It is exactly 1:00 in the afternoon when Winter finishes her summer classes. She huffs. A three-hour laboratory class and one lecture class can really be draining. Once Winter is able to get out of the classroom, she speeds towards the nearby Biological Sciences building.

The second floor of the Biological Sciences building houses the club room of their organization – The Biological Society, as they call themselves. Winter is proud to be a part of the organization, not because she is considered a legacy – a term used for members whose family members were also a part of the organization back in their college days – but because she actually feels the camaraderie. With this group of people, she truly feels she belongs. 

Her co-members are her family and she loves their company. For the first time in her life, Winter felt that she has people she can truly rely on upon without being judged. 

Winter reaches the club room at the end of the long corridor near the fire exit and hears muffled sounds. She smiles. She is quite excited to find out who is inside. The organization decided to install paddings in the walls to minimize the noise they were making and for the professors not to reprimand them. 

As Winter opens the door, she is greeted by Dongju singing Christina Aguilera’s ‘Fighter’ and Keonhee eating on the table in the middle of the room while identifying each ingredient he can taste. “Hey, guys,” Winter calls softly.

“Winter!” Dongju enthusiastically greets her, hopping from the couch towards Winter to give her a hug and does the org handshake with her. Keonhee also stands up from the table with the table napkin still on his neck and smudges of sauce on his cheek to give Winter a hug and do the handshake. Winter chuckles as she sees Keonhee and grabs her handkerchief to wipe off the sauce. 

Winter has a soft spot for these two. After all, she entered the organization and did the initiation process with Keonhee, Dongju (and his twin brother Dongmyeong), her best friend Yizhuo, and the pranksters Ireh and Chaein. “How’s your day, Cold Season?” Keonhee asks, using the nickname they made for her when they all first met. “I and Dongju were supposed to have Anatomy earlier but the professor ghosted us.” He continued while munching on another piece of chicken. Dongju rolled his eyes. “I could have gotten more sleep.” He says.

“Why are you sleeping late again?” Winter asks.

“Oh you know, the usual grind,” Dongju answers. “Where were you, batch? I thought you’re going to join?” Gaming Sundays are a thing for their mini-group. Winter smiles and shakes her head slowly. She knows she’s not going to hear the end of it.

“Well, my sister called and she wants to have dinner with me.” Both of the boys grunted. They know how Winter despises family gatherings and they also know that when Taeyeon Kim calls, it is usually about their dad.

“Anyway, batch, you haven’t answered my question,” Keonhee says and he opens another container of chicken. Winter sits down by the couch and hugs the whale plushie beside her. “It was weird,” she begins. The boys stopped what they were doing and gave their attention to Winter. She merely shrugs and recounts what happened earlier in the morning.

“A blue BMW? Must be a big shot.” Keonhee comments.

“There’s only one person on campus who owns a blue BMW,” Dongju says. His social butterfly skills often come in handy. “You probably met Karina Yoo.”

“Who?” Winter asks.

“Wait, wait,” Keonhee interjects. “Why are we not talking about the ghost part? Are you plagued, batch?” He asks, a little worried.

Winter is grateful for her friends’ concern but sometimes, she finds it amusing how everyone treats her like a baby. True enough, she is not the youngest member of the organization, and most of the time she thinks everyone is doing this because Geonhak, the organization’s current president is her cousin. She smiles slowly and shakes her head.

“It wasn’t exactly a plague, batch. It was just a series of weird dreams until last night.” Winter explains. “I never expected it to come true.” 

“What about that woman with beautiful sharp eyes? Do you know who she is?” Keonhee continues to inquire. Dongju sat beside Winter to listen, offering her some orange jelly for comfort. 

“I actually don’t know who that is. She randomly appeared at the end of the dream.” Winter huffs after explaining.

“Huh, kinda like how Karina Yoo and her blue BMW appeared after being chased.”

“Ooh,” Dongju comments as if having a eureka moment. “What if the ghost leads Winter to Karina? Wanna bet that’s the case?” He continues. Keonhee stares at Dongju, wide-eyed.

“Holy . Remember what your grandmother said when we had a sleepover at your house, Winter? There is no such thing as coincidences…” Keonhee says, gasping then continues to munch on the fried chicken while looking distant.

“But, seriously, are you okay, Winter?” Dongju asks. Winter nods and smiles gratefully. “I’m okay, really. Thank you.”

“But I still think the ghost is leading you to Karina Yoo.” 

There was no moment of silence afterward as the trio was shocked by the sound of the door violently opening. Ning Yizhuo, Winter’s best friend and the organization’s resident karaoke queen, barges into the room by kicking the door open. Winter notices that Yizhuo has her hands full with an insect collection box, her handouts, and her insect net. 

“I swear to god I regret majoring in entomology,” she starts. She puts her stuff down on the table where Keonhee was eating. She motions for the boy to feed her which Keonhee does in a heartbeat. “What’s all this talk about Karina Yoo?” She asks finally. “Are you finally coming out of the rock you’re living in, Winter?”

Winter gulps. She is always careful about the things she says to Yizhuo. Her best friend is overprotective of her and the events earlier are not exactly something Yizhuo is going to be thrilled about. 

“Ms. Karina almost bumped her car into Winter earlier,” Keonhee announces. Winter turns to Keonhee who just shrugs and continues to eat. Yizhuo’s eyes widen and, as expected, she is enraged. “What?!” She angrily exclaimed. Dongju and Keonhee flinch. Winter scratches her nape and looks at Yizhuo pleading.

“L-look, Ningning,” Winter goes in by using her best friend’s pet name. “I-it wasn’t her fault. I was the one who wasn’t looking.” She explains. Yizhuo is not convinced.

“So you’re telling me that Karina almost ran you over?!” She angrily asks. “I swear I will give that girl an earful.” 

“To be fair to Karina,” Dongju says. “Winter was being chased by an entity.” He concludes. Winter sharply turns to Dongju and signals not to talk anymore. Dongju just shrugs and smiles. They know it’s no use keeping things from Yizhuo. Upon hearing this information, Yizhuo’s features softened with sympathy.

“How are you, Minjeong, really?” Yizhuo says, using Winter’s traditional name. Winter sighs. At least the storm is over and Yizhuo is no longer flaming mad. Now she will have to deal with Yizhuo’s concerns.

Winter is not able to relay all the story. She starts feeling chills again and goosebumps. Usually, when this happens, Winter knows there is a ghost nearby. The difference this time is the urgency that is mixed with this communication attempt. Winter can feel sharp pricks on her nape. She can no longer ignore the sensation. She shakes her head as she tries to find where the source of energy is coming from.

She looks at the window that overlooks the building’s parking lot. It was empty for a moment. Slowly, the apparition appears. Light gives way to the specter of the woman from earlier. She is smiling apologetically at Winter, eyes pleading. The pricks on Winter’s neck continue to worsen. The ghost is calling her, alright.