"I thought you would be just another face in the crowd, until..." - Yu Ji Min
"You hold the keys to me, and I didn't even know it." - Kim Min Jeong
Where in, Karina and Winter are stuck together, literally!!!
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Something was palpable in the air when Karina met Winter in the yard after class.
Karina made up her mind for herself-she had to draw back; distance would prevent her from falling any lower, and now she didn't care about tracing Mai-they hadn't found any trace of Mai so far, and though every clue pointed towards her involvement in the loop, it wasn't important to Karina at that moment.
She had had enough of letting her heart run her life, leading her down avenues she did not want to travel.
Tightening her arms across her chest, Karina faced Winter.
"Go buy us some food," she said dully, her voice lacking the warmth that always came from it.
Winter's brows shot up in surprise.
"What?" she asked, completely thrown off by the sudden change in direction.
"We're here looking for Mai, not-"
"We must eat," Karina cut off her words with a sharp edge to her voice that was unwavering.
Winter looked at her, clearly annoyed.
"And what about you?" she pressed in growing concern.
"You've been acting weird all day today. What is wrong with you?"
Karina wouldn't look at her, however, instead dodging off to the side with her eyes.
"I'll head into the teachers' staff room. I'll flip through whatever paperwork they have and see if there's anything that has any information about Mai."
Winter's eyes grew wide with distress. She knew exactly how much vulnerability that would mean for herself going in to involve, and then even more danger on her part because she wouldn't be carrying any sort of shield.
"I'll come with you," she said, her voice brimming over into the beginnings of fear.
"It's much too dangerous for you to go walking alone."
But that only goaded Karina's nerves, already stretched to a breaking point. She wanted to scream; she could hardly keep together, anguish beyond endurance. With a heart so sore, all split in two inside her for what she was growing to love with Winter and the guilt of what she knew couldn't ever be allowed to happen, Karina glared at Winter, her voice as sharp as a knife.
"Do what I said, Winter. You're just a kid. Don't you worry about me."
The words hurt Winter. She shifted from worried to more protective, her eyes scaring with pain before she looked away her face. She had thought it for that brief moment that they were close enough now to understand each other but only Karina's harsh tone was pulling her back to the beginning, further away from them.
