the charm | winrina

sixteen

Karina woke up tired, but as realization dawned, she woke up fast.

Today was the last day. The final day. The day the show ended and Karina was forced to reckon with whatever fate it would decide.

She sat up, breathing hard, not sure if she was ready for the day's happenings. Winter was already awake, lounging on the pillows, arm propped on her palm, a lazy, satiated smile on her face.

"So excited, baby girl?"

Karina was so overwhelmed the nickname flew right past her. She just mumbled, "Worried. Not excited. More like apprehensive."

"Aw, c'mon," Winter sighed, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Karina's waist. She buried her face in Karina's neck. "We'll do great. The final episode is always anticlimactic at these sorts of things. Don't worry, cutie." She grinned, her smile cutting a comforting shape in Karina's back.

Right. In the past few days, Karina had come to think of Winter as comforting: someone she could rely on. Someone she could trust. Someone she could love.

Because yes, she was painfully, truthfully, and wholly in love with Winter Kim.

"I guess," Karina answered, leaning back, and Winter grazed her neck with a gentle kiss in response. "I just- what if we lose? Then I'm back to my job and I have to face Haechan with this whole thing dragging behind me. And you and me- what'll-"

"We don't have to worry about that yet," Winter cut her off, smiling. "We just have to worry about today. If we try our hardest today, we don't have to worry about anything tomorrow or the next week."

Karina nodded. Winter's words were reassuring.

Again, comforting.

"Of course."

The final episode consisted of a series of challenges.

All were meant to test a contestant's relationship with their partner. The contestant had to go through a series of "emotionally grueling trials," as quoted by Hyoyeon, and if they came out victorious and not hating their partner, they would win.

Winter was confident.

Karina was not.

She wasn't sure what Hyoyeon would pull. There was tons of footage somewhere she could pull out of her ass; Winter was popular, a celebrity with, Karina was sure, tons of blackmail. Winter's image was scandalous, tinged with the slight of admiration; Karina wasn't sure anymore what people would or wouldn't do to conquer her.

Winter, however, kept repeating like a mantra: "It's going to be fine. It'll be okay."

Karina remembered, once again, why Winter was doing the show in the first place. Industry sexism. Of course; someone at her company was embezzling, cutting funds. But in hindsight, the scheme unraveled: at a place as carefully checked at a magazine one, which had a whole department to carefully and meticulously count expenses, why would that be a problem? Plus, wasn't Winter's larger-than-life image enough to convince whoever associated that the problem existed? Why had Karina believed the excuse?

Doubts like these crept, unbidden, into Karina's mind, and she felt herself crumbling, unsure of what was true and what was not.

Hyoyeon began the first challenge.

It was an interesting setup- the network gave each member of the couple facts about different lovers, and the couples had to match the fact to the reason.

An example: Yunjin and Chaewon's brilliant first try.

"Loves MAC Cosmetics lip liner-" Hyoyeon started.