Archive of Our Own

The warm smell of freshly cooked food spread throughout the house along with the scorching fire of the bright fireplace and the candles flickering in the corners. The Christmas tree in the center of the room shimmered with multi-colored rays, reflecting off the frost-painted windows. The room was filled with a festive atmosphere and the fading notes of haste. Night had long since fallen and the entire Minjeong family had gone to bed, leaving the only sound of the wood in the fireplace and a quiet, barely audible whisper.

“Minjeooong,” Yizhuo drawled and lightly kicked the girl in the shoulder, making her flinch. Today, two of Kim’s friends were staying with her for the night, her parents were leaving for another city tomorrow, so they didn’t mind leaving two girls at home whom they had known since their childhood. And the girls themselves were all for it. “Do you remember how you lost the bet to me? To me and Aeri.”

Damn it, they remind her at every opportunity. Minjeong leaned her head back, resting it on the sofa behind her, and sighed heavily. Yeah. Sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace just for the atmosphere wasn't the best idea. The tiles under her feet were cold and disgusting, even through those stupid reindeer socks her parents had ripped off from some little shop down the street.

"And what are you offering me?"

Aeri smiled contentedly, narrowing her eyes. Minjeong knew that contented look well...

"Well, you know, there's a little legend," Uchinaga chimed in, "that if you make a deal with the devil on Christmas night, your wish will definitely come true."

Minjeong blinked.

Once.

Twice.

She turned and looked at Yizhuo.

And then at Aeri.

“Are you seriously,” she stared at them with wide eyes, “asking me to believe this nonsense? This is...”

“Very funny and amusing,” Yizhuo interrupted her. “Well, try it! You still owe us. And besides... You're 17, and you've never had a relationship. Make a wish for love!”

Kim raised her eyebrows in disbelief, her face leaking with an expression of discontent and distrust.

“Okay, just calm down. I'll try.”

The girl with great difficulty restrained herself from rolling her eyes when she saw how brightly Aeri smiled, almost clapping.

###

Holding a pen in her hands, generously dipped in ink, Minjeong froze. The night light fell softly on the table through the window, illuminating barely noticeable specks of dust in the air. She doesn't know what to write, and it's not like she really wants to think, no thoughts come into her head at all, and somewhere in the distance of her consciousness she can hear giggling, which comes from her. In any case, all this is a stupid joke that will do nothing. The absurdity of it makes you want to openly burst into laughter. The girl sighs and presses the pen to the sheet, starting to scribble.

A deal with the devil.

For love.

This is definitely the stupidest thing she's ever written.

"Dear Santa Claus..." appears on the paper in neat letters. Minjeong freezes for a second, and then leans in, continuing: "Right, you are Satan Claus. This Christmas, bring me a lot of love... I wish I was loved the way Santa is loved, and not you... But I will be grateful for any amount of it. In exchange for this," the girl thinks for a moment, then laughs, writing the first thing that comes to mind: "I offer my virginity."

She rereads the letter with a stupid grin on her face. She quickly signs at the bottom in crooked letters: "with love, Kim Minjeong."

She gets up from her creaking chair and pushes it back into place. She puts away the ink and pen, and then goes to her friends.

“I wrote it. So what now?”

She sits back down on the floor, between Aeri and Yizhuo, leaning on the sofa.

“Read it to us, we're interested.”

Minjeong laughs hoarsely and begins to read the lines she wrote. At two points she stutters, grinning, and at the last sentence she begins to giggle in unison with Eri and Yizhuo, removing the sheet from her face. This is too crazy. She always loved to have fun, and they often did all sorts of things with the girls: either summoning spirits or something else, but this was the first time Minjong had ever done such stupidity. The girl wiped a small tear from her eye and put the sheet away.

«So what now?”

“We should burn it in the fireplace.”

Minjeong gasped indignantly.

“I tried so hard while writing it, and you!”

“Well, that's the ritual!” Uchinaga shrugged. “Go ahead.”

Kim clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes in displeasure. A waste of time, ink, and paper. She rose from the floor and walked over to the fireplace.

“And be sure to repeat «Satan, Satan, come to me and fulfill my wish,” Yizhuo urged with a satisfied grin that Minjeong could literally hear in her voice.

She glanced at her letter, illuminated by the hot rays of the fireplace.

“Satan, Satan, come to me and fulfill my wish,” she said hesitantly, in a neutral tone, and leaned over the fireplace. Reaching out and unclenching her fingers, the girl watched as her letter sadly flew onto the hot stones, which were washed by the heat of the fire. The paper dissolved into black ash, disappearing into the light.

“That's it.”

Minjeong can't sleep all night. She tosses and turns on her milky-white silk sheets, sighing and mumbling something in her sleep. The snowstorm howls through the small cracks in the wooden windows, covering the windowsill on the other side with a thick layer of snow. The branches of the tree that grew in their yard annoyingly beat against the glass. This made her want to get up and cut this tree down to the very roots with her own hands, with her dad's chainsaw. Maybe right in her white nightgown. As long as it doesn't get in the way.

She spent about 15 minutes listening to Aeri snoring in one corner of the room, and Yizhuo snoring in the other. She wanted to hide in the pillows and cover her head with whatever she could get her hands on. This was hell, not Christmas. Her family had left for a few weeks, and now she would be here alone because she refused.

After a while, she finally had to get up. Someone was persistently knocking on their front door. So persistently that she could hear it even though she was on the second floor. She tried to wake up one of her friends, but when they didn’t give any answer, sprawled stupidly, one on the couch, and the other on the floor (for your information, Minjeong was sure that Yizhuo also fell asleep on the couch). The girl sighed and headed down the creaking stairs. The whole house sparkled in white tones. The same green Christmas tree was a bright accent. Nothing new.

She walked up to the door, rubbing her eyes, and stretched out her palm, pressing on the handle.

When the door opened, there stood a girl, slightly taller than her, with a high black ponytail. In a leather coat and a red turtleneck.

“Merry Christmas. Did you order Satan?”

Minjeong stared at her like she was seeing the dumbest joke she'd ever seen. Unable to come up with anything better, she slammed the door back shut.

Until she realized what was going on and yanked it back.

“Wait, what? Who are you anyway?”

“Karina,” the stranger replied.

Minjeong blinked.

“No, that doesn't mean anything to me. Who are you to me?”

Now Karina blinked. As if Minjeong was the stupidest thing in her life.

“You wrote that you wanted love, in exchange for...”

“I remember that!” Kim interrupted her. “So...? Is this a joke? Did one of my friends call you? Sorry, but I don't accept strangers into my home,” she quickly mumbled and was about to lock the door, but the girl stopped her. “Listen, this isn't funny. Tell Yizhuo or Aeri that this is a great scam, but not for me. I want to sleep and I don't want to let you in at all and...”

“Who are Yizhuo and Aeri?” she raised an eyebrow.

Minjeong froze.

“You like,” she narrowed her eyes, “really don't know?”

Karina or whatever her name was looked into her eyes.

“Should I?”

Minjeong closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Okay. Um. Let's figure this out later. But anyway, you know, you better go, I'm kind of busy and,” the girl shuddered with her whole body when Karina stepped away, and the icy wind blew right on her, burning with frost the exposed parts of her body, of which, by the way, there were significantly more than the closed ones. “No, come back.”

