TopEast Entertainment, Head of A&R Team, Jeong Sohyeon.
She was calmly turning through the magazine that featured interviews with the members of Seven, one page at a time.
[...The much-talked-about girl group that swept the rookie awards all the way to the Golden Disc Awards. We met Seven. “I didn’t even know there was an interview. What do I do?” Somehow, they looked even more nervous than they had during the turbulent “Headlong 3.” Once the interview began, however, the rookie look vanished, and the members skillfully showed off their fresh charm.]
Taking a sip of coffee from her mug, she voiced her impression.
“It’s good.”
In her head, the landscape of the soon-to-be-reorganized fourth-generation girl groups was taking shape.
There were countless dark horses in the fourth generation, but only frontrunners existed.
Like “Coral Blue” of the third generation, the one-top group that would represent an entire generation was still unknown.
“Lepro did launch Pure Girl, but...”
ZY, JS, Haru.
Since the rest of the Big Four agencies had postponed launching girl groups, it was only natural.
And then there was Seven, the newly emerged frontrunner of the current fourth-generation girl groups.
Even so, Seven was destined to disband in a year anyway.
What mattered was what came after that, when each company launched new girl groups centered around Seven’s members.
Jeong Sohyeon’s hand, which had been turning the magazine pages one by one, stopped.
What caught her eye was a full-page photo of Dohui.
Dohui, wearing a playful smile.
Jeong Sohyeon suddenly recalled the day she had first met Dohui.
The girl that Casting Team Leader Kim Jinu had made such a fuss about had made even her certain the moment she saw her.
A visual counted among the best even in the entertainment industry, a tiny face, and fair skin.
On top of that, she was even growing taller by the day.
“I didn’t think she’d even get tall.”
Of course, her height was welcome, since it suited the girl group concept she had envisioned.
The debut team members were tall as well.
Naeun, 168 cm.
Chiyo, 169 cm.
Even Ua, who had recently passed 170.
As for Seoyun... well, they could handle that with styling.
Jeong Sohyeon skimmed the magazine interview again.
[Q: You were incredibly good at piano. So how did you end up quitting piano and becoming interested in idols?]
[A: I was originally the type to enjoy being on stage. I guess I was a little starved for attention. (laughs) Around that time, I’d started to feel that piano competition stages were somehow static, and just then, the casting team leader from my current agency, TopEast, scouted me. While I was thinking about what an idol stage would feel like and debating it, um... it’s a little embarrassing to say it like this, but I strongly felt that the agency wanted me. So I just did it on impulse? (laughs)]
Recruiting Dohui had been a stroke of heavenly luck.
[Q: Dohui, you’re famous as a high-spec idol. Not only do you have an impressive record of competition awards, but I heard you scored 100 on every test from elementary school through middle school.]
[A: (Her cute laughter didn’t stop for a long while.) I think I studied pretty diligently. I enjoyed learning something every day more than playing.]
Because even her sprout had been different.
But at times, Dohui’s high-spec image also created countless antis.
In fact, Dohui was also the member of Seven who received the most malicious comments.
“We’ll have to respond somehow.”
Of course, that was the management department’s field, so it wasn’t something she herself needed to step in for.
All she could do was hope Seoyun would take good care of Dohui like a proper older sister.
[Q: We heard several testimonies from the members about your usual personality, Dohui. (laughs) They said you’re more airheaded and clumsy than expected.]
[A: (flustered) Which—no, who said that? Who was it?]
[We will not disclose their identity in order to protect them.]
“Hoo...”
Still, looking at things like that, worrying was a waste.
If anything, she should be worrying about Dohui’s unpredictable personality.
[Q: Come to think of it, when we searched your name, there was a story that followed you around in the related keywords. (laughs) You were supposed to take a photo with a fan’s phone, but you took it with your own phone instead.]
[A: I was a little flustered then...]
[Q: (laughs) On top of that, your notebook was packed with signature practice?]
[A: That was because my classmates asked me to sign things, so I was preparing in advance. (wronged expression) It’s true!]
[In the interviewer’s opinion, Dohui was definitely a cute youngest member with a clumsy streak.]
If anything, it was thanks to this clumsiness that she had fewer antis, so perhaps it could be called fortunate.
“Right.”
It was better not to have a perfect image.
For Dohui, this side of her was part of her charm.
“Team Leader! We got a call from the artist working on the topline.”
At the report from the subordinate calling her, Jeong Sohyeon snapped out of her thoughts, set the magazine down for a moment, and began working for her trainees who would debut next year.
“That’s Hoyeon, right? He’s more used to working on the topline after receiving the track first, so pick out about five demos from ours that match the concept well and bring them to me for approval.”
