The days following Karina's coffee date with Winter passed in a blur of work, work, and more work. As one of the most sought-after ob-gynes in the city, Karina's schedule was packed with appointments, deliveries, and consultations from sunup to sundown. She barely had time to think, let alone dwell on her impending fake relationship with a certain intimidating redhead lawyer.

The few moments of downtime she did have were spent collapsed on her couch, utterly drained and in no state for witty banter over text. It wasn't that she was avoiding Winter, per se. She was just...prioritizing her patients. Yeah, that was it.

Or so she told herself.

Deep down, Karina knew she was stalling. The idea of pretending to be Winter's girlfriend, even just for show, was equal parts thrilling and terrifying. She wasn't sure she had the acting chops to pull it off, let alone the emotional fortitude to keep her heart in check.

But she'd given her word, and Karina was nothing if not dependable. So when her assistant, Lia, popped her head into Karina's office one particularly hectic afternoon, announcing that her next patient was ready, Karina squared her shoulders and put on her game face.

"Thanks, Lia," she said, grabbing the chart and heading for the exam room. "Who do we have next?"

Lia consulted her clipboard, brow furrowed. "A new patient, actually. A Ms. Kim? No first name listed."

Karina froze, hand on the doorknob. "Kim?" she repeated, heart suddenly racing. "As in...Winter Kim?"

Lia shrugged. "I guess so? She was very insistent on seeing you specifically. Said you two had an arrangement."

Oh god. Karina closed her eyes, taking a deep, fortifying breath. What was Winter doing here? They hadn't spoken since the coffee shop, and now she was ambushing Karina at work?

This couldn't be good.

Pasting on her most professional smile, Karina pushed open the door, ready to face the music. "Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Yu," she started, eyes glued to the chart in her hands. "What seems to be the problem toda-"

The words died on her tongue as she finally looked up, taking in the scene before her. 

There, perched primly on the exam table, was none other than Winter Kim. But it wasn't the Winter Karina was used to, all power suits and sharp edges.

No, this Winter was wearing nothing but a flimsy paper gown, miles of pale skin on display. She had one leg propped up on the stirrups, the other dangling off the side of the table. The gown was riding up her thighs, barely preserving her modesty.

Karina made a strangled sound, nearly dropping the chart in shock. "W-Winter?" she stammered, face flaming. "What are you doing?"

Winter smirked, looking entirely too pleased with herself. "Why, I'm here for my appointment, of course. You are my doctor, aren't you?"

"I...yes, but..." Karina floundered, trying desperately to keep her eyes above Winter's neckline. "I didn't realize we had an appointment scheduled?"

Winter waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, I may have pulled a few strings. Called in a favor or two. You know how it is."

Karina most certainly did not know how it was. She was pretty sure that's not how doctor's appointments worked. But then again, she was quickly learning that the normal rules didn't seem to apply where Winter was concerned.

"Right," she said weakly. "Well, um. What seems to be the problem? Are you feeling unwell or...?"

"Oh, I'm feeling just fine, Doctor," Winter purred, uncrossing and recrossing her legs with deliberate slowness. "Fit as a fiddle, really. I'm just here for my...check-up."

The way she said "check-up," all breathy and suggestive, made Karina's insides squirm. This was so far beyond the realm of appropriate doctor-patient interaction, she didn't even know where to begin.

"Winter," she hissed, darting a panicked look at the closed door. "What are you doing? You can't just...I mean, this is my place of work!"

Winter just grinned, wholly unapologetic. "What? I thought you'd be happy to see me. We have so much to discuss, after all."

Karina gaped at her. "Discuss? What could we possibly have to discuss that requires...this?" She gestured helplessly at Winter's state of undress.

Winter's grin turned positively wicked. "Oh, I don't know. How about the fact that you've been ignoring my texts and calls for the past week? A girl might start to think you're avoiding her."

Karina flushed, guilt warring with irritation. "I haven't been avoiding you," she insisted. "I've just been busy. You know, with my actual job? The one where I have patients who need me?"

"Mmmhmm," Winter hummed, sounding entirely unconvinced. "Too busy for your devoted girlfriend, huh? I must say, I'm hurt, Karina. Wounded, even."

The pout she affected was so over-the-top, Karina couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Fake girlfriend," she reminded her. "This is all just pretend, remember?"

Something flickered in Winter's eyes, gone too quickly for Karina to decipher. But then a slow, sly grin spread across her face. "Of course," she said, voice dripping with amusement. "But you know, if we're going to sell this, you really need to work on your poker face."

Karina blinked, thrown by the sudden shift in tone. "What?"

Winter swung her legs over the side of the exam table, leaning forward conspiratorially. "I mean, really, Yu. If you're going to go all deer-in-headlights every time I so m