Winter sat upright in her bed, the chaotic curls of her hair resembling a bird's nest that had been caught in a windstorm. It was one of those mornings when the world felt both heavy and whimsical—a perfect reflection of her tangled feelings regarding Jimin. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, trying to concentrate on the piercing memories of her last dream, which had felt far too real.
In her dream, Jimin had miraculously crossed dimensions once again, wearing her stunning hanbok, the fabric flowing around her like a graceful waterfall. But that blissful moment had quickly turned into a scene of pure chaos when Winter’s mother barreled into the room, demanding to know who this beautiful, 'strange girl' was. Winter could see the gears in her mother’s mind turning at lightning speed—who was this girl with a vintage fashion sense? Was she a time-traveling ghost or a rogue art thief?
Then Winter had stammered, “Mom! This is Jimin! I mean, she’s a friend! Uh, from… from school? Yes, school!”
Her mother eyed Jimin warily. “Are you sure you don’t mean the girl from 1950? Because she looks like a character straight out of a history book.”
Seriously, mom? Winter had thought, facepalming in her dream.
The dream ended with a dizzying spin, and Winter woke with a start, her heart fluttering with longing. It had been weeks since Jimin visited—or as far as she knew, traveled—nor had she even received a simple emoji or friendly FaceTime. A bright sunbeam invaded her room, and for a brief moment, she was tempted to blame the sunlight for her emotions; but deep down, she realized it was the lack of Jimin's presence.
“Is this what ‘missing someone’ feels like? A combination of premature heart palpitations and a constant urge to text them?” she muttered to herself.
The truth was, she hadn’t only slipped Jimin a phone and charger that day back in the 1950’s for nothing. Did I really hope to start a long-distance relationship with a girl from an entirely different time? What was I thinking? Winter questioned, groaning as she flopped back down onto her bed. Honestly, if someone had told her that her life would consist of entangled emotions and sci-fi romance scenarios, she would have laughed so hard that mugwort tea would have come spewing out of her nose.
But there she was, floundering in her sea of hipster aesthetic and mind-boggling k-drama level angst. Winter sighed dramatically. “I bet Jimin is traversing time and space, meeting adorable ghosts and giving art lessons to struggling painters. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here negotiating with my pillow about whether I should just text her or wait till I stop sounding like a soap opera.”
Meanwhile, across the timeline, in the 1950’s, chaos was brewing of another sort. Jungkook, Jimin’s best friend, was sprawled out on a beanbag chair that, thanks to a time travel quirk, now appeared ten years too modern. His eyebrows shot up in fascination as Jimin made a face at him and held up her phone.
“Look, Jungkook! It’s the new cute things! I forgot what they call them!”
Jimin was wearing one of her more elaborate hanboks that day, complete with frilly sleeves and a hat that looked suspiciously like a futuristic cupcake. Jungkook, attempting to keep a straight face, managed to turn his focus from her outfit to her amusing antics with the phone. “What are you doing, Jimin? Are you trying to charm Winter with those ridiculous faces?”
“Of course! Look!” She made a face resembling an avocado while skillfully manipulating her phone. “See? This one is me, trying to get creative! This is me hiding behind my art supplies!” and she sent a flurry of emojis that depicted various abstract faces including a raccoon, a cat with a monocle, and what appeared to be an exploding taco.
Winter, on the receiving end of this emoji barrage in the present time, was doubled over, giggling uncontrollably in her blanket fortress. “Oh my god, they’re so cute!” she squealed into her phone, imagining Jungkook sweeping bohemian paint brushes in the midst of an art scene while Jimin smiled at him, looking completely like a living piece of art herself.
“Are they exploring the world of funny faces? Would that make them ‘Expedition Emoji’?” she thought, imagining them in a cartoonish jungle full of animated fruits giggling at each turn.
Unbeknownst to both Jimin and Jungkook, however, much more profound emotions were stirring. As Jungkook continued to send ridiculous faces back and forth—this one of an aubergine being chased by a fire-breathing unicorn—Jimin’s heart was suddenly overrun with palpable sadness. Each emoji shift felt like they were dancing directly into the spaces Winter occupied in her mind. She missed Winter, her scent akin to fresh pine, laughter, and the casual brilliance of everything so comically out of place.
“I hope a portal opens soon,” Jimin murmured to herself, squeezing her phone as if that might summon a rip in the fabric of time. “I’d travel back in time just to give her a hug, even if you made me wear a giant cardboard box as a time-disguising monolith.”
She flicked her eyes toward Jungkook, who was still stuck in a hysteria of funny face making. “Look at you! This is serious! I MISS WINTER!” Each word hit harder than the last, twisting her expression so that Jungkook squirmed slightly.
“But you are, like, t-” Jungkook began, but he was quickly interrupted.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The portal alarm rang out!
Jimin jumped up and shouted, “What the heck was that?!” Jungkook's face twisted into both shock and curiosity.
“Did we just lock a safe in the time-space continuum?!” Jungkook exclaimed.
Jimin ignored his absurdity and gathered her things with haste, tossing items haphazardly into a backpack—from a half-eaten sandwich to magical tiny paint tubes, it all went in. “I think there’s a portal! I finally found a way to get to Winter!”
“No way! But are you sure that’s a good idea? What if it opens in the middle of a weird historical event and you get trapped? Like, in the middle of a dance-off or something? Ugh, a dance-off,” Jungkook shook his head, genuinely terrified by the thought of Jimin busting a move in one of her hanboks.
The colors of time rippled behind Jimin, shimmering into existence like a cosmic slip 'n slide. She turned to Jungkook, excitement written all over her face. “This is my moment! I need to get back to her! Time waits for no one!”
And without another thought, she shot forward, toward that dazzling tear in reality. Jungkook stood rooted to the spot, half of him wanting to follow and the other half unsure if he was ready to witness anything beyond the surreal.
“Okay, but like—what if you time travel and this isn’t the right time?” he squeaked, while Jimin’s back grew smaller as she ran toward the portal.
And with one final look over her shoulder, Jimin dove headfirst into the portal, her heart racing with excitement and uncertainty.
What awaited her on the other side?
As the air crackled with energy and the ripples of time tugged at her, one thing lingered in Jungkook’s mind: what if you just opened Pandora’s Box?
And so, through the portal she went, leaving behind a wide-eyed painter and an ever-declining sense of calm that would never be the same again.
YOU ARE READING
ATTACHED • Winrina
FanficWinter kept receiving letters from an unknown recipient. One day, the recipient wrote her name and date. She discovered they were decades apart. ❗Winter × Karina❗
