A/N: Hey everyone! If you read this chapter here a few days ago, I sincerely apologize, I accidentally posted the wrong draft 😅 It's my first time using this website and got confused, I didn't know you had to tick the draft thing lmao. I only noticed it after a few days, lol :( 

Here's something I meant to post; I've been busy but thanks for reading!

~

Seoul, Three Years Ago

Winter entered Karina's condo, the door closing with a soft thud that muffled the distant city sounds. As the lights flickered to life, the room unveiled its intricacies – the blue velvet couch, a statement piece adorned with tiny dinosaur pillows, each one a testament to Karina's quirky taste that Winter playfully disputed but had come to accept. The coffee table, scarred with the imprints of mugs, monotone carpets, slightly faded at the edges, sprawled across the floor, and the expansive windows framing the city's nocturnal skyline.

A peach-colored muffler lay on the floor. Winter couldn't help but picture the hurried departure – the rustle of clothes, the clatter of keys, and the scattering of belongings. That was Karina's usual exit. Either leaving for school to attend an important event or waking up late from a fun night together and almost missing Karina's family brunch, dinner, social events or anything basically that requires her presence. She hailed from a close-knit, predominantly Catholic family. These gatherings were more than routine; they were sacred moments, especially when they involved the media.

The Yus, much like Winter's family, were known for meticulously upholding a positive reputation. She understood this well, knew that missing these gatherings was simply not an option. While Winter often earned the unofficial title of the family's 'black sheep' due to her habitual absence, Karina, on the contrary, played the role of the dutiful daughter. Skipping these events was unimaginable for her.

Turning her gaze to the city lights outside, Winter stood by the window, absorbing the urban pulse. The glow of the city mirrored the mix of warmth and impatience swirling within her. Glancing at her watch, she acknowledged the late hour, the quiet anticipation building as she sank into the familiar embrace of the couch.

As her fingers grazed the remote to turn the tv on, the sudden shuffling outside the door captured her attention. The door cracked slightly and Karina emerged, carefully removing her shoes at the genkan – that small, traditional space in Korean houses where shoes are left. A smile lights up her face as she notices Winter, "Hey,"

"Hey," Winter replied, a soft smile played on her lips.

"Have you had dinner?" Karina asked, gracefully shedding her coat.

"I have, thanks." What Winter wanted to say was, "I wanted to have dinner with you, but you had to stay longer at the party, so I ended up eating solo. By the way... I miss you." but she went with the shorter response.

Karina passed by the back of the couch, running her hand along Winter's back. Leaning down, she pressed a soft, lingering kiss on the crown of the smaller girl's head, her warm breath leaving a comforting sensation. "I'm happy you're here," she whispered before moving on to the fridge to grab a glass of water.

"Happy to be here," Winter responded. They overused those lines, but they meant more than just being glad to see each other.

Sometimes when Karina says, 'I'm happy you're here,' it really means, 'I've been thinking about you the whole day. And I'm glad you're here with me now.' Or 'I was at the family dinner, but all I ever thought was wanting to touch you.'

When Winter says, 'I'm happy to be here,' sometimes it really means, 'I can't stop thinking about you and how it feels good when we're together.' Or 'I miss you. So much. I can't wait to spend another night with you.'

But none of them wanted to put their guard down.

"How was the party?" Winter couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing special," Karina quickly replied, leaving the other girl wanting more details.

Trying to maintain composure, Winter ventured into more delicate territory. "How was... Jeno?"

"Good."

"Did you have fun?"

"It was alright," Karina replied, her voice tinged with a hint of indifference. She took a large gulp of water before returning the bottle to the fridge. She then walked towards the couch, sat beside Winter, and tenderly placed a hand on her face, pulling her close for a kiss. "Let's go somewhere."

"What—like now?"

"No. Maybe next month."

"Where?"

"Somewhere far."

"Like out of the city?"

"No, farther."

"Far like Russia?"

Karina chuckled softly, her lips now moving to Winter's tensed neck. "No, not Russia. Somewhere like the beach."

"I know a place. When do you wanna go?" Winter responded.

"Christmas break," Karina suggested.

Winter's eyes widened in surprise, and she pulled away from Karina's kisses. "What do you mean? What about your family?"

