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I wonder if I’m actually getting the hang of this.

After, I find Robbie leaning against the hood of one of the company cars typing on his phone.

“Robiya!” I call, and he turns to greet me with a grin.

“Noona, this was so fun.” He catches me in a quick hug. I know I should be more careful about the easy affection in public. But I’m still in too good a mood to worry about who’s watching or judging right now.

“It really was,” I say, surprise lacing my voice. “Thanks for making the time to come.”

Robbie shrugs. “It’s not like my schedule is stacked these days.”

He grins so good-naturedly, but I wonder if it bothers him more than he’s letting on. The unplanned hiatus because of WDB’s scandals must be stressful. I know it always bothers me when my scandals force me to lie low.

“How are you doing?” I ask cautiously.

“Good. Great actually,” Robbie replies, and I’m surprised at his bright smile. It’s the look of someone who’s not worried at all.

It’s not what I expected.

“Hey, we should hang out,” Robbie says.

“Didn’t we just do that?” I laugh.

“Nah, this is work. We should hang out for real. I’ve missed that. You always took good care of me when we were trainees.”

I blush. Robbie was one of the few trainees younger than me when I joined. I never had a younger sibling, so I latched onto him as an honorary younger brother.

“I’m thinking of having a small birthday party,” Robbie says. “You should come.”

“Didn’t your birthday already pass?” I ask, mentally calculating the days. Am I so out of it that I don’t even remember what month it is anymore?

“Yeah, but I didn’t get a chance to celebrate yet.” Robbie scratches at his temple while giving a rueful smile. It makes his adorable dimples flash, reminding me of how he loved to use them to disarm the vocal and dance coaches when we were trainees. “So, you in?”

“Oh, well, maybe.” I struggle to figure out how to answer. I’m not sure if it would be a good idea for me to go to a party. If the antis find out, they might accuse me of partying when I should still be apologetic for what happened at the midsummer festival.

“I’ll text you the details,” Robbie promises.

“Okay. Sure,” I concede, figuring he’ll either forget or I can just politely pass via text, where it’s less awkward. “Hey, have you seen Jaehyung?”

Robbie glances around. “I think maybe he went back to one of the other private rooms with Minseok?”

“Okay, I’m going to thank him too before you guys leave.” I give Robbie a pat on the arm as a goodbye before stepping back inside. The other private dining rooms were set aside for the shoot to put equipment. A couple at the back are staging areas where Robbie and Jaehyung probably waited before filming. I hear a murmur of voices from the farthest one.

I recognize Minseok’s voice and figure he must be in there talking to Jaehyung. But I stop when I hear the hard tone. “…why I told you not to come!”

“What’s so wrong with coming to show my support, Seok-ah?” Jongdae’s voice asks.

“Is that what this really was? Or were you checking up on me?”

“Are you kidding? You think I don’t trust you or something?”

“I don’t know, do you?” Minseok sounds angrier than I’ve ever heard him. I’ve rarely seen him lose his temper, let alone sound so vitriolic toward someone. And his best friend at that.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Never mind.”

“Hey, will you just talk to me?”