Thus, when the door closed on Giselle and Ningning, the room fell into silent darkness; Karina and Winter sat alone.

Reluctant, Karina slowly sat beside Winter's bed, pouring her heart further while speaking of doubt in uncertainty.

Winter kept a close eye on her; deep sighs escaped her lungs.

"President, why do you have to be this?" she asked in a low, yet laced with frustration voice.

Karina furrows her eyebrows at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Winter's eyes snapped hard, the attitude that settled on her face nothing short of disappointment. "Why aren't you taking care of yourself?"

Karina looked away, the sting of the question hitting harder than she'd expected.

"Did Ningning tell you something?" she asked, annoyance slipping into her voice.

"I do not need Ningning to tell me," Winter snapped sharply, rising in her tones.

"I can see it for myself. You have changed. You are thinner, weaker, and…"

Karina's eyes fell to the floor. There, the words Winter spoke thudded her heart a little bit deeper into the earth of truth she'd avoided. She felt Winter's regard on her but couldn't bring herself up. The guilt and the exhaustion was all too much.

"I am grateful, I really am," Winter whispered.

"I didn't however want this. I don't want to see you destroy yourself for me."

Karina sobbed and her eyes blurred over as she slid them over her face, dripping from her chin onto the unmoving hands in her lap. She couldn't speak, couldn't possibly force the words together to defend.

''If this is how it has to be, then. I think we need space,'' Winter's voice cracked as she spoke again.

Karina's heart nearly broke into a million pieces; she jerked her head up, eyes desperate and wide, scanning through Winter's features to find at least one glimpse of a hesitation from her.

"No," Karina gasped, voice raw. "No, you can't mean that."

Winter's tear-streaked face broke into a sad smile. "See? This is exactly why."

"No," Karina was choking out the words, voice barely above a whisper, her hands encompassing Winter's face, touching her warmth.

Please, she thought. Don't do this. The last thing I want.

Winter's lips turned from her, biting into her own tears now flowing.
"We need space. For ourselves."

Karina looked up into Winter's face for a glimpse of light, but all she could see was pain reflected back in her. Winter looked back at Karina through her quivering lips; her heart was breaking too.

"You can't keep doing this. You've got to take care of yourself, and exams are just around the corner. Focus," whispered Winter.

She sliced into her with the accusation.

"I do not care about that," Karina pursued quickly.

"I can handle it. I just need you."

Winter took a deep breath. Her tearful eyes met Karina. "We can be together after the exams, President. If you still want me then. But we need to step back and think."

Karina finally nods but everything else about her resents it. She had begun sobbing; she leaned forward to kiss Winter again; Winter kissed her back just as hard. They were crying, their tears mixing and intermingling as they gave their all into that moment.

When the stretch on breath finally yanked them apart, Karina stood up holding tight to Winter's hand as if she truly would lose Winter completely if she let go.

One last lingering look in Winter's eyes and her soft voice, barely above a whisper, came out saying: "See you soon."

Karina, bruised in the heart and shivering in the hands, walked away from that room, leaving Winter behind in the same room, crying.

-

Karina entered the house with the smell from fried chicken in the air as she went by their kitchen of a fried chicken shop and her mother, Mrs. Yu, was still there. She looked worried and shocked, and she still was seeing that scene of her daughter.

She had a defeated look - the color had been drained from her face, eyes puffed up and she looked almost like a shadow of the vibrant girl Mrs. Yu had always known. But Karina did not hear her mother's silent concern. She went straight to her room, shut the door, sealing out the world.

She went to bed. Dead. As if the pain had sucked out all of her, and all that remained was exhaustion. Not hurting even. Not really.

But the anger was there, keeping beneath the surface, anger at Winter, at everything.

Stupid Winter.

Karina's crying started up again, but pinched her lips shut, clamoring to keep them from spilling over.

Not that she wanted to, but Karina didn't seem in the mood to respond.

A soft knock fell on the door. Mrs Yu pushed open the door herself and stepped inside. She settled to the edge of the bed and bent forward to reach out and rub her daughter's hair with her fingers which threaded through the dark strands so soothingly.

It hurt Mrs. Yu badly saw her daughter below her like that.

No words.

Karina shot up and threw her arms around her mother, finally allowing herself to cry. Her body convulsed with the force of it, the pain flowing out of her like a flood.

"Why?" She stammered between sobs.

"Why, Mom?"

Mrs. Yu had not known the whole story but Giselle had told her some things. She whispered softly, "It's going to be alright, Karina."

But Karina drew back, shook her head, her whole body wracked with sobs.

"No, it isn't. I love Winter, Mom. Another girl. She is the only one who understands me, who loves me, but now she doesn't want me anymore." Her voice was shaking now.

"She says I'm ugly now, she doesn't want me anymore. I don't even recognize myself."

Mrs Yu breathed in, gazed at her daughter, and set a firm face.

"Karina, you are not going to talk about that girl anymore. Think about your exam. This is what matters now," she said, the tone is steely but not unpleasant.

Karina's eyes opened wide to register incredulity. She opened her mouth to protest, to say more, but Mrs. Yu was quick and adamant in cutting her off.

"It's final, Jimin. Now get out and clean yourself up. You look—" She paused, breathing greatly out from her nostrils before adding, "Make yourself look like a human, now."

With that said, she rose and departed from the room, her door thundering shut in her wake.

Karina sat in silence, dazed by mother's words that crashed into her midst of all heartbreak as if she lost everything altogether.