aespa imagines

karina | thunderstom

genre ; fluff
note ; this oneshot have been collecting dust in my drafts and i finally decided to finish it and post them TT

you looked out the window. the sky was tar-black and the large clouds were moving towards you. you heard a tapping on the window and then it became a pitter-patter. you look at the people outside of the building that are running for cover outside and umbrellas were opened as the clouds spat out their beads of water. puddles began to form as the rainfall became heavier.

you sighed as you fixed your attention back to your computer, looking at the song drafts that you never got to finish. the longer you stare at it the more your ideas drained. you picked up the pen, and put it back down again.

nothing seems to be popping up in your head for the past few minutes. feeling unmotivated, you grabbed your phone and went on twitter. the bird app never failed to make you feel entertained, there are just too much dumb things on that app that makes you either laugh or feel disgusted.

as you scroll down, a picture of screenshots fan took of aespa during their instagram live a couple of days ago popped up. you envy how they got to spend their time and talk to ther fans meanwhile you were stuck in the basement, forced to compose songs and practice. though being under the same company, it really is obvious who the CEO favours. but again, you don't have the rights to complain as you are just a trainee. you don't even have a fan, yeah maybe one or two which are your parents that are supporting you but that's not the point.

you watched the clips posted by the fans on twitter,  one of them is a clip of karina playing around with ningning, whispering some words before starting to act out what you assume were asmr thingy. you didn't realise she had this side of her. everytime you meet the girls at the company she either would be on her phone or talking with the other members. sometimes you greeted her but the gaze she gave you felt somewhat scary, like she was about to kill you with her gaze. you dont even remember the last time you looked at her face properly instead of her side profile. so cold.

you glanced at the clock, and your time to use the room was already up.

"fuck another day wasted" you cursed under your breath now that you realised your time to use the studio is already up. you pack up your things and made sure you didnt leave any belongings behind. the sound of the lightning lowkey scares you, and the flash of light caused by the lightning never fails to make you feel a little bit scared. you made your way out of your studio, passing by the others that are used by other trainees and artist.

you walk pass by the dance practice and notice a dim light through the glass door. out of curiosity, you walk closer to the door, peeping inside wondering who is using the room, but you saw no one.

you shrugged it off and was about to walk away when you see a figure, crouching while covering their ears. you took a step back and made sure you saw it right.  you knocked on the door, and twisted the doorknob before entering the room.

"hello?"

your voice echoed through the spacious dance room. the person didnt respond and kept on covering their ears. you walk towards the figure, and that is when you figured out that the person was your labelmate, yu jimin. you timidly reach out to touch her shoulder before shaking it lightly. to your surprise, she immediately look up, tears rolling down her face, eyes bloody red as her whole body shook.

"oh my god a-are you okay?" you sat down, karina shook her head and wiped her tears. avoiding your eyes, embarassed that you found her crying in the practice room looking like a wreck.

"i'm sorry" she said before hugging you very very tight. you froze, taken aback by the sudden hug. you didn't know what to do.

"i'm scared of thunders" she whispered. her body trembling, you then decided to wrap your arms around her body and calm her down. at first, it was so awkward, very awkward you swear you could die from the awkwardness. your knees are starting to hurt so you sat on your bum, as karina immediately snuggled into your arms in fear of the lighting that was so loud. you could feel her body tensing up at the awkwardness but as time goes by, she starts calming down, and the hug stays. she rests her head on your shoulder as she held on to you.

both of you stayed like that for around 10 minutes, nothing else said other than "it's okay, im here" coming out from your mouth repeatedly as you pat her back gently.

"i must've suprised you" karina whispered.

"no, it's okay. i mean, it did shock me but it's okay" you whispered back. now that you're alone together with her she isn't as cold as you thought she would be. she's more like, a kid. suddenly, karina broke the hug as she avoid eye contact with you, letting out awkward chuckles.

"im sorry. yo-you should get going i must've disturbed your schedule or whatever plans you had coming up" she whispered. wiping the tears stained on her cheek as she showed a weak smile.

"it's fine, i'll stay here until you feel better" you said in a low voice, a blush was painted lightly on karina's cheek but thanks to the dim room, you probably did not notice it. the storm became lighter, karina has also calmed down. without realising, your eyes has been adoring karina's face for the past few seconds.

suddenly, she giggled. you came back to your senses and looked at her with a confused smile, raising your brow. karina shook her head.

"i find it funny how this is our first interaction. im sorry i havent properly greeted you" karina chuckled. you laugh at her statement. well, she's not wrong. it is kinda weird that two strangers were hugging each other in a dim room as the other one is crying on their first meeting. well, technically not the very first time meeting but with just the both of you in the same room, it is the first.

"it's okay" you smiled. karina got up and reached her hand out in front of you

"hm?" you looked up to her, she shook her hand gently signalling you to grab it, so you did as she pulled you up. now that you're standing in front of her, she's much more smaller than you imagined. seeing her with her members, she was one of the tallest one so it kind of shocked you how the top of her head is slightly lower than your eyebrow.

"do you like corndogs?" she asks, what a weird question to ask, you nodded in confusion.

"i should treat you something, to thank you for helping me" she said as she walk away to grab her bag, throwing it over her shoulder. how can she be so cute and cool at the same time? you asked yourself.

"i would really love to but i have to go to right now" you pouted as you glance at your watch and then back to her . karina hummed in response, she then slip her hand in her pocket and fished her phone out tapping in her password and some other thing before suddenly giving it to you

"give me your phone number" she said with a smile, you almost choked on your own saliva. karina? wants my phone number??

"w-what"

"so that we can go out and grab something together when you're finally free? you don't want that?" karina pouted as she slowly pull her hand away from you. you gently grab her wrist, stopping her. you flashed a smile before tapping in your phone number. you gave karina her phone back, she smiled when she saw that you have saved your contact number as 'sm trainee y/n'

"we need to fix the awkwardness soon, thank you! i'll see you tomorrow" karina laughed as she raised her hand and waved at you before exiting the practice room. she shouted another 'thank you' before vanishing.

karina went into the nearest restroom and as soon as she made sure she was not in your sight, she let out a reliefed sigh. she slowly dialled in giselle's number before bringing her phone up to her ear.

"aeri, it's a long story but i finally got y/n's number" karina said with the biggest smile plastered on her face.

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