Touch you | Winrina

28

Surprisingly, their life is rather uneventful after that day. They go to school and act good enough to placate Ms Narae after a while. She starts accompanying Karina's dad to his trips again – little ones, lasting no more than a week or two, but it's more than enough. Karina's never been more cautious in her entire life, and Winter is helping. Aeri is helping, too. She's surprised to come to think of her as a friend, and the crude note Aeri writes in her yearbook is heartwarming.

Jisoo doesn't make it to her graduation, because Karina's father does, and Karina gets it. She tells Jisoo he won't accompany her to college. She knows Jisoo will be there this time. Winter can't wait to meet her.

Since it's her senior year, her last semester is slightly hectic. Her studies require more attention, and Winter understands. She always does, and Karina can't ignore the guilty pang in her chest. Winter is incredible, and no amount of perfect buttery pancakes and greasy bacon won't be enough to demonstrate just how grateful Karina is. Still, she tries. She knows she's not good with feelings. Knows, deep down, that Winter would probably be better off with someone more functioning than she is. But in the end, it's Winter's choice, and she won't make it for her.

And, sometimes, when Winter looks at her in that special way reserved just for Karina, she thinks that maybe she's not such a bad choice after all.

Winter cries at her graduation, and Mr. Yu thinks it's sweet. Ms Narae's forced smile looks pained. Aeri is wearing a barely concealed pained expression, too, but for a different reason. When she comes to pick Winter and Karina up for her party, she drives them to the neighboring town and drops them at a hotel instead.

"Graduation gift," she grunts when she sees their astonished faces. "Better you fuck here than at my house."

Those may be the sweetest words Aeri has ever said to her, Karina thinks. She'll miss her. It's startling, really. She never thought she'd miss someone when she leaves for college.

Her last school summer is the most bittersweet thing she's ever experienced, but she's not relieved when it's over. Far from it, actually. Now that her departure is just around the corner, she wishes she could go back in time and – take a gap year and stay at home, spend more time with Winter, run away with her. The last one sounds really good to her right now, as she sits on her bed, too wired to sleep, surrounded by pieces of paper with Winter's notes on them, scrolling through the photos on her phone and thinking of every little moment she'll be leaving behind.

Tomorrow. She's leaving tomorrow and the parents are home and she can't fall asleep next to Winter and she hates it.

Her eyes fall on her yearbook, and she smiles as she reads Aeri's horrible scribbling. You're as hot as you're terrifying, Karina, it says. Which means you can do pretty much anything, and if someone says otherwise, fuck em up the ass.

It's as graphic as it is inspirational, and Karina takes a deep breath as she nods to herself, going over her plan once again. The parents are deeply asleep, and she doubts they'll wake up in the middle of the night. She took over the cooking and purposefully changed their diet so it had as much fish, whole grain and kale as possible, along with other ingredients that aid a good full night's sleep. Her father wasn't around for much of it, but he's not the one they should be worrying about. But Ms Narae – Ms Narae is a definite success. She's been cranking up the volume of her documentaries late at night as well as walking in the hallway, and not once had Ms Narae stirred.