The year-end came to an end, and it was 2024.
I had turned seventeen.
“Unni is an adult?”
“Good grief, high schooler~”
“Ah.”
And, naturally, the members of the ’05 line—
Sera, Chaerin, and Seoyun unni—had all become adults.
“I really can’t believe it.”
In other words, Ye-eun unni and I were the only minors left in Seiven. After finishing the year-opening award ceremony, the members were throwing a party at the dorm.
—Cheers!
Officially, it was to celebrate winning the grand prize, but judging by how they had decorated the living room with roses and were drinking cocktails as celebratory drinks, they were probably just excited about becoming adults.
Hana unni handed me a glass.
“Dohee and Ye-eun, you two drink the nonalcoholic ones~”
And Harang unni was acting all smug.
“Ha, the taste of adulthood. The kids wouldn’t understand.”
*What wouldn’t I understand? In my past life, I could drink two bottles of soju.*
The members filled their wineglasses with cocktails and drank, their faces quickly turning rosy.
Even Chaerin unni got a little drunk.
“Hih, this must be why artists drink. Dohee wouldn’t understand, hihih.”
Good grief...
“You’re making a fuss over cocktails.”
“Dohee, do you want some too? Mmm~ Babies can’t have any~”
Even Sera unni clung to me, pretending she couldn’t keep herself upright.
“Ah... I’m dizzy... Oh, is that Dohee...? Dohee, shall we do a love shot together...?”
“Stop pretending to be drunk.”
“Aw...”
Of course, I wasn’t someone who would be shaken by this sort of teasing.
My mental age was that of an adult, after all.
Ye-eun unni was the only actual minor here.
I looked at Ye-eun unni, sitting beside me.
“Hmm...? Lee Dohee!”
Park Ye-eun had been drinking nonalcoholic cocktails, but the atmosphere had gone to her head, and her cheeks were flushed.
“...You’re a first-year high school student! And I’m a second-year! Got it...!?”
“What are you talking about, high schooler?”
“You’re in your first year!”
I could only find it absurd.
“So, Dohee, are you going to attend high school?”
Perhaps Seoyun unni had suddenly thought of it while picking up some caprese. She asked me the question.
“I don’t know. Not yet.”
I picked up some food as well.
Come to think of it, dishes like caprese were simple and quick to make.
Maybe I should cook things like this for everyone at least once before we went our separate ways...
“It’s January, and you still don’t know? You said you were going to take the qualification exam.”
“Yeah, I did say that... But the team leader and Mom have probably already discussed it. I’m supposed to go see Mom and the team leader tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow? During our vacation?”
“Yeah. During our vacation.”
As the words suggested, once the year-end and year-opening award ceremonies were over, we had received two days of special vacation before our final schedule.
Of course, rather than resting, I had to take care of the personal matters that had piled up in the meantime.
Still, considering we were having a drinking party and fooling around like this tonight, I supposed I couldn’t complain.
*Though I probably won’t be able to rest during the Lunar New Year holiday, when I should be resting.*
Our schedule was packed then.
“But Dohee, I think it’s better to attend high school. Those years become memories.”
Hana unni spoke to me seriously, saying exactly the sort of thing a mother would say.
“Okay. I’ll think about it.”
Of course, I was planning to take the qualification exam.
Still, judging by the conversation Mom and Team Leader Sohyeon had when I took the middle school qualification exam last year, the two of them seemed to be planning to send me to high school...
I would have to talk it over with them tomorrow and see whether it was really necessary to spend three years attending school when I could obtain the same qualification easily by taking the exam.
“But if you do go, would Dohee attend an arts high school?”
Harang unni spoke up while drinking.
“If it’s an arts high school, would you go to our school...? We’d have the same uniform...?”
“Sera, you’re graduating anyway.”
“Should I repeat a year...?”
“Haah~ If I went to the same high school as Lee Dohee, I’d go tease her every day. It’s too bad we’re three years apart~”
“What would you tease me about? You got an average of forty-nine on your midterms. You’re such a loser, Kim Seoyun.”
I had known it from the way she barely scraped past the company’s grade cutoff every time.
“High school exams are way harder, okay!? You middle schooler?”
“Yes~ I only got one question wrong on last year’s CSAT and mock exams combined~”
“Is studying all that matters!?”
Harang unni, who had taken the CSAT the year before last, joined in as if she had been hit where it hurt.
“That’s right! The real thing is different! You don’t know the tension of being on-site!?”
“Yes~ Even if I make a mistake, I’ll probably still get into Hanguk University~”
“I swear, I’m turning off her alarm the day before the CSAT.”
Enough already. I just wanted to become an adult quickly.
There were so many things I couldn’t do because of my minor image and legal age.
*I want to have a drink too...*
“So, what’s everyone doing tomorrow?”
In any case, the dorm had become lively, with everyone laughing and chatting until their spirits were high.
The members began making plans for their vacation, which had come like a gift from heaven.
“I think I have to see Mom and Dad tomorrow. Dohee, do you want to come with me...?”
“Hm? Why would I go there?”
“Just because...”
For most of the members, meeting their families was the top priority for the vacation.
“Seoyun’s going to Busan?”
