enjoy.

-

The next day Ningning sees Winter the girl is almost screaming into her pillow and kicking her feet, not being able to contain her excitement.

“Ning, you should’ve been there! She looked so damn cute even with all those bruises, I just wanted to kiss her lips and make her feel better. She’s so cute”, Winter sighs just thinking about last night. 

“Oh my God, just how much do you like this girl? This is something I’ve never seen before”, Ningning laughs, softly slapping Winter’s thigh.

“I can’t help it, you know? She’s just so... dreamy. She’s everything I didn’t know I needed. And she’s taking me out tonight, it’s not a date but I’m hoping after this she will want to ask me out on a real date. She also said I looked great in that dress so thank you for that”, Ningning shakes her head, smiling at her best friend.

Seeing Winter so hopeful and happy makes Ningning’s heart full. She wants nothing but happiness for her friend and she just hopes Karina is that.

“Do you know what you’re going to wear? Where are you going?” The red haired girl moves to lay down next to her friend.

At her words, Winter pouts. “I don’t know, she hasn’t texted me with the details or anything. Do you think I should wear a dress again?” She looks at her phone as if Karina would text in that moment.

“Well, there’s still time. She better not stand you up though, because then she’ll hear a few words from me”. Winter chuckles at the girl’s words. “Maybe you can wear a casual dress or a skirt”, Ningning presses her lips together, humming shortly before she speaks again.

“Do you know why she got beaten up?” She eyes her friend to see her reaction.

“No, Karina said she doesn’t know who that girl is or why she did that”, Winter turns on her stomach, looking up at Ningning. “Why? Do you know?”

“I heard something”, Winter raises both eyebrows, wordlessly asking her to keep going. “Her name is Ryujin, the girl that hit Karina? That’s her. She goes to another university and turns out she has been seeing Yeji for a while but someone told her there was something between her and Karina and well... you know the rest”.

Winter frowns immediately, feeling something weird inside. “You mean Karina is or was seeing Yeji?” She switches her position and sits on her bed instead.

Ningning bites her lip, noticing the look on Winter’s face. She didn’t want to make her feel bad but it’s best if she knows before anything else happens. To be honest, Ningning isn’t very much convinced Karina is good for her friend but she doesn’t want to ruin Winter’s expectations.

“I’m not sure, you know how Yeji is. She’s never serious about anyone but we don’t even know if they actually have or had something, it’s just stupid talk”, Ningning approaches her friend.

“I saw them”, Winter speaks, looking straight at the wall. “At the cafeteria the other day, I saw Yeji was all over Karina and the next time I looked at them they were gone. I convinced myself it was nothing but note that you said that...”, Winter trails off, her mind now thinking about Karina possibly having a thing with Yeji. It makes her feel really bad. “God, I’m stupid, aren’t I? Did I really think I could-“

“Hey, no, no. Don’t say that, you’re not stupid”, Ningning takes the taller girl’s hands in hers, pouting when she sees Winter’s eyes are glossy. “If I told you that it’s because I want you to be careful with your feelings, I’m not saying they’re a thing or that you shouldn’t see Karina but if they are I don’t want you to get hurt”.

Winter laughs, breathing deeply. “Should I not go tonight? I mean, if she’s seeing someone I don’t think I should go out with her even if it’s a friendly dinner”, she bites her lip, not knowing exactly what to feel. Dumb is one for sure, though.

“No, you should go and find out the truth. We can’t just trust rumors or what other people say, maybe I shouldn’t have told you that but I just thought you should know. I’m sorry”, the red haired wraps her arms around Winter. 

“I just- I don’t understand why I like her this much. It shouldn’t even hurt me because we’ve only talked twice, it’s so dumb. I can’t believe I’m about to cry just because the possibility of her seeing someone exists”, Winter scoffs, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the unshed tears. 

“Winter, you’re not stupid, okay? That’s just what liking someone is like. You’re not dumb for feeling sad, it’s only normal. Listen, let’s just forget about Yeji, Ryujin and all that. It might not even be true and it’s just a misunderstanding. You will go and have dinner with Karina tonight, okay?” Ningning holds Winter’s face between her hands, squishing her.

