A Marriage Of Convenience

8

It had been 2 days since the incident with Winter happened and Winter doesn't know if she should call Karina over and apologize or just say it over a text or a call as she was too embarrassed, she didn't know what was happening at that time but she probably did something horrible considering Karina hadn't come to their house even for training reasons. Even Winter's dad, Minwoo grew wary of what might've happened during that time but since it was Karina and Winter was definitely fine he was a bit relieved that nothing too bad happened
.
.
.
.
.
"When's Karina coming over again? I heard she got a lot stronger, Can we spar when she comes to train?"Taehyung asked and Winter stiffens in her seat, she looks at her plate before settling tableware down
.
.
.
.
.
"I'm quite full... Excuse me"Winter says as she stands up and leaves to go to her room
.
.
.
.
.
"Did... Did they fight or something?"Jennie asks and Minwoo sighs
.
.
.
.
.
"I don't know either... I'll try to contact Taeyoung and ask if Karina's coming over, Finish your meal"Minwoo says and leaves his seat
.
.
.
.
.
"Have you guys also noticed... Dad's been eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with us... He usually only joins when we've got an achievement or something that he could be proud of but now he joins us everyday"Taehyung says and Namjoon nods
.
.
.
.
.
"He definitely feels different than before, It seems like as soon as Karina came in contact with our family everything started to change... Maybe she's some kind of angel?"Taeyeon replies and Taehyung facepalms himself
.
.
.
.
.
"I did hear that dad had been talking with Karina after lessons but I don't think those talks were much of a point to his change... Maybe he's just changed because of Winter... Since she's the only omega in our family now and we've all got to protect her"Namjoon states and their table goes silent
.
.
.
.
.
_____
.
.
.
.
.
"Rina? Minwoo called and asked if you were gonna come over today for practice"Taeyoung calls out and Karina opens her door
.
.
.
.
.
"Uhm... Yeah... I'll go there today... I'll just get changed"Karina replies anf closes the door
.
.
.
.
.
"Karina's been acting weird lately... You don't think she got bullied by Minwoo do you?"Eugene asks and Taeyoung sighs as he settles the phone down
.
.
.
.
.
"She would have told us, you know Karina doesn't lie or make excuses... Though I also don't know what caused her to be like this..."Taeyoung replies
.
.
.
.
.
"Didn't she say that she had a talk with Winter? She started acting like that after coming home 2 days ago"Tiffany said and they all look at her
.
.
.
.
.
"Now that you've mentioned it... She did rush into her room as soon as she got home from the Kims..."Jin points out
.
.
.
.
.
"But Winter doesn't seem harmful..."Jungkook says
.
.
.
.
.
"What if they disagreed on something? And Karina got mad so she stopped going to the Kims and has been acting like that?"Lisa asked and they all look at her before frowning
.
.
.
.
.
"Karina doesn't get mad over little things and she wouldn't be like that even if she were angry"Eugene says and they all turn their heads as Karina exits her room
.
.
.
.
.
"I'll be heading out now... Bye"Karina bids and walks out of their door
.
.
.
.
.
_____
.
.
.
.
.
Upon reaching the Kim Residence, Karina finds herself stuck outside the gates as she couldn't bring herself to walk in even though the guards have already opened the gates and are waiting for her
.
.
.
.
.
"Ma'am? Are you not going to enter?"One of the guards finally decided to speak up and Karina awkwardly smiles before making her way inside and before she knew if she was already in front of the house door
.
.
.
.
.
"Karina! Welcome!"Taeyeon greets excitedly as she opens the door, startling Karina
.
.
.
.
.
"Unnie!... How did you know that I was here?"Karina asks and Taeyeon chuckles
.
.
.
.
.
"Silly we can smell your scent, we turned off the diffusers for Winter's sake for now until her heat subsides"Taeyeon replies and pulls Karina in
.
.
.
.
.
