Winter is a cheerful and bubbly woman, with a perpetual smile adorning her face. She can be annoying sometimes but it's just her being a silly puppy she is. She can be really nosy. Despite having a Baby Girl Syndrome, she has a deep affection for kids and is often seen doting on them.


Winter is the kind of person who, given the opportunity to help, will always extend a helping hand without hesitation. She is genuine to every of her actions.


And that is solely the reason why her fans adore her a lot.



.....



Winter and her group are currently seated in the van, feeling exhausted and drained after their public appearance at the airport in Manila. Yes, they're in Manila for a Music Video shooting for their upcoming comeback.



Aespa, a K-pop girl group under SM Entertainment, is composed of three members: Winter, Ningning, and Giselle. They are celebrated for their exceptional talent and have won multiple awards, earning admiration from fans worldwide. Aespa is renowned for their innovative AI concept and visually striking AI-like appearances.


.....



Winter absentmindedly twirls her red hair as she casually browses her Instagram feed, delighting in every Maltese puppy video she comes across. She can't contain her giggles, barely noticing when Giselle, begins to speak.


"Girl, I'm tired and I'm trying to sleep. Tone down your giggles Winter." startled by giselle's wordings.


"Ay. Red days mo ba beh?" Winter replied.


She quickly received a glare from giselle, not even trying to hide the fact that she wants to strangle winter for her response.


"Okay chill mommy, I'll shut up na hehe"


Winter raises her hands in a gesture of surrender, to which Giselle responds with a shrug.


Glancing towards the backseat, Winter notices Ningning trying to stifle her laughter at Winter's antics.


"Pigilan mo talaga tawa mo ning baka ikaw pa yung masakal ni giselle" which winter thought in her mind.



.....



They arrive at the the hotel they are suppose to be staying in. And their manager informing them that they will be staying here until the shooting for their MV ends. Exactly 3 weeks from now.


While they wait in the hotel lobby for their manager to sort out room assignments with the receptionist, Winter finds it hard to stay seated. Being restless, she decides to take a short stroll nearby, leaving Ningning, Giselle, and their other managers
on the lobby couch.


As Winter admires the hotel's interior designs, she suddenly feels the urge to use the restroom. Quickly, she approaches a guard and asks for directions. With immediate response, the guard promptly points her in the right direction to the restroom.



.....

Winter's POV


After finishing my business and feeling relieved, a sigh escaped my lips as I slowly open the cubicle door and begin washing my hands. Thoughts flood my mind during the process, particularly about my plans to leave the company for good. I'm tired of their disrespectful treatment towards us. They view us merely as objects, not as artists. Despite our dedication and hard work, they continue to treat us like disposable objects.


Mabait akong tao pero hindi ko masikmura yung mga ginagawa nila sa amin. I hate the mistreatment we don't even deserve.


For a moment I was in my own world when suddenly I was interrupted by a tug on the hem of my shirt. I looked down only to see a little girl for about 7 years old looking up at me still holding the hem of my shirt.


Awwwe ang cuteee naman ng abunjing na 'tooooo.


"Yes baby? Is there a problem?"


After I asked the question, the little girl remained silent for a moment before finally responding.


"I-I need to wash my hands po ate but I can't reach." I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw the little girl pout.


Jusko po! ang cute cute naman ng batang 'to. Pwede ko bang kagatin 'to?


"Awww okay baby, I will help you reach okay? Here, let me lift you up" I smiled which earned me a nod from the little girl.


As I lifted the girl up, I smiled when she reached out and started washing her hands by herself after opening the faucet. When she finished, she promptly turned it off and then turned her head to look at me.


"You are so pretty po ate" The little girl's compliment made me squel internally.


Lord kung totoo ka man pwede bang akin nalang 'tong batang 'to and no ayaw ko ng anak! I adore kids a lot lang talaga.


"You are pretty too, baby. What's your name?" Tanong ko habang binaba sya sa mga bisig ko.


"Klare po. Klare Desteen Yu"


"So cute naman ng name! Hello Klare, I'm Ate Winter" I couldn't help but smile when the girl initiated a handshake with me. Like wow? Kudos po sa mga magulang ni Klare kasi napaka respectful na bata. Even though there is no need for handshakes.


