the charm | winrina

six

The tension hanging around was so thick, a blade would break trying to cut it.

Karina and Haechan had shared an uncomfortable night together, with Karina sleeping pressed to the opposite side of the sheets while Haechan splayed out all over it, his arms and legs fanning out over the mattress. As a result, Karina woke up with a painful ache in her back and cramps in her feet from curling them away from her boyfriend all night.

Long story short, it was awful, and when the crew gave her clothes and she changed, she winced whenever she had to stretch her arms to put the clothes on.

The pain paid off, though; when she went downstairs to make breakfast, even the crew gave her curious looks; her outfit for the day was closer to something off Love Island instead of the relatively innocent dating show they were on.

Karina wore a two-piece swimsuit, a sheer lace cover-up draped lazily over it, one corner slipping over her shoulder as she walked. Her long hair was down as it fluttered in the breeze generated by her brisk walking pace, her fast steps taking her down the stairs and to the kitchen. There was already some food prepared, but she slid a knife from its hold on the counter and started to cut fruit.

It was just then that a dry laugh echoed behind her, and Karina was so shocked the knife slipped and sliced her finger. "Ow, shit!"

"What happened?" that same dryly concerned voice asked, and Karina growled to herself as she realized that the voice belonged to none other than Winter Kim.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking," she snapped back, knowing her irritated reaction would be broadcast on the show. "What do you want?"

Then, of course, Karina had to turn around, because etiquette (etiquette!) proclaimed that eye contact was polite during conversations. But then- also of course, this time more regrettably- logic kicked Karina in the ass.

Karina was dressed in a revealing outfit. Everyone's outfits on the show had all kind of matched each other's amount of revealing, and since the universe enjoyed playing a cruel joke on her, today just had to be the day when Winter Kim showed up wearing nothing but tiny, tiny denim shorts and a bikini top.

Winter crossed her arms at Karina's critical look, then her eyes widened in realization and she uncrossed them, putting her hands on her hips and smirking mischievously. "See something you like?"

"That ripe orange on the table," Karina answered monotonously. "Unlike you, I'm not lecherous twenty-four-seven."

Winter laughed, and Karina hated how much she liked the sound. She had a boyfriend! "God, I'm not lecherous, what a word," she stressed, walking to the table and sat down on a chair, her hands gripping the back as she turned her body to face Karina. She then tossed Karina the orange. "You're definitely a photographer. Evaders, all of them, I swear to Jesus."

"It's too early for blasphemy," Karina sassed back, catching the aforementioned orange with one hand and peeling it easily. "Besides, what do you mean evader? It's you creative directors who are the pains. You're never satisfied. One more shot, one more pose, it gets annoying eventually. Honestly."

Winter just grinned, spreading her legs apart and leaning her chin on the back of the chair. "Creative directors are creators of perfection, and perfection takes time." Then, in a move that Karina considered totally uncalled for, she stared at Karina completely inappropriately and bit her lip, smirking. "I guess you're the exception."

Karina's jaw dropped, the knife hovering over the uncut fruit on the cutting board. "You- what- I- excuse me?!"

"You wanna back off, Kim?"

The knife slid from Karina's slackened fingers, landing with a thunk on the cutting board, but no one paid it a second thought. A high-school-worthy face-off was currently unfolding in the villa's kitchen, with Karina at the kitchen counter, Winter on a chair at the table, and the voice coming from the kitchen entrance.

The voice. Damn it, Haechan, Karina thought, resisting the intense urge to roll her eyes. The possessiveness was irritating. Her boyfriend stood in the doorway, wearing swim trunks, a completely unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, and a thick leather necklace, his blond hair messy and his arms crossed.

Karina met his eyes, and intense disapproval flitted into his pupils as he stared right back. However, it didn't seem to be directed at her; instead, he quickly shifted his gaze to Winter and stared her down.

"Hitting on a taken woman?" Haechan queried, reusing Hyoyeon's words from earlier. "You're bold, Kim. But not bold enough. She's mine." He strolled forward, and his scent- sunscreen and tropical body spray- shoved itself up Karina's nostrils obnoxiously as he tossed an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm not bold, just realistic," Winter said easily. "It's pretty obvious you're not enough for her."

"Not enough?" Haechan scoffed. "And you are? I'm the one that's been taking care of her for this past year. We have a bond you can't break. We can beat the system," he said smugly, and just then Chaehyun walked in, wearing an outfit similar to Winter's.

Irritation surged up Karina's stomach as the two shamelessly checked each other out, even though Winter had been hitting on Karina literally minutes ago. Chaehyun whisked her breath out approvingly and Winter moved back on her chair, making room for the other girl on her lap, which Chaehyun gladly accepted.

"I'm definitely enough, if I can pull a Monaco model," Winter laughed, tapping Chaehyun's kneecaps rhythmically as the other girl laid back smugly. "Who did you pull, again? Some self-righteous photographer?"

Karina's jaw dropped for the second time that day and she threw Haechan's arm off, stalking forward furiously. "Excuse me, what the fuck? Self-righteous? You're the goddamn creative director from Prague who probably counts the numbers of rich people she bangs on a daily basis just to make sure your ego is the biggest. At least I make an honest living! And don't you dare go after photographers, either. Your job has you people with your heads so far up your asses that it's not even funny. Haechan may not be rich like you, but at least he has feelings instead of whatever soulless piece of trash you are. So for the last time, fuck. Off."

The rant ends with Karina breathing heavily. Winter looks shell-shocked, while Chaehyun whistles like she's watching some kind of show. The thought makes Karina sick, so she veers back to the counter where Haechan is standing.

"Oh, and by the way, if you want to laugh at me while I'm holding a knife, at least try to see if I'm okay," Karina snarled, flashing her injured finger in Winter's direction, then reaching back and tossing the orange peel onto her.

As Chaehyun shrieked in surprise as the fruit landed on her skin, Winter just looked at Karina, still not saying a word.

But Karina didn't let the feelings get to her, instead storming out of the kitchen, ignoring the mic and camera systems set up outside.