"O-oh... I see... H-how is she?"Karina asks shyly and Taeyeon grins before dragging Karina up to Winter's room and practically shoving her right into the room with Winter which shocks Winter as her door suddenly opens and Karina was trying to escape Taeyeon's hold
.
.
.
.
.
"Don't ask me, ask her yourself~"Taeyeon teasingly says as she closes the door and Karina was left standing in front of the door, not knowing what to do
.
.
.
.
.
"H-hey..."Winter calls out and Karina turns to her
.
.
.
.
.
"H-hi..."Karina awkwardly replies and the two avoids making eye contact with each other as the room felt small for the both of them
.
.
.
.
.
"Uhm... How h-have you been?"Karina decides to break the ice between them
.
.
.
.
.
"Oh... I've been doing fine... Thank you for getting me suppressants and also... Sending quite the supply... I think it'll last me the whole year"Winter replies and Karina lightly chuckles which made Winter turn her head towards her, she smiles as she sees Karina's lips curl up
.
.
.
.
.
"Were you doing something?"Karina avoids her eyes and looks at her table, much to Winter's disappointment
.
.
.
.
.
"Yeah... I was trying to keep track of my heat... I don't know the range of it yet and it... Got out of hand the first day since I didn't know it would hit that hard... That reminds me... I... Did I do something weird?"Winter asked and she noticed Karina's stiffness and her reddening ears
.
.
.
.
.
"Uhm... K-kind of... But it wasn't bad! I promise... It was... A n-normal reaction to a first day of heat... I've seen it countless of times with my siblings"Karina replies and Winter hums in response
.
.
.
.
.
"But you seem tense around me... Can you tell me what I did? I feel bad for making you come that day... I didn't think it would be that bad"Winter asks and Karina rubs her nape
.
.
.
.
.
"You uhm... K-kissed me... And asked me... T-to... Help... You with your heat..."Karina replies and Winter immediately knew what kind of "help" she pertained to and it immediately makes her face heat up in embarassment
.
.
.
.
.
"I'm so sorry..."Winter says and Karina immediately shakes her head
.
.
.
.
.
"It's alright! Don't worry... It just... Felt uncomfortable to talk about since... We'd been hanging out for awhile and it was definitely a shock to me"Karina said and fiddles with her fingers as she looks at Winter
.
.
.
.
.
"I uhm... Also did... Like it..."Karina adds and Winter looks at her, she feels herself becoming more and more embarrassed as Karina did too
.
.
.
.
.
"Karina? Dad's looking for you"Namjoon calls from outside and Karina immediately heads to the door
.
.
.
.
.
"Uhh... S-see you later"Karina bids and exits the room, practically booking it down the stairs and hurriedly going into Minwoo's office
.
.
.
.
.
"Great you're here, You still have training and— why are you red?"Minwoo asked as he looked at Karina who was panting at his door
.
.
.
.
.
"Uh... I... I r-ran down the stairs... Don't worry about it sir"Karina replies and Minwoo furrows his eyebrows before nodding his head
.
.
.
.
.
"Go to the training hall first, I will just get some things from the warehouse"Minwoo says and Karina bows before quickly exiting his office
.
.
.
.
.
"What's up with her?"Minwoo mutters under his breath before shaking his thoughts away
.
.
.
.
.
_____
.
.
.
.
.
After training Minwoo decided to invite Karina to dinner to which she refused but Minwoo insisted and Karina couldn't say no as he had already told her father that she would be staying over to eat with them
.
.
.
.
.
They head into the dining room and the siblings look at Karina who shyly greeted them, Taehyung immediately nudges Namjoon. Namjoon immediately stands up to sit on the next chair and Taehyung moved to Namjoon's previous chair making the last empty chair right next to Winter
.
.
.
.
.
"Sit down Karina, let's eat"Minwoo invited and Karina sits down beside Taehyung and Winter which made Jennie and Taeyeon giggle on the other side
.
.
.
.
.
"By the way Karina, Do you still go to Aeri's bar?"Taeyeon asked and Karina looks at her
.
