458: Chapter 511 Patience

Everyone was still immersed in the hilarity of the word "hacker." Kim Minjeong was hunched over the table, her shoulders shaking, while Karina covered her face, tears of laughter welling in the corners of her eyes. Even Uchinaga Eri curved her lips, taking several sips of her now-cold Americano. Ningning herself was relatively calm, though her ears were as red as boiled shrimp. Just as the laughter was dying down and some were still wiping away tears, Lee Tima's plastic prosthetic hand remained steadily crossed beneath her nose, gleaming with a cheap yet eerie luster under the beam of light. Her gaze slowly swept across everyone's flushed, laughing faces, and the arc of her mouth opened unhurriedly.

"It seems you all—possess unique talents." The voice was neither high nor low, carrying the certainty of "I am stating a fact." The four of them still had smiles on their faces, but Kim Minjeong caught a glimpse of the light in Lee Tima's eyes out of the corner of her eye. It wasn't her usual "innocent" light; it was the look she only wore before causing trouble, like a cat staring at a mouse. "Well then, let's take a look at how the fans in the livestream are commenting."

Live... livestream? A livestream!!! Kim Minjeong's smile froze on her face. Ningning's mouth morphed from an "emmm" into an 'O' shape. Karina's hand, still covering her mouth, hadn't come down, but her eyes had widened a size larger than before. Uchinaga Eri's coffee cup stopped at her lips, forgotten.

The wall behind Lee Tima slowly opened. It parted from the middle to the sides, the sound very soft, like peeling back a layer of gauze. A massive electronic screen was revealed from behind the wall; it was lit up, the blue-white light reflecting on everyone's faces. The screen displayed a real-time feed of the conference room, with multiple angles—long shots, close-ups, and individual shots of each person. The viewer count in the top right corner was jumping rapidly—500,000. Not 5,000, not 50,000, but 500,000. And that number was rising at a speed visible to the naked eye: 510,000, 520,000, 530,000. The comment section was refreshing frantically, so fast that the characters blurred into a streak of light. The comments surged from the right side of the screen and vanished just as quickly on the left.

[Hahaha, Weapon Master chopping melons and vegetables]

[Karina Kimchi, I laughed until I vomited]

[Language-Bender = Simultaneous Translator, precision strike]

[Winter's beauty, intelligence, cuteness, wit, and coolness—I'm taking it all]

[Hacker Ningning, looking forward to the breakdown]

[My heart ached and I laughed when Giselle said she had no personal charm]

[I must watch this variety show, whoever stops me will have a fight]

[Lee Tima, you are my god]

[SM, take a look at TG's variety show planning]

[aespa's total social death scene—I screen-recorded it]

[Laughed from the first second until now, my face is stiff]

[Rocket Puncher Kimchi Warrior]

[I can imagine the Weapon Master chopping melons and vegetables scene]

[Will the hacker invade the Kwangya system?]

[Looking forward to the Language-Bender translating alien language live]

[500,000 people watching aespa being teased by Lee Tima together]

[My toes are curling so hard I've dug a three-bedroom apartment]

[Ji-min ah, I wanted to cry when I heard your "I will absolutely not admit defeat"—then the Kimchi part made me laugh]

[I'm going to loop the part where Kim Minjeong cracks her knuckles a hundred times]

[Ningning, acting cute while her legs are shaking like that—so cute it hurts]

The comments on the screen kept scrolling rapidly. Kim Minjeong slowly turned her head back from the screen and mouthed "We're done for" to Ningning. Ningning's legs were still shaking, even more violently than before, the tips of her canvas shoes tapping out a clear "tap-tap-tap" sound on the floor. Uchinaga Eri finally put down her coffee cup, the bottom of the cup emitting a soft "tap" as it touched the table.

