Whisper In Her Ear - Winrina

[M] 24 - Last Stop

"When are you coming back?"

Minjeong bit on her finger, kicking off a pebble in front of the small convenience store she was supposed to shop in before her dad called her.

"It's been over a month, Minjeong. You said you were only going away for a few days or a couple of weeks." His worried voice resonated from the other end of the line.

Minjeong pinched the bridge of her nose and looked down to her worn out shoes. She wished that she didn't have to talk – or even think – about this topic.

The consequence looming behind the answer to that simple question was entirely too big and too crippling for her to face.

If she said – or decided – when she would be going back home, it meant she had decided when she would be sending Karina back to the hospital, too.

It meant that she had decided when to wrap up their peaceful, happy life here and when to go back to the much lesser reality.

It meant that Karina would be taken away from her and from the world again.

Minjeong simply couldn't think about it.

"I've told you, dad. You don't have to worry. I will come home soon. One of these days. I promise."

"You have been saying that for weeks now, Minjeong." Her father sounded exasperated, and Minjeong did get his points despite her refusal. "And how am I not supposed to worry when I don't know where my daughter is, what she is doing, and who she is living with?"

Minjeong sighed and jammed the front of her shoe to the ground, needing something to release her stress because she couldn't find any way to debate his rational reasoning.

"I'll call you again, dad, okay? You really don't have to worry about me. I'm doing fine and I'm not getting into troubles." She lifted her head just in time to catch a glimpse of two men in uniform holding a flyer and questioning nearby town folks across the streets.

The fine hairs on her neck rose.

Police. She noticed grimly.

"I have to go now but I'll ring you again soon. Bye, dad. I love you." She tapped her phone off immediately, backing off into the safety of the convenience store as she tried to zero in on the police's flyer from afar.

Her stomach tossed and turned against her will.

When the two men turned slightly, their position allowed her a glimpse of what was printed on their flyer. Minjeong's breath caught in her throat and her limbs froze.

It was Karina's picture printed on the paper.

***

"Hey, you are home." Karina lowered her notebook and stood up from the floor the second she walked in, lips pulling up into a bright smile as she ambled over with excitement.

Minjeong startled out of her glum thoughts and looked at her with surprise. "Uh...what's up with you? You look like you can power the entire country with self-generated electricity right there."

Karina laughed and helped her shrug off her jacket. "Why? Can't a girl be happy to see her girlfriend again? Is it an illegal thing to do now?"

"Depends on why you are so happy to see your girlfriend again. If it's for her to accompany you shopping for another purple colored home appliance then yes, it is illegal." Minjeong dropped a kiss on her smiling lips and felt herself slowly smile too despite the sadness currently rattling her.

"It's not for that. Bless you." Karina pulled back from the kiss slightly, arms still stringing around her neck and face still lit up with glee. "I am, however, about to ask you to accompany me somewhere else."