FCND, a homegrown fashion brand that even people with no interest in clothes had probably heard of at least once.
Though it was sometimes disparagingly dismissed as a “school-lunch pick,” that was precisely why the brand held a sizable share of the domestic fashion market—with reasonable prices, reasonable quality, and an honest attitude.
And at a photography studio in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul.
Son Juhyeok, an employee of FCND’s marketing team, was surfing the internet to stave off the boredom of waiting.
Meanwhile, Kim Juyoung, a new female employee, was practically bouncing with excitement, unable to contain herself.
A smile slipped onto his lips at Kim Juyoung’s adorable 모습.
“Are you really that happy?”
“Assistant Manager, it’s Dohee! Lee Dohee!”
And with good reason. An advertising model who had recently risen beyond the status of a promising yellow chip had become a major blue-chip star.
And that blue-chip star had been selected as FCND’s exclusive model.
Kim Juyoung showed him the article on her screen.
[Who Is the Female Celebrity Chosen by Entertainment Reporters as the “Best in Person”?]
「Saven’s Lee Dohee has been ranked first among active idols in real-life appearance, as chosen by entertainment reporters.
Reporters said ...... YTV Star reporter Kim Ahyeon explained her impression of Lee Dohee: “I actually met her for an interview recently, and her face was so small. She was truly beautiful, and her proportions were on another level.”
Reporter Jo Hyeonu also gave Dohee a thumbs-up for her beauty, saying, “I met her on the red carpet, and when she came out in her dress, I thought a Barbie doll was walking toward me. Every reporter there seemed captivated by Dohee’s beauty...”」
“I know it’s your first shoot and you’re excited, but celebrities aren’t that special when you see them in person.”
“Oh, come on~ I feel like someone like Lee Dohee would be different.”
Indeed, now, less than a year after making her television debut in May of the previous year, it was safe to say that there wasn’t a single person in the entertainment industry who didn’t know the three syllables of Lee Dohee’s name.
Leaving her visuals aside, she had already become the subject of widespread attention thanks to her image as the perfect, brilliant daughter.
Even one of his friends, who had never been interested in idols at all, had casually brought up Lee Dohee in conversation.
‘She really was sensational, though.’
Above all, among students.
She possessed overwhelming name recognition among today’s teenagers.
‘That’s part of the reason she was chosen as FCND’s exclusive model.’
He pictured Lee Dohee’s face in his mind.
‘A youthful yet elegant face. It has both cuteness and glamour.’
That was why the students were so crazy about her.
But even so, celebrities were ultimately just people, too.
“But seriously, celebrities aren’t that special in person.”
Most of the celebrities he had met showed off their beauty under the protection of retouching and lighting.
He had even seen celebrities who looked worse than ordinary people.
‘Of course, I’ve never met a true top-tier celebrity. They’re probably similar.’
“You might even be prettier than Lee Dohee, you know?”
The new female employee Kim Juyoung, with whom he had been flirting, had the kind of looks that would have earned her the title of campus goddess.
Kim Juyoung lightly tapped his shoulder.
“Ah~ Assistant Manager, what are you saying~ I don’t believe you!”
Still, she was grinning as though she secretly liked the compliment.
“Lee Dohee is coming up soon. Let’s do one final check!”
The studio grew busy.
“Oh, she’s here!”
Son Juhyeok, who had been casually flirting with Kim Juyoung, turned his head at those words.
“Hello! I’m Saven’s Lee Dohee. I look forward to working with you today!”
And he let out a short exclamation.
“Wow... shit.”
It was a purely aesthetic admiration, something that came from the most instinctive part of him.
He had seen plenty of celebrities...
But only now did he understand the article he had read earlier about the celebrity who was best-looking in person.
“Holy fuck...”
“Hey, take a picture. Take a picture.”
She was clearly a youthful sixteen-year-old girl who had not even been in the industry for a year.
Yet her lively expression, strangely mature way of speaking, and composed air blended together to create a unique aura.
“Wow, she’s really so beautiful...”
At the exclamation from behind him, he turned to look at Kim Juyoung.
And without even realizing it, he nodded in agreement with her.
The features of the female employee who had seemed beautiful beyond compare just moments ago suddenly looked plain.
‘The celebrities I’ve seen were just people petitioning to be called celebrities.’
He only learned later that Lee Dohee had been wearing nothing more than basic makeup.
***
“Dohee, are you all ready?”
“Yes~ I’m coming~”
At Manager Soyeong’s voice calling from the entrance, I quickened my steps.
Manager Soyeong from Top East’s rookie development team had also been in charge of my “selfie lessons.”
The reason Soyeong unni had come here today was simple.
For personal schedules, my agency provided management support.
Since the studio was handling not only my hair but also my makeup, there was no need to stop by a salon. We were heading straight to the studio.
As fatigue washed over me, I briefly closed my eyes. Soyeong unni spoke to me in a soft voice.
“Dohee, are you sleepy? Should I buy you some caffeine?”
“Oh, then I’ll have an energy drink.”
The music video shoot was two days away.
Until then, the members had continued their choreography practice day and night.
On top of that, there had been the album jacket shoot.
And the individual schedules of several members, myself included.
The accumulation of fatigue had been unavoidable.
