It had been a week. An entire week that Winter had gone since she last spoke to Karina. Karina, who up until a week ago, she had spent every single day with. A week, nine hours, and forty seven minutes. Not that Winter was counting. At the thought, Winter drag her pencil down hard along the page and snapped off the tip again. Rather than dare to sharpen it, instead, she threw it down in a huff and hoisted herself onto her bed.
"Ooh, are you being a moody artist again?" Somi asked from the other side of the room.
Winter glared back at her.
"Yikes, okay, sorry," Somi raised her hands in defense. "So, just wondering in a completely normal non-judgmental way, are you planning on studying for finals at all?" She asked.
Winter gave her a look.
"I know you're upset and all, but come on, is it really worth ruining the semester over?"
Logically, no, it wasn't. Winter knew that, but she also knew that moping made her feel better.
"Come on, Winter," Somi said, walking towards her. "I'm going down to Sungchan's to study, you're welcome to come. We actually came up with this system where—"
"Somi, I'm fine, really," Winter said. "I'm gonna study, I just—" she sighed. "I just need a break from all the school shit for a little."
"Fine," Somi sighed. "But if you change your mind you know where to find me."
She picked up a few textbooks and left, leaving Winter alone with the silence in the room.
She tried to take a nap, but couldn't get her thoughts to slow down enough to let her sleep. She was used to feeling like this; tense, distant, but this time it was worse. Everything beyond her room felt too far or too much. She glanced guiltily toward her desk where her textbooks lay unopened. Before she could coax herself into studying, there was a knock at the door.
Winter buried her head deeper into her pillow, ready to pretend she was asleep once Somi came through the door. Normally, she would knock first, then look for her key, always complaining things get lost in her bag when Winter would reprimand her. Strangely, the knocking didn't end after a minute like it usually did. Somi must have forgotten her key. Winter sat up, barely containing her annoyance as she crossed the room to open the door.
"Can you please stop leaving without your key?" Winter huffed into the hallway. Immediately, she realized the person in front of her was not Somi.
"Hey," Aeri said. "Can we talk?" She asked after a beat, frowning into the the crack of the door.
"How did you get up here?" Winter asked with barely contained contempt.
She hadn't forgot about the mailroom. If fact, it's all she had been thinking about. She definitely hadn't forgot Aeri's role in all of it.
"We do still have mutual friends, you know," Aeri sighed softly, picking at the paint on the doorframe.
"I'm not really in the mood to talk," Winter said quietly.
"I can do most of the talking," Aeri shrugged. Reluctantly, Winter opened the door, widening it just enough to let Aeri pass. "So, you're the final stop on the Aeri Uchinaga apology tour," Aeri joked, clapping her hands down awkwardly at her sides.
"Apology tour?" Winter cocked an eyebrow at her. "I thought Aeri Uchinaga doesn't apologize to anyone ." She said, mocking. She pulled out her and Somi's desk chairs and turned them to face each other, gesturing for Aeri to take one.
"Yeah," Aeri sighed as she sat. "Well, as painful it is for me to admit this, I fucked up."
The corners of her mouth were turned up, but her eyes lacked any hint of a smile. Winter didn't smile back.
YOU ARE READING
room 411 | Winrina
FanfictionWinter Kim is not nearly as enthusiastic as her friends to start the new semester. Maybe, it's because she's a transfer, new school already tainted by the bad experiences of the last one. Maybe it's because her mom hasn't called, or because her ex w...
