Chapter Fourteen: The Emotionless Warrior of the Wasteland

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“This is madness, Ryu Ran. You can’t imagine how I felt when I saw that ranking.”
In a secluded property in Seoul, Lin Yinglu was holding the girl’s small hand, chatting incessantly about her recent feelings.
Because of that bet, she had been closely following Lin Shouxia’s recent achievements. When she saw his position on Melon’s daily chart, she was overjoyed.
Though she didn’t approve of Lin Shouxia abandoning everything to chase his dreams, he was her own brother after all. Seeing him accomplish something brought happiness to her heart as a sister.
Others only cared whether Lin Shouxia was living in glory; only close family worried if he was exhausted or suffering.
“I know,” Kim Ryu Ran said, a smile gracing her pretty face as well.
Yesterday, she had mobilized the team members to stream Lin Shouxia’s music on Melon. Two childhood friends sharing the same dream could truly understand each other’s hardships.
Triples consisted of 24 members, yet the company’s resources were pitifully scarce. They were both teammates and rivals, so she deeply understood Lin Shouxia’s recent predicament.
She waited until late at night, until Melon released the previous day’s streaming data. Only after seeing the ranking that excited everyone did she feel at ease and plan to sleep.
But after the excitement, how many could truly fall asleep peacefully?
She curled up alone on the narrow bed, looking at Lin Shouxia’s first-day results, then glancing at a photo of them together before he left to study abroad.
Shouxia had sacrificed much on this journey to chase his dream; his personality seemed to have changed quite a bit.
Yet… Shouxia must still care about her.
Otherwise, how could she have received a dinner invitation from Lin Yinglu so early in the morning?
“By the way, where is Shouxia?”
“Did he… not come home today?” After exchanging their earlier joy with Lin Yinglu, the girl gradually calmed down and noticed something was off.
Lin’s parents had probably gone out on purpose, fearing they might disturb the young people’s mood.
But where was the protagonist of the day?
That super rookie, so widely depicted by the media, where had he gone?
“There’s another guest coming; I asked him to go pick them up.”
Lin Yinglu’s tone seemed nonchalant, but only she knew how much she wanted to show off this brother in front of Ryu Ji-min.
A solo debut with such an extraordinary achievement—she wished the whole world would know her Shouxia.
In the chilly Seoul weather, Lin Shouxia finally met Lin Yinglu’s guest, a senior artist wearing the same style of baseball cap as him.
Or rather… according to her wishes, he should call her “nuna.”
“Nuna…”
The man sniffed, his face slightly flushed. He still wasn’t used to addressing someone he wasn’t very familiar with in such an intimate way.

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Unlike him, the youngest daughter of the Ryu family was an outgoing girl. She casually removed the cap from his head and ruffled the man’s freshly styled hair.
“You know, Yinglu isn’t very tall either. What’s the point of you being so tall?”
Ryu Ji-min clapped her hands, putting down her tiptoes, unable to resist teasing him.
Having been the youngest daughter at home and the caretaker and guide for her younger dorm mates, she had always wanted a well-behaved and sensible little brother.
Lin Shouxia happened to meet all her requirements perfectly.
“She was always quite short.”
“Aren’t you afraid she’ll beat you up when she finds out?”
“Hmm, we’ll see when she can catch me.”
After his remarkable debut, Lin Shouxia was clearly happy, even teasing the little short sister harshly in front of Ryu Ji-min.
The name Lin Yinglu carried an intimidating weight for him; fear of his sister was ingrained in his blood.
But if Yinglu wasn’t around, he could regain a little control of the situation. When she wasn’t there, why not take the opportunity to tease her?
Ryu Ji-min imagined Yinglu’s furious and helpless reaction and licked her lips, laughing out loud.
“Nuna, what are you laughing at?”
“You and your brother are really interesting, honestly.”
“Really?” The man scratched his head, unable to understand the girl’s line of thinking.
Is the female team leader in your company always so different in her thought process?
This sense of humor… it’s really strange.
But thinking of that stubbornness in how someone insisted on being called “nuna,” Lin Shouxia relaxed.
A senior who forced others to call her “nuna” wasn’t exactly normal in the head, so it wasn’t surprising.
The man exhaled deeply, then couldn’t help but laugh as well.
His laughter grew more relaxed and uninhibited until people nearby began to notice them. Only then did he suppress his smile and, taking Ji-min nuna, head off.
“Actually, when I first met you, I felt you shouldn’t wear such a serious face. You should smile more.”
“Young man, your career is just starting. Why always look so grim?”
“I obviously have my reasons not to smile.”
Lin Shouxia didn’t want to be an entertainer; appearing in public, he usually wore a cold expression that made him seem unapproachable.
“What reasons could you possibly have?” Ryu Ji-min shook her head and pursed her lips.

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Clearly, his mind was still that of a child—immature—but he put on a cold façade, practicing a stern expression. Didn’t Loen specifically teach expression management?
If anyone was truly wistful, it was probably her.
Internal company strife had left aespa, an innocent group, caught in the crossfire as casualties of the conflict.
First the new album flopped, then came a blank period lasting half a year—no promotions, no resources, no appearances.
In 2022, hailed as the golden age of girl groups, Ryu Ji-min and aespa seemed forgotten by K-pop, relegated to the dustbin of history.
Ryu Ji-min was not someone to accept the status quo.
Yet the current situation forced her to bow her head.
The year-end music festival…
Though the liveliest event in the K-pop world, they might not even get the chance to participate.
She didn’t know what the final outcome of the company’s infighting would be.
Nor was she sure what fate awaited the girl group built by Lee Soo-man after he was ousted from the company.
She was confused and saddened.
But she was Ryu Ji-min.
Leader of aespa, and the caretaker of those girls.
She clearly understood how her emotions affected her still-maturing teammates, and like Lin Shouxia, she believed aespa would make a stunning comeback to reclaim their place in the new generation’s girl group competition.
“Nuna, are you sad?”
“I’m not you—I’m an emotionless wild warrior!”
“But Nuna’s expression looks like she’s about to cry.”
“Ah!”
The girl shot a dissatisfied glare at the man beside her, then quickly composed herself and stretched widely toward the warm winter sun.
“I’m not sad.”
I… am truly very sad.
She pursed her lips and looked up at the warm sunlight of winter. The blazing light made her squint slightly.
Very sad… but she didn’t know who to confide her pain to.