Touch you | Winrina

23

Karina gently untangles herself from Winter, gesturing that she'd rather take this call outside. It's nothing to do with Winter. She's just not used to talking on the phone while someone's listening in. Winter shifts and lets her get up, and she hurries to her room, feeling giddy anticipation settle deep in her stomach.

She missed Jisoo.

A gruff voice starts talking as soon as she picks up the phone. "What took you so long? Thought you were dead or something." It's a very sweet sentiment coming from Jisoo, and Karina feels a wide smile take over her lips. Jisoo sounds exactly the same. In fact, she changes very little over the years. She's solid. Constant. Comforting.

"I'm not dead," she replies simply.

"Good to know. Not interrupting anything, am I?"

Karina thinks about soft brown eyes and a shy smile and shakes her head. "No, not... not really."

Jisoo's never been easy to fool. "You hesitated. I'm totally interrupting. Who is she?" Her sister lets out a short laugh, then. "Nobody important since you chose to answer the phone, though, is she?"

"She's important." Karina feels annoyance prickle at her skin before biting her tongue. Jisoo doesn't know anything. It's actually been around seven months since they last talked or saw each other. Karina's used to it. Jisoo's constantly traveling, and even if she weren't, she knows their contact would still be as infrequent and random. It's who Jisoo is. Free and unburdened and vivid and entirely unlike Karina. She's always drawn to people she can't understand. Explains the girl in the room across the hall.

"Oh." Jisoo grows quiet for a second. "So it's, like, serious?" Karina's also used to the fact that they never really have small talk. A month, half a year, a year since they last talked – and they just jump back into conversation as if no time has passed at all. Jisoo's the only person who knows everything there is to know about her. Or was the only person.

And Karina feels that right now it's a little different. She can't just tell Jisoo everything. But she really, really wants to. "You could say so," she starts slowly. "She's my step sister."

Jisoo's sudden laughter is sudden and unexpected. "Karina! I thought you were fucking someone. So you got a new sis, huh? Is she better than me? Thread carefully." She hears shuffling before Jisoo speaks again. "She gotta be better than Minho, though. Anyone is better than Minho."

"He wasn't that bad."

Her sister snorts. "Right. Okay. So tell me everything." That's the thing, isn't it? She can't. Although if anyone would understand, it's probably Jisoo.

"I split my head open two weeks ago." I'm in love with my step sister.

"Damn. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Winter's been taking care of me."

"Winter, huh? She sounds good. Maybe you'll get a friend out of it when your dad kicks her mom to the curb." Jisoo's not too fond of her father. Karina doesn't blame her.

"I think I already did."

Jisoo's voice grows warm, and suddenly Karina wants nothing more than to see her again. "It's great, Karina. I'm glad. I..." her sister hesitates. She usually does when she's about to approach the something-not-quite-right that Karina's got going on. Karina used to think she was put off by it. Now, she thinks Jisoo's scared. Of it, of her, for her. Either one or all three. "I know how much you don't like people in your space."

"I don't. But Winter's good." I'm in love with her.

Jisoo's silent for a moment. Then, "Huh. Maybe I should see for myself," and Karina's heart picks up the pace.