Lee Tima watched the screen for a moment, then stood up from her chair. She casually placed the plastic prosthetic hand on the table; its five fingers remained in a semi-open posture, like an abandoned alien creature. She straightened her collar, smoothing out the hoodie covered in paint handprints until it looked crisp. She cleared her throat, her voice switching from the low, gravelly "Gendo Ikari" tone back to her own crisp, bright, and slightly solemn tone that suggested "I am about to announce something major."

"I announce—" She raised her voice. "aespa's latest variety show project, 'Black Mamba Invading Kwangya'—officially begins filming! Everyone, please look forward to it!"

The conference room fell silent for a moment. Then, applause broke out. The staff clapped, Kim Minjeong clapped, Ningning clapped, Uchinaga Eri clapped, and Karina clapped. But hidden within that applause was a sense of relief, the feeling of having survived a disaster. No matter what was going to be filmed next, at least this meeting, which had been a total social death from start to finish, was finally over.

The livestream ended. The screen went dark, and the viewer count in the top right corner locked at 630,000. The wall slowly closed, hiding the screen back behind it. The lighting in the conference room switched from "dim" back to "bright." The staff began packing up equipment; some were winding cables, some were turning off cameras, and some were recording notes on their laptops. The four members of aespa remained in their seats; no one moved. Kim Minjeong's gaze fell on the plastic prosthetic hand on the table, its five fingers still half-open.

Lee Tima stood up, walked around the conference table, and went over to Karina. The corners of her mouth curled into a very, very wicked smile. "Ji-min Unnie, come with me."

Karina's body stiffened slightly. Her fingers clenched on her knees, then relaxed. "Where to?" Her voice was a bit hoarse.

Lee Tima didn't answer, just walked toward the door. After two steps, she stopped and turned back to look at Karina. Those amber eyes were bright under the lights, and the smile still played on her lips.

Kim Minjeong sprang up from her chair. "I'm going too!" She was as fast as a spring. "I'm worried about Unnie going alone—" Her gaze darted back and forth between Lee Tima and Karina. "I want to observe too!"

Karina opened her mouth, wanting to say "No need," but looking at Kim Minjeong's "If you don't let me go, I'll cry" eyes, she swallowed those three words. She needed them—not just "needed," but "wanted." After experiencing that meeting which was livestreamed from start to finish, her sense of shame had been ground down to paper-thinness. If she were left alone to face Lee Tima now, she didn't know if she might say something like "Karina-brand Kimchi." She needed Kim Minjeong by her side; she needed Ningning; she needed Uchinaga Eri.

"Okay." Her voice was very soft. Kim Minjeong's eyes lit up. Ningning and Uchinaga Eri exchanged a look and also stood up from their seats. The four of them followed Lee Tima out of the conference room. The lights in the hallway were warm yellow, shining onto the gray carpet. The footsteps were light; no one spoke.

Lee Tima walked at the front, her steps light and brisk, her twin tails swaying behind her head. Karina followed behind her, watching her back. This child, several years younger than them, walked with the posture of a mother hen leading chicks across the road—no, a fox. A knife hidden in a smile.

"Ji-min Unnie." Lee Tima's voice floated back from the front, without her turning around.

"Hm?"

"Have you ever thought about how your 'Rocket Puncher'—should be presented in the variety show?"

Karina's footsteps faltered for a moment, then she continued walking forward. "…No." Her voice was muffled.

Lee Tima chuckled. "I knew it." Her laughter echoed in the hallway. The door was at the end of the corridor, dark-colored and wooden, with a small Lemm charm hanging on the doorknob. Lee Tima pushed the door open and stepped aside to make room. "Please, come in."

Karina took a deep breath and stepped inside. Kim Minjeong followed behind, then Ningning behind Kim Minjeong, and Uchinaga Eri walked last. The door closed. The "thud" was very soft, and the hallway returned to silence. The streetlamp was still on, its orange light shining through the glass, painting a small oval halo of light on the gray carpet. That beam of light moved slowly.

