Winter Season

Chapter 2: Doubts And Worries

As a celebrity, Minjeong was used to being followed around, be it by her crew, her colleagues, her fans or her guards. She knew that Karina was included in one of those criteria, but the way she followed her around, somehow, made Minjeong keep glancing back at her.

Giselle sent her an outfit yesterday, Minjeong almost forgot that they had a meeting for their next album. Nobody could blame her, after everything she went through for the past couple of weeks, her music was the last thing on her mind.

This morning, Minjeong got out of her bedroom early in the morning, shocked to find her new guard was standing next to her bedroom.

Minjeong didn't sleep much, she still had those nightmares but she stayed in her room all night, with the lights on, checking and rechecking every corner of her room before she tried to close her eyes over and over again. When sleep didn't come back to her, Minjeong busied herself with reading books, but she didn't make any sounds. She was so sure she didn't make any.

Yet, somehow, Karina knew she was awake most part of the night.

Seeing the beautiful face looked even more restless, the first thing she did was asking Karina politely to sit in her living room. She brought her medical kit and told her to stay still.

"You don't have to do this, it will heal soon."

"It's gonna heal faster if you take care of it." Minjeong sighed, gently putting on the ointment on the cut of the pale skin. "Isn't this a basic survival skill, too?" She joked and saw the woman's eyes softened as she smiled.

Looking at her from a closer distance, Minjeong's chest tightened. Karina was really just a young woman like her. Yet she had to go through such hardship, repeating Minjeong's nightmare as her routine. She wondered why she kept doing it when she had a chance to leave.

The older woman cooked a tasty meal for her breakfast, checked in with the guards outside when Minjeong took a bath in her bathroom, which she also checked before letting her in, and she asked Minjeong to sit next to her during the drive. She said it was easier for her to protect Minjeong that way, so she obeyed.

Unlike the other guards, Karina walked behind a bit further from her. Minjeong could feel her presence, but she was anxious. She felt like she was walking alone with that distance.

And the paparazzi didn't help. Minjeong was safe, thanks to the woman parking so close to the entrance, but she still didn't like the crowds shouting questions at her from afar, trying to catch up to her. She had to do a little run but managed to look back to find Karina's back standing tall. She was stopping them from following further.

It worked.

"Do you need something?"

Minjeong jolted a little in her seat when Karina's voice suddenly whispered next to her ear. She looked at her only to turn her head away right after when she realized the woman's face was so close to hers. "N-no."

"You keep looking back so I thought you needed something." She whispered again. "Don't worry, you're safe."

Minjeong quickly nodded and as her guard walked back to her previous spot, a few feet away behind her chair, the celebrity turned her attention back to the meeting happening in front of her, covering her face with her papers, hoping the blush that crept up on her cheeks would quickly fade away.

They were now in a meeting room with the rest of her bandmates present along with the crews that would be working on their next project. Minjeong never lost her focus but today, her first day back to work after the accident, she was acting like everyone expected her to.

And she wanted to curse at Karina so bad.

The woman was dressed in her possibly uniform like yesterday, with taller boots that made her look even way taller than Minjeong. The same ponytail with her wavy hair tied neatly. The only difference was the mask she was wearing to cover her face, and an additional black tie around her collar. And also the absence of her black vest.