With the girls' debut coming up, there was no time for other responsibilities. For the poor Aespa manager, that meant that she had difficulty finding the time to properly tend to Hajoon.

Thankfully, she has a dorm full of caring girls who would do anything to shake their nerves for their upcoming performance. 

 

 

And so, after a difficult and long day of practice, the girls were all holed up in their respective rooms. For Karina, this relaxation time meant a phone call with a certain girl and playtime with her favorite stress relief method. 

 

 

Sprawled out on her bed, Karina lay on her back with Hajoon nestled comfortably on her stomach with her phone pressed against her ear. On speaker. She didn't care at all if Ningning was listening. In fact, maybe it would be beneficial for the other girl to be nosy and involved. 

 

 

"Have you been making any progress in your relationship, unnie?" Lia's voice rang out over the phone. Karina groaned in response to the question. 

 

 

"I mean, kinda? It's hard to tell." Karina answered unsure. She heard a hearty laugh over the phone.

 

 

"You girls are ridiculous, you know that?" 

 

 

A little offended, Karina replied confused. "What do you mean?"

 

 

"I just," The girl paused before taking a breath. "Wow."

 

 

"W-wow what? Tell me already!" 

 

 

"How have you two not confessed to each other already?" Karina choked on air.

 

"We-well..."

 

 

"Oh, save it." Lia interrupted her, her smile could practically be heard through the phone. Lia sighed before continuing, "I feel so bad for Ningning and Aeri. It must be so frustrating for them to see you two go back and forth for nothing."

 

 

"Hey, it's not for nothing!"

 

 

"Really? You just told me that there is 'kinda' progress. That isn't really telling."

 

 

"I'm doing my best, you know. She's just so moody, I can't tell if she's repulsed by me or if she actually likes me back."

 

 

"What 'best'? Maybe she thinks that your attempts at flirting with her aren't genuine."

 

 

"Why would she think that?" Karina took Lia's silence as disbelief.

 

 

"Hello? Are you aware of how you guys treated each other in the past? I mean, I wouldn't know what to think either if the girl I was constantly bickering with all of the sudden flirts with me and sleeps beside me on the couch!"

 

 

"Okay, I see your poi-" Lia interrupted her, again. Her voice was raised as if the two girls' obliviousness and stubbornness were seriously affecting her well-being. 

 

 

"I mean, why were you guys even fighting in the first place? You never told me that. Did she wrong you so badly in the past, or," She gasped. "You wronged her! And now you feel bad about it so you're trying to make it up to her."

 

 

"No! Not at all. I," Karina took a breath. "I haven't told you why because I don't really know either." 

 

 

"Um?"

 

 

"Just let me finish. I don't really know. It just is how we are. Were." She corrected herself. "We're nicer now. I was never serious when I , she's just too cute, you know? She always reacted so honestly to whatever I said or did, I couldn't help it? But she would always get really angry at me, and that made me want to do it even more, I guess. Does that make me a bad person?"

 

 

"Wow. I mean, just wow. So this whole time you've just been toying with the poor girl?" Lia asked in disbelief, almost angry at the other girl for messing with poor Winter.

 

 

"No! There are times when she legitimately does annoy me, so we argue. She always calls me out on my responsibilities and puts me in my place, so it's natural that we would bicker and discuss various things, right?"

 

 

"That's true, I suppose." Lia contemplated before asking the question Karina was sure she did not know the concrete answer to.

 

 

"When did you start liking her then? And why?" 

 

 

———

 

Winter was at a loss for words. She couldn't understand why their leader was so unfocused and dazed during their dance practice. Though it was nothing serious, as even their dance coach did not comment on it, Winter could tell that Karina was out of it. She sighed in frustration as she brainstormed ways to bring this issue up to Karina without upsetting her or causing a scene. 

 

 

Meanwhile, the girl in question wasn't out of it at all. In fact, she was keenly aware of what was around her. More specifically, who was around her. She couldn't help but be distracted at times. After her phone call with Lia, she became quite conscious of the short-haired girl. 

 

 

Instead of practicing her stage presence and eye contact, Karina found herself staring at the other girl. Not out of anger or sternness, but out of pure curiosity.

 

She's beautiful and can dance well, just like the other girls. What makes her special? Karina's cheeks reddened when her staring was finally acknowledged when they made eye contact. I definitely don't get this nervous when I look at Ning or Aeri. 

 

 

After a few more awkward moments between the two, which mostly consisted of eye contact through the m