As soon as Winter arrived at the hospital, she rushed towards the front of the surgery room where the person on the phone asked her to meet. When she arrived there, she was greeted by a woman in a scrub uniform instead.

"Hi. Are you the one who answered Karina Yu's phone?", Winter asked her. "What's your name again, miss?", the woman asked.

"Winter Kim", Winter answered, and the woman scoffed immediately.

"Oh- You're 'Is it Winter or Summer'?", the woman laughs, and Winter just shrugs it off while scratching her neck.

"I'm not sure why Karina saved my contact like that...", Winter said, feeling the warmth sensation inside her heart. "How is she? You said her injury wasn't that serious, right? Then why is she inside there for surgery?", Winter continued.

"There are some vessels inside her right leg snapped from the accident. We just need to attach it back together in place. Other than that, she only suffered a few external scratches on her legs and hands. You don't need to worry about it that much. She'll be fine".

Even with the woman's encouraging words, Winter still feels worried about Karina. Looking at Winter's frowning expression, the woman invited her inside her office for a future explanation.

"Why don't we go to my office and I'll show and explain to you her conditions after the accident?", she asked before her hands reached her pocket. "Also here", she pulled out Karina's phone and handed it to Winter. "You can take hold of this now", she said.

Winter took the phone from the woman's hand, and she could see clearly how the screen of Karina's phone cracked. When she accidentally touches the screen, her lock screen with a night sky filled with stars shows up.

At least Winter knows one thing in common between her and the older girl.

Both of them love stars.

****

It turns out that the woman was the first doctor who examined Karina as soon as she was brought to the hospital. Winter took her seat across the examination table as the doctor turned her computer facing Winter's direction.

"See there?", she asked, pointing her mouse at Karina's MRI test result of her leg. "She came in a bit limping on her leg, so we took an MRI test to find out several snapped blood vessels and veins inside her legs", she moved the mouse in circular movements inside the picture.

"After the surgery, she needs to rest at least one week, minimum. It will be hard for her to walk properly for a while so I suggest the people around her, maybe you probably, to help her at home. She needs to minimize her movements to recover faster and better", the doctor continued.

But the thing is that Karina leaves alone. She had no family members. Her only friend is Aeri, and maybe Winter herself, she thought. If both of them aren't there for Karina, how in the world can she live for the first week after this?

Winter is thinking about it for a while. She wants to stay there for Karina. She wants to take care of her. Her heart wanted her to stay, but her mind told her otherwise. She's afraid of the risk, remembering what had gotten into her this whole week.

****

Winter is sitting right next to Karina. The tattoo artist is still unconscious from her surgery, and Winter patiently waits for her to wake up. Winter wants to hold the older girl's hand, but somehow, she is afraid to do so.

What if Winter wanted more than holding hands after that? Winter thought inside her mind.

The moment Karina's eyes slowly opened, Winter shot up from her seat. Her expression is just full of concern, looking at the artist who slowly shifted her eyes towards Winter's figure. Finally, a small smile crest on Karina's face.

"Winter...", she said in her weak voice.

"Hey...", Winter smiled back as guilty slowly washed over her.

"Where have you been...?", Karina said, slowly moving her right hand to reach Winter's. "I miss you...", she continued before her fingers finally brushed with Winter's.

Winter felt the warmth from the touch, and her whole body slowly started to shake. Winter's teary eyes look straight into Karina's tired eyes. What has she done? She asked herself inside her mind.

Winter fixed their hands, properly holding Karina's inside hers. She let the tears in her eyes freely fall down from her cheek. Karina was looking at her worriedly, but the artist didn't have the energy to do much about it, and somehow the view of the person she love, with a bandaged right leg, and tired face overwhelmed Winter more than ever.

"I'm sorry...", finally Winter sobbing. "I shouldn't do that to you. I'm so stupid. You got hurt because of me...", she cries.

Karina holds onto Winter's hands tight as the artist is still smiling warmly towards the younger girl. "No, Winter. It wasn't your fault. I'm driving when my eyes aren't on the road. I'm careless, and that's how I got hurt", Karina assured her.

"My anxiety took all of me. I'm afraid of myself. The more we get entangled in this relationship, the more I fall for you. I'm afraid, Rina. I'm afraid I'll screw things up, and you will hate me later...", Winter keeps crying, but Karina never lets her hand go. She gave a squeeze on Winter's hand before the younger girl finally lifted her head up, looking at the artist again.

Karina is still in the same expression as before. Smiling warmly toward her. Her tired eyes show how much effort she's been putting into finding Winter the whole day. Winter felt her heart ache again, but not before the artist started to speak up.

