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....

"Rina~", Winter smiled as she handed Karina a bouquet right after she met the hazel orbs of the older girl on her graduation day. Instead of taking the flowers from Winter's hand, Karina jumps in joy with a big happy smile before running towards her best friend.

"You're here, Winter!"

Winter hugged Karina as tight as Karina did and Karina happily buried her face in Winter's shoulder. Winter is the only person she has right now in this world. Without Winter, Karina doesn't know how can she manage to live after losing her parents.

"Hey~ Don't just hug me, Rina. This baby breath wants to be held by its owner", Winter scoffed before pulling away, again handing the older girl the bouquet. This time, Karina finally took it with a smile.

"Thank you, Winter. What should I do without you~"

Winter's face turns red and Karina questions why inside her head. The younger girl's feet moved like crazy. Winter might want to tell or ask her something as the presence of nervousness was too clear for Karina to ignore.

"Winter, what's wrong?", Karina asked.

Winter kept her silence, her tender fingers shrugging with each other in an awkward motion. Eyes dart on the floor and trembling earthquake. Somehow the expression makes Karina worried for the younger girl.

"Rina, I...", Winter starts to speak.

"Winter?"

"I-I... like you, Rina. For a really really long time already..."

The way Winter put her hand behind her neck just make her expression worst. She might look like the most stupid person in front of Karina's eyes right now, but Winter couldn't care much about that. After this, the older girl will start her college life and Winter couldn't handle it if someone confesses to Karina, which was her best friend since middle school that she secretly liked first than her.

"A-Are you... mad...?", Winter slowly lifted her head up only to realize that Karina was now smiling so brightly towards her. There's not even a sign of anger on the older girl face and Winter fell in a complete confusion.

"You are... not mad?"

"Gosh, Winter! You've done a lot for me, for years! Only stupid will hate you for your shy confession~", Karina said as she came closer again towards Winter.

Hands circling around Winter's neck, looking straight into Winter's trembling eyes full of warmth and lips formed into her most genuine smile. Karina tilted her head wayside and it succeed to make Winter starstruck.

"Winter Kim", Karina said in her deep voice.

"You want me to be your girlfriend?", she continued.

Shy Winter nodded her head, fluttering from every word that came out from Karina's beautiful lips.  Karina smiled at her one last time before giving a soft peck on Winter's left cheek and later Winter flushed red like crazy.

"Well~ You can officially want me to be"

"Because you already know how much I like you too, Winter"

....

It was weird because usually, Winter will go home with Karina as they studied in the same high school. But since Karina graduated, Winter was left alone at the school. She's happy that she can call Karina her girlfriend now but somehow she feels lonely and worried for the older girl.

As she walk towards the school exit, her daydreaming was interrupted by a hand that held her wrist. Winter turns back to have a view of the culprit to find that it's only Karina, with her usual warm smile. Winter immediately jumped and hold Karina inside her embrace happily as the older girl giggled in joy.

"Hi Winter", Karina greeted her.

"How's school?"

"Boring as always. Now I finally get your words from last year about how boring Mrs Pi's class will be. She kept running away from the topic!"

"That's Mrs Pi for you~", Karina laughed before pulling away from their hug. But when she did, she accidentally bumped her elbow with Winter's and Karina let out a wince from the pain that comes from it. Winter was startled and her full attention was brought towards Karina's elbow.

"What's wrong? Did someone hurts you?", Winter asked worriedly as she pulled the sleeve over Karina's arm to see a bandaged reddening elbow of her girlfriend.

"Who the hell did this to you?", Winter's voice suddenly become cold.

"It's okay, Winter. I walked over to our college football field and they accidentally bumped and pushed me down while chasing the ball. Thankfully, Yeji brought me to the clinic", Karina smiled to assure Winter, but the younger girl didn't seem to be convinced by it.

"Yeji- who?"

"Ahh~ I've made a friend, Winter. Her name is Hwang Yeji", Karina laughs.

"Did she ever confess to you?", Winter asked and now Karina felt like she was being interrogated.

"Hell, no. Her girlfriend was in the same class as us. Plus, if she ever did, I'll just tell her I have you", Karina said somehow in a seductive tone, holding Winter by her chin to face her closer.

"Don't you dare kiss me in front of the school gate", Winter glared at the older girl and Karina scoffed at the sudden statement.

"I know, honey. I'm not going to embarrass myself in front of the other students", Karina laughs before pulling her hand away and pulling her sleeve back down as Winter watched her every movement.

"Is there a job where they'll teach me how to protect someone?", Winter suddenly asked.

"I bet there is. Why?"

"I want to make sure you are living safely in the future", Winter answered.

"Does that mean you unconsciously saying that you want to live with me in the future?", Karina smirked to see how Winter's face slowly turns into pinkish red. The older girl let out a small laugh and shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm not going to stop you, Winter. You really have a good dream planned!", Karina laughs.

"Shut up. You already knew how much I like you since middle school!"

....