Napansin ko naman ito na mag-isa lang kaya tinanong ko kung may kasama ba siya at saan ito.


"Aunt's outside po, kausap nya yung girl sa big table" ahhh her aunt must have booked them a room from the receptionist.


"I see, lalabas na din naman na ako kaya let's go together?" I saw the girl nod and took my hand to guide me palabas ng restroom. Napangiti nalang ako. Yung puso ko po huhu!


It took us a few turns before we reached the lobby, where I spotted ning and giselle still seated on the couch, waiting with our managers.



"Tita!" Nagulat ako ng sumigaw si Klare at tumakbo ito papalapit sa babae na I think is her Tita. She is seated near my friends who are sitting in the middle. They're positioned on a C-shaped couch with a table in the middle. While two of our managers are seates across the little girl's seat.



Nang nakarating ako kung saan sila ning at giselle. Bigla naman nagsalita ang isa sa manager namin.


"Oh winter, you're back. Dapat nagsabi ka kung san ka pumunta baka mapano ka pa buti nalang pinaalam ka na nila ning na umihi ka lang." I hold deep respect for our managers, especially Manager Baek. She is incredibly kind to us and genuinely cares about our well-being. We've never experienced any kind of mistreatment from her. While she can be strict at times, I understand that she's simply doing her job.


"Hehe sorry po manager baek" umupo naman ako sa tabi nila ning at nag thank you sa kanila dahil pinaalam ako. The best talaga tong mga 'to hays.


"How long do we have to wait pa?" Mataray na tanong ni giselle kasi antok na antok na talaga ito at gusto na mamahinga. Ikaw ba naman bumyahe ng ilang oras. Pero I can assure you giselle is a good person. Ewan ko lang anong sumapi sa kaluluwa neto eh ang sungit sungit.


"A few more moments, may minor inconvenience kasing nangyari kaya let's just be patient, you'll get the rest that you need." sagot naman ni manager baek.


I turned my gaze back to Klare, the little girl I had just interacted with, and I heard her giggling and laughing while talking to her Tita.


"That's her, Tita Karina" The girl pointed at me, and her Tita acknowledged her gesture with a smile directed at me. It seemed as though she was expressing gratitude for my earlier interaction with Klare.


So in response, I smiled back at her. I saw how her Tita is saying something to her, which Klare nodded in response before rummaging through her small backpack. She took out her sketchpad and began scribbling on it. Ang cuttteeee lang!



I'm still seated here beside ning and giselle. I have done everything I could to satisfy my boredom while waiting for the hotel's service. Nang dumapo ulit yung tingin ko sa Tita ni Klare ay napansin ko ang outfit na suot nito.



Naka sleeveless shirt ito yung parang t-shirt lang na ginupitan yung mga torso at may nakasabit na headphone sa leeg nito tapos shorts below the knee and sandals. May dala dala din itong malaking suitcase na nasa tabi ng inuupuan nito. Taray ready na ready sa weather ng Pinas. Ay wait teka nga! Ako yung dumadayo dito sa pinas bakit ba parang mas ako pa yung taga rito.



Ang init din kasi dito sa Pinas. I'm not used to the weather kasi malamig sa Korea but I don't hate it. Sensitive din kasi yung skin ko sa lamig kaya namumula agad yung mala mochi kong cheeks.



"Ms. Karina?" I heard the receptionist call out, and the woman I had been observing for a while stood up. Oh, so her name is Karina. Grabe ang tangkad beehhh. Nakakahiya naman kung tatayo ka sa tabi nya.



I felt a nudge from my side and it was ning smirking at me.



"Hoi bakla ka! Kanina mo pa pinagnasahan yung babae! Akala mo talaga di ko napapansin yung ngitian nyong dalawa!" Jusko po ayan na naman siya. She's always like this. Teasing me everytime she get the chance to. My friends are well aware of my uality but that doesn't mean there is something going on with what I did earlier noh!



"Sige lakasan mo pa boses mo nang marinig ng mga tao!" Tumawa naman ito jusko lang.



"Beh naman