HERSHE - WINRINA

Conquered

"Is the pasta good?" asked Winter, twirling her fork into the mound of spaghetti.

"Mmm-mmm." Karina could only nod her head while chewing her food.

After the fireworks display, Winter suggested the nearby Italian restaurant for dinner. Karina agreed to it immediately because she's not in the mood to go home yet. They waited almost 30 minutes for the food to be served. Karina usually gets mad at the things like this but today it didn't bother her. Talking to Winter made her forget her hunger for a while.

Winter's phone suddenly rang. She took it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID before she smiled.

"Excuse me. I need to take this." Winter stood up to answer the phone.

Karina's eyes followed as Winter made her way outside the veranda. There, Winter stood with one hand in her pocket while talking to whoever on the other line is, occasionally laughing and giggling. Winter found a hanging paper cupid on the tree beside her and began playing by twirling it with her two fingers.

That's when Karina noticed the heart and Cupid designs hanging all over the place. She looked around the restaurant and read the tag on one of the posters:

Four days to go before Valentine's Day, who's your date?

Then it hit her: four days remaining. She usually doesn't mind going out alone or staying indoors but this is the first time she felt kind of excited about it. Her eyes jumped back to the person on the veranda who's still busy talking on her phone.

Hmm, should I give her a present? But what would I give her? Wouldn't it be awkward to give her something on Valentine's day?

Her excitement was drained when she saw Winter laughed heartily.

Disappointed, Karina pursed her lips.

Who could she be talking to? Please, somebody tell me it's not Yunjin again.

Yunjin's role in Winter's life is starting to bug her. Her curiosity about the real deal between the two is rising. The first and last time they met, Winter introduced Yunjin as a friend. But who knows what could have happened after that. The only thing Karina knows is it's not impossible for Yunjin to be a fan girl too.

After few more minutes, Winter went in and sat back in her chair. "Phew! Sorry about that. It was my aunt. She said she misses me."

"Aren't you visiting her?" asked Karina. The sour face from the misconception earlier turned into a sweet smile.

"I'm busy, she's busy," said Winter, going back to her pasta. "And I don't like her giving me free food every time I visit her restaurant."

"Restaurant?"

Winter hummed to agree. "Remember I mentioned before that I love going to Dining in Space restaurant? My Aunt Yaya owns that place."

Karina dropped her hand on the table. "Wow, really?"

"Yeah. The food their is quite expensive, but they are exquisitely great," said Winter, stuffing a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. "I don't want my aunt going bankrupt just because my food is always on her whenever I go there."

"Well, you must be her favorite niece."

That made Winter smile. "Of course. I'm her only niece, Karina. She's my dad's only sister and she doesn't have kids."

"Oh, what a small family tree you have there."

Karina couldn't be happier. They've known each other for a half year now but this is the first time she heard other things about Winter aside from Minju issues before.