Karina's reply was one of many reasons for Winter to smile despite her tight schedule. Strangely, that one ethereal-looking deaf girl did her something every time Winter got that familiar dinging sound on her phone.

But it also did something to her when she got no dinging sound from the other girl for more than five hours, and Winter didn't like this feeling.

"It's been too long. She didn't even read my messages," Winter murmured between her breath after she got back from the concert-ending ceremony and was now back in her waiting room, fidgeting her thumbs on their last conversation on KakaoTalk.

"Should I call her?" Winter thought, slumping her tired body on the couch. It's almost eleven at night in Korea right now, making Winter think again about whether she should call the other girl or not. "Maybe she just fell asleep and forgot to reply to me? Yeah, that is probably it."

Winter tossed her phone on the couch before she stood up, looking at herself in the mirror, and tidying up some stuff on the dressing table before she needed to go back to her hotel later.

Her mind was too occupied with Karina for a moment. Tidying her stuff halfway, Winter went back to her phone and called the other girl's number immediately.

But, it ended up with no reply.

Winter furrows her eyebrows as she pulls the phone away from her ear. She tried to call Karina's number for the second time, and the result was the same. No one picks it up.

Desperate for answers, Winter started to spam Karina in their chats — "Are you okay?" "Why aren't you replying to my messages?" "Is everything alright?"

She hit the send button, Karina received the messages, but she hadn't read them just yet.

Aeri enters the waiting room with a soft hum sending Winter jolting up hopefully, "Aeri! Great that you are here! Did you save Ningning's number?"

The manager's mouth slightly agape in confusion, "I don't know a Ningning. Who is Ningning?"

"You know a Ningning, Aeri," the singer said confidently as she walked closer to her manager. "She's the weirdo sign language translator you've been complaining about three months ago," Winter's arms are not in front of her chest, looking at her manager with pleading eyes. "Please tell me you got her number."

"OH— Yeah, right! Her name is Ningning! I do know a Ningning, huh?" the manager laughs trying to joke around before she stares back at the singer. "I always saved working-related numbers, so yeah. I have her number. Why are you asking?" Aeri starts to pull out her phone only for it to be snatched away by the singer.

"Hey! You thief!"

"What's the name?" Winter asked as she scrolled down the manager's contact list.

"What's the name what?"

"What's her contact name?" Winter repeated her question, slightly glaring at the Japanese only to get a confused look from Aeri. "What's wrong with you? What's up with this Ningning—"

"Contact name, Aeri," Winter asked one last time, bolder.

The Japanese still look at the singer in confusion, "It's 'Miss Weirdo'. What are you going to—" Aeri's words were cut off when Winter used the phone to call Ningning's number immediately, sending the Japanese into panic mode. "Bro, stop! That's my phone—"

"Hello? Ningning?" the phone calls reached, and Winter already speaking.

"Great, god. Fine," Aeri sighed in defeat but still standing right next to the singer, curious about this all of the sudden phone call to the sign language translator who had made Winter cry three months ago at one of the singer's fan-sign events.

"Sorry for the sudden phone call. It's Winter, by the way," Winter spoke on the phone as Aeri watched her conversation intently. "Yeah-yeah. That Winter, you got it right. Apparently, my manager saved your phone number from the event, and I'm calling you from her phone."

"Put it on loudspeaker, come on!" the manager elbowed the singer only to get another glare from Winter, but she ended up doing it anyway. Aeri got the right since it was her phone, so who is Winter to argue much about it?

"Okay. So, why are you calling me from your manager's phone? Is this about Karina?"

"Yes-yes! Exactly," Winter answered hopefully, while Aeri looked at the singer in greater confusion. "She knows Karina?"

Winter didn't answer her manager's question, still too occupied with the phone call. "She didn't pick up my calls nor read my messages. Do you perhaps... know what's—"

"She died."

Ningning words sent Winter's heart stopped from beating. Her brain suddenly started to malfunction. "S-She's what?" Winter repeated her words. Raspy voice is evidence. "Ningning! You don't make jokes with me!" Winter felt like her heart was torn to pieces but then the Chinese on the phone suddenly started to laugh her lungs out loud.

"Ningning, what the heck!"

Seeing how she succeeded in making the singer panic, the Chinese started to control her laughs. "Sorry, Winter. Gosh, that's funny."

"It is not funny, Ningning! I almost fell down and knelt on the floor just now! You gave me a heart—" the singer's ramble was cut when she somehow heard Karina's voice on the line, laughing. "W-Wait. Isn't that Karina? She is with you?"

Ningning's laughs start to decrease hearing the evident horror in the singer's voice. "Wow-wow, easy girl. Wait, I'll tell you what's up with your favourite librarian," she continued before the phone screen popped a notification for a FaceTime.

Winter accepted the request almost immediately, and the first thing she saw on Aeri's phone screen was Karina, with an adhesive bandage on her forehead, smiling and waving happily at her. Oh, her palms got another adhesive bandage as well.

Winter wants to be happy, but thanks to the Chinese pranks just now, Winter wants to cry instead.

"Sorry for the scare, Winter," Karina signed her on the video call, but it didn't help much when the singer saw the bandages on the other girl. "Ningning, what happened to her?" Winter almost shouts to the phone.