.
.
.
.
"Sometimes... She's been kicking me out though because she has to have diffusers on whenever I visit since you know?"Karina replies and Taeyeon nods her head
.
.
.
.
.
"You don't rent a VIP room?"Namjoon asks and Karina shakes her head
.
.
.
.
.
"I usually talk with her while she serves the customers so I don't go up to the rooms"Karina replies and Minwoo becomes intrigued at their conversation
.
.
.
.
.
"How do you know that there are VIP rooms there?"Minwoo asks and his children immediately turn silent
.
.
.
.
.
"Aeri must've told them sir... Since Aeri's quite the chatterbox"Karina says and Minwoo nods
.
.
.
.
.
"You're always there? I'm surprised your parents let you, specially Eugene"Minwoo says and Karina laughs awkwardly
.
.
.
.
.
"Uhm... I actually sneak out... But not anymore since she knows Aeri takes care of me whenever I'm there"Karina replies and Minwoo laughs at her response
.
.
.
.
.
"I thought you were the good girl type, well I guess you would want to go out from time to time since you guys have mostly been hidden"Minwoo states and Karina nods, she looks at the Kim siblings and they were all looking at their dad, seemingly shocked
.
.
.
.
.
"Did he just... Laugh?"Taehyung whispered and Karina heard it clearly as she was beside him
.
.
.
.
.
"Is it... A rare case?"Karina whispered back and Taehyung looks at her before nodding
.
.
.
.
.
"He never laughs... Unless he was talking with colleagues and usually it's fake... His laugh seemed different when he laughed just now though"Taehyung replies and Karina wonders if Minwoo had really remained cold throughout the growth of his children... She thinks that maybe it was why they resented him as a father and she somehow feels bad because she could tell from the way Minwoo looks at his children... That he cared for them, despite the scowl on his face and his glaring stare there was that tinge of gentleness within his gaze that doesn't go past Karina as he resembled her father quite a lot
.
.
.
.
.
"Oh and Karina, how long does Omega heat lasts?"Minwoo brings up and Karina fixes herself on her seat
.
.
.
.
.
"Oh... Usually it lasts around a week but for new cases it could last a whole month since the body is still getting used to the cycle unlike Ruts that only lasts a week at max"Karina replies and Minwoo looks at Winter who was staring at her food, Winter's sibling take a mental note of it as well
.
.
.
.
.
"Do your siblings have better ways to soothe it other than suppressants?"Minwoo asks and Karina looks at him, confused
.
.
.
.
.
"Why do you ask sir?"Karina asked and Winter raises her head
.
.
.
.
.
"Winter's been taking suppressants everytime it gets worse... I don't think you're supposed to take it that much in a day"Minwoo answers and Karina looks at Winter who bites her lower lip, she didn't know that her father had been monitoring how frequently she was taking the pills
.
.
.
.
.
"That could cause it to worsen! Why do you take a lot in a day? It could get harmful to your body as well"Karina turns to Winter and the girl covers her face
.
.
.
.
.
"It's... Quite hard to bear it... It gets too painful..."Winter replies and Karina worriedly looks at her
.
.
.
.
.
"Well... There's two ways to lessen the pain... But uhm... It's quite inappropriate to talk about it while eating..."Karina says and her face turns red as Taeyeon chokes on her food, Namjoon covers his mouth to prevent the laughter that was brewing inside him, Taehyung coughing to hide his laughs, Jennie who looks away trying not to laugh and Minwoo who remained stunned in his seat
.
.
.
.
.
"There's really no other ways?"Minwoo asks and Karina nods
.
.
.
.
.
"Well it's the same for both Heats and Ruts... It can only be lessen through... Those methods"Karina replies, her face reddening even more as it felt more and more embarrassing to talk about specially because she was basically an outsider, yet she talks about "it" right on the dinner table in front of food
.
.
.
.
.
"I see..."Was all that could come out of Minwoo's mouth as Winter settles her hands down, her cheeks and ears as red as tomatoes
.
