talk for the better part of the last few hours has drained all forms of socialization from her . one would assume she was used to it since attending galas and such events with her parents was a common reoccurrence , but it’s different when she’s the one in the spotlight . she was so over this party— she had enough of listening to the older women criticize her dress and her hair ( as if she couldn’t hear them ) and the women her own age who clearly only came to boost their social following . she finally felt as though she could release a sigh of relief once the distance between herself and zihao diminished , and she plastered on her best smile when those around them instantly began whispering to themselves . ‘ please . ’ sujin hums while following zihao out of the venue . the second she feels the cooler air in the garden , she feels as though she can let her guard down and no longer trade unpleasant pleasantries . ‘ i’m fine ... just tired . we’ve been here for a few hours , haven’t we ? ’ sujin happily accepts his jacket when it’s draped over her shoulders , and slides her fingers through dark tresses to brush her hair behind her ear . ‘ i’ve been thinking of an excuse since the moment we got here . ’ sujin allows a small smile to take over her features then . ‘ what if we say the alarm went off at home ? or , we could simply leave— i don’t think anyone would miss us . ’