Chapter Nine: Already Wanting to Take Your Sister Home So Soon?

"So, life as an entertainer isn't as easy as you imagined, is it?"

Karina was sitting by the riverbank, breathing heavily as she tried to regain her strength.

"Yeah, I don't think I've had enough time to adapt to this new identity yet." The man handed her the milk he had just bought, then looked out over the river, appearing lost in his own thoughts.

"That's normal. It took us a long time to get used to the shift in identity when we first debuted."

"You didn't go through those trainee days, so it's only natural that it will take you much more effort to adjust than it did for us."

Karina handed the drink back to the man beside her. She waited until he had pulled the ring tab before taking it back and drinking deeply. Banana-flavored milk had become a massive hit among the youth in Seoul lately.

"I'm sorry, I think I dragged you into this. Because of me, you didn't even get to finish your cake."

"It's just cake. As entertainers, we're supposed to eat less anyway."

The girl shifted her sitting position, leaning back comfortably against the chair. She turned her body cautiously, trying to get a clear look at his expression without drawing his attention.

*Damn it!*

After adjusting her posture several times, she finally managed to see Lin Shou-xia’s face, and she couldn't help but curse under her breath.

Lin Shou-xia wasn't paying her any mind at all. He was staring blankly at the dark blue surface of the river, clearly not focused on their conversation.

"Um..." Karina cleared her throat, breaking the silence under the night sky.

She decided to do something to grab his attention. When someone is under immense pressure, the last thing they should do is be left alone to brood.

"My cake is gone. Don't you think you owe me some kind of compensation?"

"Didn't you just say we should be eating fewer sweets?" Lin Shou-xia found it slightly amusing. She was the one who told him not to take things to heart, and now she was the one asking for compensation.

A woman's heart is as elusive as a needle at the bottom of the sea.

Karina had changed her mind so quickly.

"That was then..."

"I just remembered, I don't think I've had dinner yet." As she said this, the woman felt a little embarrassed.

***

That was just an excuse she had made up on the spot, of course. She couldn't very well tell him the truth—that she had been entrusted by someone else to come and comfort him.

"Then... is there anything you'd like to eat, Senior?" Lin Shou-xia suddenly felt that the woman before him was quite an interesting person.

Her thoughts were so whimsical; you could never guess what she would say next. But then again, that was normal—after spending so much time with someone like Lin Ying-lu, even a normal person would start to sound a bit eccentric, wouldn't they?

"Actually, I was thinking about having some ramen." She winked at him, the corners of her lips curling into a beautiful arc. "But I also feel like having ramen would be letting you off too easily."

Although Karina was the youngest in her family, she was the eldest in her group. She had a mischievous side, but also possessed a keen sense of observation and deep emotional sensitivity.

There were four members in aespa, hailing from three different countries. Everyone had a distinct personality and came from vastly different cultural backgrounds. If she weren't so attentive, it would have been difficult to mold them into a cohesive unit—a group often teased by fans for their internal squabbles while they remained perfectly fine themselves.

"How about... I invite you over to my place for dinner?" Lin Shou-xia thought about it; bringing her home and letting Lin Ying-lu host her seemed like the best solution for him.

"Wanting to bring your sister home so soon?" Karina reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from her forehead, smiling at the man as she nimbly darted aside, burying herself in Lin Shou-xia’s shadow.

"N-no, that’s not it." The man blushed and shook his head vigorously. That was definitely not what he had meant.

At the same time, he noticed the curious gazes of nearby pedestrians. He carefully shielded the girl, pretending not to care as he fiddled with his phone.

Once the people had moved on, the man slowly took a step away, leading the girl into the shade of a more secluded tree.

"Was I recognized just now?"

Lin Shou-xia wasn't stupid. Even though he often felt a bit slow on the uptake, the instincts of an entertainer made him realize something was wrong.

"Maybe." Karina clutched her chest and took a deep breath.

That was a close call. If she had been caught, the internet would have been flooded with topics about her again. It wasn't the first time she had been spotted; after all, she was someone constantly in the public eye. Even with a hat and mask, the risk of being recognized was always there.

But today felt different. She was standing next to a man—a man who was struggling in the same industry as she was.

Realizing that he had instinctively shielded her, she took off her mask and smiled at him.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"I'm an entertainer, and aren't you one too? You were just recognized at the dessert shop—did your heart start racing?"

The girl’s eyes curved into crescents, her face lit with a gentle, friendly smile.

Just like Lin Ying-lu, Lin Shou-xia was kind-hearted to his core, the kind of person worth befriending deeply. It was just that he carried too much weight on his shoulders. Compared to her other friends, he kept too many things hidden, and while she couldn't quite see through him, he piqued her interest deeply.

"Of course I was nervous." Lin Shou-xia laughed, though it sounded a bit unnatural. He touched his forehead, which was covered in a thin layer of cold sweat.

To be honest, someone as oblivious as he was didn't really feel particularly nervous about being recognized by fans. What truly made him nervous was that beautiful woman beside him, and her gentle question about whether he wanted to take her home.

*How can she be like this!*

*Who just asks questions like that out of the blue?*

"You'll get used to it eventually." The girl patted the man’s shoulder, offering advice to her junior like someone who had been there before.

They walked along the riverbank for a while longer. Unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, the girl tilted her head slightly to look at the man beside her. Her beautiful eyes seemed incredibly profound in the darkness, like a cavern holding many secrets.

"Actually, I want to know why you chose to return to the country to pursue your career."

"Because of my career, and of course, to realize my dream of singing."

Lin Shou-xia was actually a very clear-headed person. Staying abroad wouldn't necessarily allow him to realize his self-worth. With the efforts of his predecessors, the influence of K-pop continued to expand, but at the end of the day, it was still a pop culture that only truly received recognition in East Asia.

"Just for the dream?" The girl stared into his eyes, sensing that he was hiding a secret he didn't want to reveal.

"Um..." Lin Shou-xia hesitated for a few seconds, then slowly nodded, his gaze drifting away, avoiding hers.