The short haired girl nods slowly, though still feeling a bit down.

“, I feel bad now. Please, Win. Don’t be sad”.

Before Winter can form a response, her phone buzzes and both turn their heads almost immediately.

Winter crawls to where her phone is and suddenly her hands are sweating and her heart is biting fast, she’s nervous.

“Is it Karina?” She nods distracted, her eyes reading the message over and over.

Her phone is snatched out of her hands before she can finish reading it for the fifth time. 

“She wants to take you where? What the , is she rich? I mean she must be if she wants to take you to freaking Mingles? Winter!”, Ningning shrieks. “Why is Karina literally taken out of a k-drama?” She slaps her arm, jumping on the bed.

Winter is still speechless as she takes her phone back from Ningning. “I’m worried, why did she have to choose an expensive place? I don’t even have the right clothes, I can’t do this”, she throws her phone to the side, lying back down on her bed. “I don’t want to see her anymore. She’s too much for me”.

“Aww, Win. Don’t be like that, if this is because of Yeji, I promise you-“

“It’s not just that. I just, I don’t know I feel weird all of a sudden”, she hugs her legs to her chest, hiding her face in them.

Ningning just stares at her friend. She feels highly responsible for her mood change. 

“Hey, come on. Karina told you you looked great in the dress I picked for you, didn’t she? That already says a lot and I’ll help you choose another one for tonight. You can’t let this opportunity go to waste”, she nudges Winter with her arm, looking to grab her attention.

Winter raises slowly, turning her eyes to her best friend. Ningning smiles when she sees the blush on her cheeks.

“See there it is, come on. You like Karina, don’t let her go before she’s even yours”.

“But Ning, I don’t feel comfortable going to an expensive place like that. I’ll just look out of place”, she sighs, now sprawled on her bed.

“Come on, it’s not like you’re poor either. You have really nice clothes too, plus I’m sure Karina doesn’t care what you wear”.

Winter sighs dramatically, reaching for her phone. “So what do I say?”

“Let me see again”, Ningning takes Winter’s phone out of her hands. “She’s picking you up at 7:30, which gives us exactly five hours for you to get ready. She didn’t mention anything about dress code so we’ll go for something more than casual but not too formal”, Ningning hums, deep in thought. “This is exciting. Yeji has nothing on you, don’t worry”. 

Winter rolls her eyes. The last thing she wants to hear is anything related to Hwang Yeji.

“Just say something like, ‘I’ll be waiting’ and add a cute emoji I don’t know, how do you reply to hot girls?” Winter lets out a chuckle. 

“You really are something”, she shakes her head, already typing something on her phone. 

“Hey, I got Karina to look at you, remember that”. Winter flips her off jokingly. 

“Okay, done”, she locks her phone and throws it away from her sight, feeling nervous. She just texted Karina, it feels like kind of a big deal to her.

“Wanna eat something before you need to start getting ready? I’m hungry and you can get distracted”, Ningning suggests, seeing how Winter is starting to fidget with her hands.

The taller girl nods, but says nothing.

-

The clock marks 7:11PM and Winter is nervous. Twenty minutes before Karina comes and Winter isn’t sure if she looks good enough but there’s not enough time to find another outfit. Ningning helped her do her makeup and she keeps looking at her reflection in the mirror, wondering if it’s pretty enough. She just wants to impress Karina. 

A knock on her door interrupts Winter’s overthinking. “What do you need, Yeon?” Winter sighs, she’s already feeling stressed. 

“I just wanted to check up on you. Why didn’t you tell me Karina asked you out?” He throws himself on her bed, placing his arms under his head.

Winter rolls her eyes. “Because she didn’t. Were you spying on me?” She squints her eyes once she realizes.

“No, you guys are just too loud”, he chuckles while Winter scoffs. 

“Sure. Anyway, she didn’t ask me out, it’s just a dinner date as friends”.

“Okay, whatever. You know you shouldn’t be worried, right? I know I annoy you and all that but I also want you to be happy, so don’t be nervous. You look beautiful, Karina will be speechless”, he stands up from the bed and walks closer to give her a quick hug.

Winter doesn’t say it but his words make her feel better.

