“So, uhm, this is it?” Giselle asks, eyeing the box that Karina presented. The two girls are currently in Giselle’s apartment, trying to figure out how to open it.
“I expected something else as well, to be honest,” Karina says. She sees her friend checking all the corners of the box to spot an opening.
“Well, I never knew Wonyoung can be a sentimental b--- woman. A sentimental woman,” Giselle remarked making Karina glare at her playfully. Karina knows that her best friend was not fond of her ex -- and rightfully so.

Karina remembers her past relationship with Wonyoung. It was full of ups and downs as all relationships do. The difference, however, is that the problems were never met with growth. She would like to admit that both of them were immature. It took some time for Karina to face the fact that Wonyoung never got over her immaturity. She was spoiled and carefree.

It was toxic. Karina can admit it now. Giselle has been voicing it out to her a number of times but she prefers to ignore all the warning signs. Karina is thankful that she now knows and understands what has happened. She knows it wasn’t her fault. Yet, every remnant of Wonyoung reminds her of the good and the bad.
“You don’t deserve this,” Giselle says. Karina looks up to her best friend. “After everything that has happened, you don’t deserve to remember every single thing about their daughter,”
“It’s okay, Aeri,” Karina says silently. “I just hope this will be the end of it.”
“It’s so unfair,”

Karina smiles thinly, no warmth can be found in her eyes. She eyes the box and let herself remember Wonyoung. Her darling Wonyoung. She considers the girl to be her first love. Wonyoung is the only daughter of electronic business tycoons and grew up pampered and spoiled. Karina thinks that because of these reasons, Wonyoung believes she can get anything she wants and that she can get away with anything.

She can’t remember how and why their paths crossed back in high school. But they did. Karina also remembers how Giselle and her would try to avoid getting tangled in Wonyoung’s social vine. It is as if a twist of fate that the two of them ended up partners for a group project. Long story short, Karina fell in love.

Wonyoung loved her, too -- at least, that’s what she has been trying to tell herself for the last few years. If she didn’t why would they stay together for two years? Questions. Karina has a lot of questions on her mind, most of which she knows she will no longer have answers to. But she finds herself questioning why it provides her with such a burden.
“I can’t find an opening. How the hell does Wonyoung use this then?” Giselle questions. Karina shrugs.
“I’ll probably do some research later,” she quips.
“Do you have plans for today?” Giselle asks, eyeing her best friend for clues of how she is faring. Karina wasn’t able to answer immediately because of a notification from her phone.

Giselle observes as her best friend breaks into a slow smile. The fatigue in her eyes slowly dissipates into excitement. Giselle can’t help but raise an eyebrow and smile knowingly.
“Do I need to ask?” Giselle says.
“Oh,” Karina answers, as if remembering that Giselle is seated in front of her. “It’s Winter. You asked me if I have plans, I do.”
“With Winter, I assume?” Karina nods at this smile, a happier smile this time. Giselle smiles as well, seeing her best friend in a lighter mood.
“She invited me for a picnic tonight at the Gardens,” Karina explains. “Good thing, I got her to save my number.”
“So you’re text mates now?”
“Oh no, no,” Karina shakes her head. “She just texted to see whether I am still available for later.”
“Why wouldn’t you be?” Giselle asks, laughing. This makes Karina laugh as well.
“It’s great that you’re opening up to Winter. Yizhuo says she’s a nice person despite the intimidating aura,”
“Ah, she is.” Karina agrees, grinning once again. “She is an interesting existence.”

Giselle sends a knowing grin to Karina and grabs her phone. It’s about time to text Yizhuo regarding what she learned. She thinks that this is an exciting time for her friend. Hopefully, Winter will be the reason for Karina’s peace of mind.

Winter checks her phone. It’s 12:30 and she is hungry. It is quite fortunate that their professor for her 11:30 to 1 PM class decided it is best to end the class 30 minutes earlier. However, Winter cannot eat yet. After all, she promised Keonhee she will eat whatever he cooked for lunch.

This is how she ends up sitting alone in the club room waiting for everyone to arrive. She sets up the stereo and plays a summer tune from the early 2000s. Summertime by Another Level. Winter feels light and it has been a while since she felt carefree. Even though the ghost business with Wonyoung is recent, she hasn’t been relaxed.

News of Winter’s academic failures reached their patriarch and that did not bode well for her and her family. Although she is quite lucky to have her cousins by her side, she was still required to attend summer classes as punishment. That’s why here she is, on a hot April day, thinking about asking help from her org mates regarding molecular biology at the same time trying to solve Wonyoung’s riddles.