“So should I leave or come back?” she smiled.

Minjeong looked at her again with distrust and stepped back, giving the girl a passage inside.

Sitting on an old sofa with shabby pillows, Minjeong tried to look only at the dark floor. Not at this... whatever it was. It was too strange for her to perceive.

“So... wait,” she pressed her fingers to her temples. “I asked for love. And not Satan for my home,” she jerked her hand and looked at the girl in front of her with contempt. “What are you, my advisor on love? I doubt that demons can be trusted in such things. Love is, in fact, a pure concept!”

“A girl tells me that she wants to give up her virginity for love,” Karina answered casually, looking at her manicure with almost the same disdain, as if she were saying the most ordinary thing in the world.

“I was joking! I didn’t think that anyone would come to me at all, and especially not,” she looked Karina up and down, “a girl.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Actually,” Minjeong snorted and turned away, ostentatiously adjusting her red hair, “I don’t like girls!”

Karina couldn't help but laugh.

“Yeah,” she said mockingly. “Saving yourself for that prince on a white horse?”

Minjeong tsked.

«Maybe I am. So what?»

The girl shook her head and grinned.

«Of course, I'm not a prince on a white horse, but a princess on reindeer. Almost horses. Are you okay with that?»

Minjeong rolled her eyes.

«And what should I call you? Not Satan, but... Satan-ah?» she squeezed out with disgust.

Karina smiled contentedly and got up from the couch, walking around the house as if it belonged to her.

«That's fine too. It suits me, doesn't it?»

Minjeong barely restrained the urge to let out a quiet «ugh» in response to these words.

«And I told you it would work!» Yizhuo clapped her hands. The three of them were sitting at a round table in Minjeong's kitchen. Aeri was lazily sipping hot tea from a neat little white cup, and judging by her expression, she didn't seem too interested in the process. Her tousled brown hair framed her sleepy face in a messy manner, falling down from her shoulders as she tilted her head, supporting her chin with her hand.

Yizhuo, on the other hand, seemed to be overexcited at the prospect of finally getting something interesting for Christmas. Don't get her wrong, she liked their small town somewhere in the south of England, but it was disgustingly boring here. Sometimes Yizhuo went to bigger cities for the holidays, but as a foreigner, her family didn't have enough money to do that every time, so on the twenty-fifth, she was doomed to be here. And now, at least one Christmas will be worth it!

“Keep it down,” Minjeong hissed, glancing sideways at Karina, who was looking around the house in different places. “I have no idea where she came from or what she is or what she wants from me...”

“What do you think,” Aeri spoke up, “why would she need you if she came to your request for love?”

“Aeri!” laughed Yizhuo.

“Aeri!” exclaimed Minjeong.

So loudly that a few seconds later she saw Karina turn around, and her annoyingly deep black eyes were piercing her soul. It would have been better if she hadn’t turned around. She didn’t fit into this house, with her black energy, even without this coat, she still looked too much like Satan, which didn’t suit Minjeong’s sickeningly white house. She saw the girl coming closer to them, her heels clicking on the floor. Kim didn't know what annoyed her more, that she was walking around with dirty shoes on a clean floor, or that she was even here.

«What are you talking about?» she asked, coming closer and wrapping her arms around Minjeong's neck from behind, pressing herself against her from behind. The nearest few meters are covered by the smell of Karina's heavy perfume, with woody notes of cherry and something similar to tobacco with spicy shades of pink pepper, making Minjeong choke from being so close to her neck, although it seems that the other girls are not bothered by it. And ugh, do they also use perfume in hell? At least not such chemical ones.

«Oh, just everything...» she mumbles.

Karina lets her go and goes on, feeling at home, looking at everything. She opens the closet, curiously examining the shelves, but when she doesn't find anything particularly interesting, she returns to the girls at the table. Minjeong is annoyed by her confidence and overly impudent behavior.

«What are you drinking?» she asks, leaning over Aeri's shoulder. The girl seems sleepy enough not to pay much attention.

“For the blind people...» Minjeong began.

“Tea,» Aeri answered, raising her head.

Karina chuckled and smiled.

As the night approached, Minjeong began to want this girl to disappear even more. She had run out of space at home, and she didn’t know where to put this stupid Karina, who had appeared out of nowhere, to sleep. She asked for love, not to be taught how to be angry at someone. She wasn’t going to kick Aeri and Yizhuo out, and this one was so stubborn that it was almost impossible to throw her out of the room if she liked the decor element there, much less out of the house. Karina said that she didn’t like how her heels got stuck in the snow and how the wind ruined her hair, so she wouldn’t take a single step out of the house alone in such weather. The only thing Minjeong wanted at that moment was to beat her with her heels.

«You either sleep on the floor or get out of here,» Minjeong said, crossing her arms over her chest.

«You're a determined girl, my dear,» Karina said, calmly entering the room, hidden in the semi-darkness. «So where am I going to sleep?» She walked around the room. «Here?» She whispered with a smile, sitting right on Kim's bed, the silk sheets crumpling under her weight.

«Get up from there!»

«No, it's so nice here...» the girl continued, sprawling out on the bed. She stretched out her arms, running them over the sheets, and then buried her face in the pillows, leaving a light trace of her lipstick on the white fabric.

«I said get out of there!»

Minjeong quickly approached Karina, trying to pull her hand away.

«Only if you promise that I'll sleep here,» she squeezed Minjeong's hand back, not even bothering to look at her. Karina's sharp manicure dug into her palm almost instantly, scratching her milky skin.

«This is my bed, and you're clearly not sleeping here.»

Kim grabbed Karina's leg and tried to pull her away, but it didn't work. Instead, the girl pulled her towards herself, causing her to fall right on top of her.

«You'll serve me as an extra layer of blankets,» Karina muttered carelessly, grabbing Minjeong with both hands.

«C’mon, let me in,» Karina whined.

Minjeong turned her back to the door, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked out the window, trying to pretend that she didn't hear or see anything. How beautifully the titmouse sits on the branch of the spruce outside her window... Clearly better than Karina, who has brazenly perched herself on her bed.

“Minjeong.”

She hears a knock on the door and frowns. No. She shouldn't have climbed onto someone else's bed.

“Maybe you should let her in?” Yizhuo asks lazily, sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, running a brush with white polish over her nails. She looks up at Minjeong, clearly suggesting this idea more as a joke.

“Her? Into my room? No way.”

“She's suggesting a good idea,” Karina says through the door.

“You weren't asked,” Minjeong whispers and sticks out her tongue.

Karina waits for a while. The clock hanging in the hallway quietly ticks every second. The muffled conversations of Minjeong and her friends can be heard from the room. She sits down on the cold wooden floor. She looks at the intricate patterns on the beige wallpaper. She almost falls asleep and accidentally hits her head on the door, instantly grabbing the spot with her hand.

“What are you doing there?”

Minjeong looks at the door.

“Did you fall???”

Silence in response.

The next morning, she found the girl sleeping in the living room under the cold rays of winter coming from the window opposite, on an old shabby sofa, under a sewn blanket, with unkempt black hair scattered on the pillows. The white door of the cabinet from which she took the blanket was visible ajar.

