November 2022 — 13:35

"How are you feeling Captain?" Somi asked and sat beside the Captain. 

Winter Kim and the rest of her team just finished their one-year tour. They're going home.

"Good. Are y'all feeling good?" She asked and looked at her troop. Tumango lang silang lahat. Silence embraced the atmosphere. They lost some of their comrades, everyone is scared for their lives. 

"We'll be landing in 5, Captain." The pilot said. Captain Kim glamced at the place beneath them. She is finally home. 

Captain Winter Kim is a Marine. Simula pagkabata ay pangarap na nyang maging sundalo. Siguro dahil na rin sa sundalo ang buong angkan nya. Her gender did not bother her. It paid off. She is now a Captain, handling a troop. May mga chismis din na malapit na syang mapromote. However, her occupation had scared away her possible partners for life. No one really wants to date a Marine. Now, she's already 27, the right age to settle down. 

"Aren't you getting off, Captain?" Tanong ni Chenle. The guy slings his bag on his shoulder. Nakalingon lang sya kay Winter na hindi pa rin umiibo sa upuan. 

"Go ahead. Mauna ka na," sabi ni Winter at tumayo. Kinuha nya ang bag nya at sumunod sa mga kasama nya. She cleared to get the troop's attention.

"We all have two weeks vacation. I'll see you after that. Dismiss," nagpaalam sakanya isa-isa ang mga Marine bago umalis. She saw them hugging their loved ones. Winter feels jealous. Her family is busy, so she insisted of going home alone. 

Winter left all those intrusive thoughts on the plane before walking towards the parking lot. She needs to rest. She deserves that, right?

Papasok na sana sya sa kotse nya pero parang may nakalimutan sya. She stood there, her car door open. It is November. She got her well-deserved rest, pero ano yung kulang? Bakit parang may nakakalimutan syang sobrang importante?

" it," she muttered at nagmadaling pumasok sa kotse nya. She's late for her best friend's concert. She does tend to forget about things pero not things related to her best frend of almost 3 decades. 

" let me in," itinulak nya nang marahan ang guard para tumabi ito sa daan.

"Hindi po pwedeng pumasok ng walang ticket, Ma'am." Winter pinched her nose to calm herself down. Kinuha nya sa pocket nya ang envelope na may lamang sulat at ticket galing sa best friend nya. 

"Here. You happy?" She might sound off rude or entitled pero mas takot sya kay Karina.

Her best friend, Karina Yu. She's been in the industry for so long. Worldwide famous. They've known each other since forever. They're together for every important matter in their lives. 

She is already 3 songs late, which means a day or two of grudge. Nagtatanim pa naman ng sama ng loob si Karina. As soon as she sat down, Karina raised a brow. Katatapos lang kasi kumanta ng bff nya.

"Huh, you finally showed up." Sabi nito sa mic. Napatingin sakanya ang mga tao. She smiled awkwardly. She does not like crowds as much as Karina. She also hates noise. Winter mouthed an apology and scratch her nape. 

"Stop doing that, you're not that cute." Karina said. The crowd chuckled. Winter playfully rolled her eyes as a genuine smile appeared on her face. This is home. Karina is home. 

For the whole duration of the concert, Winter stared at Karina. Karina steals glances every now and then too. If somebody looks at them without knowing they are best friends, they might probably think na they are lovers. Because who stared at someone like they put the stars in the sky? 

"Miss Karina wants you backstage," Winter snorted. Miss Karina, yeah right. 

"Okay." The security guard led the way. Katatapos lang din ng concert, the other fans stayed to take a picture. 

They stopped walking in front of a red door, may nakasulat din na Karina Yu, under her name is the word Artist. Winter smirked. 

"She's here, Miss." The security said. Karina run towards the younger girl and hugged her tightly. 

"Oh God, you're heavy. Jesus!" Sinampal sya nang mahina ni Karina at umalis sa pagkakayakap.

"I've missed you !" She said and hugged her one more time. Winter relaxed on the older girl's embrace. She deserves this hug. 

"Then don't call me , brat." Winter kissed Karina's cheeks and smiled. Umupo sila sa couch sa loob ng room. 

"Tell me about Ukraine," Winter froze. All of the thoughts swarmed her mind, just like that. 

"U-uh, c-can i have a sip of water?" Winter stood up and circled the room, trying to find her water bottle. 

"What happened, Win?" Karina asked as she looked at her best friend. Winter drank her water in three gulps. She calmed herself and sighed deeply. 

"Just same old, same old, Rina. No need to worry about me," Winter smiled and sat beside Karina again. She put her head on the older's shoulder and sighed. 

"You can tell me anything, Captain."

"And I told you that it's the same story, Miss Superstar. Sing me a song!" Karina did not probe further. Instead, she sang a song. The song that she did not let anyone hear but Winter.