springtime | winrina

twelve

a/n: This will be the last chapter, only because this book was originally intended to be a little short :) Thanks for reading!

"Good morning SM High! Have you looked outside yet? It's a beautiful day. The cherry blossom tree outside is in full bloom, and the weather is perfect! I hope you all manage to have a good time when school is over."

Winter can't help grinning at the sound of her girlfriend's voice playing over the PA system. It's been a week since they got together, and during the regular progression of classes they don't speak much, only exchanging conversation as they usually do. However, life outside of school has changed. They walk home together now, holding hands as they do, and spend more time together.

It's Karina's day to announce, and Winter looks up from her manga, listening as she recites the daily announcements- and then for the secret messages.

"Our first message, from Y... Aeri, I hope your weekend has gone well, and that you got home safe. Aww, that's sweet!"

Winter smirks to herself. The "Y" is clearly Ningning, whose first name is actually Yizhuo. And Karina's comment makes it better, since she clearly knows something about Aeri and Yizhuo's perspectives of each other.

"From keke," Karina continues. "Karina Yu, you're the prettiest girl in the whole school. Will you please meet me at the cherry blossom tree?"

Winter remembers the pen name from the last announcement. Karina clearly never did anything about it, and Winter prays she doesn't. They're a week into the relationship and still new. She doesn't want to ruin that.

Her girlfriend finishes up the PA assignments and then the line goes dead with a click, and a few minutes later a slightly ruffled Karina enters the classroom. She's greeted with hellos and how-are-yous, which she reciprocates in the voice that makes Winter crazy.

"Hi," Karina says breathlessly when she arrives at her seat.

"Hey," Winter grins back, and Karina blushes and sits.

As expected, the lesson begins and Winter falls asleep. Soft spring rain begins to fall outside, and the cherry blossoms suspended on the tall tree outside glisten with dewdrops. The windows tick with the soft pattering of rain, the droplets landing aggressively at first and then sliding lazily down the expanse of glass. The rain lulls her to sleep, its gentle droning in rhythm with the soft bouncing of her black locks.

Mr. Kim leaves the room for a moment to deal with a student, and Karina turns, watching Winter sleep. She looks incredibly peaceful, more than she normally does, the crease between her eyebrows and slight purse of her lips gone. Her head bobs softly up and down, her long lashes fluttering as she sleeps, and Karina finds her own breaths falling into the legato tempo of her lover's.

It's then that Karina slips a paper out from her bag and writes Winter a note, curving the letters carefully, trying to convey the amount of care she put in with every stroke. She writes, You're cute when you sleep. There's still pages 40-50 in our arithmetic textbook though :), on the paper, and signs it with her name and flower.

She turns briefly. Mr. Kim is still gone from the room, so Karina reaches over and pastes the note to Winter's open manga, the pages ruffling with every breath of its reader. She smiles to herself and leans back over.

Soon, the teacher enters and Winter jerks awake, finding the note in her book and smiling gently at her girlfriend. They split afterwards, going their separate ways to their separate classes, but the day flies with Karina the only thing on Winter's mind.

And the final bell rings, and Winter runs.

Her quickened steps bring her to the cherry blossom tree. Karina isn't there yet, so she rounds the trunk, knocking her fingers against the glossy bark, but then she hears voices.