winter always loved the water.

she didn't know why, but whenever she sinks at the bottom of the pool located at their backyard and stays there for a while, it helps her think clearly.

she's now seven feet deep down, her brown locks floating freely with the gentle waves that her hands made.

fifteen minutes.

it has been fifteen minutes ever since she stayed under, not even needing air to breathe. she considered it as a gift though– maybe that was why she always joined in swimming competitions back in her previous university.

“winter, dinner's ready.”

it was her mom.

winter also considered this as a gift. she can still clearly hear what people say to her even if she was under the water. a soft smile escaped her lips before she swam back up, strands of hair now covering her face.

her mom could only chuckle at the sight.

“did you beat your record?”

winter huffed.

“i was about to beat it but you suddenly called me,” she replied before slowly getting off the pool.

the thirty year old woman handed her a clean towel. winter just thanked her by showing a grateful grin. 

“go and take a quick shower. hyun will be coming home soon,” her mom uttered.

the name made winter shiver in disgust.

she still didn't understand why her mom chose to put up with a useless man who does nothing but to drink, smoke, and even bring different women into their abode. she was twelve years old when she found out that he wasn't her real father. instead of getting sad about it, winter actually rejoiced.

at least she knew her blood wasn't related to a living embodiment of dog .

“i'll be downstairs if you need anything,” her mom stated before closing winter's bedroom door.

the brunette heaved out a heavy sigh before walking into the bathroom. she slowly took all of her already wet garments off and placed them inside the plastic bin.

winter didn't have the energy to do her laundry anymore so she just decided to take care of it the next day.

soon enough, droplets of water were already running through winter's body. she closed both of her eyes to feel the warmth of the water, silently thanking whoever had the genius idea to come up with a creation called 'heater'.

she grabbed the nearest shampoo bottle, squeezing it on her palm then applying the sticky substance onto her messy hair.

it took a while for winter to get finished with her business. like any other girls, she also cared about her body and hygiene so she had a lot of stuff to apply to her milky, soft skin.

as soon as she got all dressed up, winter headed downstairs. luckily, hyun wasn't home yet.

“that dog 's probably out there drinking his useless out again,” winter uttered before grabbing a carton of milk inside the fridge.

“winter kim, mind your language,” her mom warned.

“he's still your father. he took care of you when your real father left us and you should be grateful for that,” she continued.

“we'll be fine without him, mom. you should really consider dropping him off. he can't even find a decent job. all he does is drink, smoke, and bring filthy women inside the house that you clearly paid for. why are you holding onto him so tight? this is so not you,” winter replied, clearly annoyed.

the woman was about to speak when she heard a ruckus coming from the living room.

winter already expected who was making that type of noise.

“TAEYEON KIM! BRING ME SOME BEER!”
oh gods, not again.

winter stared at her mother who was a bit startled because of how loud hyun's voice was. she signaled the woman to sit down the table and told her that she'll take care of it.

the brunette walked towards the fridge and grabbed a can of beer. she lazily headed to the living room and gave it to the man to which he happily accepted. 

“you finally made yourself useful, shark face.”

winter rolled her eyes at the nickname. hyun has been calling her shark face ever since he found out that winter had an amazing talent in swimming and staying under the water for a long period of time.

she didn't know how it connected to a shark, but winter just thought hyun was plain stupid and the marine animal that he only knew were sharks.

“i have always been useful in or out of this household. what about you?” winter sarcastically replied.

hyun, having a very short temper, tilted his head to look at the brunette. his eyebrows were so close to meeting each other and his hand tightly gripped on the can.

“the did you just say?”

“are you deaf? or just dumb? i'm pretty sure you heard what i just sa–”

winter was cut off when a knuckle suddenly landed on the side of her lips, making it bleed harshly. she fell on the ground, yelping in pain when her right arm hit the glass table.

“YOU UNGRATEFUL PIECE OF SH–”

“WINTER! HYUN, STOP IT!”

winter's mom ran towards the injured girl. she slowly helped the brunette back up but winter just pushed the woman's arms away. hyun walked towards the door with the can of beer still in his hand. but before he left the house, he uttered a warning. 

“tell that dumb kid of yours to learn how to respect. i'm leaving this ing place. if i come back and see her annoying face again, the both of you will be getting it.”

hyun was serious.

it was a threat. 

taeyeon could only sigh. 

“are you hurt anywhere?” 

winter didn't answer. 

“winter kim,” her mom called out to snap the brunette out of her deep thoughts.