Living with Karina, even for a couple of days, turned out to be a nightmare. It seemed to Minjeong that when she came to her, this girl took all of hell with her, and now she was arranging Minjeong's life exactly as it was established there. Aeri and Yizhuo treacherously abandoned her the very next day (read as: «went home to their parents»), leaving her alone with this horror. Karina acted like a normal person, except that she began wearing Minjeong's clothes, stealing her sweaters and jeans, taking her makeup. Within a few days, Kim had grown tired of losing her sweaters and shirts, only to find Karina in the kitchen, comfortably sitting in the same sweater. She even had the nerve to say that they were too small for her.

This morning, Minjeong noticed Jimin putting her lipstick on. It was impossible to describe the strange feeling of shame she felt when she noticed it. And she didn't even know why. The lipstick was hers, but after that, she wanted to throw it in the nearest trash can, along with everything that this girl had touched. She didn't want anything in this house to touch her. Why did she even invite her to this?

Jimin ate like a normal person, except at completely random times of the day, which drove Minjeong crazy. Their schedules were completely different, which is why Kim had already woken up at night once, from Karina's intense gaze on her, because she, you see, couldn't sleep. There was no point in getting up in the evening. This girl had absolutely no concept of day and night, she could be awake at 3 am and go to bed at 1 pm. She was constantly asking about different things, wondering «how they work for people» and it was so delusional that you wanted to ignore her until the very end. She took Minjeong's cups and dishes without asking, leaving traces of her lipstick on them, and then throwing them away like that.

One morning, Minjeong was getting ready to go to the market. The standard routine, which used to be simple and incredibly easy to do, now seemed impossible. Karina pestered her when she was washing her face and brushing her teeth, had breakfast with her and teased her, chatting about everything in a row, when the girl was getting ready and making her appearance at least a little better, after a long sleep.

«Where are you going?» Karina tilted her head to the side and looked at Minjeong through a wooden dressing table with a mirror, catching her gaze. As for Satan herself, Karina turned out to be almost amusingly stupid and cheerful.

«To the market,» she answered, combing her hair. Karina gasped.

“I'm going with you.”

Minjeong raised an eyebrow.

“Why would you do it?”

The girl got up from the stool and went to the window, looking out of it.

“Just because. So that it wouldn't be boring.”

The trip to the market was also... strange. Karina looked at everything, every stall, with an admiring, appraising and smug look. It seemed as if she was the one dragging Minjeong by the arm through the rows, rather than Minjeong coming here to shop. She dragged them to the most forgotten places, just to learn more about human life. As if she simply couldn't ask.

Instead of a grocery store, Karina dragged her to some place where they do tarot readings, because she, you see, heard from her people that it was interesting. Minjeong sat in that tent for a maximum of 15 minutes, simply unable to take it anymore, and also looked at everything from head to toe with a disdainful look, while Karina seemed to choke on her pleasure, because she was getting on the girl's nerves. After a few words about how Karina and Minjeong, judging by the opinion of some stupid-and-completely-untrue cards, were generally made to be in a happy marriage, Minjeong pushed her chair back with a loud bang and walked out of the room, opening the doors and letting blinding white rays of daylight in. She left Karina inside and intended to leave, trying with all her might to suppress her rapidly beating heart.

Ugh.

No.

She probably felt so disgusted that her heart was pounding in horror. The mere thought of anything with a girl, especially with Karina, made her feel sick.

“Minjeong!» She heard Karina's voice from behind, quickly closing the door. “Where are you going, sweetie?”

At that moment, her heart sank, like a crumpled piece of paper. Disgusting. This was all a crazy idea from the very beginning, she didn't believe Yizhuo and Aeri, and she shouldn't have listened to them a priori, she wouldn't be dealing with this crazy woman now. Or maybe she's crazy? She's going crazy, that's why she sees some kind of Satan. Yes. Yes, she just needs to ignore her, that'll be better.

Minjeong resolutely quickened her pace. She still had a lot to buy and she clearly shouldn't waste time on all this. And let this one... deal with it as she wants. In the end, she asked for love, not disgust and resentment at everything.

“My God, Minjeong.”

She heard a heavy sigh from behind, clearly done with a grin. This made her want to go even faster. Running around the nearest corner of the building, she snorted and exhaled, trying to calm her thoughts. It was decided. He was throwing her out the door. Back where she came from. Into the snow, into the blizzard, just to get rid of this damn girl who, like a black cat, crossed her path and was now ruining all her plans.

“Are you even listening to me?”

Minjeong felt her wrist being grabbed with all her might and pulled, and one second separated her from her back hitting the cold brick wall of some building, and hateful, dark and devilish eyes, located a couple of centimeters away from her, were staring into her face. Minjeong feels the tips of her ears burning, either from shame that they do such things in public, or from shame specifically for Karina, or from embarrassment in general. She feels her suffocating perfume even in the clean air, saturated with the smell of spruce and pine trees, the smell of white snow. And what's worse is that she feels her breath on herself.

Her chest becomes unpleasantly tight and scary.

“Let me go.”

She almost hisses.

“So at least you paid attention to me.”

Karina leans closer.

“Well? What happened that you ran out like that, honey?”

Minjeong pushes the girl away from herself and takes a few steps to the side. She hated physical contact with strangers. Especially with those who irritate her.

“Why did you even come to me?” Kim frowns. “I asked for love, and that was just a joke. Definitely not a problem.”

“Love is never without problems,” Karina says with a smart look, but her face betrays that everything she said is nothing more than a pompous joke. She crosses her arms over her chest and leans her shoulder against the wall. “Besides, we were told that we were made to be a married couple,” she smiles and stretches out her hand forward, cupping Minjeong’s cheek with her cold palm.

Kim, as if jerking, suddenly jumped back, frowning and lowering her head down. Not thick bangs covered her eyes, strands of hair covered her face.

“Are you,” Karina blinks and opens her eyes wide, smiling like an absolute smug idiot, “embarrassed?”

Minjeong turns away and adjusts the bag hanging from her shoulder.

“Get lost. I need to buy a lot. I’m leaving.” She hissed, and then turned and walked in the other direction, leaving the frozen devil behind. For a few seconds, Karina actually thinks that Minjeong intended to just leave her there, judging by the insult-filled intonation of her words. Maybe she got carried away? It’s not like Satan herself wanted to apologize to a mere mortal, it’s clearly too much for her dignity and pride, which she’s been giving in to for the past few days, but Karina starts to think about it until she hears a sharp rustling sound. Kim brakes, her black boots hitting a small snowdrift on the asphalt. The silhouette of a short girl freezes in front of her in the snow-white fog.

“So you’re coming, Satan-ah?”

Karina laughs loudly.

Minjeong barely suppresses a stupid smile on her lips at this sound.

The front door opens with a creak and an unpleasantly untimely slam as Minjeong almost falls inside, the grocery bags falling onto the wooden floor along with the girl. She pulls off her hat, unconsciously ruffling her red hair and making a mess of it, and then shakes the accessory over the threshold, throwing off the snow that fell on it, which was the culprit of why Minjeong's hat, like the rest of her clothes, were wet. The girl groans in displeasure and leans against the wall, taking off her shoes.

