Chapter 02

Low murmurs and the sound of pages flipping filled the halls of the library, a sound in which Winter has been familiar to. It's her free period and her friends are still in class, her only hang out place when she was alone was in the library. A place in which it wouldn't be weird nor will it be unusual to be alone.

She sat on one of the empty aisles down the hallway where not much people go to and pulled out a book, "the things we can see only when we slow down" she reads, she flipped through the pages and stopped randomly, she looked at the book and read the first paragraph she saw.

“Sometimes, after a relationship is over, you catch yourself thinking, ‘I hope she is happy,’ without bitterness. This is a sign you have moved on.” (- Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 155) Winter reads.

"Would that be something you'd wish for me?" She almost jumped out of her place when she suddenly heard a voice whisper next to her. She turned to her side and held her breath when she saw a familiar face looking at her with a smile.

"Yoo Jimin" she mumbled, almost a whisper.

"Hello, nice to run into you here MJ" Karina flashed her infamous smile. "So, this your hang out place, I assume?"

Winter exhaled, unaware of how long was she holding her breath, she put her attention back to the book she was holding. "Y-yeah, I guess." It then dawned on her, "Why are you here?" She suddenly asked. "I mean, for homework?" She added, not wanting to sound rude.

Karina sat next to Winter, extending her legs on the floor, just like how the black haired woman is sitting. "I saw you and followed you."

Winter looked at Karina and raised a brow, "Followed me?" She asked. "W-why did you follow me?"

Karina shrugged her shoulders, "I just thought I'd say hi." She smiled again. A smile that keeps tugging Winter's heartstrings.

Winter looked down again, "O-oh, Hi."

Karina chuckled, she liked seeing Winter looking shy and flustered. "So-- what are you reading?" She asked, looking down at the book on Winter's hands.

Winter placed a hand on the page she opened and closed the book to show it's cover to Karina who seem to have just nodded her head. "Going through something?" The blonde girl asked.

"N-no, I was just randomly browsing." Winter responded in all honesty.

"Can you show me what you were reading before I scared you?"

Winter complied and opened the book back to the page she just read.

“Sometimes, after a relationship is over, you catch yourself thinking, ‘I hope she is happy,’ without bitterness. This is a sign you have moved on.” This time it was Karina who read the words out loud. She frowned though, "Does it mean I haven't moved on since I don't hope that he's happy?" She mumbled.

"Maybe you don't wish him happiness because he cheated on you again." Winter responded, her eyes grew wide when she realized she said her thoughts out loud. She looked at Karina who was already looking at her with an unreadable expression. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to.." she frowned and looked down again.

Karina chuckled softly, "It's fine, not like I don't know the whole uni knows about my relationship with him. Besides, I'm pretty sure Ryujin gave you a lecture about this by now."

Winter looked at Karina still with a frown on her face, "Sorry, RJ's just chatty sometimes but she doesn't say anything bad about you, I swear. The cafeteria incident was the first time."

Karina raised a brow, curious at how the girl was ready to defend a friend, "It's okay MJ, RJ and I go way back so I know her well." She paused. "And as for what you said, you're right, I don't wish him well because he did cheat on me with the same girl for the-- I honestly lost count."

Shock was evident from Winter's face, she knew the guy was a cheater, the whole school talks about him cheating not once but several times so she had assumed that it was with different girls only to find out it was only with "the same girl? One same girl?" She mumbled.

Karina nodded her head, "For years, Jeno had always loved Mina, no matter how many times he gets rejected by Mina because she's dating someone else, once they break up, she pulls Jeno back to her like a magnet and he would always willingly run to her arms."

For the first time since they met, this was the first time Winter saw Karina speak in all seriousness. "Then-- why?" She asked.

"Why do I still stay with him?" Karina continued the question. Winter nodded her head, "Because just like how Jeno is to Mina, that's how I am to him." She frowned. "I know I'm desperate and stupid but I guess that's what love is for me?"

The sound of sigh made Karina look at Winter. "I know, I know, it makes you frustrated." Karina chuckled. "Trust me, all my friends feel the same way but give me time, I'll get over him soon."

"Yoo Jimin." Karina doesn't know but the way Winter said her name sent chills down her spine. "I know I'm going to sound weird because you just met me but I don't care, you need to hear this." Winter paused. "You're beautiful, not just physically but also as a person. Don't ask how I know, we have the same set of friends." She explained when she saw Karina opened and made her shut up again. "Don't lower yourself and your standard for a man who doesn't value and love you. I'm sorry that my words are harsh but it's the truth. If he does love you, he's gonna treat you better than this." She paused when she saw the woman looking down.

"If you want to be loved properly, learn to love yourself first. It sounds cliche, I agree but it's the truth. If you yourself know your worth and doesn't settle for dip like Lee Jeno, then one day, you're going to meet a person who will show how it actually feels like to be loved. So stop, stop being second because you deserve to be the one and only."

Karina smiled, no matter how much Winter's words stabbed her in all angles of her heart, she knows the woman only speaks the truth and she's honestly surprised at how bold she is for being able to say those words to her, words that even her closest friends tried to sugarcoat just to avoid hurting her feelings more, but here she is, Kim Minjeong, a girl she's know for a long time but only met recently. Winter was right, they do have the same set of friends so she wondered why did they only met so recently, a chance she regrets not having earlier in life.

"Do you want to make me your one and only then?" She smirked at Winter.

Winter choked on air hearing those words come out of Karina's mouth. She coughed several times which earned a "shh" from people in the library.

Karina immediately run her hand up and down Winter's back to sooth her.

"Y-yah" Winter hissed. "Why can't you be serious for once" she glared.

But Karina wasn't threatened at all, she actually find angry Winter "Cute" she chuckled. "You look like a baby" she commented. "Do you want to be my baby?"

Winter stood up from her seat, fuming, "Aish, stupid" she mumbled, storming away from Karina who could only laughed at how Winter acted. "See you around, MJ" she whispered to no one before returning the book Winter left on the floor after she stormed away.

"A little birdie told me that you keep being seen with Minjeong around campus, care to share?" Aeri non-chalantly uttered before taking a sip of her coffee.

She's currently at the café with Karina, having their lunch.

"Would that little birdie be RJ?" She chuckled. "And yes, I have been hanging out with MJ. Why does it sound so bad when you guys ask me about this?" She frowned.

Aeri placed her drink on the table, she crossed her arms and stared at Karina, "Yoo Jimin, you have a history of leading girls/boys on whenever you're in a break up with Jeno. I keep mum about this because I believe you're old enough to know that leading people on is a bad thing to do and karma is a but I cannot sit back and watch you do it to Winter. She's our friend, Rina. Don't play with her."

Karina's frown grew, "I am not playing with her. She's just-- interesting. And she's my friend too now."

Aeri raised a brow, "So you're not flirting with her?"

Karina took her iced coffe