"I'm the one who started this, remember? It should be me to say sorry to you. I put you in a tight situation, Winter. I'm so sorry", she said as she slowly pulled Winter's hand, instructing the younger girl to sit back on her seat right next to the bed. Winter slowly follows.

"But, Winter. I'm not lying when I told you last week that I should be the one who thank you. I meant it when I said what should I do without you appearing in my life. I'm not going to be a slut, having sex with random girls out there. I'm so thankful that I've met you, Winter. I felt like I found the right person to do it with", Karina said as she moved her left hand to wipe the tears on Winter's face.

"I grew up with no parents. They left me in front of a foster home when I'm just three, and I had difficulties understanding what love feels like. Is it the same as what friendship feels like, I don't know. When you said that you like me, I never tried to stop you about how you feel, because I want to learn it myself. I want to learn what is it to like someone by looking at you. I'm still having a hard time understanding those feelings", Karina continued. The tears in Winter's eyes somehow slowly stopped, trying to understand every single thing that came out from the artist.

"Will you stay, Winter? I still want to learn a lot from you. I know this all started from a mere porn obsession of mine, but still, can you stay? I promise I won't stop you", she caressed Winter's hand with her thumb. "I want to know how it feels. The way you disappeared and ignored me this whole week drives me crazy. I don't know what kind of frustration hits me, but I hate it when you're gone", she continues.

"Stay", Karina smiled.

"Stay, and teach me..."

Winter smiled once before she slowly pull her hands away from Karina's touch, moving her hands to Karina's jaw as she kissed the artist deeply and passionately on the lips. Karina didn't fight back at all, savoring Winter's lips the same as she did.

"Don't you ever disappear like that anymore...", Karina said between her breath, finally creating a small distance between her and Winter's face. Winter's face blushed red and all her anxiety was now all gone, thanks to Karina's honest confession.

"I'll stay, I promise...", Winter answered before closing the gap between them again for another kiss.

****

Winter pushed Karina with the wheelchair towards the tattoo shop's front door. When the artist gave her the keys to her front door, Winter helped her unlock the padlocks, before pushing the wheelchair inside the shop.

"Welcome back home", Winter said happily as she moved her way in front of the tattoo artist. Karina just scoffed at the younger girl with a tiny laugh.

"You wanna take a bath? I can help you", Winter asked and Karina didn't say a word other than nodding her head once in agreement with her little smile. Winter wasted no time pushing the wheelchair towards the second door, into Karina's living spaces.

Karina put her hands up in the air, and Winter got the idea Karina was trying to tell her. She helped the artist pull the shirt off her head and Karina was left with only her sports bra on her top. Winter saw that countless times before, and she was okay with it.

But her action came to a pause the moment Karina shifted her gaze toward her pants. Winter's eyes go trembling, and she gulped her saliva down her throat.

She never saw Karina naked before.

"What are you doing? You said you'll help me?", Karina asked.

"I know. But I've never... you know? I've never see you... you know?", Winter tried to avoid any eye contact with the artist, and Karina couldn't help but to let out a low scoff.

"I need to be naked for a bath, Winter. You should know that", Karina laughs.

"Are you sure? I mean- you've never--"

"Winter, please. I smelled like tarred road and medicines right now", Karina laughs while looking at Winter in her eyes, trying to tell her she was fine with it.

Winter is unsure at first, but as Karina take hold of Winter's hand and moved it towards her waistband with an assuring nod, Winter slowly and carefully peeled off the pants from Karina's legs down to her feet. She make a mental note to be extra careful not to touch the bandaged part of Karina's right leg.

After the pants are now lying flat on the floor, Winter's face turns into a flush. She never saw Karina in underwear before. In the worst case before, it was just Karina in her shorts.

"Come on. I'm not naked, still", Karina said again before Winter slowly nodded her head in embarrassment. Uncovering the person you love, that is so new to Winter.

Karina lifted her hand up again as Winter slowly pulled out her sports bra. She tried so hard not to gulp from the view in front of her. As she made her way towards Karina's bottom, Winter became hesitant again, and Karina helped her by bringing Winter's hand to her black underwear.

Slowly, Winter pulled it down as she exchanged glances between her actions and Karina's face. The artist herself was so flushed, tilting her head sideways while trying to cover her embarrassment with her hands. Winter's face then formed into a shy smile.

"A-All done. Let's go?", Winter said with her shaky voice, and Karina just nodded her head, trying to hide her own embarrassment as hard as she can.