“You look like a street puppy.”

She hears from Karina, and then feels someone else's hand tangling in her hair and ruffling the disheveled strands even more. At the same moment, she wants to kill her with the very shoe that Minjeong is holding in her hand.

“It would be better if you helped me instead of doing this.”

Karina chuckles as if nothing had happened and shrugs.

«I helped.»

«How?» Minjeong clicks her tongue. She grabs the bags and carries them to the kitchen, throwing them on the table.

«I was giving you moral support.»

Karina narrows her eyes in her contented, cat-like smile.

Living at this pace, Minjong increasingly begins to feel that her chances of getting enough sleep are getting smaller with each passing day. One time, she is woken up by a loud phone call. She does not remember how long it takes her to walk down the stairs, and does not understand how she did it half asleep, but when she hears her mother's voice on the other end of the phone, it is as if she is electrocuted, and on top of that, a bucket of ice water is poured on her. She misses a few words, but not because of drowsiness, but this time from shock, in an attempt to load up and understand what is happening.

“Minjeong-ah, I'll actually stop by, I need to pick up some documents. Well, and I'll see how you are. Wait for me.”

The girl does not have time to open her mouth and already hears annoying beeps that echo throughout the room. She stands there for exactly a few seconds, trying to think of at least something to save herself. How is she supposed to clean up all this mess in the house that she thought she would clean for three days? Her gaze slowly falls on the unthrown food boxes or some packaging, the unwiped dust, and oh my god, she clearly needs to wash the floor, and these dirty windows with streaks from the wet snow and its melting... It seems like she's going to go crazy.

The cleaning is done in a hurry. She throws out all the unnecessary things and tries to wipe all the shelves, tables and windowsills as quickly as possible. The poor rag that she wrung out and re-wetted a hundred times already.

«What are you doing?» Karina asks without concern, appearing in the doorway of her parents' bedroom, which was open.

Minjeong ignores her, throwing a damp rag on the tiles and pouring detergent into a bucket of water to wash the floors. She takes a mop from the storage room, which, as Karina noticed, was almost taller than Minjeong in her eyes, and pulls the soaked cloth over it.

“I’m cleaning, if you can’t see. I wish you’d help,” Minjeong mutters discontentedly, starting to drag the mop across the floor. “Wash that cup. It’s all covered in your lipstick.”

“Oh, you’re giving that lipstick to me?”

“No!”

“Thank you,” Karina interrupts with a smile.

Minjeong turns to her, piercing her soul with irritated eyes.

“Well, what else do you want? I’m actually Satan, we don’t do that kind of thing,” she says carelessly, sitting down on the sofa with all her might and sprawling there. “I’m like, you know,” she chuckles, “a decorative item. Yes. A beautiful statue,” Karina lifts her head and points at herself with her palm. “You can dust me. I wouldn't mind.”

Minjeong picks up the mop from the floor and walks quickly towards Jimin.

“Are you kidding me?!”

Kim swung her arm.

“Hey, I was joking!”

Karina covered her head with her hands.

The cleaning stopped the moment Minjeong heard the doorbell ring. She quickly shoved everything back into the closet, threw the mop so that it fell with a crash, hitting the wall, but she herself ran to the entrance to meet her mother. The woman turned out to be quite independent, opened the door with her key and caught Minjeong off guard, in the middle of the house.

“Hi, Mom!”

The woman smiled, frozen.

“Hi.”

Minjeong's mother walked further, opening creaking cabinet doors and rummaging through shelves in search of documents.

“What are you looking for?”

Minjeong asked, standing behind her.

“Oh, just... your sister wants to join us, but she said her passport is at home.”

Kim sighed.

“What, couldn't she come herself?”

“What, you're not happy to see me here?” asked her mother with a smile, looking through a couple more folders. “Okay, apparently it’s not here. Listen, maybe she left it in your room?”

Minjeong blinked in surprise, noticing how quickly the woman headed to the second floor, almost jumping over the wooden steps. Her hand slid along the railing, barely touching. Minjeong hurried after her, because the sight that her mother would find in the room would clearly not please her too much. Few people would be happy to see the damn Satan in their house, and even if, God forbid, her mother doesn't realize it's Satan, she'll definitely be nervous that some stranger who looks older than Minjeong is in her daughter's room.

Kim overtakes her mother on the steps, pushing her aside a little, and flies into her room, slamming the door behind her.

«Karina!» she whispers, but it sounds like an aggressive shout. The first thing that catches her eye is the sight of this impudent woman, contentedly sprawled on her bed. «Get out of here!» Minjeong grabbed her hand and pulled her towards herself.

«What's wrong?» Karina asked lazily, getting to her feet.

«Quiet! Shut up. And hide somewhere! My mother is coming here!»

Karina's eyes widen.

«What?? Where?”

She doesn't have time to ask, as Minjeong is already pushing her towards something, then she hears a creak, another push and.

Minjeong is hiding her in the closet?

She sees the doors close in front of her and the small, cramped space in which she can barely breathe is engulfed in complete darkness. Cool. It's just unbelievable. Was she really locked in a closet right now? Seriously??? Satan herself? Some suicide bomber locked her in a closet? No, no, she didn't. She hid her! Karina wants to whine from the absurdity of it all.

She hears another woman enter the room, and from the voice and context she guesses that it's probably Minjeong's mother, at least that's the only thing she remembers from the girl's words and managed to remember now, considering the rush in which she spoke. Karina watches their conversation for about five minutes until Minjeong and her mother leave the room. She opens the closet door a crack and peeks out. She strains her ears and... hears the click of the front door a few seconds later.

She's gone.

Karina crawls out of her hiding place with difficulty. A minute later, Minjong is already meeting her, with a disgustingly displeased face.

“Why are you here?!” she whined and sat down on her bed, the frame creaking from the sudden drop in weight. She turned away, but out of the corner of her eye she managed to see a black silhouette, like a cat, creeping closer to her. “And why am I hiding you, as if you were my lover?!” she hissed through her teeth, looking up at the girl who towered over her.

Karina grinned and leaned over, sitting on Minjong’s lap. The girl’s eyes widened, she was noticeably surprised by such an action.

“Mm,” Karina moaned, laying Kim down on the bed with a light push on her shoulder. Her refined fingers barely touched the stranger’s body, pressing only through the clothes. Minjeong doesn't have time to process anything before Karina leans forward, her arms spread out on either side of her, her black hair falling down her shoulders and her face so close, so, so close that Minjeong can feel her breath on her, her perfume is either too suffocating or too tempting, and oh my god...

«Do you want me to be her?»

Karina whispers to her, her lips and hot breath tickling the tip of Minjeong's ear, and the girl literally feels like her head is short-circuiting.

«What???»

She barely manages to get it out, her voice sounding so tight and strained, she can feel her heart beating wildly against her ribs when Karina grabs her wrists with one hand and lifts them above her head, holding them together. Her hands are shaking, her fingers are trembling, and she can feel the blush spreading across her cheeks, making the girl hold her breath.

“What are you doing...?”

