AUTHOR

Thanks for waiting! Enjoy!

Winter has been playing a game of hide-and-seek with her siblings. The moment she spots any potential-looking blonde heads nearby, she will immediately scatter away like a scared puppy being hunted by wolves. The tension was so thick she could cut it with Yizhuo’s perfectly manicured claws.

Speaking of the devil. She managed to locate Yizhuo’s whereabouts—handling fliers near the entrance to boost their booth. The colour on her face nearly drained when Winter approached her and said “Code Red. Twins are here.”

She asked Yizhuo to babysit Prof. Beak, muttering prayers that she’d keep the devils away. For the time being, Winter told the latter not to approach the twins or she’ll be into their vortex of drama faster than a selfie gets likes on Insta.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots not one but two blonde heads, hair swaying in the breeze like golden retrievers on a convertible car, as they attract a lot of people’s attention. 

Oh, son of a biscuit, she curses.

They were swaying in the breeze like they just stepped out of a stereotypical rom-com, or better yet, a convertible car commercial from the early 2000s. It was like witnessing the ultimate teen dream unfold—think “She’s All That” meets “Clueless,” but with extra glitter and cargo pants. 

Winter just wanted to get out of this place, as stealthily as possible. She knows well that her siblings—especially her sister Jisoo—will interrogate her to death about Karina, and she’s not going to let that happen.

Her sister Jisoo has a sort of unhinge, kind of obsession when it comes to people who want to court her. Winter sees it as a sign of affection because she wants to protect her. Although that's mostly the case, it’s still weird.

Why weird, you asked? Well, it was back in high school, the time after she got released from her cell from being grounded. Winter garnered a bunch of supporters and admirers after she stood up for her friend by waterbombing her bullies. Since she became a local celebrity for quite a while, it has become too much that bouquets are being sent to her house and school as a form of admiration and some were asking permission to court her. As chivalric as it sounds, Winter never paid attention to those requests. She only tolerated it because it was pissing her haters more.

But her sister Jisoo was not having any of that. Jisoo responds to all the letters that Winter’s already taken and has a fiance with bitterness. And to add more salt to the wound, Jisoo agreed to become the ‘fake’ fiance. She religiously played the part of driving and picking up Winter from school and acts lovey-dovey with her when people are watching. For her sister Jisoo it was all fun and laugh, but for Winter she got labeled as a dyke that snatched a hot sugar mommy on Tinder. But of course, the insult didn’t last long because payback is a biatch.

As Winter manoeuvred through the crowd, she couldn't help but feel like a spy on a top-secret mission. She ducked behind a group of nerds, using them as shields to protect herself from her siblings, all while mentally rehearsing her escape plan. But just as she was about to make her getaway, she heard a familiar voice call out from behind.

“Winter! There you are!” Jisoo's voice cut through the chatter of the area like a laser beam. Winter winced, knowing there was no escaping her sister's relentless pursuit, but she was not throwing her white flag just yet without a fight. Winter knew she was completely hidden. How did she even find her?

“No, you got the wrong person!” Winter ducks as she tries to cover her face with her hands. She swarmed in a crowd full of people watching the St. Ives talent show.

“Winter! I know it’s you.” Jisoo continues to pursue, her voice sounding near.

“I’m sorry, miss. But I’m not Winter. You got the wrong person.” Winter tries hard to deny it. She even wore the ugly frog mask she bought a while ago to conceal her face from her sister.

“I’m just a harmless frog passing by.”

“Winter, stop covering your face with that hideous mask, I know it’s you!”

Winter was so focused on distancing herself from her sister that she accidentally bumped into something hard, and that something hard was her brother’s big sturdy chest.

“Hi, Bambi. Miss me?” Jin smirks as he grasps her shoulders with his big hands to stop her from escaping. She yelped in surprise and tried to wiggle out but struggled hard because her brother was just colossal and strong.

“Winter.” Winter flinched hearing how near Jisoo's voice was.

Jin turned her around and removed the frog mask hastily. Winter forces a smile as she faces an angry Jisoo. She was flanked between her siblings making an escape seem impossible. They were like a tag team of relentless interrogators trying to silence a whistleblower in a high-stakes spy movie, except the whistleblower was just Winter trying to navigate teenage life without being mortified.

“Uhh… Hey guys? How’s it going?” She awkwardly greets them, feeling embarrassed because they’re capturing a lot of people’s attention.

“Winter, how could you not tell us, especially me?” Jisoo looks so upset. It looks like she’s about to cry.

“About what?”