Winter bit her bottom lip to suppress a groan as she tries to get out of bed. She had finally finished the book report and was able to send it out in record time. 

This has been her gig for months after taking a break from college, typing out reports, doing research projects and all sorts of stuff for lazy, spoiled brats. It wasn't half bad, she loved doing school stuff and the pay was generous, just enough so she can still save up for college fees for next year. 

It gets tiring sometimes though, she felt like she needed a change of scenery which was why she was reading a book at the pub on a Tuesday night.

She dragged her bare feet to the kitchen, walking over to open the fridge door and hitting someone in the process.

"Good morning to you, too." Yena rubbed her arm and turned her attention back to the pan, flipping over a huge pancake.

"Why are you here so early? I didn't think I'd see you here until the afternoon." Winter grabbed a bottle of water and sat herself down on the kitchen counter.

Yena brought a plate of stacked pancakes in front of the silver head girl and handed her a fork. "I've got something to tell you. I wanted you to be the first one to know."

"Sounds suspicous." Winter narrowed her eyes at her companion, "Are you going to pull me into a pyramid scam? Did you go bankrupt? Are there people looking for you to try and take you down? What if I get caught in the crossfire?" She gasped in exaggeration.

" you." Yena laughed and set two more plates on the counter. "But yeah, if I ever get into a pyramid scam I'll drag you with me."

"What a noble friend you have here, Minjeong."

The brown haired girl chuckled at that and pulled out a chair for the woman who just entered the kitchen. "Good morning, Minju."

Minju sat on the chair pulled for her and leaned on Yena's shoulder, yawning. 

Yena then brushed a few strands away from the younger girl's face before wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Winter softened at the sight of her two friends. She had been friends with Yena since middle school in Busan and Winter spent almost all afternoons at Yena's house. When Yena moved back to Seoul in highschool, they kept in touch and Winter went to Seoul for college. Yena's her best friend, her ride or die.

"If we weren't close, I'd think you two were dating." She took a sip from her bottle of water.

"Who said we aren't?" Minju raised a brow, making Winter almost choke.

"What?!"

"God, Minjeong you're so dense. Do you think someone as gorgeous as Minju will travel all the way to Busan just to see me for one day?" 

"Right? I think you hit the jackpot with me."

"Definitely, sweetie. And I'm grateful every single day." Yena cooed, pressing a kiss on her lover's hair.

Winter then pressed her knuckles against the side of her head as if foreseeing a headache coming. "Thanks a lot for telling me." She rolled her eyes at her friends.

"I thought you knew! We did everything but kiss in front of you, you know." Yena raised her arms in defense.

"First of all, ew. And no offense, I didn't think Minju would want to date you. She's way too... . perfect."  Minju awed quietly.

"Why can't you ever compliment Minju without taking a jab at me."

Winter only stuck her tongue out and finally poked her pancakes, "So, what did you want to tell me?"

"We're engaged." Minju replied in a heartbeat, proudly bringing up her hand to show off her ring.

Winter's mouth hangs open, still reeling from the revelations she just heard. "No way."

The oldest in the room can only laugh.

- 

Friday afternoon.

Winter is seated on her couch, hand closing the lid of her laptop. She had just taken another "client", this time it's for a high school student who has a science project, her favorite subject.

She then stretched her arms over her head and her eyes scanned the spotless living room. Minju is having some of her friends over so she can announce her engagement, and Winter was somehow tricked to say yes when she asked if they can let them have lunch at her apartment. 

Damn pretty doe eyes. 

The silver haired girl then turned her attention to the kitchen where the couple is, finishing up the meals they prepared for their guests. Winter watches as Yena uses her thumb to brush away crumbs from Minju's face. 

Winter Minjeong Kim had a couple flings, but she never had someone she loved. She wishes that she'll be just as lucky as best friend, who found love with a person like Minju. 

She was then shaken out of her thoughts when the doorbell rang. She dragged her feet towards the front door, her stomach doing flip flops as she opens the door. Standing on her porch was five women around her age, one of them looking awfully familiar. 

"Hi, we're Minju's friends. Is she here?" The tallest among them uttered, her eyes sparkling like she's always up to something mischevious, the youngest as well perhaps.

