Neither Ningning nor Giselle could pinpoint the exact moment when it turned sour between Winter and Karina.

At first, the uninvolved pair brushed off the pettiness between the two as jealousy. They were idols in training, and the popularity and screentime of each of the members before their grand debut were important.

However, that theory soon proved to be false as their snarkiness and disregard for the other were only present off-screen, away from the watchful gazes of netizens.

"Can you give it a rest, already? We've gone over the whole routine for about what—" A certain short-haired girl paused to check her phone, "Five hours now? We haven't even eaten since this morning."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that your body is so weak that it cannot perform the duty which you very well signed up for." Came the newly blonde girl's reply. "We cannot afford to have our performance stage, our debut stage, to have any flaws." 

"Wha-what flaws?!" Winter was in shock. Yes, she agrees that their stage must be perfect, but in the past two hours, they have managed to completely sharpen their dance moves and synchronization. Mistakes that were made at the beginning of the session were perfectly remedied. Instead of trainees, they performed like seasoned veterans.

When Karina ignored her question and moved to the laptop to restart their song Spicy, Winter turned to the other two girls with a pointed look. "Do you know what's wrong with our dance?" 

Ignoring poor Winter, Ningning and Giselle could only stand with stoic looks on their faces, refusing to acknowledge Winter's questions.

Although the four girls worked as a team and got along due to their shared ages, despite the ongoing dispute between Winter and Karina, they still respected the leader's decisions and would not dare to question her.

"From the top!" 

A loud, exasperated groan left Winter's throat. Without the comfort of her beloved snacks, she could only continue to move her aching limbs as their debut song replayed over and over again. She was powerless when it came to the decisions in their practice sessions. The leader's words were absolute, after all. 

———

Ningning and Giselle engaging in lively conversation with their manager, Winter glaring at Karina, and Karina glaring right back — it was all part of their nightly dinner routine in their dorm. 

Winter, pissed about the seemingly unnecessary long training session, sulked with a glare pointed at the girl who caused her muscles intense stress and pain. Although it was her job to dance and sing on stage, she did not see the benefit in practicing for so long without a break that her legs immediately collapsed the second she set foot in their dorm. 

Karina, on the other hand, seemed unbothered by the attention she was receiving from the other. and gladly returned the glare with equal fire in her eyes.

Their manager seemed to pay no mind to this as she talked freely with Ningning and Giselle. They were clearly her favorites, as they never fought with anyone. Unlike the other two.

"The CEO is coming tomorrow afternoon." Shrieks enveloped the dining room. 

"Already? Why?" Giselle panicked. The CEO was a frightening woman whom they almost never interacted with. What business could she have with them before their debut?

"To evaluate your stage, of course."

"We just learned the choreography yesterday, though? The manager scoffed.

"And that's not enough time? Just today, you had almost six hours to perfect the choreography to a three-minute song. It's not rocket science, is it?"

Karina took offense to this as if Giselle being unconfident in their current choreography was a direct insult to her leadership skills. She tilted her head at Giselle, challenging the Japanese girl's next words.

"It was enough time. Plenty, in fact! I'm just nervous, is all. This is the first time the CEO has seen us perform since our auditions." 

"So, this is the perfect time to impress her! Prove to her that you are worthy idols and she probably won't have to evaluate you ever again!"

"But, what if we mess up? I know the choreography like the back of my mind, but there is this one part during the bridge where I sometimes get confu-"

"Aeri, stop." Karina's firm voice put an end to Giselle's rambling. Giselle nodded and immediately slumped into her seat. The frequent times when Karina opted to use the members' real names instead of their stage names often shook the girls to their core.

"We will be fine. Great, even. We worked very hard these past few days and we are not going to let that go to waste. Right?"

"Riiiiight." Winter broke her silence. "We will be so great despite our poor bodies that the CEO will be just blown away! Oh, I'm sure she will give us her approval after she sees us collapse on the floor from exhaustion! Tell me, do you think she will think the black and blue bruises on my elbows are impressive? Or will she like the cuts on my knees more?" 

"Winter, what are you-" The manager was immediately cut off by Karina's quick reply.

"Those bruises and cuts are signs of your commitment to the success of this group. Instead of worrying about how your weak body will look to the CEO, how about you mind that horrible attitude? Are you a whiny little girl or an idol worthy of her time and money?"

Winter could only huff in frustration. Karina was right. She should not be complaining about the practices, but Karina's righteous demeanor throughout the whole day was causing her to snap. 

"You want to talk about attitude? How about personality? Will the CEO enjoy how you talk and act like a robot? Beep boop, we are Aespa!" Winter mocked their rehearsed introd