Karina smiles like a cat, the way she always does, baring her teeth, mostly fangs, and leans forward even closer. Minjeong closes her eyes, too scared and confused to understand what's happening. Is Karina going to kiss her? Seduce her? Kill her? Make her heart stop beating? Has she come for her soul? Does she want to stab her in the chest?

“Nothing.”

Karina's lips press against Minjeong's cheek, leaving a light trace of lipstick on her snow-white skin.

The girl stands up as if nothing happened and goes into the other room, leaving Kim there. Minjeong feels her chest rise and fall at a rapid pace. She's out of breath.

What just happened?

For the next few days, Minjeong decides to ignore Karina's existence, almost as brazenly as the girl kissed her. She pretends not to notice her when she gets out of the shower, doesn't greet her in the living room by the fireplace when she watches TV, and doesn't see her standing on the threshold of the house, looking at the piles of snow, fluffy falling from the foggy sky. She ignores all her phrases and attempts to address her. She ignores how Karina whines for the first time that she doesn't know what to eat, because she doesn't know how to cook anything human from such products. That same evening, Minjeong, frozen in the hallway around the corner, watches Karina look around and sit down at Kim's computer. Judging by the fact that after some time she starts cooking, one can assume that the girl was looking for recipes for cooking something.

Surprisingly, the kitchen does not burn down and Minjeong does not have to call the fire department.

Another day later, Kim leaves a small amount of money on the countertop, a couple of bills were a bright green spot on the white marble, so it was impossible not to notice them. Karina goes to the market for the first time to shop on her own, making Minjeong smirk smugly. Finally, this girl is learning to let go of her laziness. Besides, Kim is not going to buy her food. She is still offended.

Over time, Minjeong begins to catch herself thinking that she cannot stop thinking about what happened between them. Before she began to ignore Karina. She tried to erase this blatant nightmare from her head, but for some reason it did not work. She does not know what she felt at that moment, and she does not understand the aftertaste that remains from it either. One memory irritates her and causes a wave of incomprehensible emotions, from which she wants to throw Karina out the door, like a stray cat. Sometimes it seems that she will not survive another day with her in the house.

Minjeong despairs. She calls Yizhuo and Aeri, offering to meet at a local eatery, saying that they need to talk.

This is clearly not her best idea.

They meet in an hour. The place turns out to be more or less decent, it seems that they finally finished the renovation that had been going on for the last endless years. The roof of the small veranda was covered with snow, and icicles hung from the corner that did not even think about melting in such a cold, although the tables outside under the cover were packed with people. Probably tourists who wanted to look at the architecture and people. Entering inside, Minjeong saw her friends at the very end of the room, by the window. Coming closer, they hugged and greeted each other. She noticed how Yizhuo lazily sipped hot chocolate with cream or something similar on top, and Eri stirred the ice with a straw in her Americano. Kim raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking at her drink, to which Uchinaga simply shrugged.

«So why did you call us? What did you want to talk about?» Yizhuo asked, leaning back on the long wooden bench with leather upholstery they were sitting on.

«Well...» Minjeong looked down. «I think my relationship with Karina has gotten worse.»

Aeri raised her head and glanced at her friend.

«What happened?»

«I've been ignoring her. For three days.»

Ning almost jumped up and leaned closer.

«What?! Why?»

Minjeong turned to the window.

«She, well...» the girl hesitated. «She kissed me.»

«She what?!

«On the cheek!» Minjeong immediately exclaimed.

Yizhuo's face went through all fifty shades of possible emotions, and after a couple of seconds, her mask of shock shattered with a crack under her smile. A stupid smile. Yizhuo laughed loudly, her eyes wide in surprise. She looked at Aeri, who was covering her mouth with her hand to (unsuccessfully) hold back her laughter, and then covered her face, almost falling onto the table.

«And you,» she said with an almost dying breath, her voice shaking with giggles, «and you started ignoring her because of this?!»

«Oh, be quiet!» She slapped Yizhuo on the shoulder, which made her laugh even worse, leaning back and covering her face. «Yeah, so what? Aeri, at least support me!» Minjeong glanced at her friend, but as soon as she saw that she was also leaning over the table, covering her face, she wanted to roll her eyes. «You're terrible.»

“Have you never kissed anyone?”

“Well, duh, she's our ice queen.”

“You know, it's not every day that I kiss Satan herself, especially when that Satan is a girl.”

Minjeong hissed this, perhaps too loudly, but she only realized it when she saw several people from the neighboring tables looking at her sideways. God. She wanted to fall through the ground. Preferably right under this table. But preferably not into the damn hell, to that hateful Karina. From this, Yizhuo began to almost suffocate next to her. Minjeong wanted to hit her with something so that she would finally shut up.

“And anyway, I like guys,” Kim crossed her arms over her chest in displeasure.

“Are you sure that you’re into guys, if you are so embarrassed by a girl?” asked Aeri.

“What?!” Minjeong's face flushed.

“What?” Uchinaga smiled innocently.

This was clearly the worst idea.

When Minjeong got home, she didn't want to tell anyone anything ever again. Never in her life. Even after taking off her heavy, wet, and cold coat, she couldn't get all the thoughts out of her head. Half of her was upset at Aeri and Yizhuo, half of her was too lost in her thoughts about her feelings and what happened when Karina... did what she did. Walking in through the hallway and seeing this Satan sprawled out on the couch, candles lit all around her, a warm blanket on her lap, a book in her hands, was a disgusting sight for Minjeong. She didn't want to see her! Why was she feeling uncomfortable in her own home because of someone else?

«Hello, sweetie. Maybe you'll stop ignoring me?» Karina asked with a smirk, turning the page of her book and pressing the bookmark to it. Noticing Minjeong's disappointed expression with her furrowed brows, the girl sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. «What did I do?»

Karina's black hair lazily flows over her shoulders, falling on the milky sweater stolen from Minjeong's closet. This makes the girl feel even more sick. She feels her lower lip trembling. Everything is annoying. Especially this Karina, who came out of nowhere and created a thousand problems in Minjeong's feelings in the middle of her calm life. She passes by the sofa and the tree in a fast, clearly irritated pace, her footsteps knocking on the tiles.

«Don't come to my place.»

Minjeong goes up the stairs, while Karina watches her with slightly narrowed eyes. The flames on the candles are still trembling after the girl flew past the lighting. A few seconds later, a loud bang is heard from the second floor. Kim slammed the door.

Karina groans in frustration and puts the book aside.

At night, Minjeong wakes up from some rustling. She is almost 100% sure that it is the sound of an annoying spruce branch that was rubbing against the frost-covered glass and creating such a noise. She frowns and tries to ignore this unnecessary disturbance to her sleep. The mattress creaks softly when she inhales and exhales. The wind blows softly through the windows. She finally feels calm and peaceful. Maybe she will be able to sleep normally for at least one night and get enough sleep, and not have to think about this continuous problem in the morning. Suddenly and abruptly, her breath catches and her heartbeat seems to stop from fear when she feels someone's hand on her waist.

“Are you sleeping?”

She hears a familiar low voice right next to her ear and with great difficulty exhales raggedly.

“Karina... Why did you come here?”