“Just don’t be home too late, alright? 11 tops”, he points his finger at her, earning a light punch to his shoulder.

Winter is about to laugh but the doorbell makes her eyes go wide and frantically look at her phone. When did time pass so fast?

“It’ll be fine, come on”, Yeonjun pushes her out of the room before Winter can start panicking.

Before she knows it, she’s opening the door and is met with Karina face to face.

The first thing she notices is the visible bruises on her face even if she’s wearing makeup. The second is that she still looks as gorgeous as ever and Winter feels her heart flutter and her stomach twist with butterflies. 

“Hi”, Karina greets first, offering a small smile.

Winter looks at her, quickly analyzing her outfit. She’s wearing a tight dress with a black leather jacket on top of it, almost as long as her dress.

“You look beautiful”, she widens her eyes when she realizes the words slipped her mind.

Karina chuckles. “You look even better, I like that dress it’s cute”, Winter immediately blushes and she looks down, feeling shy.

“Thank you”, she laughs nervously but hopes Karina didn’t notice.

“Come on, reservation is at 8”, Karina takes her hand, catching Winter by surprise. 

Why does this feel like an actual date? Who holds their friend’s hand like this?

Winter is screaming internally and when Karina opens the passenger door for her, she might as well pass out right there.

She looks around the car, noticing it’s definitely something expensive but she keeps it to herself. She simply watches Karina get in the driver’s seat, mentally wondering how can she make that simple action look so attractive.

“Are you better today?” Winter asks, playing with her hands as Karina starts driving.

“Yeah, really good I’d say. I mean if I press hard on some places it’ll hurt but it’s not a big deal”, Karina misses the tender look Winter gives her.

“That’s god to hear”, she takes a deep breath. “Um, so do you know who’s the girl that did that to you?”

Karina clicks her tongue, scoffing. “Yeah, I know now. I don’t even know her, my friend told me she doesn’t even go to our school. If I see her again she’ll be the one with a black eye”, Winter tries not to get distracted at how hot Karina looks when she’s getting angry.

Instead, she feels a little bad when Karina doesn’t reveal anything of what Ningning told her earlier. Winter isn’t sure if it’s because she’s hiding something—she wouldn’t have a reason to, since they’re just friends—or if it’s a rumor like Ningning said. Winter doesn’t pry anymore and just gums in approval, mumbling a ‘she’s crazy’. 

“So, Winter”, Karina’s tone lights up. “Tell me more about you. We’ve only met two times, what’s your major? I haven’t seen you around campus that much”.

But I have, Winter thinks.

“Well, I’m 19 and a sophomore. I’m majoring in marketing but there’s really not much to say about me”, she chuckles. “I guess I’m kind of boring, I don’t usually go to parties, it’s always my brother who’s dragging me to places”.

“Marketing? That’s interesting and of course you’re not boring, I think you’re pretty fun already”, Karina looks at her briefly with a lop sided smirk on her lips. “But you’re a homebody then?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that”, Winter looks out the window to avoid Karina’s eyes just in case.

“That’s pretty good, honestly. Partying is fun and all but nothing like being in the comfort of you bedroom”, Karina shakes her shoulders, gripping the wheel tighter.

“Exactly, are you like that too?” Winter asks curiously.

Karina hums. “Sometimes, more often than not. I mean, I go out for lunch or dinner but I don’t go to a lot of parties”, Winter nods, not fully believing her for some reason. 

“My brother told me you transferred this semester, why’s that?” Winter feels a bit more comfortable around Karina.

“Ah yes”, Karina chuckles. “Let’s just say I wasn’t on my best behavior back there. My mom decided to make me transfer instead, though it was kind of a long process because you know, the classes and all that”, again Winter just hums in approval, keeping any other questions to herself. She doesn’t want to overwhelm Karina with an interrogation.

Both girls spend the rest of the ride in silence, Winter stealing glances at Karina every now and then and blushing to herself when she catches Karina turning her head in her direction.

The younger watches their surroundings change as they make their way into Gangnam. It’s not Winter’s first time around here, she sees the expensive cars parked or driving around along with some really good looking people on the sidewalk. She turns her head to Karina and sees the girl as calm as ever, she definitely fits the vib