Two heads popped on Aeri's phone screen, before Ningning replied, "Your friend here got her grocery bag robbed, and she's injured. Now we are at the hospital. The end," Ningning smiled at the phone teasingly, but Winter just flashed her bothered expression.

"R-Robbed? Wait-wait. Is it bad? Where is she hurting? Why isn't she answering my chats and calls?"

"Easy, girl. One question at a time," the Chinese laughs lightly before she continues. "She was on the way home from work with groceries, then someone snatched it away from her and she got injured. She fainted, so yeah. The people who saw her at that time brought her to the hospital and since my number is on Karina's emergency list, the hospital called me. But then, her phone was out of battery, and when I arrived, I was dumb enough that I forgot to bring her a charger. So, yeah. Phew, that's long."

Winter starts to frown even more hearing all the details despite Karina being there, on the phone screen, just right next to Ningning when she signed the Chinese "What are you talking about with Winter?"

"Is it bad?" Winter asked with a low voice. "And which hospital is it?"

"Not really," Ningning shakes her head gently. "It's really not that bad. Just some scratches here and there, but since her ears started ringing and the way she fainted earlier, the doctor has asked her to stay for a while so they can watch if there are future problems or not. Oh, yeah. The hospital. It's Yonsei."

Winter could only watch the phone screen with a frown even when the injured girl had signed her an "I'm fine, Winter. I'm sorry that I made you worried. I'll see you when you are back here."

Winter wasn't convinced.

So, when the phone call ended, Winter gave the phone back to her manager before saying with such a determination, "Find me a flight, tonight. We'll head back to Seoul tonight."

Aeri's eyes widen in shock, "Wait, Winter. No, we cannot do that. You need to attend a magazine interview tomorrow morning and a cup sleeve event in the evening," the Japanese reminds and it only makes the singer frustrated even more.

"Okay-okay, fine. I'll attend the magazine interview, but cancel the cupsleeve event. I won't attend that one. I need to go back to Seoul as soon as possible."

*****

After staying at the hospital for another seven to eight hours, Karina was finally allowed to go home, and this time, Ningning helped the older girl buy her new groceries. She even helped Karina bring them up to her apartment unit after she saw how her friend limping while walking.

"Ningning, why has your phone kept vibrating for the past hour?" Karina signed the Chinese when she could feel the vibration on the dining table as the Chinese helped to settle them.

"Your singer friend has been spamming me messages non-stop since she got my number. Why don't you go and charge your phone because I don't think I could manage to read and answer her every question?"

Seeing how Ningning flashed her pleading eyes, Karina could only chuckle before she slowly made her way towards her bedroom. Okay-okay, Ningning. I got you.

The girl slowly slumped herself onto her bed, plugging in her charger to her phone, switching it back on, and walla! Notifications pop up non-stop, making the librarian laugh just by looking at her phone screen.

23 new messages from Golden Winter.

"This girl got no chill," Karina thought as she read the messages one by one. Okay, that's a lot. Winter was worried that much about her, huh?

"Gosh, Winter Kim," Karina couldn't contain her laughter reading every message from Winter. How the singer easily changed from sulking to worried and then to rich friend real quick. Lately, the singer often called her 'beautiful' as an endearment, not that Karina wants to complain. She loves it.

After calming herself down, Karina was about to type a reply, answering every curiosity. But then, a new message popped up in front of her eyes.

"Huh??" the girl was too stunned to speak. Winter is here? Like— Here, in Korea already? Isn't she supposed to come back tomorrow? Well, the girl got herself an interview in the morning and now she's back here already? Is she the Flash or what?

Karina quickly typed a reply, dumbfounded by the singer's action. It didn't take long enough for the other girl to send back another reply.

"Wait— W-What?"

Feeling too overwhelmed at the moment, Karina abandoned her plugged phone on her bed before she quickly made her way towards the kitchen, almost losing her footing and getting another fall down.

The girl roughly tapped on her friend's shoulder before signing quickly, "Winter is coming!"

"Huh? Who's coming?" Ningning eyes bewildered, asking the taller girl a question as she signed. "Winter Kim??"

"Yeah, she's coming to my house. She said she is on the way!"

Ningning's eyes widen even more. "Did she have a crush on you or what that she come here so quick?" she blurted out unconsciously before she signed back to the taller girl, "Should we do something? Or cook something?"

Seeing the Chinese suggestion, Karina nodded her head eagerly, signing back in desperation. "Can you buy one of the signature cakes from the shop downstairs? Please, I'll pay you double! Winter said she loves them!"

Ningning's brows start to furrow, signing back, "Really? You want me to go downstairs and buy that for her? I literally could cook instant noodles for her right now, and you want me to go downstairs and buy her a cake?"

"I'll pay you triple!"

The Chinese frown even more, not liking the idea that she needs to go ten floors down to buy the stubborn singer a cake. But when Karina kept flashing her pleading eyes, with the continuous "Please?" signs, Ningning sighed in defeat before she walked back towards the living room, mumbling to herself.

"Are these two in love or what?" Ningning groans as she took her credit card from her bag.