Kim is afraid to move. She feels the girl's palm stroking her waist, a few cold fingers touching her bare, hot skin where her nightgown was lifted. The bed creaks under their weight, and Karina leans closer, pressing herself against Minjeong's neck from behind. Her breath tickles her throat, the scent of perfume coloring all the nearby clean air nearby. It becomes hot from stress and fear.

“Don't be mad at me,» Karina whispers, hugging the girl tightly. Her hand slides higher up the shirt, pressing Minjeong closer to her. The tip of Karina's nose slides along the girl's neck, she tilts her head and presses her forehead to her. Minjeong feels like she's suffocating. Like she can't breathe or think. Her heart is pounding in her chest. She tries to breathe raggedly, and Karina feels it.

The blanket, carelessly spread out on the sheets, rustles. Karina sits up, leaning on her right arm. The moonlight falls almost imperceptibly on her cheeks, emphasizing her profile and cheekbones, reflecting in deep eyes.

“Please.”

She whispers, and Minjeong watches how her lips move. How they pronounce each letter. Kim swallows nervously, and then turns on her side, her red hair unkemptly hiding her face. She mumbles a barely audible: «Okay,» lowers her gaze down, and then hesitantly raises it back up.

“Peace?”

Karina holds out her hand, sticking out her outer finger.

Minjeong snorts and rolls her eyes, but with a smile, wraps her pinky around Karina's.

“Peace, Satan-ah.”

That night, Karina sleeps in Minjeong's bed, waking up only in the early morning.

“Minjeong?”

Karina's voice echoes somewhere from the first floor. And what did she want in the middle of the day? Minjeong went to the railing on the second floor, leaning over and looking down. Karina was nowhere to be found... not by the fireplace, not in the kitchen.

“Minjeo-ong.”

Minjeong looked directly below her. Now Karina was found. The girl was standing by an old white sideboard with open doors. She reached out and pulled something out from the inside, but Minjeong could not see well from the second floor. She thought it was some kind of dishes, judging by the glare that bounced off the lamp onto the glass in Karina's hands, and then onto her face.

“What is this?”

Minjeong went downstairs.

“Wine, read it from the inscription pasted on the bottle, Karina.”

Kim raised an eyebrow.

«It’s my parents',» with a subtle hint of refusal.

«So what?» with a subtle hint of carelessness. «Let's try,» Karina turned to her and smiled.

Karina dragged the table from Minjeong's kitchen outside, along with knives, cutlery, glasses and skewers. Above all this towered a dark green jar of clearly expensive, infused red wine. Minjeong had brought several chairs from home at the time, understandably, not without much indignation. In fact, she was indignant jokingly, more under her breath and barely audible. It was just that these chairs were not particularly convenient to carry. Their legs crashed into the walls and doorways, and walking back and forth in the house and outside in the snow was... not very pleasant.

«Do you need help?» Karina asked, unexpectedly appearing from behind. Minjeong shuddered.

“No.”

She turned to look at the girl. Karina was slightly taller than her, which forced her to look up to meet her eyes. She was standing in a black turtleneck and some kind of shabby black jacket, which absolutely predictably belonged to Minjeong. Kim turned away abruptly, grabbing a chair to move it, but Karina's cold palm covered her hand, squeezing.

“Let me.”

With some effort, although more like suffering, they find a barbecue and Karina lights a fire.

“So you,” Minjeong crosses his arms over his chest, watching Karina from behind, while she controls the fire so that it does not go out. The coals crackled dully, small flames began to paint the night darkness in an orange hue, along with the lanterns near the house, “you can cook meat, but not basic food??”

“Well, you know,» Karina puts her hands on her knees and stands up, “in hell I fry someone's meat more often than I eat your ve... vegi..”

“Vegetarian?» Minjeong raises an eyebrow.

“Yes! Vegetarian food.”

Kim laughs hoarsely.

They wait in the cold for about 15 minutes for Yizhuo and Aeri, whom they invited, while Karina makes the meat. There are some funny moments where she pulls the skewer back because the poor meat catches fire. But overall, everything goes well. No one even burns. The meat smells delicious and appetizing, Minjeong can hardly stand it so as not to start eating without her friends, and in general without the rest. Aeri and Yizhuo arrived, a couple of minutes late, but bursting in with a creak of the gate and bright laughter.

“Hello!» Yizhuo smiled, almost completely leaning on Aeri.

“Are you tipsy?”

“No! I came here to drink. By the way, we bought you some sweets,» Yizhuo handed Minjeong a paper bag.

“And what about me?» Karina peeked out from behind Minjeong's shoulder like a curious cat.

“Hm? Aeri, do you hear someone talking???» Yizhuo spun around in an exaggerated manner.

Karina just clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes in response.

The evening passed, surprisingly, peacefully and comfortably. Minjeong spent most of it in a wooden chair, covered with a checkered red blanket, with wine that pleasantly burned her chest from the inside. The silhouette of a fire was reflected on the glass, playing with bright rays of light on the glass. She ate for some time. It turned out that Karina could cook much more deliciously than she thought. Or maybe all this night atmosphere and fresh air made her hungry. At least the meat with a smoky taste in the cold was almost the best thing she had eaten in her life. Her friends also seemed pleased. Aeri and Yizhuo were able to find some common interests with Karina and even managed to talk.

Karina also enjoyed the evening. Minjeong could not restrain herself from looking at the girl, so her profile often appeared before Kim's eyes. Her rosy cheeks were lit by the gentle fire, and her eyelashes fluttered every time she blinked. There were light drops of wine on her lips, which Minjeong only noticed for a few seconds. Her gaze dropped lower. Karina had a sharp jaw. It was beautiful.

Minjeong looked down. Her head was spinning, and her consciousness was blurring.

She must have been drunk.

Minjeong vaguely remembers Aeri and Yizhuo leaving, but she remembers their goodbyes. After that, everything is blurry. The bed, the darkness, the warm blanket. She remembers whispering, “Thank you for tonight, Satan-ah.”

The next morning, she finds herself in her street clothes on her bed, with Karina sleeping next to her.

The clatter of dishes and their outrage at each other echoed off the kitchen tiles. The water tap was turned on full blast, earning Karina another loud and aggressive scolding, and Minjeong almost got hit in the head with it for the baking tray being in the “wrong place.” It felt like the room was filled with chaos and disorder, and that a hurricane had just passed through. There was no other way to explain it. Garlands, glittering in gold and red, hung above the window along with the floor-length curtains, and trembled and swayed back and forth as the girls ran past them. The refrigerator seemed to slam shut with a shaking sound more often than they inhaled and exhaled.

“What are you doing? Your dough will turn out terrible!”

Karina rolled her eyes.

“You wanted to make cream? Do it! We both cook!”

Or, to put it more simply, they wanted to bake something sweet.

They decided to make cupcakes and some related cookies, in the shape of snowmen, balls or hats. But it cost them terrible suffering. Halfway through the process, they managed to get upset, think that they can't cook, argue about who does it better and quarrel again because of this. Somewhere further they despaired and thought that nothing would work out. Minjeong even tried to look somewhere in her mother's cupboards for recipes, but judging by the sound of a falling stool and a dull thud, followed by whining and a slap of something like books on the floor, Karina realized that this idea failed. The main thing is that Minjeong does not fall through the floor. With the same despair and, in Kim's case, with a recently developed back pain, they continued cooking.