Winter sighs and rests her head on the sofa, allowing herself to listen to the song. The overall ambiance was quite nice despite the heat. The peaceful atmosphere was abruptly halted when Ryujin kicked the door open and plopped some equipment on the table.
“What’s up, Cold Season? Why are you alone?” she asks.
“Class was dismissed early. What are all those?” Winter asks pointing at the equipment with her lips. Ryujin sighs.
“I had some wildlife classes and I needed to borrow Yeji’s measuring tools because I wasn’t able to pass by the equipment lab earlier.”
“You were late? Why? You’re never late,”
“Well, I had softball practice yesterday afternoon and I met Yeji afterward, it was our date night. Needless to say, I was exhausted,” Ryujin says with a wink. Winter rolls at the innuendo.
“By the way, Winter,” Ryujin inquires. “How’s that thing with the ghost? Were you able to talk to Karina and find some answers?”
“Er… actually, it’s harder than I had anticipated,” Winter replies, lightly scratching her head in embarrassment.
“Ah, of course,” Ryujin nods in understanding. “But did you try to approach her about it? Or maybe start a conversation?” Winter hesitates but decides to give Ryujin a rundown on what had transpired in the past few days. Winter thinks it’s funny how Ryujin’s face would shift from one reaction to another but decides to keep the comment to herself when she sees concern flooding into her friend.
“Damn,” Ryujin says after processing the information that her friend gave her. “The gang said the ghost was being aggressive. I did not realize how dire it was,”
“It’s alright,” Winter says. “I can manage.”
“The sooner we get rid of the ghost, the sooner you’ll be back to your normal routine. Is your stay at Shelley okay so far?”
“Yep, at least the gang is there to distract me. They come up with crazy ideas on how to tell Karina but it really is difficult.”
“What do you think makes the task difficult?”
“Aside from the obvious reason that she might freak out, I don’t know, to be honest with you,” Winter explains. “I could have dropped the truth bomb on her on the very night we talked together. But there is something that always stops me -- and it is kind of triggering.
“Imagine, on one end, you have a ghost that keeps on pestering you about making her presence felt and then on the other end, there is something -- kind of like a wall -- stopping you from spilling everything to the other party involved. It feels like…” Winter pauses and Ryujin encourages her.
“Feels like what?”
“It feels like I don’t want Karina to be into this mess. I feel like this whole thing will turn her world upside down. I don’t know why. We are not even friends to begin with and I don’t know anything about her. I am not even sure what her relationship was with the ghost. But something strong is stopping me.” Ryujin is taken aback by this, mouth agape.

Winter feels strongly about the whole situation. The room was silent. It seems Ryujin is also processing what she said. It was difficult for her, yes, and she realizes she did not give herself time to think about everything -- in retrospect.
“The thing is,” Ryujin breaks the silence. “I think this will be helpful for Karina as well.
“Now, I cannot tell you everything since I am not entirely sure what’s happening but all I know is that this may provide her with some closure. I don’t know,” Winter looks at her friend.

“All I am saying is,” Ryujin continues to explain. “I believe this has become burdensome to you because you are trying so hard to go against the flow. Of course, I am not saying that you should do everything that the ghost demands but I think you ought to find out the root of all of this and maybe, just maybe, you’ll help a person close a chapter in her life.”
“So, you’re saying …”
“I’m saying that you need to get to the bottom of this by starting with the clues you already have in hand and talking to Karina about it,” Ryujin finishes.

A soft knock is heard and the door slowly opens to reveal Yeji who smiles her trademark smile as soon as she sees her girlfriend and Winter sitting on the sofa. “Hi,” she greets. “You guys look somber,” she places her bag on a nearby chair and sits next to Ryujin who automatically locks her in an embrace and kisses her cheek.
“Ew, get a room,” Winter comments, feigning disgust as she sees Ryujin resting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.
“She’s just jealous, love,” Ryujin says. “Our Winter barely talked to Karina after their first meeting.” Yeji immediately looks at Winter with concern. Winter snickers as Ryujin helped herself and gave her girlfriend the recent recap on what happened.
“Why didn’t you call us when all these things are happening?” Yeji asks.
“Ireh and Chaein are keeping us updated. I didn’t know what they gave us were merely summaries. I swear, those two are lazy texters,” Ryujin comments. Winter lets out an embarrassed smile once again. She explains how she doesn’t want to bother anyone and it was just a of luck that the girls arrived when she was being attacked.
“From now on, you will tell us everything, Winter. Understand?” Yeji says commanding, leaving Winter with no choice but to nod.

The three women were startled when the door banged open, revealing Keonhee carrying a bag of containers. “Tadaaaa!” He exclaims. “Lunch is ready!” He looks around to see the three in a serious expressions.
“Seriously, Keonhee, the way you guys kick open and close that door, it won’t be surprising if we need to replace that by next month,” Ryujin says.
“You just kicked the door a while ago,” Winter murmurs.
“Where are the others?” Keonhee asks, ignoring Ryujin’s comment and saying hi to Yeji.