On the top floor of TG Entertainment, the moment the elevator doors opened, a crisp, sweet herbal fragrance surged over them like a tide. It wasn't a pungent medicinal smell, but a scent of mint, rosemary, angelica, licorice, and dozens of other herbs whose names they couldn't identify, all mixed together. It felt like walking into the early morning of a deep mountain.

Kim Minjeong was the first to rush out. Her canvas shoes stepped on the floor of the glass greenhouse, emitting a light "tap-tap" sound. She was like a little bird released from a cage, spinning around the paths of the herb garden several times before stopping to look up at the transparent glass dome overhead. The sky was gray, the clouds thick, but the glass filtered the daylight into a gentle, non-glaring grayish-white. Her mouth was slightly agape.

Ningning followed behind her, her gaze sweeping over the rows of neat herbs—the leaves of those plants were hung with fine water droplets, gleaming slightly under the lights. She recognized mint, basil, and rosemary, but didn't know the others. She crouched down to get close to a plant with small purple flowers; the fresh fragrance drifted into her nostrils, and she felt as if her whole being had been cleansed by something. Uchinaga Eri didn't run around like Kim Minjeong, nor did she crouch down to smell the flowers like Ningning. She stood in place, her gaze sweeping from one end of the herb garden to the other, from the row of neat herb racks to the stone lantern in the corner, from the floor lamp that was still on to the wooden bed where Jiang Zhiyu usually meditated. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were shining.

Karina followed in last. As soon as her heel stepped into the herb garden, that crisp herbal fragrance drifted into her nostrils. This scent was too familiar; she smelled it every time she was in close contact with Jiang Zhiyu. She had always thought it was perfume, laundry detergent, or some indescribable scent that belonged to Jiang Zhiyu.

"This is Oppa's secret base. It's also where we will be filming later—" Lee Tima turned around, smiling, with her hands behind her back. "The filming location for 'Karina Kimchi.'" The corners of her mouth curled into a wide arc.

The moment those four words "Karina Kimchi" landed in the herb garden, the mint leaves trembled slightly in the breeze.

Karina froze. She was still immersed in the shock that "the top floor of a modern corporate building in bustling Seoul is actually a vegetable patch." Her gaze shifted from the glass dome overhead to the stone path beneath her feet, from the stone path to the rows of neat herbs, from the herbs to the bronze floor lamp—for those few seconds, her brain completely lacked the capacity to process the four words "Karina Kimchi." She reached out, running her right hand through her hair, scratching from her forehead toward the back of her head. The movement was slow, her hair becoming somewhat messy, a few strands falling over her forehead. Then she let out a sound—

"Eh?" The voice was light and airy, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes blinking.

Kim Minjeong doubled over with laughter, her hands resting on her knees, her shoulders shaking violently. "Unnie—you—didn't you hear—Karina Kimchi—hahaha—" Her voice was intermittent. Ningning laughed too, a crisp, bright sound, leaning against the herb rack, nearly knocking over a pot of mint. Uchinaga Eri didn't cover her mouth; her lips curved into a distinct arc, and her calm eyes were now filled with amusement. Karina really hadn't heard clearly. She had only caught the words "filming location" and something that sounded like her own name. Her brain was still stuck on the cognitive shock of "there's actually a vegetable patch on the top floor of a city center building."

"Karina Unnie—" Lee Tima cleared her throat and said, enunciating every word. "Later, Karina Unnie will dress up as Kimchi. And dance Next Level right here."

Kim Minjeong collapsed on the floor laughing. She lay on the floor, her hands covering her face, laughter leaking through her fingers. Her legs were still kicking slightly, like a puppy whose belly had been tickled. The soles of her canvas shoes were facing upward, shining brightly under the lights.

"Kimchi Ji-min!" Ningning yelled while laughing, the sound echoing throughout the herb garden.

