The first time Karina Yu met her first love it was back in her first day of senior year.
She remembers the clear blue skies, the sweet smell of flowers, the leaves rustling in the winds, the sound of her voice as she welcomed the delicate beginnings of spring.
"Good morning and welcome back to a brand new school year in SM High. I hope you've all enjoyed the winter break just as I did. What did you guys do over the holidays? Personally, my family brought me to go skiing for the first time. I was really scared and afraid, but I decided to give it a try."
A laugh escapes her lips, a smile gracing her face as she leaned back in to talk into the mic.
"It was actually better than I thought and really fun, minus the falls and tumbles... But if you haven't, you should try it at least once when winter comes around again. Oh and you definitely have to try having s'mores. They are delicious and one of my favorites..."
Her voice travels through the speakers, it lingers around the halls of the school, it plays in the classrooms, it captures everyone's attention.
"Enough about winter because my favorite season is here and that's spring! What's not to love about spring? The flowers are blooming, the temperatures are perfect, the skies are so blue, and the air is fresh. Look outside the window and you'll see..."
Students from every classroom tear their attention away from what they were doing. Everyone turns to look out of the window at the welcoming of spring.
"Look, the flowers are beginning to bloom!" one of them exclaims.
Chairs drag against the floor, footsteps rushing up to crowd around the window looking out towards the school's field and the small town they live in.
"It's the best time to go out for walks and have picnics with your loved ones, the perfect time to fall in love with someone. Did you know about the cherry blossom tree behind our school? I heard that if you confess to your crush under the cherry blossom tree in spring, the love will blossom."
The girl sitting inside the studio brushes her hair, tucking her hair behind her ear, gazing down at the piece of paper before her. She pauses for a moment.
"Just like how much I love spring, I hope you fall in love with it too."
The bell rings.
"That's it for the morning broadcast. A gentle reminder that after school activities begin next week and the examination dates will be put up on the school's noticeboard soon. Enjoy your first week back at school everyone. Thank you, this has been Karina Yu."
Winter lifts her head up from the desk, eyes slowly fluttering open. She was still sleepy, barely enough sleep to sustain her for the day. Seated at the very back of her classroom, she also had the privilege of being next to the window which had just been overcrowded with students.
What was so great about spring? Winter didn't understand it. It had always felt like any other ordinary day. If not, it signified the dreadful start of the school year. She was in her last year of high school, a senior. Everyone constantly told her to enjoy it while it lasted, to bask in her youth before the painful realities of adulthood would crash into her like waves.
The front door slides open, a man in his late thirties strolled into class. "Good morning, I'm your homeroom teacher, Mr. Kim," he announced, before starting off the lesson with attendance taking.
"Winter Kim?"
The red-haired girl raised a hand up in the air for him to notice her presence. "Please get rid of your red hair, it's against the school rules," he warned while scribbling a note down on the class attendance list.
More names and more names, Winter doesn't bother to remember them. She was contented with just a small circle of friends. Everyone else seemed to blend into one another.
"Karina Yu?"
Gasps and murmurs filled up the classroom instantly. She looked around, noticing the smiles on her male classmates's faces, noticing the glee and excitement on each and everyone's faces. Was she some kind of celebrity here? Or had Winter been living under a rock this whole time?
"She'll be late because of the morning—" one of the students scrambled to speak up until the door opened, a female student rushing into the classroom.
The commotion in the classroom faded down, all eyes resting upon the student.
She bowed respectfully towards the teacher. "Sorry I'm late."
"You must be Karina Yu," Mr. Kim says.
The girl finally lifted her head up. She nods and he motions towards the empty seat right in front of Winter.
She nodded, walking past the front row of students and down the aisle towards the back of the classroom.
It finally clicked inside her brain. This was the Karina Yu, the council president, the leader of the broadcast club, the top student, the princess of Petals High. Winter had never interacted with her before or actually saw her up close. They simply weren't fated to be anywhere near each other until this moment.
For the very first time, Winter lays her eyes on Karina. Her long dark hair, her neat and proper uniform and her smile.
"Hi," Karina greets as she pulled her chair out.
"Hi," Winter responds, gaze still lingering on hers.
"I'm Karina, I hope we get along well," she says while sitting down, a small laugh dripping off her lips like honeydew. Her voice gentle, sweet and inviting.
She turns back around to face the front, unzipping her bag to retrieve her notebook and other learning materials. Flipping through the pages of perfectly highlighted and annotated books, fingers brushing against the pages of the books gently. Her posture was upright, never slouching.
Winter finds herself zoning out throughout class, staring at the back of Karina's head.
Her body felt oddly warm and fuzzy, almost as if someone was giving her a hug. She looks out of the window again, fiddling and playing with a pen in her hand distractedly.
Time was ticking by at an awfully slow pace. Winter thinks of falling asleep, maybe a little nap would be nice. So she folds her arms and buries her face between them, fluttering her eyes closed.
"Winter, class is over," a familiar voice says before she feels a sharp pain on her back after a loud smack.
"Wake up!" the person exclaimed.
She groaned, reluctantly sitting back up. Winter slumped back into her seat, rubbing her eyes before they readjusted to the brightly lit classroom, the rays of sun shining down at her obnoxiously. "Always slacking off... you need to get a grip if you want to graduate with a decent grade," says her friend Ryujin, sitting on the desk beside her with an unimpressed grin on her face.
Winter began to stuff her belongings into her bag, before slinging it over one shoulder. "You of all people? Since when did you start giving a fuck," she rolled her eyes.
Ryujin shrugged nonchalantly, hopping off the desk. "Karina's speech was inspiring, I guess."
"Oh god, am I losing my friend to Karina Yu's fan base?" Winter raised a brow, just about to leave the classroom until she remembers something important.
"No I'm not part of those crazy stalkers and lunatics. How could you classify me with those, ugh." Ryujin leaned back against the door, watching as Winter looked under her desk.
She smiled in relief, retrieving the latest edition of a manga she was reading. In the corner of her eye, she spots a yellow post-it note on her desk. Her brows furrowed, snatching up the piece of paper at the brink of getting blown away.
The note:
'To Winter,
please review Math textbook page 70 - 75 and complete the exercises 10B for class. Just wanted to give you a reminder, I saw you were sleeping in class...
From Karina ✿'
Winter nearly choked on air. Karina Yu wrote her a thoughtful note in her cute little handwriting. She even drew a flower next to her name as she signed off. Many questions raced through her mind as she folds the paper into a small square, slipping it into the pocket slit hidden on their school skirt.
"What's that?" Ryujin asked as the pair leave the classroom together.
"Nothing special," she dismissed, her mind wandering back to the smile on Karina's face, the sound of her voice, the note in her pocket.
Never in a million years would Winter have thought that Karina would be the one to open up her heart, to brighten up her days, to be the reason she looked forward to every new day, to be the one who made Winter Kim's senior year blossom in many ways.
Karina Yu loves spring and soon, Winter would find herself falling in love in spring, with the very girl who loves spring.