HER BODYGUARD [WINRINA/JIMINJEONG AU]

PART.8

“Did you want something to drink?” Winter motioned towards the small fridge in her room,occupying the exact same spot as the one in Karina’s.

“No. Thanks"

standing in the middle of the room looking around. It was spartan. There were a few heavy nylon equipment bags sitting on the floor near the bed, but beyond that,no personalization to the room. No pictures or knick knacks on the desk.

The entire room felt sterile. “Not big on decoration, are you?” Climbing onto the bed, Winter plopped down to sit cross- legged as she regarded Karina a long moment with raised brows before looking around the room herself.

“I didn’t bring much with me. I only brought my favorite pillow and blanket. Sometimes i bring books and stuff but this assignment happened spur of the moment.”

With a smile, Winter patted the bed next to her. “You don’t need to stand. Sorry i don’t have any chairs in here. I never really expect company.”

Karina’s eyes fell to the spot on the bed next to Winter,every fiber of her being screaming in confusion.

She didn’t know how to feel in the moment. She felt herself drawn towards the woman but at the same time,deathly afraid of getting any closer.

She knew that Winter wasn’t someone who could simply stay in one place too long and could disappear on another assignment, never to be heard from again.

Slowly,as though her feet were moving through tar,she made her way to bed and sat down. She could feel Winter’s gaze on her without looking up.

Forcing herself to glance sidelong,she caught sight of the woman’s tender smile,though concern seemed to be tugging at those big eyes. Exhaling deeply, Karina reached up and patted her own cheeks a few times to try and give herself some confidence before turning to face Winter.

“Giselle sent me a picture of you earlier.”

She watched as a single, slender brow raised in response, Winter’s smile slipping a bit.

“You know Kenzie because you were an SM trainee, right?”

“Ah,” Winter replied,her eyes falling downcast as her smile disappeared. Chewing on her lip a moment,she was busy wringing her hands in her lap before finally nodding.

“I was,yes. Wow... it’s been ages since anyone knew.”

A low, mirthless chuckle rolled out from Winter’s throat as her features turned dark. Karina watched the change of emotions on the woman’s face,her own in flux.

She could see pain on Winter’s face, the subject obviously something the woman had wanted forgotten and buried. She knew it was unreasonable to feel hurt that Winter hadn't told her about during dinner,especially after meeting Kenzie,but sometimes emotions didn’t care about logic or reason.

After a long moment,she hesitantly reached out to tug on the sleeve of Winter’s sweatshirt,voice almost a whisper as she spoke.

“Why didn’t you tell me at dinner? i asked about your past and we had met Kenzie.”

Heaving a sigh,Winter looked up and away,not letting Karina see the pain on her face.

She’d spent so long learning to overcome physical pain,learning mental toughness to push through difficult situations,but for some reason in this very moment, confronted by her past with Karina, she was finding it hard to force her emotions down.

“Because i don’t want to remember then,” Winter finally replied with a cracked voice.

“Because if i tell people,they ask questions endlessly. They poke and prod and it forces me to remember painful memories.”