"Hi! I'm Winter, Yena's friend. Come on in." Winter then opened the door wider and made way for the guests, catching a whiff of the perfume that belongs to the awfully familiar face as they pass by then tugs the front door behind her before following them to the living room. "Please, make yourself at home." She flashed a curt smile.

The group sat themselves on the couch and quickly introduced themselves one by one.

Yujin. Heejin. Hyewon. Chaewon. Karina.

Winter wants to make sure that she can get their names right so she made up a list on her head.

Yujin: tallest, mischievous looking, looks like someone up to no good.

Heejin: striking facial features, innocent looking, looks imperturbable.

Hyewon: angelic, apathetic, also looks like someone up to no good.

Chaewon: slender, doe-eyed, looks like that one friend who will laugh at you first before helping you up.

Karina: elegant, probably rich, smells like a million bucks, looks like someone judgy.

Oh. That's why she looks familiar. The pub.

If looks could kill, Winter would have died a thousand times from the way Karina was shooting daggers at her. The silver haired averted her gaze, sitting on the tiled floor still confused as to why Minju's friend is looking at her like that. She made a mental note to ask the girl later.

The couple then emerged from the kitchen to greet their guests and set the food at the table while Chaewon and Yujin stood up to help them. From the small chatters Winter had heard, Yena already met the group on more than one occasion despite her being busy setting up her small business in Jeju. 

Lunch was a quick affair, seemingly everyone was too hungry to chat even about the mundane things. Soon after, Winter is cleaning up after them with Karina helping her, after Yujin teasing Karina about them getting a once in a lifetime chance of having a lawyer cleaning after them. 

"s." Karina muttered under her breath after stacking up the plates then placing them on the sink.

"You can leave it there, I'll wash those later." Karina whipped her head up to the owner of the voice, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "Yena wants us to go get drinks."

-


The pair was on their way to the store which was almost 10 minutes away from Winter's place. The weather is warm but the air around them was chilly, and WInter finally decided to break the silence. "Did I do something wrong? If looks could kill I would've died a hundred times already."

"What do you mean?"

"You keep looking at me like I peed in your backyard, it's making me uncomfortable."

"I just thought that it was weird that you were reading a book at the pub. Nineteen Eighty-Four, really?" Karina let out a derisive snort, stealing a glance at the girl beside her.

"Oh, that." WInter brought her hand up to caress her nape. "Is it that weird? I felt stuffy in my apartment and I needed to finish the book report so I had a couple of beers at the pub."

"Oh." Karina felt her face flush from embarrassment. "I honestly thought you were there to pick people up." She admitted.

"And what would my pickup line be?" WInter tapped her chin and looked at her companion, "You must be a library book, because I can't stop checking you out."

Karina laughed quietly, feeling better that Winter didn't seem to mind that she had been misjudged. After a few moments, she spoke. "I'm sorry, I just got so used to Hyewon's antics that I jumped into conclusions."

Winter shrugged. "That's fine. I'm guessing Hyewon has done some pretty drastic stuff, huh?" 

-

Minju scanned through the bags they brought and settled on the counter. "I didn't think the store was a hundred miles away."

"The line was long when we were about to check out." Winter retorted with a huff. That was partly true. When the misunderstanding was cleared, the pair got to talking and surprisingly, the conversation flowed easily. Winter learned that after finishing her degree in Economics, Karina had passed the bar exam on her first try. Winter had naturally shared about herself as well, how she's taking up small jobs for a profit so she can save up for her last year of school. 

They exchanged phone numbers and Karina even offered to buy her coffee to make up for her boring holes on Winter's face, and she's really looking forward to it. 

"If you say so." Minju smiled knowingly. 

 

-

When Yena announced that they were engaged, it seemed like Minju's friends had already expected it. Though Heejin and Chaewon bawled and Yujin consoled them, seemingly embarrassed by their behavior. ​​​"I love love!" Chaewon cried. 

Afterwards, their guests left, but one didn't leave without a promise of more liquor or coffee for next time. 

A/N: Hello. ashdkf. This really was supposed to be on drafts still, I'm not even set on the entire plotline yet. I just wanted to get this started and I wrote that entire first chapter on a whim while drunk at 4am. Thank you for the subs and upvotes! Will definitely appreciate any feedback as well. Feels like there wasn't much happening from the first couple chaps but things will speed up a bit in the next few. <3