Riptide

4: Flaming Hot Cheetos

Five months ago, in Seoul

Karina's phone chimed, interrupting whatever yoga pose she was attempting.

📷 Instagram: notningning just posted a photo.

She turned on Instagram notifications for her cousin after they left South Korea. Their falling out due to cutting things off with Winter dragged on for years. Despite Karina's attempts to reach out, Ning remained unresponsive. Initially unsure of where they went, Karina found solace in Ning's online updates, easing some guilt after what happened.

"Rina?" A knock on the door accompanied by a guy peering into her yoga session disrupted the tranquility.

"Excuse me, you are not allowed inside this room!" Her instructor promptly closed the door.

"Who the hell was that?" Karina questioned, bewildered by the intrusion and the use of the name 'Rina.' She didn't appreciate it.

"I have no idea. Probably some unhinged fan who sneaked inside. Call your manager, now," demanded the instructor.

Karina quickly dialed Jisoo's number.

"That was Mr. Park. Didn't you read the email I forwarded?!" Jisoo scolded her during lunch after yoga.

"I'm busy, that's why I have you. To read my emails," came Karina's curt response. "And I don't care who he is. He cannot barge in during my yoga classes."

"I'm sorry, I'll have a talk with him. You got the part, by the way."

"Which one?"

"The surfer biopic short series. We auditioned for that a few months ago."

"Oh," Karina responded halfheartedly. She wasn't genuinely excited about this. The audition was a result of her mom's insistence, and with the movie produced by a close family friend, Mr. Park, she knew she'd be chosen. She does not care about being called a nepo baby. Karina's stance regarding that is either you whine about it every day or embrace it and do good. She prefers the latter.

Her problem with this project was her mom micromanaging her career.

"What do you mean, 'Oh'? Aren't you excited? I thought dating that surfer was you preparing for the role."

Karina remained unfazed, continuing to eat her lunch.

"What was her name? Ryujin?" Jisoo continued. "Just make sure she isn't one of those lunatics you dated. You're like a magnet for crazy people, y'know?"

"Can we finish up and go?" Karina ignored her manager's hounding.

"Oh, and the production team is currently scouting for locations. They can't film on any of the beaches here because of some oil spill thing. They mentioned Bali, Hawaii, Fiji, Siargao—"

"Siargao, like the Philippines?" Karina looked up this time.

"I don't know, I'm not a geography expert. Why?" Jisoo replied, scanning the details on her phone.

"No reason." Karina responded. She immediately opened Ning's Instagram posts and scrolled through. She definitely knew where they were. She was there once.

She could say she's probably moved on. A bunch of stuff has gone down in her life; she's juggling tons of projects, and she did get the fame and career she aimed for. But every now and then, like really, really rare moments, she catches herself thinking about Winter and quietly wishes she knew what the other girl was up to.