“Is that lunch?” A voice from behind asks. All of them turned to see Yizhuo with Ireh, Chaein, and the twins entering the club room.
“I am famished,” Chaein remarks. Keonhee begins to unpack the food containers, setting aside portions for those who are not yet in the club room. Conversations are swinging from left to right and they eventually talked about Winter and her recent predicament.
“I told Winter countless times that she has to confront Wonyoung and ask for direct answers,” Yizhuo says while eating a spoonful of meat.
“Wait,” Yeji asks. “Did you say Wonyoung?”
“Yep,” Yizhuo answers. “Wonyoung is the name of the ghost, apparently, right, Winter?” Winter merely nods and continues to eat.

“Is there something wrong, love?” Ryujin stops eating as she notices her girlfriend fall silent.
“Love, I think I know who this Wonyoung was,” Yeji announces. The group fell silent for a heartbeat and immediately followed up with questions.

“Hey, hey. Easy,” Yeji says. “I don’t know if I recall correctly, okay, but I think Wonyoung was the name of Karina’s ex-girlfriend. Remember, love?” Ryujin merely shrugs in remembrance.
“Oof,” Dongju comments. “Emotional baggage,”
“Well, I think this is a good chance for Winter to ask Karina what is up,” Chaein says to which everyone agrees.
“Actually,” Winter slowly announces. “Karina and I will meet later in the evening. I kind of asked her to join me for a picnic.”

As much as Winter wants to keep every detail to herself, she knows her friends won’t let her live if she won’t spill everything. So she did. She told them about her morning walk, about meeting Karina, and about their drive, sitting in comfortable silence.
“Okay, that’s cute and all but are you prepared for the picnic?” Dongmyeong asks. Winter’s eyes widen as she shakes her head. The group voiced their disbelief in unison until Keonhee speaks:
“I can shop and cook for whatever you need, batch. Do you have some dishes in mind?”
“Actually, no,” Winter admits. “I don’t even know what she likes,”
“Don’t worry about it,” Yeji interjects. “We know what Karina likes,”
“You can also use our kitchen, Keonhee,” Ryujin says. “Our house is nearer compared to Shelleys, anyway,”
“Please use my card, Keoni,” Winter says, using the nickname she made specifically for her friend. “Get anything you want as well. Please consider this as my token of gratitude,”
“Oh, shut up, Winter,” Keonhee says. “You don’t have to repay me,”

The group finished their lunch and decided to divide the labor to help Winter arrange her picnic date with Karina.
“For the nth time, it’s not a date,” Winter groans.
“What is it then?” Ryujin asks.
“A hangout?” Winter replies. She walks in-between Yizhuo and Ryujin as Yeji volunteers to drive Keonhee, Chaein, and Ireh to the market to get the necessary ingredients for the picnic menu.

Skewers. According to Yeji, there is no food in the world that will make Karina go nuts other than skewers. Winter was able to text the girl earlier and inquire about the food she prefers but the younger girl thinks that Karina is just being polite when she said she can eat anything Winter prepares.

Ryujin opens the gate of the rented house she shares with Yeji in order for Yizhuo and Winter to enter. Even though this is not the first time Winter visits Ryujin’s and Yeji’s houses, she will always be in awe at how much effort the couple spent to take care of and maintain a decade-old house in a residential area near the university.

Winter thinks that it is also fortunate that Ryujin’s and Yeji’s parents were supportive of their relationship and trust them both enough to allow them to stay under one roof. Now, as Winter observes, Ryujin and Yeji have their safe place where they can challenge themselves to be mature and domestic with each other.

As soon as Ryujin finishes fumbling into her bag to find the keys to open the front door, Winter and Yizhuo take the liberty to feel at home.
“Would you like a drink?” Ryujin asks.
“Water, please,” Yizhuo says, to which Winter nods in agreement. Ryujin comes back from the kitchen carrying two glasses of water and sits in the living room with the two girls.
“What should we do while waiting?” Winter asks. Ryujin shrugs. “Maybe we can cook rice?”

The three young women gather in the kitchen to prepare the necessary stuff for cooking. Ryujin plays some tunes on her audio setup in the living room while Winter carefully measures the rice.