"I can miss one Christmas," Karina assured, running her hand through the other girl's hair.

"You sure?" Winter had her doubts, given Karina's tendency to make plans that often fell through. The abrupt willingness to skip an essential family holiday raised suspicions. Winter wondered if Karina was just running , an attempt to compensate for the frequent dates with Jeno, a guy Karina's mom seemed insistent on arranging.

Winter engaged in her own share of dates, and Karina was well aware of them too. It had silently become a rule between them to disclose if they had any. Neither raised objections, nor did they express a desire for commitment. To them, everything was a silent competition, both vying to keep their emotions guarded. The unspoken agreement stood – the first one to open up would lose.

Winter was determined not to be the first one to crack. Especially not to Jeno. He was a prominent singer, yet lacked a significant or striking reputation. He was merely... there, offering nothing else. It's a known thing on the internet that he only has his good looks and great voice. His interviews are often a snoozefest. Knowing how short Karina's attention span was, he probably bored her to death with his incredibly plain personality, Winter thought. Despite being on their fifth arranged date, Karina had shared nothing intriguing about him.

Yet, a nagging thought lingered – perhaps Karina had enjoyed her time with him but chose not to share the details with her. At times, she entertained the idea of disappearing from Karina's life for a while. However, the mere sight of the taller girl in class, the subtle yet electrifying eye contact across the gym lockers, the fleeting touches when passing each other in the hallways, the empty science lab hook ups – all of it made the thought of distance unbearable.

"I'm sorry about canceling our dinner plans tonight," Karina said as she started ing Winter's blouse. "And yes, I'm sure about going."

She continued ing, but Winter caught her hand and brushed it away. "I have swimming stuff next month, so unless you're really, really sure, then I can reschedule it with Seulgi."

Karina chuckled, fully aware that Winter might be skeptical about her ability to plan things given the frequency of her cancellations. It wasn't entirely her fault; her family often sprung surprise dinner or brunch events that she couldn't avoid.

"It's not funny, Rina," Winter attempted to maintain a serious expression, but Karina's smile proved contagious, and they both dissolved into laughter. "You're so annoying."

Karina, with a playful demeanor, began to remove Winter's top while brushing her hair aside for a gentle kiss on her neck. "Mhmm, you smell so good," she commented, peppering kisses upward until just below Winter's ear. "I know I'm so bad at keeping to our schedule. Let me make it up to you." Her hand slowly moved towards Winter's bra, attempting to remove it, but Winter caught her hand again and pulled it away.

"You're really bad at keeping your word, y'know," Winter remarked, getting up to retrieve her shirt from the floor. "I don't want you to just keep making it up to me. I want you to be there when you actually say you'll be there." She put her shirt back on.

Karina pouted her lips in an attempt to look cute, but Winter was not having it. She had skipped an important period to plan this dinner.

"I'm sorry. I'll wipe out my calendar during Christmas break. If the prime minister of South Korea calls me, he can leave a voicemail; I'm officially boycotting dinners. I'm waving goodbye to dinner parties, shunning soirées, and snubbing any event involving forks and knives. I'm on a dinner strike. The only exception? Dining with you." It was a risky move, bordering on vulnerability, but Karina needed to reel Winter back in.

Winter attempted to maintain a composed expression, clamping her lips together to stifle a laugh.

"Dinners are the worst. Seriously, why do people bother with them?" Karina continued teasingly. "Come here, now. Please." She patted her lap, playfully signaling Winter to sit on it.

"If you think you can win me over tonight with your dumb jokes, you're wrong. I'm not like your other girls," Winter replied, maintaining a stoic expression, trying not to burst into laughter as she stood her ground. This has happened a couple of times now. Winter carefully plans things because Karina was so bad at it but then she also ends up cancelling them.

"Not like my other girls?!" Karina responded with a mockingly offended expression, trying to flip the narrative. She could usually sway Winter her way. Tonight, however, seemed to be an exception. "Look who's talking. Someone who just hooked up with the principal's daughter last week!" She accused Winter with a playful smirk, referencing an incident from last week that she had been teasing her about. Winter kept denying it, leaving Karina curious about the truth. Deep down, she hoped it wasn't true. The idea of Winter being with someone else bothered her.

