Karl Hanski walked in, his steps relaxed, hands casually tucked into his pants pockets, his expression hidden under dark, oversized glasses despite the evening ti.
At his appearance, excited girly screams erupted from the audience, yet he didn’t even spare them a glance, simply continuing down the stairs toward the dais in front of the main stage.
Kaija raised a brow, more at his outfit than the sunglasses or his attitude.
He was wearing long white pants and a stylish turquoise jacket with ruffles at the sleeves. The ruffles weren’t questionable, but the fact that he was wearing the jacket without any blouse or shirt underneath was. His chest was left completely open, pale skin exposed, glimring under the bright lights from the stage.
Behind him, about ten n and won in austere black suits and gowns followed in asured steps. From their style and deanor alone, she could tell they were heads of different departnts in KE. Office people, not extravagant artist types like Karl.
But what caught her eye the most was neither those people nor Karl’s questionable outfit. It was the tall figure with chestnut hair and silver eyes walking behind them all.
Charles was not wearing his usual black suit today. He had gone for a black shirt underneath and a full white suit on top instead, making his slightly tanned skin and the sharp lines of his features more prominent.
That icy, unreadable expression remained the sa, though. He stood still behind the wide-open door rather than following the others inside, one hand in his pocket, head turned to his right as if waiting for soone.
Her chest started pounding. It wasn’t even her first ti singing in front of Charles, but the thought of doing so within less than two hours suddenly felt strangely daunting.
Or was it because they’d slept together twice, and now she had to act like nothing had happened between them? The last ti she t him in the elevator, she rembered feeling that sa nauseous twist in her stomach.
Sighing, she decided to pull away from the peeping gap and head out for so fresh air to calm herself down, but just as she was about to turn, a tall man in a dark crimson suit walked straight toward Charles.
Her breath hitched, her eyes widening.
That man, his eyes and his hair... they were the exact sa shades as Charles’s. And not just that, even the shape of his eyes and the sharp lines of his jaw were almost the sa, though this man seed a little older.
As he approached, Charles extended his hand, and they shared a firm handshake. The man’s lips curved into a lukewarm smile, though his eyes didn’t smile at all. They were sharp and cold, completely emotionless. Beside him, Charles wore the exact sa expression.
Just one look, and she could tell whatever relationship these two n shared, it was definitely not on good terms.
She searched her mory. Though Charles Kosonen had always been the popular one in the prestigious Kosonen family, for how handso he was and for his scandalous love life, the news rarely talked about his brothers. Still, she rembered clearly there were ntions that he had one older brother called...
"Max Kosonen?" Dani’s voice suddenly ca from right behind her, making her shoulders jump. Dani had been standing behind her the whole ti without her noticing.
"Jeez, Dani, you almost scared to death!" Kaija yelled, a hand pressed to her poor heart, her face still tight with fright.
Dani rely raised a brow at her overreaction, muttering, "What the hell, girl? Are you spying on soone?"
"Well, indeed I am," Kaija muttered back, scowling. "Is Max Kosonen one of the heads at KE?"
"No freaking way," Dani scoffed. "I’ve never seen that guy step onto KE grounds once ever since I joined. If you’re wondering what he’s doing here, then I have the sa question. From what I’ve heard, he’s more in charge of the dia side of Kosonen Group than the entertainnt side."
Dani’s comnt only made Kaija’s brow draw together more tightly. Her eyes once again peeked through the gap.
The thirteen n and won were now finding their seats at the long table on the dais. Notes, snacks, and water bottles had already been neatly set up on the table.
They would watch the entire show from there and then have a private discussion in a different room. The winner would be announced right afterward, in front of everyone in the hall.
"I’m gonna go out for so fresh air," Kaija said, patting Dani’s shoulder. "I’ll make sure to co back when they take the break."
"You better do," Dani replied. "I’ll text you when they do, alright?"
With a final nod, Kaija slipped out of the backstage area through the back door. Though she’d told Dani she was going for fresh air, what was really on her mind was finding Antony.
She stared at the empty notifications on her phone. Antony was supposed to be here half an hour ago, and yet he was nowhere to be seen. No ssages had co from him either.
Though she could totally perform without his presence, since he had already set up the track with the backstage crew during rehearsal, she still wished to see him tonight, even if only for a few minutes.
After all, he’d handled the most important part — breathing life into the song. She only hoped he hadn’t fallen sick or sothing.
She sent Antony a text.
Kaikai:"Instructor, are you coming?"
Thirty minutes later, no reply ca.
She started feeling anxious. Antony was always very responsive when it ca to texts. He would always reply in less than fifteen minutes at most.
There was still about one hour and thirty minutes before the break. She could still make it to the dorms, check on him, and rush back.
Good thing she’d learned from Dani during one of their random conversations that Antony lived in Building A. When she arrived there, though she’d asked the receptionist to call his flat three tis, he didn’t answer once.
"Hm, that’s strange," the receptionist said. "I don’t recall seeing him leave the building today, though I saw him co back earlier around 2 PM."
"Maybe he’s busy with sothing and couldn’t answer the phone," Kaija said, her brow drawn together in thought. "Would you mind going up to his flat with ? Bring a backup key card too, please, just in case."
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