Chapter 27: What Kind of Ordinary Colleague Calls Someone "Big Sister"?

The backstage area was, after all, a place where many eyes could see. With a crowd of people clogging the entrance to the waiting room, it was hard to go unnoticed. As a knock echoed through the room, Lin Shouxia once again laid eyes on the senior who loved iced Americanos, Karina.

She cleared her throat, cast a sidelong glance at the man standing at the forefront of the crowd, and then led her bandmates in bowing to the seniors at the door.

"So, is this the 'ordinary colleague' our unnie was talking about?"
"Doesn't look particularly ordinary, does he?"

Once the routine greetings were out of the way, the members of ITZY and aespa, who were already quite familiar with one another, dropped their formalities. The most daring of them was Winter, who had been hiding behind her teammates. She looked from Karina, who was pretending not to know the man, to the man himself as he scratched his head in confusion, and began a new round of mischief.

"Hmm?"

Watching the aespa members in their heated discussion and Karina, who was keeping a cold face and acting like a stranger, Lin Shouxia felt a flicker of awkwardness. Just a few days ago in the practice room, he had been wondering if Karina was jealous because of Yuna, and now, he was being told by her own teammates that they were just "ordinary colleagues." It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed. Yet, amidst the disappointment, he wanted to hear from Karina herself how she defined their relationship.

"Shouxia-xi, don't mind your 'ordinary colleague.' Come in and have some tea."

Ningning ignored her pouting leader; if the sky fell, Winter would be there to hold it up. Even if Karina was angry, she would at most be considered an accomplice and wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for her. Seeing the embarrassment on Lin Shouxia's face, she quickly extended a helping hand of friendship.

Ningning still found Karina’s reaction a bit strange. Her leader was always an outgoing person who could become close with strangers in a very short time. The "ordinary colleague" label Karina used felt suspicious, and paired with this strange, deliberately distant attitude... Could it be that Winter was onto something, and as she claimed, there was actually something going on between the two of them?

"Um, actually, I have things to do in a bit."

The man scratched his head sheepishly. He would have loved to stay and chat with the seniors, and perhaps probe into Karina's attitude, but now was truly not the time. He had two stages to rehearse for and two different costumes to change into. The Gayo Daejeon was about to begin, and every practice session had become vital. As a rookie, he didn't want to mess up his first major stage.

"I have rehearsals, and I need to go over the lines and cues with Cha Eun-woo and the other MCs."

Lin Shouxia bit his lip. Only after analyzing it like this did he realize just how busy he was today.

"Aren't you ready yet, Shouxia-xi?"

Taking advantage of the fact that the others' attention was focused on their interaction with ITZY, Karina tugged on Lin Shouxia’s sleeve and guided her "ordinary colleague" to sit on the sofa.

"I still need to confirm the flow with the seniors one last time."

Karina was actually quite looking forward to Lin Shouxia's solo stage. She was familiar with this newcomer to the scene, and she was well aware of his talent and his serious attitude toward music. Standing on such a grand stage for the first time, there was no doubt that Lin Shouxia would add some new creative flair to his debut song, which had already captured so many hearts. She was looking forward to seeing his musical ingenuity. However, once she voiced her thoughts, the meaning shifted entirely.

"Is it that you need to go over the flow with Cha Eun-woo, or are you just hoping to spend more time with Yuna?"
"Nuna, actually, my collaboration with Yuna-sunbae is going quite well."

Lin Shouxia rubbed his hair, feeling a bit embarrassed. As the partner JYP had carefully selected for him, he had to admit that the two of them were exceptionally in sync when it came to capturing the rhythm of the stage.

"Then I suppose my concern was unnecessary."

The girl hummed softly, her tone sounding slightly annoyed. So, Yuna was different, was she? Back when she had collaborated with him, she had been off-key and missed notes. How was it that he had no such issues when he was with Yuna? He didn't even seem anxious about the upcoming duet stage anymore.

"No, no. That's not what I meant."

For no apparent reason, the rookie, who had been relatively relaxed, suddenly felt a surge of psychological pressure. Could this duet stage be cancelled?

"So, is it only when you're working with me that you don't perform well?"

Today, Karina had shed her usual casual look. She wore a white dress, her face adorned with soft makeup that, combined with her carefully applied eye makeup, made her look ethereal—like a fairy who had fallen into the mortal realm—even while sitting in this noisy waiting room. Lin Shouxia couldn't help but steal a few extra glances at her before catching himself, sniffing, and looking straight ahead, trying to remain composed.

"If it weren't for your help, Nuna, my recording with IU-sunbae wouldn't have finished so quickly."

Lin Shouxia tried to use the example of IU to refute what Karina had said. In truth, he was simply prone to nerves and occasionally had moments where he didn't perform at his best. Compared to his usual performance, the strange, effortless chemistry he had with Yuna was what he found most baffling himself.

"So, Yuna-xi is the special one for you?"

Karina looked at him with an expression of sudden realization, her eyes fixed on him in a way that made Lin Shouxia’s skin crawl. He realized he had said the wrong thing. But some things, once you realize you've made a mistake, the best opportunity for a remedy has already passed.

"..."
"Nuna, I..."

The lively waiting room suddenly fell silent. There was a distance between them that was neither near nor far. Lin Shouxia bit his lip, searching for a way to fix the situation, while Karina kept a cold expression, making it impossible to guess her thoughts. The sudden quiet around them amplified the sound of Lin Shouxia’s voice, and realizing this, he immediately shut his mouth. But words were like spilled water; there was no chance to turn back time.

"Nuna?" The Maltese-like Winter clearly sensed the unusual scent in the air. She plopped down between the two, leaning slowly toward her leader’s small face, trying to find some clues. Unfortunately, after years of living together, Winter’s little tricks were long ignored by Karina, and she gained nothing from her inspection.

"Shouxia-xi, can you explain this to me?"

Seeing she couldn't break through the leader’s defenses, Winter immediately turned her sights on Lin Shouxia, hoping for an answer to her confusion. As the girl leaned closer, Lin Shouxia’s expression became increasingly strained. Karina frowned, clearly in a sour mood.

"Winter," she cleared her throat, then spoke again: "Be quiet."