"For the last time, I did not sleep with her." Winter grabbed her bag, "Stop changing the topic."

"If you say so," Karina plainly replied, "Enough with the teasing. Come over here. Do I have to beg?"

"No, I'm heading out," Winter declared. "You need to show that you're serious about going with me on Christmas break. Making plans and not showing up won't cut it. I know you have another event this Thursday. Have dinner with me and actually be there. No until then."

"Are you serious?!" Karina protested. "But that's in four days!"

Winter cocked her eyebrows and smiled, "I know." She then closed the door on her way out.

🌊🌊🌊

Siargao, currently

It wasn't a secret to Karina that Winter often brought someone home for the night. Aeri and Ning, oblivious to the nocturnal activities happening past ten slept peacefully upstairs. The two would normally have an early bed time to get ready for tomorrow's activities at the shop.

Karina had night shoots from eight pm until five am this week, coinciding with the time the guests typically left Winter's room, which happened to be conveniently located next to hers. Today, there was no filming due to script rewrites prompted by complaints from the surfer she was portraying in the series, Somi. The staff took a day off to make the necessary adjustments.

She experienced several instances where she would return home and spot Winter's women leaving, flashing her quick smiles before the door closed. At this point, she realized the other girl wasn't seeing anyone serious but whatever Winter did in her own time was totally none of her business, she thought.

Morning shoots were not her favorite because they meant she'd be home, exhausted and drained, by nine or ten pm. It was around eleven when the telltale sounds began – the unmistakable noises of , bed creaking, occasional laughter, and, sometimes, the hum of s. It was great to know that the smaller girl was getting ed real good, but she needed sleep.

However, these sounds often came from the other girls, never Winter. Not that Karina held it against them; she understood how fantastic she is in bed. Also, not that she was intentionally eavesdropping or anything, of course.

It struck her how different it was from their frequent hook ups in the past; Winter used to be quite vocal in bed.

She wasn't a bad housemate, they practically lived together in the past and Karina knew how responsible Winter was. A great cook, cleans and maintains the place, walking around with those illegally short shorts, showing off her cute while doing chores — she was basically someone you'd marry. Karina thought at one point.

But the circumstances have changed now. A few things on that list were still true, but that cannot even begin to compensate for the number of times she's had to either jeopardize her hearing by cranking up music on her headphones to get some sleep, or straight up leave the apartment before she does something stupid like breaking down Winter's door just to stop all the noise.

She wondered if this behavior was a subtle way of trying to ward her off and get her to leave the apartment.

The thought of relocating to a hotel briefly crossed her mind, but the allure of the apartment's proximity to the beach held her back. Nestled in an underdeveloped and private section of the beach, away from tourists and the media, Karina appreciated the idea of living right by the sea, enjoying the sunset from their own porch without the barrage of cameras and flashes every second. It was peaceful.

Except at night.

"What are these for?" Karina gestured towards a box filled with uninflated balloons.

"It's Ning's birthday today. Aren't you her cousin?" Aeri, in a rather matter-of-fact tone, responded.

She had completely forgotten about this. This lapse in memory wasn't a good look for Aeri, who, by all indications hated her and whom also might be dating Ning. She wasn't sure. Although she had contemplated asking Winter about them, she just couldn't find the right timing.

While Karina was aware of Ning's history of dating men, she hadn't heard of her dating women before. She had a few boyfriends in the past, but the current dynamics between the two in the apartment hinted at a different connection.

She had noticed the way Aeri's hand would unconsciously find its place on Ning's lower back as they moved around the apartment. Their laughter, often shared over inside jokes.

One evening, Karina walked into the living room to find Ning and Aeri engrossed in a movie, comfortably snuggled on the couch under a shared blanket.

Even in mundane activities like cooking dinner together, there was a synchronized rhythm to their movements. Well, that or she was just gay, finding different meaning in everything.

"I'd like to help with party plans... if there's one," Karina murmured.

Aeri, engrossed in her laptop answered without shifting her gaze, "Go with Winter and ask her to check the cake I ordered. I haven't heard back. She knows where the bakery is."

"Okay," Karina responded. However, there was one problem—she had no idea where the other girl was.

The last update Karina had was that Winter was very busy last night, and she hadn't crossed paths with