“What are you doing?”

Karina appeared from behind, holding out the letters in her curious tone. She glanced over Minjeong's shoulder at the girl stirring the frosting, and then smiled, leaning closer, intentionally getting under her arm and stirring.

«Karina!» Minjeong hissed and jerked, pushing Karina aside, to which she only laughed and went to the sink to wash her hands.

After a few more circles of hell and time spent waiting, they finally took the cookies and cupcakes out of the oven. Surprisingly, they were quite edible. Not even burnt to a black heap. Minjeong smiled softly when she saw this. She was genuinely glad that all this suffering had at least some benefit. The girl immediately took a pastry bag and, with a little pressure, began to make beautiful tops for the cupcakes. A small pinch of sprinkles and Minjeong's lips curled into a warm, gentle smile. She decorates the cookies almost the same way herself, making patterns and coloring the dough in different colors.

The girls each take a sweet. Karina takes a bite of the muffin and hums, approving of the work done.

“It wasn’t in vain that we suffered.”

Minjeong follows her lead and nods. The sweet cream remains on the outline of her mouth as a multi-colored cream along with sprinkles that melt on the tongue with a cloying taste. Kim giggles and runs her tongue over her lips, licking off the remains. She shakes her hands from crumbs, looking down.

“Lift your head,” Karina says.

Minjeong blinks in confusion and looks up, eyes wide in mild surprise. She feels Karina reach out and cup her cheek, wiping the tip of her nose and a small area on the left with her thumb. Kim feels her cheeks warm up, and Karina can’t help but grin, the peachy hue on Minjeong’s cheeks suits her red hair. Under this lighting, her greenish eyes shimmer with a golden hue, and her face looks too cute.

Karina leans down and kisses the confused girl.

She presses her lips to Minjeong's, holding her cheeks in her hands. Kim doesn't return the kiss for the first few seconds, frozen in shock, but over time, Karina feels a response of tenderness and smiles into Minjeong’s mouth, pressing closer again, breaking their contact for a few seconds and connecting again. She feels Minjeong's hot breath, feels the taste of her lipstick and it feels like pure heaven. Karina's hands subconsciously slide down, wrapping around Minjeong's waist and pulling her closer, and only when Kim pulls away from the kiss, she realizes what is happening.

Minjeong exhales heavily, looking into Karina's eyes with a trembling gaze. She takes a step back, leaning against the countertop.

“I... I should probably go.”

Kim turns away and carefully leaves the kitchen, but it was noticeable that she did it in a hurry. Karina sighs heavily and falls onto one of the chairs, rubbing her temples with her fingers. A few minutes later, she hears the door slam shut on the second floor. A tired smile stretches across her lips.

The next morning, Minjeong calls Aeri, very early in the morning, just the first rays of dawn appearing among the thick clouds in the sky. The girl does not pick up the phone right away, immediately indignant in a sleepy voice. Judging by the rustling on the other side of the line, Uchinaga is lying in bed, buried deep under the blankets. Minjeong does not respond to the greeting and remains silent when her friend is indignant at the time Kim woke her up. Only one thought is spinning in her head.

“Karina and I kissed.”

She hears absolute silence.

“What? Repeat.”

“I kissed Karina...”

Minjeong lowers her voice. She can practically see Aeri's face in front of her, her usual expression where she blinks in surprise, her mouth open.

“Could you have told me this later? Not so early in the morning?”

“I think I like her,” Minjeong interrupts her.

Aeri is silent again, and Kim feels like her heart is about to jump out of her chest.

“Did you just admit that you're a lesbian?”

Minjeong blushes.

“No! I like guys. It's just...”

“Just what?”

“She's just an exception. I guess... Oh god, no. I don't like girls. I don't...” Minjeong whines into her pillow, wanting to slam her head against the wall. “Especially not this one.”

Aeri sighs heavily.

“Have you talked about this?”

Minjeong lies on her back and stares at the ceiling. The speed at which her thoughts rush through her mind is rapidly developing, picking up speed like some kind of train that is moving without brakes. Eri gives good answers, and Minjeong herself is probably wrong to run every time just to hide, she knows that. But for some reason it doesn’t make it any easier.

“No. She kissed me, and... and I kissed her back... And then I left. Ran away.”

Aeri is silent. Minjeong knows what that means.

“You understand that I’m about to tell you to go and talk to her, right?”

Minjeong laughs heavily.

“Well, yeah.”

“Then go ahead, get up and go talk. Just please, not so early. I don’t think she’ll appreciate it. Not even she herself.”

Kim hangs up with a hoarse laugh and a smile, then runs a hand through her hair, covering her face. She clearly needs to sleep, think it over, and only then discuss it.

Talking to Karina herself first turns out to be harder than she expected. Every time, the girl herself took the initiative, especially when Minjeong got offended or ran away. Not that this was one of those cases, here Kim was to blame herself, but when she heard Eri's words, she was sure that she would do it in two seconds. But in life, it was not so easy. She did not even know what to say to her. «Hey, did you like the kiss?» was too straightforward. «Who are we to each other?» was too cliché. «What do you feel for me?», but she herself does not know what she feels for Karina.

Minjeong groaned into her pillow. She and Karina ignored what happened in the kitchen. In the morning, they had breakfast together, but not a word about the kiss even flew by. Karina acted as if she knew everything and played a game with the girl where she was the cat and Minjeong was the mouse, which she gently caught by the tail with her paw and teased as she wanted. Because of this, as much as it was embarrassing to admit, Kim was scared. What if Karina rejected her? No, even worse. Laughed. And said that it was her job. And then left. God. And what would Minjeong do? What a nightmare. She felt bad even thinking about it.

Somewhere around lunchtime, Minjeong noticed that Karina was not home. Not in any of the rooms, not on the couch in the living room. She knocked on the bathroom door, asking if the girl was there. There was no answer. Minjeong looked inside, and she didn’t find her either. It's only when she looks out the kitchen window while washing dishes that Kim notices the girl sitting on the steps outside the house, her jet black hair covered in fluffy snowflakes, her coat covered in a thick layer of snow. Her eyes are looking up at the hazy sky, her lips parted in a relaxed manner.

She's thinking.

Minjeong grabs her leather jacket and goes outside, pausing on the veranda.

«Karina?»

She speaks, but she doesn't know if it's more of a question or an attempt to call her. The girl doesn't turn around.

«We...» Minjeong comes over and sits down next to her. The steps, covered in even small snowdrifts, seem disgustingly cold. She clearly won't sit here for long. «We need to talk.»

Karina turns her head and looks at her. Her skin seems even paler in the cold light, and her eyes darken even more, becoming the deepest shade of black Minjeong can imagine.

“Are you upset with me?» She asks and relaxes a little inside when she sees Karina turning away. At least she's not pressuring her. “How do you feel about me? Do you... do you even like girls? How do you feel about... this?”

Karina grins.

“You're asking me this after our kiss yesterday?”

Minjong sighs.

