NO CHEMISTRY Karina x Male Reader

When South Korea's most acclaimed young actor, Y/N, and the nation's top idol, aespa's Karina, are cast as co-leads in a massive tvN prestige romance drama, the internet collectively loses its mind. To the public, it's a brilliant crossover pairing guaranteed to sweep the ratings. To the production crew, their on-screen chemistry is so intense and visceral that it feels entirely unscripted.

But when the cameras stop rolling, the temperature on set drops to absolute zero.

What the public, the paparazzi, and their own friends don't know is that Y/N and Yoo Jimin share a deeply buried history. Eight years ago, they were inseparable best friends in the quiet suburbs of Bundang-until a single, panicked phone call on the eve of her SM Entertainment audition destroyed everything. He said something unforgivable. She built an empire out of spite. They haven't spoken a single word to each other since.

Now, trapped in a relentless filming schedule that demands whispered confessions, longing gazes, and romantic blocking, they are forced to confront the wreckage of their past. As the undeniable tension between them begins to blur the line between performance and reality, Y/N must figure out how to apologize to a woman who refuses to look at him, and Karina must decide if her eight-year grudge is a shield protecting her heart-or the only thing keeping her from the one person who truly knows her.

They say they have no chemistry. But lying to the cameras is easy; lying to themselves might be impossible.