one summer | winrina

➥ fourteen

It was snowing heavily outside, and Minjeong's earbuds were in, IU playing in her ears.

Her hands were deep in her pockets, and she walked down the street, looking at the stores for something to buy. It was Christmas soon, and although her family wasn't religious, they still got each other presents and ate dinner together.

The only thing on her mind at present was the chill. The jacket she wore wasn't thick enough, and honestly, the snow was just making her colder.

Yes, she'd been nicknamed Winter, but that didn't mean she had to love the season. Her favorite season was autumn.

Or maybe summer. Only because of one person, though.

There went her thoughts, switching over to Jimin again. She continued to stroll, walking past shops closed for the break. Luckily, in South Korea the break was longer than that in America, so she got to spend more time on her own.

And it also meant that Jimin and Minjeong wouldn't share a ton of awkward texts like they usually did. Their conversations usually went something along the lines of, you awake? Yes? Great. Did you eat? Yes? What did you eat? Food? Oh, fantastic.

Awkward as hell. The dynamic they'd shared all but vaporized over text.

Maybe it was just winter blues, but she was missing Jimin, and badly.

Oh, look at the sky, it's nearly sunset.

She ducked into a nearby cafe, buying a coffee and sitting by the window to sip it, examining the snow outside. The past week had been mostly devoid of outings or hangouts- Yujin was with Wonyoung again, Ryujin and Yeji went gift shopping together (it wasn't a date, both of them insisted), and Somi was awkwardly trying to drop hints around her neighbor, Chaeyoung, who seemed pretty cool with it and nice to Minjeong.

As the bitter taste of the drink filled her mouth, she was reminded again of how much she missed Jimin- missed the warmer months that came with the other girl. Missed swimming and laughing and Ning and Aeri.

She finished her drink and exited the shop, turning down a side street and continuing to walk.

The sun had nearly entirely set now, casting shadows across the snow that almost turned it green. Orange, pink, and purple painted the sky like a canvas as Minjeong strolled down the snowy streets, shivering.

Was it just her, or... did the sky look a lot like rainbow sorbet?

She was suddenly reminded of something she'd told herself months ago, back in Orlando. 

The sky will turn the color of rainbow sorbet before Jimin ever loves me back.

Minjeong let out a bitter laugh. Of course here, on this day, when she most missed the other girl, ice cream painted the sky.

God, I'm going crazy. Ice cream? It's literally winter-

"Kinda your element, huh?"

In that moment, Minjeong's entire body stiffened. Her feet cemented themselves to the sidewalk, and her body froze colder than the snow around her.

She was hearing things.

She had to be.

Because there was no way that Karina Yu was here, right here, in Yangsan, South Korea, on Minjeong's walk home.

"J- Jimin?"

She turned slowly to face the girl behind her.

The girl was tall and slim, with long legs and a dark beige coat, a black cap perched atop her long straight hair. It was a lighter shade of brown, and her face was covered by a muffler, but those eyes...