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“Anything for my favorite. But don’t tell anyone I said that.” He winks at me in the mirror before gesturing for Jeongho to follow. The assistant scurries after David, carrying a bulky bag of styling equipment. The bag bumps against my seat.

My Americano wobbles and I grip it tighter, causing it to spill over onto my sweatpants.

“Sorry!” Jeongho lowers into a deep bow.

I give him a smile. “It’s okay, these sweats are old.”

He bows again as David calls impatiently from the hallway. Jeongho looks back and forth between the spill and the closing door.

“You should go,” I say, adding a kind smile. “I can take care of this.”

“Yes, sorry, okay, thank you.” He scurries out.

I lean back in my chair with a sigh.

This should be a lesson, I tell myself.Not every person is out to get you, Shin Hyeri. Sometimes they’re just going through their own stuff.

“How long until sound check?” I ask Hongjoo.

“Twenty-five. Nope, twenty-three minutes,” she says without even looking up from her phone.

I wonder if that’s enough time for a short nap. It usually takes me a while to actually fall asleep; I’ll probably have to wake up as soon as I do.

“Oh hey, also, I saw your brother—” Hongjoo is cut off by a knock on the door. When she opens it, I hear her say, “Speak of the devil.”

Hyejun saunters in, only wearing ripped jeans and a graphic tee, but I know the outfit probably costs more than my phone. AX1S is the kind of group that gets their casual-wear sent to them by high-end brands. They sell out things almost as quickly as WDB whenever they wear them.

He’s tall and muscular but not bulky. His hair is shaved close on the sides but longer on top right now.

We have similar facial features, an oval face with a pointed chin. A taller nose bridge that all the other trainees used to tell me I was lucky to have. Hyejun’s lips are fuller than mine, but we have the same shape with a pronounced Cupid’s bow. And we both have a single freckle right under our right eye.

He comfortably greets the staff, always easygoing with anyone.

A rush of contradicting emotions fills me at the sight of him. Relief that it’s not the camera crew yet. Annoyance because I know he’s probably here to bother me. And an awkward tension, because he’s my brother, but we’re not like normal siblings. Our parents let him leave home when I was twelve. And even when I followed him to Seoul almost two years later, we were separated because we were in different companies. Hyejun was scouted by HQ Entertainment and I entered Bright Star.

Whenever Hyejun did come around BSE, he never really hung out with me. He was always there to see Jongdae and Minseok. He’d already made his friends and he didn’t want his little sister shadowing him everywhere. But he was the only person I knew in Seoul.

“What’s up, Riri?” he asks, using my childhood nickname. One he knows annoys me.

I sneer at him. “What do you want?”

“Just checking in with you. Eomma gave me an earful to keep an eye on you today.” He lifts his hand to ruffle my hair, but a stern look from Hongjoo stops him.

I’m not surprised our mother called Hyejun instead of me. Just call the perfect son to rein in the problem child.

But I’m also a little relieved. My calls with Mom always leave me feeling inadequate. My mom likes to give me her notes on all the things I’m doing wrong. Her favorite is to tell me that I should be more personable like Hyejun. That people have an instant dislike for me because I’m so standoffish. It doesn’t work to tell her it’s because I still feel stiff and awkward in interviews. She’ll just tell me that’s not an excuse from a girl who was part of such a successful idol group.

“Hey, Hyeri-yah, did you hear me?”

“Huh?”

He rolls his eyes as he perches on the couch and opens one of the bags of Honey Butter Chips.

“Oppa, you know those are my favorite!” I complain. I’d been hoping to hoard them away for my stash after I was done with promotions and off diet.

“You want?” He holds the bag out to me, and I stare longingly at the delicious chips inside. But guilt over my morning snack still weighs on me both figuratively and literally. He shakes the bag encouragingly, but there’s a smirk on his face. He’s teasing me because he knows I’m on a diet.

“You need to be careful today.” Hyejun shovels up another mouthful of chips. “People are going to be all over your performance after that ridiculous article.”