After Winter graduated from high school, she directly applied and joined the academy where they trained your intelligence and strength for higher combats skills and strategies. She wants to make her dream to protect Karina for the rest of her life come true.

She even had a long-time plan to marry the older girl in the future.

Working hard with every training course and examination through four painful years, she excelled in everything and gained the top marks and rank among all the other trainees before finally and officially working for the national agency only at the age of twenty-one.

Winter even break the record as the youngest agent ever working for the agency.

Working for the national security was somehow beneficial to Winter as the agency offered her a generous amount of salary that could afford her and Karina's future living.

In the same year, Winter managed to buy Karina a car under the older girl's name because Winter didn't trust busses and the people inside them that much. Working with the agency somehow makes Winter sceptical about the safety of the surroundings and Karina will always be Winter's priority.

And like she once promised to Karina, and only a year after working for the agency, the two got married.

Winter is twenty-two and Karina is twenty-three.

....

Winter just came home that day and she knew her wife wasn't home. Karina told her she was out to buy some groceries and Winter simply agreed with the request.

Right after they got married, Winter purchased a house in Gwangjin which is closer to her headquarters. While Karina currently is jobless and taking art classes weekly for fun. Winter never want Karina to work, because she knew she can afford their living.

Winter lying down on the sofa in the living room. Her eyes shifted towards the big picture frame hanging on the walls. The wedding picture of her and Karina, and her wife looks so ethereal even just from a picture.

Hell, Karina looks like an angel in person and up close.

The thoughts of their wedding brought Winter's attention to the Swarovski ring on her finger. It's funny how Winter's dreams come true, for marrying the love of her life and the wish to always support and protect her can be fulfilled.

She smiled happily and proudly not until she was surprised by a sudden phone call from an unknown number.

It took only seconds for Winter to drop her phone down after hearing every bit of words between the line.

Karina.

....

Tears flowed freely from Winter's cheek. Hairs was messy and Winter didn't even manage to change her working clothes. The moment she steps inside the hospital, she just wants to see her wife's face.

Prayers by prayers ran through her head as Winter walked through the people in the emergency ward. Winter don't care how she looks like a crying mess right now because she needs to find Karina. Then, a thought flashed inside Winter's mind.

She failed.

She failed to protect Karina, horribly.

When she was told to go to a certain place, she ends up standing in front of a surgery room's door, flooded by the policeman. Drops of fresh blood are so clear on the white hospital tiles, and it's sure enough that the blood belongs to the love of her life.

She kneeled.

Feeling so lifeless, and pathetic.

"Mrs. Winter... Kim?", a policeman walks towards Winter who's on the floor. The policewoman knew she can't tell the heartbroken figure much, but Winter need to know how and why Karina was in this state and this place.

"It was hit and run, Mrs Kim. We caught the suspect after chasing him 12 kilometres away. He was one of your agency wanted list"

Winter is still on the floor, frozen and pale. Tears won't stop falling sooner and the fact that this policeman told her just now was only a terrible mistake that Winter can only put the fault and guilt on herself.

It's all her fault.

She failed.

Her dreams shattered.

A doctor then came out from the door, and Winter immediately stand up on her feet. As the doctor tried to look around to find the right person, the doctor saw that miserable figure not far from him and walked closer towards the heartbroken Winter.

"Karina's Yu family members?", the doctor asked.

"I-I'm... her wife. How is s-she?"

"The accident is so bad that she lost an enormous amount of blood. She suffered from broken ribs and hands. Concussion on the head and brain trauma. She barely survive from our emergency treatment just now. I greatly suggest immediate surgery-"

"Just do anything to save her!"

"Please...."

Winter only have been married to Karina for three months. Yet, it ended in such a tragic way.

....

Even Winter is thankful that Karina survived the surgery procedure and is currently in a coma state, Winter isn't proud of how she failed to fulfill her priority. She felt like she done a fatal mistake and it was truly her fault.

Karina won't be in danger if she didn't know Winter.

Karina won't be in danger if she isn't Winter's wife.

It's all fucked up in a way that Winter wanted to end her life so badly. Karina won't even remember her when she woke up. The doctor already said that the blunt on her memory folds inside her brain is so visible that he is 100% sure the older woman will lose her memories.

The suspect is the agency's enemy, thus Winter's job-related enemies. Why in the world must Karina be the one to be hurt? She didn't even relate to the agency!

But she did.

Karina did.

Karina won't be in danger if Winter didn't work for the national security.

What's the use of having the wealth and the life she dreamt of when she can't even protect the one and only person she needs to? Winter is a cunt.

After making sure that her wife is awake from her two weeks coma, and the memory loss of the older woman seems to be true, Winter who always watching her from afar finally decides the best for Karina.

To disappear completely from Karina's life, making their only three-month newlywed days a mystery from Karina's knowledge.

It's all for Karina.

For Karina's safety.

Even tho Winter knew she will live her life heartbroken, lonely, and longing for her wife.

The only person she has ever loved since middle school.

It's all for Karina.