***
Morning sunlight streamed in through the window.
The ceiling of the dorm came into view.
I was already starting to miss home and the top of Doa’s head.
A three-day vacation was far too short.
After spending cozy time with the TopEast members, my school friends, and my family, the time had flown by.
“Hoo...”
When I checked my phone, it was 8 a.m.
I felt proud of myself for opening my eyes like a ghost right on schedule for my routine.
“Yeah, even if it’s a hassle, I have to keep my routine.”
The first thing I did after returning to daily life was stretching.
Just as I was loosening up my stiff body with stretches,
diligent Hana unnie’s voice rang out from the kitchen.
“Ah, who drank my gut-health Will again!”
Perhaps the loud voice had driven away her sleep, because Chaerin unnie got up, rumpling her messy hair.
“Haa...”
“Good morning.”
“Yeah... What’s with that unnie from the morning...?”
Even in the middle of all this, Sera unnie was sleeping soundly while hugging her teddy bear.
Just as I was thinking that I wanted to try taking that teddy bear away,
Harang unnie, the treacherous sycophant who had become Hana unnie’s loyal retainer, spoke in a wicked voice from outside.
“The youngest drank it, ma’am.”
Thudding footsteps drew closer to the room, and the door flew open.
In Hana unnie’s hand was the empty bottle of the gut-health yogurt drink.
“I Dohui, did you drink this?”
“Good morning~”
It was tasty.
At sixteen years old, I was now at an age where I had to take care of my gut health.
“Ah, if you’re going to drink it, replace it!”
But I hadn’t been the only one.
“But Chaerin unnie drank it too.”
Now that we’d grown used to dorm life and the members had become even closer,
sharing the food in the fridge had become part of our daily lives.
Even Chaerin unnie, who was sensitive about personal boundaries, was actively participating in this culture.
“I only drank it because Dohui told me to.”
...?
“Unnie, you drank it first!”
Chaerin unnie had gotten shameless too.
We reached a settlement with Hana unnie by agreeing to buy her a box of drinks.
***
After the morning commotion ended.
“What’s with all the weeds from the morning?”
“Eat according to the meal plan. Oh, and I Dohui, you only uploaded photos of yourself eating throughout the whole vacation.”
“This salad suddenly tastes good.”
After appropriately calling and waking the members, and finishing our delicious breakfast, we put on comfortable clothes and headed to the Shock Entertainment building.
Comeback preparations had officially begun.
We were scheduled to come back with a single album at the end of February.
And the place we had gathered today was the conference room of Shock Entertainment’s A&R Team.
That was because our manager had told us the title track for this single album had been decided.
The A&R Team leader played the song for us with a confident expression.
The song flowed out in its guide version.
The members let out brief exclamations.
“Oh...”
“Wow...”
“It’s good.”
A rhythmic groove created by the combination of two rhythms: a funky rhythm based on disco, and a drum pattern often used in Black music.
Within that groove was a sophisticated synth sound.
In particular, it was a synth-pop track where the synth sound that processed the final notes of the bass like a chorus stood out.
More than anything, listening to it made something feel ticklish.
“It’s good, right?”
“Yes! It’s really good.”
“The debut song was good too, but somehow this one is more my taste.”
How should I put it? It had a ticklish feeling that evoked nostalgia within the refreshing beauty of a boy or girl.
“This song is also one we’re confident in.”
Perhaps she had prepared a lot to say, because the excited team leader began rattling off additional explanations.
“First, this album’s title is Daydream. The working title of the title track is ‘Thirst.’”
The last album’s title had been Aurora, daybreak.
This time, it was Daydream.
It was talking about daytime.
“And as for the concept, in your debut song, you were deviant girls who said you wouldn’t be bound by anything in the world, right? But in this album, it’s the story of how even girls like that can’t help but become bound to and crave love.”
The deviant atmosphere of the debut song had definitely disappeared.
Only the refreshing beauty of a girl remained.
Maybe that was why the guide vocal also had a somewhat husky voice, giving it an appealing feeling.
For some reason, I felt like it would suit me extremely well if the part with the husky voice became mine.
“Most of all, there’s a Y2K craze in the fashion world these days, right? The music industry is showing that kind of movement too. I guess you could say there are more and more cases of borrowing rhythms from the 2000s.”
Even the stage outfit I had worn for the year-end stage not long ago had been Y2K.
The Y2K retro boom was a trend appearing across fields.
“You may have felt it while listening, but our song also takes the rhythm of the king of 2000s pop, Michael Jackson, and transforms it in a sophisticated way. That polished rhythm will appeal not only to teens and people in their twenties, but also people in their thirties by evoking nostalgia, right?”
Thirties... um...
On second thought, maybe the debut song was better?