It was the day of their exams' results, and Karina waited for Winter in the secret park hidden inside the concrete jungle of the city.

Though two weeks had gone without meeting, phones had remained steady with messages for each other, sharing each second of the day. Karina sat on a worn bench by the pond; the soft breeze ruffled her hair.

Her lips were pursed, tight to shut it all down further into some kind of undiscoverable cuteness and her foot was bopping nervously up and down. The blue gleamed brilliant in the sky and warm autumn sunshine wrapped round her comforting warmth.

And suddenly, she knew the cold, familiar hand that rested on her eyes and made her heart go pit-a-pat. A smile played on the sides of her lips as a voice whispered against her ear, "Guess who?"

Karina would pull off her hand, gain her feet, and spin round to face her.

"Winter," she mumbled, already knowing, and there stood Winter, eyes glinting with that soft, playful light Karina had missed.

"You are so beautiful," Winter whispered in awe, staring at Karina as if nothing else in this world mattered.

Karina blushed and covered her face with her hands; her shoulders shook in nervous laughter. She tried to clear his throat and push the embarrassment aside.

"Are you nervous?" she asked and Winter pouted, the mood shattered a little too soon for her liking.

Groaning, Winter sat down beside her, her shoulders brushing against her.

"Yeah," she admitted softly. "It's just in a few seconds, right?"

They clasped each other's hands and waited for the notice that would declare their fate. Karina too could feel her own nervousness building up in her suggested "Let's pray," and, without waiting, shut her eyes, hands still clinging to Winter's.

Her soft whispering prayer was carried by the wind while Winter didn't close her eyes but stared at her, as her heart was swelling with warmth, seeing the way the soft bangs bobbed with the wind.

It felt like heaven, really, to be here, next to her, after so many stressful weeks for Winter. She was thudding in her chest at the sight of Karina praying.

Winter found herself shamelessly staring at her when Karina finished and opened her eyes. With a red-tinted face, she scoffed and lightly hit Winter's arm.

"Serves you right," she mumbled, though the blush remained.

Winter groaned theatrically, but before she could get any words out, both their phones vibrated with the same number of alert she'd received.

They locked eyes, their hearts racing as if everything depended on what was about to happen at this very moment.

"On three?" Karina's voice was almost a whisper.

" One… two… three."

They glanced down at their screens, and Winter froze, her breath catching. Both of them passed.

Karina screamed, sprang up with incredible exuberance and threw back her head; her heart bellowed inside her. She stretched out an arm, drawing Winter up with her and leaped around in circles.

"We did it!" she bellowed close to tears from excess emotions. She wrapped her arms around Winter unthinking, hugging her tightly. Winter's dazedness was starting to wear off, with a brilliant smile now spread across her face.

She hugged her just as hard back, and pressed her face deep into Karina's shoulder, not able to be at words for speech.

In the snap of a finger all of the stress appeared to melt away, leaving only the sensation of their embrace.

Once the excitement subsided, Winter's smile remained, but a shadow of sadness began to steal its way into her eyes. She sat back on the bench, and Karina gently squeezed Winter's hand, which she hadn't released in a long time.

Winter glanced over at her with curiosity, though with some wariness of her own, suspecting that there was something on Karina's mind.

Karina shifted uncomfortably and quieted her throat, her eyes soft as she forced herself to look at Winter's face.

Barely above a whisper she spoke, "I've been thinking about college… I talked with my mom about it."

Winter listened closely; the uncomfortable thumping in her chest only making the uneasy cover draped over her thicken. She nodded and swallowed the lump that was rising in her throat, ready for whatever statement was to come next.

"We decided that I should apply to KS University. But of course…it depends if I get accepted."

Winter nodded again, blinking as the weight of the situation sunk in. KS University—the top of the top. Far away. The realization hit her hard, thoughts rushing through her mind like a storm.

What about me? What about us?

Karina would live in a dorm, and if Winter wanted to be near her, she would have to make herself do so against anything she'd ever done.

Her only glimmer of hope for a scholarship, which felt nearly impossible to acquire to study at the same university.

But the furrows deepened into her brow, and her chest wasn't ready for the almost unbearable pressure - pressure that generally wasn't brewing inside Karina.

The tension in Winter's expression struck Karina instantly, and she went on to add, making her voice gentle but concerned, "It's not final,"Karina quickly added.

"We can figure anything out, Winter, we—"

But Winter shut her off, forcing a smile, one that flashed back to a more sincere one.

"No. I'm happy for you. You should go to KS," Winter said with a voice steady but softness that showed she cared, wanting the best for Karina no matter how it might play out for herself.

"You're amazing, and you deserve it. And don't worry," Winter added with the twinkling of her eyes when trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"I'll catch up soon."

''Just don't fall in love with someone else while you're there, okay?"

It was a shuffling of lips that curled up at her words, with teasing still thick between them. Walking into an uncertain future with each other and nobody knows really how it is going to be-they got through that first night that however led to this purpose-being with her.