‘Still, it’s not as hectic as during music-show promotions.’
“You seem to be drinking too much caffeine.”
At Soyeong unni’s worried tone, I deliberately answered playfully.
“The world wants me, so what can I do~ Whew~”
That was the only way to brighten Soyeong unni’s expression.
“You know you can’t act like that once you’re outside, right?”
“Of course.”
When we arrived at the studio, the first thing to greet me was a rabbit-shaped cake prepared by FCND.
“Wow! It’s a rabbit?”
I had received a welcome cake during the body lotion commercial last time, too, but I still found this kind of culture unfamiliar.
Part of me even wondered whether celebrities were really important enough to warrant a special welcome.
It made me understand, in a very real way, why celebrities grew conceited and developed star syndrome.
“We heard you’re called the Rabbit~”
Rabbit...
Yes, somehow, that was what I had become known as.
“Thank you! The rabbit is so pretty!”
The problem was that, as I grew accustomed to the nickname, I was gradually starting to like it.
***
“Hello, Shabenu. I’m here at FCND for a shoot today. I’ve become FCND’s model this time, and I hear I’ll be representing them not only in Korea but throughout Asia, too, so I’m incredibly excited. I’ll work hard. Fighting!”
I chatted with the camera about this and that for the behind-the-scenes video that would be uploaded to Saven’s official YouTube channel.
—So lovely~
Is that really right?
—So good!
I don’t think it is.
—She’s so beautiful!
That one’s true.
—Oh, how adorable!
No.
Following the director’s endless declarations that everything was wonderful, I struck pose after pose, and the commercial shoot ended earlier than expected.
Since I had to cycle through more than ten outfits, I had expected it to take more than half a day.
But because everything proceeded without delays, we finished in nine hours flat.
Even so, exhaustion came crashing down on me. As I leaned back and lay in a chair, Soyeong unni, who had just finished speaking with the director, stroked my head.
“He said you came out really beautifully today, Dohee. You worked so hard.”
“What do you mean, I worked hard? You were the one who worked hard, waiting around.”
I might have been tired from posing, but I had been so busy that I hadn’t noticed the time passing.
Waiting around doing nothing was exhausting in its own way, precisely because time refused to pass.
It was time to greet the staff and head to the practice room.
I took out my phone and checked the KakaoTalk messages piling up.
The Saven group chat was filled with messages from everyone telling me to hurry to the practice room, as though they were all having a wonderful time.
The private chats, on the other hand...
[Sera unni: Dohee, I miss you...] +7
[Kim Seoyun: Save me lol I said save me lol] +5
[Harang unni: We’re screwed. Hana’s in angry mode. Daisuke, kudasai.] +2
[Chaerin unni: I recommend coming slowly.]
[Yeeun unni: (crying puppy emoji)] +10
[Hana unni: When is our maknae coming? hehe] +3
“...Unni, should we go get a late-night snack together for once in a while?”
“Should we?”
“Yes, let’s definitely go.”
I’d have to arrive at the practice room late.
***
I didn’t want to go into the practice room.
So I turned on WE Live, pretending it was part of my schedule.
[I’m a rabbit...? (rabbit emoji) I’m Saven’s Lee Dohee. WE Live]
As soon as I started the live stream, there was a brief delay.
Then the comments began to appear.
“Uh... hello~”
—Gasp, what luck at this hour
—Doha~
—Did you turn this on to show us your aegyo!?
—I love you
“I didn’t turn it on to show you aegyo.”
Why did they ask me to show aegyo every single time I went live?
—ㅠㅠ Dohee is a corpse without aegyo
—Show us your aegyo!
—Host, I’m dying
—You’re alone today hehe
—I’m holding my breath until you show us aegyo
Go ahead and die.
I read another comment to change the subject.
“You’re asking if I’m alone? Yes, I’m at the dorm by myself right now.”
—Where are the others?
—Lol, no wonder it’s so quiet at the dorm today
—Now that you mention it, it wasn’t noisy lol
“The other members will be here soon! They’re probably still practicing.”
It was midnight.
After finishing a brief, perfectly legal act of delinquency with Soyeong unni, it was almost time for practice to end.
Our practice generally finished around one in the morning, so I had simply come back to the dorm ahead of time.
Midnight was fine, wasn’t it?
Right?
—Lol, why isn’t Dohee practicing?
—The maknae’s playing hooky alone lol
“The reason I’m alone is because I became FCND’s exclusive model today and went to shoot a commercial! Applause~”
“Oh! And today’s live title is ‘I’m a Rabbit,’ right?”
I opened my gallery and held up a picture of the rabbit cake in front of the camera.
“This is the cake the FCND employees gave me today.”
At that exact moment, my phone began to vibrate.
A chat notification appeared on the screen.
[Hana unni: I’ll give you five minutes. Hurry.]
She really was insane about practice.
.
.
.
“Because of Lee Dohee, we had to practice longer. Annoying. X.”
“Thanks to our lovely maknae, we were able to practice more and give our fans a perfect performance. I’m truly happy. Yes.”
“Cut the crap.”
“Shut up.”
That was harsh.
In any case, thanks to me, practice was extended until three in the morning.
Everyone was delighted that we could give our fans a perfect performance.