Meanwhile, Yizhuo observes the Polaroid pictures on the wall -- she recognizes this is more of Ryujin’s project rather than Yeji’s, especially with the abundance of the latter’s photos. Yizhuo scans the photos and sees different events with different people -- Ryujin with the Biological Society, her softball team, their cats, her vacation photos with Yeji, her solo travel photos, and photos with Karina and their friends.
“Since when did you become close with Karina, Ryu?” Yizhuo asks. Winter’s head perks up in interest upon hearing the question.
“Oh, right, I haven’t told you about it yet,” Ryujin answers after finding a song she likes. Shoot The Moon by Norah Jones, Winter thinks. Somehow it made the warm ambiance… warmer.
“Yuna is bloc mates with Karina,” She begins. “Back in freshman year, Yuna would tag along with me and Yeji -- I thought she is having difficulty in adjusting and making acquaintances but, apparently, she just wants to since Yeji spoils her with food.
“She made friends with Karina and Giselle during their Economics 101 subject and she told Karina that she reminds her so much of Yeji.
“Of course, Karina and Giselle got curious as to who Yeji was and Yuna decided to introduce us -- you know, we are kind of a package deal,” Ryujin explains and snickers.
“Freshman year was so long ago, how come we never heard you two talk about Karina much?” Winter asks.
“We got close with Karina near the middle of the first semester and we did mention her once or twice. Maybe you were just not paying attention. After all, freshman year was when you were crying over Heejin.”
“Woop, there it is,” Yizhuo winces in remembrance. Winter’s cheeks puff at the random memory of her ex-girlfriend.
“You know, Winter, you are really cute when you’re mad,” Ryujin says, smiling mischievously as she walks toward Winter in an attempt to pinch the latter’s cheeks.
“Speaking of which, do you think Karina will give Winter the ‘Heejin treatment’?” Yizhuo asks. Winter frowns. She suddenly feels all the bitterness -- and sadness -- once again. Heejin was Winter’s high school sweetheart. Everything was going well -- until Heejin found out about Winter’s abilities to see and talk to ghosts. It was messy and it involved her family. She wants to bury every memory she has of Heejin and that particular event in her life forever.
“Nah, she won’t.” Winter hears Ryujin say. For some reason, that little piece of validation cleared up her mind.
“How can you say so?” Winter asks. Ryujin smiles at her. “Karina is a bit of a… goofball. A nerd, so to speak. One of her interests is reading about the occult,” The explanation brings shock to Winter and Yizhuo. Ryujin laughs at the reaction of her friends in front of her.
“Shocking, right?” She says. “Campus heartthrob and ice princess Karina Yoo is a massive nerd,”

Winter is at a loss for words with the new information about Karina. She is about to process all of it when they hear the front door open with Yeji carrying a big bag of groceries followed by Keonhee carrying a bigger bag full of meat and poultry. Chaein and Ireh follow suit with paper bags full of chips.
“No touching the chips, Yeji’s orders,” Ireh announces as Chaein moves towards the pantry to arrange everything.

Like clockwork, the gang begins to prepare. Keonhee is in charge of cooking, the duo is in charge of preparing desserts and baking some cookies, and the rest of them are in assistant mode.

The kitchen is immediately filled with chatter and the sounds of pots and pans. Everyone engages in light conversation until Yizhuo turns to Yeji and asks:
“How true is it that Karina is into the occult?”
“How did you know? Did Giselle tell you?” Yeji asks in return.
“Nah, I did,” Ryujin answers on behalf of Yizhuo. “It’s true, though,” Yeji says. “She even has a collection of books that talk about the occult. Ironically, she is not into horror movies,” Yeji adds the last part as an afterthought and pauses as she cuts and grates some potatoes.
“She says she cannot fathom gore and violence. Jump scares are also the reason why she despises horror movies. However, in movies or books about magic, monsters, and ghosts, she will devour them like crazy,”

For a moment, the group is distracted by the freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. As the group happily munches on the first batch of cookies, Yeji brings the conversation back to Karina.
“How come you were talking about Karina’s fascination with the occult?” She asks.
“Your of a girlfriend mentioned Winter’s ex and we wonder if Karina will react the same way as her when she learns of Winter’s abilities,” Yizhuo explains while Ryujin smiles sheepishly as she receives a glare from her girlfriend.
“I’m not going to lie,” Winter starts and everyone looks at her. “It kind of makes me feel anxious,”
“That’s perfectly valid,” Yeji says. “However, we know Karina. She’s not Heejin,”
“How can you be so sure? Everything about this is weird. Imagine telling her that her ex-girlfriend is trying to reach her,” Winter reasons.
“Okay,” Yeji remarks, her brain shifting to planning mode. “You don’t have to drop everything about the situation on her lap tonight, Winter. Take it slow,”
“Take it slow? How?” Winter inquires.
“If ever your conversations tonight turn to the Wonyoung situation, don’t panic. Instead of rushing towards explaining, ask her first how she feels about ghosts --”
“Although, I assure you, she does not mind,” Ryujin adds abruptly.
“Tell her you see ghosts,” Yeji concludes. “But not everything else,” Winter slowly nods, hoping that the night will end on a positive note.
“Don’t sweat about it, Cold Season,” Yizhuo says, walking towards her best friend and putting an arm around her shoulders. “Never mention it if it does not come up in the conversation, alright? You’ll be fine. Enjoy your date,”
“For the last time, it’s not a date!” Winter exclaims. However, her correction is lost among the chatter that erupted after what Yizhuo said with Chaein and Ireh joining in.