"Unnie! Hahaha—Kimchi Ji-min!" She also crouched down, clutching her stomach, forehead resting on her knees, her shoulders shaking.

Uchinaga Eri finally couldn't hold it back anymore; laughter spilled from her lips.

It wasn't loud, but the sense of relief—the "I really can't hold it in anymore" feeling—made it more infectious than anyone else's laughter.

She covered her mouth with the back of her hand, but the laughter still leaked out between her fingers.

Karina's expression went through a complete transformation in those few seconds.

From "dumbfounded"—eyes wide, pupils unfocused, mouth slightly agape—to "puzzled"—brows furrowed, pupils contracted, mouth shape changing from an 'O' to a question mark—and finally to "pupil quake"—pupils first dilating, then violently contracting.

Finally, the redness began to spread upward from the base of her neck.

Her ears turned red, her cheeks flushed, and even the tip of her nose was tinged with a faint pink.

"Kimchi Ji-min?! Lee Tima!!!"

She rushed in front of Lee Tima, reached out to grab the collar of Lee Tima's hoodie, and pulled her face close to her own.

The distance between their faces was less than twenty centimeters.

Lee Tima's nose was pointed at Karina's nose, and Lee Tima's eyes were locked with Karina's.

Karina could see her own face reflected in Lee Tima's pupils—a face as red as a ripe tomato.

She reached out with her other hand, grabbed Lee Tima's cheeks with both hands, and began rubbing them up and down.

The flesh of Lee Tima's cheeks was squeezed into various shapes between her fingers.

Lee Tima didn't dodge or resist, letting Karina rub away, the "I did this on purpose" curve of her lips never fading.

Karina's fingers paused for a moment.

It felt really good—soft and smooth, like freshly cooked rice cake.

The moment this thought popped into her mind, she felt as if she had been electrocuted.

No! Now is not the time to be thinking about this! She cursed herself internally.

Her fingers squeezed harder.

"Lee Tima! What is the meaning of this! Is having a 'Pig 51' not enough for you?" Her voice was hurried and angry.

Ningning's laughter drifted over from the side.

"Unnie, there's a dish from my hometown—called pork and sauerkraut—" Her tone was that of someone "earnestly recommending a delicacy."

Karina whipped her head around and glared fiercely at Ningning.

If that gaze could be materialized, it would probably be a cold, glinting knife.

Ningning shrank her neck, "Unnie, I was wrong" silently forming on her lips.

"Ningning! Whose side are you on anyway!" Karina's voice rose by half a pitch.

Lee Tima, with her face being pinched, had her mouth squeezed into an 'O' shape.

Her voice squeezed out, muffled from behind her pinched cheeks, "Pork and sauerkraut—tastes good—" The tone carried a "I'm not afraid of death" sense of calm.

Karina's grip tightened a few degrees more.

Lee Tima's cheeks were kneaded into various shapes between her fingers, yet the curve of her lips remained.

The crisp scent of medicinal herbs in the garden, the fresh aroma of mint, the richness of rosemary, mixed with the faint perfume on Karina, and the smell of laundry detergent on Lee Tima's hoodie—all blended into a scent that belonged solely to this evening.

Kim Minjeong climbed up from the ground.

Her eyes were red, and the tears from laughing hadn't dried yet.

She looked at the hands Karina was using to pinch Lee Tima's face, the knuckles white from the force.

She noticed that the rhythm of Karina's kneading had changed from "angry" to "enjoying it."

She opened her mouth, wanting to say "Unnie, you seem to be enjoying the kneading," but the thought crossed her mind, and she swallowed it back.

Ningning was still laughing, but the laughter had quieted down significantly.

Uchinaga Eri leaned against the herb rack, a mint leaf appearing in her hand at some point, its edges being gently twisted between her fingers.

Her gaze fell on Karina and Lee Tima.

The last glimmer of the setting sun leaked in through the gaps in the glass dome, casting a thin layer of gold over the two of them.

