Lethal Affection | Noah Sebastian x Karina Aespa | (crossover)

Part 18

The strong jolt from the plane's landing abruptly woke Karina from her deep sleep. Despite the harsh touchdown, the plane had landed safely.

"The weather report said it would be extremely windy today," Yeon-hee remarked with a hint of disappointment as she peered out the window. "I wonder if we'll still be able to stop and buy some pie."

"You can find plenty of good pies in Korea too," Karina replied lazily, still groggy from her interrupted sleep.

Yeon-hee snorted. "You used to get so excited about trying new foods when we traveled. You've changed."

"I'm on a strict diet, I can't indulge right now," Karina said, leaning back in her seat.

"You've lost 7kg already. It's time to stop—your bones are showing!" Yeon-hee exclaimed with concern.

Karina ignored her, closing her eyes again. The sleeping pill she had taken before boarding was still in full effect, making her head feel heavy.

Once they had cleared the immigration process, Yeon-hee quickly went to fetch their luggage while Karina searched for a bench to rest on. She desperately needed a strong coffee to shake off the drowsiness and hoped Yeon-hee wouldn't take too long.

A few minutes later, Yeon-hee appeared, pushing a trolley piled high with suitcases. "Thank goodness, our luggage came out early! Let's go!" she exclaimed, her face flushed with relief.

Karina always felt a sense of guilt when Yeon-hee had to handle the luggage by herself during their travels. It was part of Yeon-hee's job, and company policy strictly prohibited Karina from assisting. Occasionally, when extra male staff accompanied them, Yeon-hee only had to manage immigration while the male staff took care of the heavy lifting. However, for this trip, the company deemed it sufficient to send Yeon-hee alone to accompany Karina.

"You want coffee?" Yeon-hee offered, noticing the driver who was supposed to pick them up was running late but promised to arrive in 10 minutes.

"Yes, please," Karina replied. "Iced Americano, triple shot."

Yeon-hee stared at her in disbelief. "You need to apologize to your body," she said, shaking her head before walking away, leaving Karina with the luggage.

The wind tousled Karina's loose hair, but she didn't bother to fix it. She stood silently, like a statue guarding the luggage, her expression unreadable behind her sunglasses.

'The one who has to apologize is Noah, even though the assault wasn't his fault.'

Karina's inner voice kept insisting this, creating a conflict within her. It felt like she had two personalities battling inside her head. One part of her, logical and rational, strongly denied blaming Noah. After all, he wasn't directly responsible for his fans' actions. But the other part, wounded and resentful, kept reminding her of the brutal reality she had faced.

'Your broken bones were because his fans kicked you everywhere,' the accusatory voice echoed, bringing back painful memories. She remembered the chaos, the fear, and the physical pain she endured because of their obsessive behavior.

Despite trying to maintain her composure, the internal struggle was evident in her tense posture and distant gaze. She stood there, guarding the luggage, her thoughts in turmoil behind the mask of her sunglasses.

Karina gritted her teeth, increasingly annoyed by the relentless inner voice. The constant accusations were becoming unbearable, echoing in her mind and disrupting her fragile peace.

PLAK!

A hard slap landed on her right cheek, causing her sunglasses to slip down to her mouth. The sudden, sharp pain was a shock, but it also served as a desperate attempt to silence the tormenting voice.