“I don't know, okay?! I don't understand if you're playing with me or not, I don't understand what I'm feeling. I've never liked girls and I didn't think I ever would, but then you came along! And you, you,” Minjong faltered, her voice breaking and trembling. A lump appeared in her throat. “I don't know what you did to me. You're a devil in the truest sense of the word, and I don't want to fall for your traps, but,” she felt something hot running down her cheek and shuddered.

Oh Lord.

Minjeong lowered her head, biting her trembling lip. Her shoulders shook. She covered her face with her hands.

«Sorry,» Minjeong sniffled again and wiped her cheeks. She couldn’t cry in the cold. «Sorry.»

Karina reached out and placed her hand on Minjeong's shoulder, gently stroking it.

«Minjeong-ah. Minjeong... calm down,» she whispers. Kim feels herself being pulled closer. Her face is pressed closer, buried in Karina's neck. Her skin is cold, but clearly warmer than the frozen Minjeong's nose, and the girl herself laughs through her tears at the contrast, burying herself in someone else's hair and coat. It's so stupid. She doesn't even understand why she's crying - probably from an excess of feelings and from the pain in her heart. Karina's fingers run through her red hair, the wind ruffling it even more.

“Let's go inside.”

Minjeong lifts her head and sniffles, wiping her face. She's literally sure that her cheeks are red, and that only makes her feel even more ashamed. She wants to hide under the blanket and pillows even more, bury herself in all of it and not leave the room. And if she does leave, at least she won't see Karina there.

“Y-yes.”

They still don't talk. But it's not ignoring. For some reason, her chest feels lighter. They have lunch together, exchanging a few smiles, but with such embarrassment, as if it were something forbidden. Minjeong laughs, thinking about it.

Towards evening, she notices Karina in the living room, lying on the couch and watching TV. In Minjeong's things and with her blanket on her lap. For some reason, Kim doesn't mind anymore. Even for it. An old movie is playing on the plasma TV hanging above the fireplace. Karina watches it with fascination, not taking her eyes off the screen. The candles nearby don't even flicker, the darkness is bathed in a delicate vanilla aroma. Even in the semi-darkness, Minjeong notices that Karina's makeup is lighter than it was during the day. She probably washed off some of it.

“What are you watching, Satan-ah?”

Kim asks quietly, coming up from behind.

“Huh?» Karina turns around. “Oh, just some movie I found.. I don’t even know the name.”

“Can I join in?”

“Yes! Yes, of course.”

Karina moves on the couch and leaves a place for Minjeong, who happily sits down on it. They sit close, Minjeong even allows himself to rest his head on Karina’s shoulder, to feel her warmth and the smell of perfume, which no longer seems so hateful. Maybe it’s the vanilla that softens its sound. They use the same blanket and their bodies are pressed almost tightly. Kim feels how their knees and thighs slightly touch, and this makes her heart beat faster.

Minjeong gets hot during the romantic moments of the film. Either from awkwardness, from the thought that they are watching this with Karina together, sitting so close, or from a strange feeling as if she wants to repeat it, but she tries not to allow such thoughts. The main characters kiss for too long, the heart beats too fast in the chest from some kind of disgust mixed with envy. What is she envious of?

Minjeong lowers her head.

Karina feels it and after a while turns around, looking at the disappointed girl.

“What happened? Look at me.”

Minjeong sighs, but does not raise her head.

“Minjeong.”

“Well...”

Kim hesitantly raises her eyes and...

Freezes, feeling Karina's lips on hers.

This time she relaxes faster. Leans closer, responding to the kiss. Karina's lips are soft. She finally feels it. For the first time, she feels... good. Kim presses closer, her palm instinctively clasps Karina's cheek, and the fingers of the other girl clasp Minjeong's chin, lifting her head. They break the kiss for a couple of seconds, and then lean in again. The film begins to be forgotten against the background of everything.

Minjeong gets up and sits on Karina's lap, wrapping his arms around the girl's neck. Her crystal clear eyes shimmer with gold, like that night by the fire, and her face seems more attractive than ever. Minjeong kisses her again. This time on her own initiative. Her fingers tangle in her thick hair, pulling the girl closer.

Karina's hands slide down Minjeong's body, stopping at her slender waist. She examines every inch of exposed skin, since she has the opportunity. She presses her lips to her neck, biting into the soft skin with her teeth. A soft sound comes from above, and Karina smiles into the kiss. Minjeong smells like vanilla. Clean. Tender. The warm scent of spruce and snow. Love. Sincerity. Karina leaves a few marks, painting the milky skin. She touches under the sweater with her palm, bumping into the naked body. Nice. Minjeong seems fragile, and you want to hold her closer, covering her with yourself.

Slowly, Karina pulls off her sweatpants. Minjeong quietly hisses from the cold, which immediately burns her bare thighs. She sinks onto Karina's lap, pressing closer. Karina slides her hand over Minjeong's underwear, teasing her with her middle finger.

«You're wet,» she whispers in her ear with a grin, and then kisses her cheek, jaw, pressing her head close, touching barely perceptibly.

«What are you doing...?» Minjeong whines, feeling Karina slide her finger under the fabric.

«Me? Touching you.»

«No, why is this...» she exhales heavily, feeling a gentle stroking on a sensitive spot. «Why so slowly?»

Karina grins, running her fingers over the wetness.

“Foreplay... Never heard of it?» She speaks low and quietly, kissing the pulse point on her neck, biting it while Karina touches her heat from the inside. Minjeong moans softly, hiding her head in the other's hair.

“Hot... Karina...» she sighs heavily.

Minjeong seems devilishly attractive. Her soft voice, her reaction to touch, this milky skin and the peachy blush on her cheeks. The way her hair slightly covers her embarrassed face, the way her lips part every time she moans. Karina couldn't get enough. She kissed and bit. Moved her fingers, looking for the right places and smiled contentedly every time she touched the right one.

“Karina, Karina, Karina...» she whispered like a mantra, whining and sighing. Heavy. Hot. Sticky. Her hips were shaking, her body was shaking.

Karina had come here to seduce her. And she had succeeded. When Minjeong came, she thought only of her. Sharply inhaling and exhaling with her name on her lips, she was going crazy with pleasure, pressing herself only closer. Her back arched, to which Karina chuckled softly, holding the girl close.

When Minjeong collapsed into Karina's arms, she felt unbelievably good. There was some kind of sweet emptiness in her head. On her lips were Karina's lips, kissing her. Softly. Pleasantly. Karina kisses her temple and hugs her with one arm.

«So, did you like the night with me?» she asks, fingering Minjeong's hair.

«Mmm, maybe...» she whispers back. Notes of fatigue are heard in her voice.

«What do you mean maybe?» Karina raises an eyebrow. “You just slept with Satan herself and you... maybe like it?”

“Well, you know, worst is first, Satan-ah...» Minjeong answers with a smirk and a hoarse laugh.

“Kim Minjeong!”

The next morning, Karina is woken up by Minjeong shaking her, but it's already quite late.

“Mmm, what is it...?”

“Karina, what did you do?!» the girl points irritably at the crimson mark on her neck, brightly blooming on her snow-white skin. “And why am I finding out about this from Yizhuo, after meeting her?! We agreed that there would be no marks!”

“What did you say? Oh yeah, worst is first... I couldn't help myself, I couldn't.” Karina shrugs lazily. “Sorry, sweetie.”