Karina's hair shimmered with a chestnut luster in the light, and Lee Tima's cheeks were flushed red from being pinched.

The medicinal herbs in the garden were still swaying gently in the wind.

Their shadows were stretched long, very long.

——

The moment the video was sent, the SM Entertainment publicity department office felt like someone had flipped a switch.

Not a switch for silence, but a switch for explosive laughter.

A male employee wearing black-rimmed glasses was the first to see the message.

He clicked on the video, and in the frame, Karina was wearing that green and white kimchi doll costume, with tiny red fragments dotting the cabbage leaves, striking the starting pose of Next Level in the herb garden on the top floor of TG Entertainment.

His mouth fell open, his coffee cup held to his lips forgotten, and then a "Pfft—" exploded from his throat, coffee spilling from the corners of his mouth and dripping down his chin.

He didn't wipe it off.

The female colleague next to him leaned over.

Seeing the kimchi dancing Next Level on the screen, her mouth changed from an 'O' to a '□', and laughter spilled from her, sharp and crisp.

The department head walked out of the office, holding the document that hadn't been signed yet, frowning as he looked at his subordinates sprawling around the office.

Just as he was about to reprimand them, his gaze fell on the screen.

Karina was raising her arms, the cabbage leaf cuffs opening with the movement, revealing her fair wrists inside.

That kimchi was performing one standard dance move after another under the sunlight, with an expression of "I am very serious."

The supervisor's mouth twitched, the file slipped from his hand, and the pages scattered in the air; he didn't go to pick them up.

The video was quickly uploaded to all of aespa's external promotional social media accounts.

YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter—the comment sections of every platform were exploding at a visible speed.

"Karina, you have days like this too, hahahaha!"

"From Pig 51 to Kimchi Ji-min, the laughter from Winter and Ningning is so infectious."

"Kim Minjeong, laugh quieter! I got kicked out of the library for watching this video!"

"Kimchi permanent skin, I suggest SM Entertainment releases merchandise, I will buy it all!"

"Karina's expression management is truly an idol textbook; to be able to dance so seriously while wearing a kimchi costume, so professional."

The sunset in the herb garden had sunk to the edge of the glass dome, and the last gleam of orange-red light shone in obliquely.

Karina was lying on the single bed that originally belonged to Jiang Zhiyu, the herb garden lights spilling down from above, casting a thin layer of warm yellow on her face.

She hadn't taken off the kimchi doll costume yet, the cabbage leaf hem hanging off the edge of the bed, red fragments dotted on the green leaves.

Her gaze fell on the glass dome above her, the sky turning from orange-red to gray-blue, not a single star visible.

Her mouth opened slightly, and she sighed silently.

The ellipsis of "Why am I here," "Why am I dancing in a kimchi costume," and "Why has my life turned out like this" drifted from her lips, dissipating into the crisp herbal scent of the garden.

Kim Minjeong and the other two gathered around Lee Tima's phone, four heads squeezed together.

The video of Karina dancing Next Level just now was playing on loop on the screen.

Kim Minjeong used two fingers to zoom in on the image, freezing it on a close-up of one of Karina's expressions.

"Unnie, this one can be made into a meme, with the caption—'The Kimchi's Contempt.'"

Ningning leaned in closer, staring unblinkingly at the red fragments on the cabbage leaf on the screen.

"This expression of Karina Unnie can be made into a permanent skin."

Uchinaga Eri didn't speak; she just swiped her finger across the screen, dragging the video progress bar back to the beginning, and watched it again.

A new meme popped into Kim Minjeong's mind— "Ji-min ah, your kimchi outfit is going to become a classic skin; from now on, every time aespa has a comeback, you have to wear this and dance."

Her voice was crisp and bright.

The veins on Karina's forehead popped out.

That vein throbbed near her temple, like a river slowly swelling.

"Yah! Can we go back now!" Her voice was hurried and sharp.