.
.
.
.
"On the topic of that, You haven't experienced your first rut yet?"Taeyeon asked and Karina shakes her head
.
.
.
.
.
"You should be careful when you start feeling it since us alphas can be destructive during ruts"Minwoo reminds her and Karina nods her head, taking a mental note of it
.
.
.
.
.
The dinner goes by quietly as none of them dared to talk anymore after that exchange, Karina was about to go home but her dad calls and she immediately picks the call up
.
.
.
.
.
"Rina? Are you still with the Kims?"
.
.
.
.
.
"Yes dad, why?"Karina asks
.
.
.
.
.
"Can I talk to Minwoo for a second? I can't contact his phone, I think it's off"
.
.
.
.
.
"Uhm... Sir? My dad wants to talk to you... He said he couldn't contact you"Karina says and Minwoo grabs his phone from his pocket and tries to turn it on but it was drained of battery to which he sighs, Karina hands him the phone and waits as Minwoo talked to her father
.
.
.
.
.
"He asked if you could stay the night here"Minwoo says as he hands the phone back to Karina, much to Karina's surprise
.
.
.
.
.
"Eh? Why? Did something happen?"Karina asked
.
.
.
.
.
"No, it's just really late now and he doesn't want you to head back home as it's dangerous... I don't know why he thinks that since you're an alpha but it's best if you stay for the night as I could get into another fight with your mother since I heard her instructing your dad to make you sleep here instead of coming home late"Minwoo explains and Karina sighs in relief
.
.
.
.
.
"But would that be alright sir? Where would I sleep?"Karina asks and Minwoo ponders for a bit
.
.
.
.
.
"Can anyone share a room? Karina's sleeping here for the night"Minwoo asks his kids and they immediately all turn to him
.
.
.
.
.
"My room's messy... I can barely fit in my bed since I haven't put my stuff away"Taehyung says
.
.
.
.
.
"My bed's too small for her, her feet would be dangling off the bed"Taeyeon replies
.
.
.
.
.
"I sleepwalk and break things, would probably not be a good idea to let her sleep in my room"Namjoon says
.
.
.
.
.
"I have only space for myself in my bed since I have a lot of stuff that I decorate my room with"Jennie replies and they all turn to Winter who blinks at them
.
.
.
.
.
"Won't it be bad... For me to stay at Winter's room? She's in her heat... It's okay for you guys since you're siblings but me..."Karina hesitates and Minwoo agrees
.
.
.
.
.
"It's alright I took my suppressant... And my diffuser is on since I don't want my scent to be leaking everywhere around the house"Winter replies and Minwoo sighs
.
.
.
.
.
"Well then that'll be fine since I can't give you my room either as it's mostly training equipment in there and I don't have a bed"Minwoo says and his kids immediately facepalm upon hearing his words, he truly was a perfect example of an alpha who takes it way too seriously
.
.
.
.
.
As they came to an agreement everyone decides to head to their rooms, Karina followed behind the siblings and they fistbumped each other which made her confused and thought that it was their thing as siblings but she became even more confused as they didn't do it to Winter
.
.
.
.
.
"Uhm... How do we do this?"Winter asks as they enter her room and Karina scratches her head, also not knowing what to do
.
.
.
.
.
"Let's put a barrier in between... That's fine right? Since I move a lot in my sleep"Winter suggests and Karina agrees, they made a barrier with pillows and laid down and although it was still quite an embarrassing predicament they were in they couldn't do anything about it as they were already there
.
.
.
.
.
"G-goodnight"Winter says and turns away from the barrier
.
.
.
.
.
"Y-yeah... Goodnight"Karina replies and turns to the other side, closing her eyes and they both drift into sleep while the gap in the door fully closes and giggles outside the door could be faintly heard

(A/N: Finally got to working on this again, my schedule has cleared a bit so I can finally write more so expect updates on my other ongoing books as well as a new book)