Chapter Thirty: I Am Ignoring You

"Leaving without even saying goodbye? Did Young-ro never teach you to show respect to your seniors?"

"All you ever think about is Shin Yuna. Now you've even followed JYP's car. Don't call me again; you've got Shin Yuna, and that should be enough for you."

The night had grown deep, yet in the aespa dormitory, one light remained on.

Wearing loose-fitting pajamas, Karina was rolling back and forth on her bed, clutching her phone. From time to time, she would mutter to herself, feeling quite sullen.

She had originally assumed that Lin Shou-xia, lacking a manager to pick him up, would leave with their car. Who would have thought that the guy wouldn't even offer a greeting, heading straight to sit beside Bang Chan instead?

No farewell, no hello—he didn't even say a word when he saw her, just kept that dead-eyed, silent look.

What was his deal? Did he dislike seeing her?

If he liked Shin Yuna so much, he should just never come to see her again.

He hadn't even sent a single message after all this time. Had his soul been snatched away?

The girl checked her phone settings, shaking the device around, trying to prove that there was a signal issue. After exhausting every possible technical fault, she seemed to give in to fate. She tossed the phone onto the bed and said indignantly:

"Next time you ask me out, I'm absolutely not going to agree."

But just as she was about to pull the covers up to sleep, the innocent phone, discarded to the side, disrupted the room’s silence.

"At least you have some conscience, knowing to greet me."

The "Mangosteen Queen" threw a few playful punches into the air, twisting that face of hers—which she rarely used properly—as if issuing a warning to the person in her heart.

However, when she picked up the phone and saw the name of the caller, her face immediately fell.

"Yeji? It's so late, what do you need?"

"Um, Shou-xia is drunk. I wanted to ask if you have time to find someone to take him home."

"You're joking, right? He didn't even say hello to me; how would I know where he lives?"

Karina snorted coldly, her fingers pinching the small potted plant in her room, giving it a slight tug. "Isn't Yuna there? They're such good partners—let Yuna take him back to the company."

"Yuna is already asleep."

Hwang Yeji clutched her forehead. Why on earth did she take on this thankless task? She should be sleeping soundly instead of staying up late to mediate this boring situation between Bang Chan’s group and Karina.

"Didn't he go to dinner with you guys?" Karina was quite surprised. In her impression, the ITZY maknae was a very lively girl; there was no reason for her to turn down such a fun occasion.

"It was a Stray Kids dinner. There's no 'us' or 'you' involved—it had nothing to do with us."

Hwang Yeji’s tone grew impatient. She didn't understand why Karina, usually such a straightforward person, was being so difficult today, saying things she couldn't understand.

It was clearly the Stray Kids members who had caused the trouble, so why was it turning into ITZY's responsibility?

As for how close Lin Shou-xia and Yuna were, how would she know? She couldn't have someone watching them during every practice session.

"Are you coming or not? If not, I’ll tell Bang Chan oppa to just leave him at the restaurant."

Hwang Yeji’s patience was wearing thin. She didn't understand why Karina, who could solve this with a single phone call, was hesitating for so long.

"That..."

"Send me the address. I'll figure something out."

After much deliberation, to prevent any accidents, Karina decided to go. She wanted to see if the guy was still conscious and if he could even find his own way home.

If Lin Shou-xia was truly passed out, it seemed she would have to bother her good friend again.

Wait, that wasn't right...

Karina furrowed her brows, noticing something strange.

Lin Young-ro was the guy's biological sister, so why did she feel like she was the one being inconvenienced? It should have been that annoying pair of siblings bothering someone else.

Next time, she would definitely make that guy pay dearly to make up for her lost sleep.

Once she had cleared her thoughts, the girl changed her clothes and snuck out. After a long wait, she finally arrived at her destination.

At the restaurant, only Bang Chan remained to look after the drunk man. He was trying to extract some useful information from the man while hoping that the helper Yeji mentioned would appear soon.

Wishing upon the stars, Bang Chan, who had been staring blankly at the drunkard, finally saw his savior.

But... that silhouette looked so familiar.

Was he seeing things? Or had he met her somewhere before?

"Sorry to trouble you. Shou-xia doesn't seem to be in a good mood; he drank a lot."

"Why did you let him drink?"

Hidden behind a full disguise, Karina's voice was muffled by her mask, making it hard to hear clearly. Bang Chan felt frustrated for a long moment.

"He wanted to drink."

He didn't have the energy to satisfy his curiosity or gossip anymore. He hoisted the limp man up and followed the girl out of the private room. It wasn't until he got him into a taxi that he wiped the sweat from his brow in relief.

"It’s not like I forced him to drink," Bang Chan muttered to himself as he watched the car speed away. "I don't know what she was trying to hold me accountable for..."

"But that voice and that figure—why do they look so much like that leader from SM?"

Overcome by sleepiness, he didn't have time to dwell on it and headed back while yawning. He wasn't worried about Lin Shou-xia’s safety; since it was someone Yeji had called, there was no way they would harm the rookie.

Still, he was curious how a man who had been in such high spirits before going on stage could suddenly become such a mess.

Could it have something to do with the girl who just appeared?

He definitely couldn't bring this guy to dinner again; they didn't always have the time to look after a reckless drunk.

Bang Chan felt there must be a secret between the two who had just left. The man who had been rowdy at the table had instantly turned docile the moment he heard the girl's voice.

Was it his sister? Or... a girl he held in his heart?

Looking at the way things were going between them, they were at least at the "soulmate" level, right?

Sharing the taxi with Lin Shou-xia, Karina was now feeling some regret. She regretted the decision she had made in a moment of heat.

She could have just called Lin Young-ro and had her friend take the guy home. Why did she have to wade into these muddy waters to rescue a man who didn't respect her?