Lee Tima ran over from between the three of them, her steps light, her twin tails swaying behind her head.

She crouched by Karina's bed, a "I'm here to help" smile hanging on the corners of her mouth.

"No problem, Unnie, I'll help you take it off."

Karina raised an eyebrow and sat up from the bed.

The hem of the kimchi doll costume bunched up at the edge of the bed, the cabbage leaf cuffs rustling with her movements.

She looked at Lee Tima suspiciously; on that face, the curve of her lips made it impossible to tell if she really wanted to help or if she was looking to cause trouble again.

Her gaze shifted from Lee Tima's face to Uchinaga Eri.

Among the few of them, she felt more at ease with Eri.

Eri wouldn't cause trouble, wouldn't take secret photos, and wouldn't press the shutter at a critical moment.

Just as she was about to call out, "Eri, come over and help me," Lee Tima's hand reached behind her back.

Her fingers pinched the zipper pull on the back of the doll costume, her thumb and index finger applying slight pressure.

"Snap—" The sound was crisp and short, like a small pebble tossed into a lake.

In the quiet air of the herb garden, that "snap" sounded like a thunderclap.

Karina turned around stiffly, her gaze falling on that small, fair hand.

Lee Tima's nails were neatly trimmed, the tips tinged with a faint pink.

Resting quietly on that fair hand was a brass-colored zipper pull, shimmering slightly in the afterglow of the sunset.

The broken edge of the zipper pull was jagged, as if it had been forcefully snapped off by something.

Karina opened her mouth, feeling completely drained.

The air escaped from her chest like a punctured balloon, and she went from "tense" to "limp."

"Lee Tima... you..." Her voice squeezed out from deep in her throat.

Lee Tima's expression was one of surprise, her eyebrows slightly raised, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape.

"Ah—I'm sorry, Unnie!" The tone carried a hint of "I really didn't mean it" innocence.

"I think I used too much force? Or maybe the quality of the clothes is too poor."

She paused, tilted her head, and thought for a moment, "Wearing this outfit back to SM Entertainment... should be fine, right?"

Kim Minjeong laughed like crazy.

She leaned against the herb rack, hands clutching her stomach, her body sliding down, almost hitting the floor.

Ningning covered her mouth, but the laughter still leaked out between her fingers.

"Unnie... Unnie's kimchi outfit is going to... going to become a permanent skin, hahahaha—"

Uchinaga Eri didn't cover her mouth; she laughed, and the laughter spilled from her lips.

Karina looked at the kimchi doll costume on the bed that she couldn't take off, looking at that cabbage leaf shimmering slightly in the light.

She recalled an hour ago, when Lee Tima said, "Ji-min Unnie, come with me"; she recalled the shock of arriving at the herb garden and seeing this "vegetable patch"; she recalled the whole process of putting on this doll costume and dancing Next Level in front of the camera.

She recalled that at this moment, she was wearing a kimchi doll costume she couldn't take off, sitting in the herb garden on the top floor of TG Entertainment, and tomorrow she had to go back to SM Entertainment for a meeting, and she had to pass by that entrance packed with fans and reporters.

"Lee Tima—" Her voice was calm.

Lee Tima shrank her neck, "Ne?"

"Come here."

Lee Tima took a step back, "Unnie, calm down—"

Karina stood up from the bed.

The cabbage leaf hem slid off the edge of the bed, the red fragments shimmering in the light.

Kim Minjeong's laughter paused, Ningning's mouth changed from "laughing" to "ah," and Uchinaga Eri's expression changed from "laughing" to "watching the show."

Lee Tima retreated to the side of the herb rack, her back pressing against the edge of a mint pot.

Karina walked toward her, that cabbage leaf swaying gently behind her.

The lights in the herb garden were warm yellow, shining on everyone's faces.

The sunset had completely sunk, and outside the glass dome was the deep blue night sky.

Stars lit up one by one.