“Yeah, I bought a train ticket. I have to go home. They said the whole family can get together if I come. It’s too far, so it’s difficult unless I’m on vacation~”
“I see. Then do you want to have malatang for lunch tomorrow before you go? Who wants to go for lunch tomorrow?”
Why did women, Harang unni included, like malatang so much?
It still didn’t suit my tastes.
“Should we? Yeah! Let’s all eat together tomorrow before we leave! Kwon Hana’s treating!”
“I like that too...! I definitely want to go...!”
“Hih, unni, that’s a company card. Hihih.”
“But Harang, Chaerin’s drunk, isn’t she?”
“Leave her~ I’m happy because there’s no nagging today~”
It seemed the members had at least settled on tomorrow’s lunch.
“But you all know I can’t eat with you tomorrow, right? I’m going to see Mom and the TopEast team leader first thing in the morning.”
“Then malatang without Dohee?”
“Yeah, let’s do that~”
If not for my schedule tomorrow, I could have joined them for a meal.
But it couldn’t be helped.
It was a little disappointing, but what could I do?
“So, are all of you just going to stay at your family homes for the entire two days starting tomorrow?”
“Probably. Two days is short, and staying home is better than going around places anyway~”
“Oh, then I should pack my things in a bit.”
“Why?”
“I should organize things in advance. I have too many clothes.”
“Ah, right.”
The members, who had been chatting happily, instantly fell quiet at Harang unni’s mention of packing.
“Yeah, I should take out whatever needs to be taken out ahead of time.”
“Mm.”
The fact that we would have to vacate this dorm in just three months suddenly felt very real.
“Enough! Let’s cheer!”
“Who are we~? Award-winning idols, Seiven! Cheers—!”
The members began laughing and talking again, but once something had crossed their minds, they couldn’t simply forget it.
And before long, the sound of sniffling could be heard.
Ye-eun unni was on the verge of tears.
“Hey, she’s crying! She’s crying!”
“Ye-eun’s crying~?”
“Stop teasing Ye-eun!”
Hana unni hugged Ye-eun unni and patted her back.
“Ye-eun, why don’t we all just hang out tomorrow?”
Ye-eun unni nodded, her eyes bright red.
“Then let’s do that~ I’ll just cancel my ticket and go to Busan another time. We’ll have tons of vacation once three months have passed anyway, so let’s just play!”
“Okay! Let’s quickly decide what to do tomorrow!”
Perhaps she was embarrassed because she had been crying and then laughing. Ye-eun unni sniffed back her tears and giggled foolishly.
“Let’s all go to an amusement park! I want to go to an amusement park!”
“If we all go, a crowd will gather...? Hih, Ha Chaerin, you really are a superstar...”
“We can disguise ourselves. But I think Chaerin’s actually drunk.”
The members quickly abandoned their original vacation plans and began figuring out how to have fun.
The problem was that I absolutely had to have a meeting tomorrow about my schooling.
“Um... But you all know I can’t play tomorrow, right...? I absolutely have to see the team leader tomorrow...”
“Haah~ Lee Dohee’s empathy is something else.”
“Are you a T?”
The sound of sniffling began again.
So I had no choice.
“Come to think of it, if I meet with them early tomorrow morning, I might be free from lunchtime onward.”
“Hey, hey! Let’s make a schedule! Quickly pick out some places you want to go tomorrow!”
*Doa... I’ll come see you next time...*
* * *
And then came the first day of vacation.
Early in the morning, I prepared to leave the dorm.
“Oh, you’re leaving now?”
“Yeah. Mom said she’d arrived.”
It was still early enough that all the members were fast asleep.
Despite having drunk the night before, Hana unni, who was remarkably responsible, immediately rose from the sofa and came over to the entrance.
“Okay. Talk things over with your mom and come back safely~”
“Got it.”
“Our youngest~ Give unni a hug~”
“Ah, what are you doing?”
In truth, it seemed most of the members had become sentimental after the award ceremony, but being hugged was still embarrassing, so I hurried out the door.
“I’ll be back for lunch.”
“Okay~”
I had barely escaped the dorm when someone hugged me from behind.
“Our daughter!”
It was Mom.
“Ah! You startled me!”
“Why would you be startled? It’s Mom~”
“I thought a sasaeng fan had suddenly hugged me.”
Mom looked even more shocked by my words.
“What? There are sasaengs like that?”
“No, not to me yet...”
I hadn’t experienced it myself yet, but apparently it happened fairly often.
In any case, Mom looked delighted to see me after so long, and she kept patting my bottom.
“Aw, our daughter looked so pretty at the award ceremony the day before yesterday.”
“I’m a legend every day.”
“Yeah, Mom really only gave you the prettiest genes.”
“Uh-huh, sure.”
“Doa’s getting prettier every day too, you know? That’s thanks to Mom~”
People usually said daughters took after their fathers, but Mom looked so pleased that I went along with her.
Mom kept patting my bottom all the way to the car parked nearby.
She had missed me, so I supposed I should understand.
“But Mom, you bought a new car?”
Mom answered casually as she started the engine.
“Yeah. I bought it with my daughter’s money.”
Ah, right.
No wonder it was a car I hadn’t seen before.
Wait a minute.
“With my money?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“No, I mean...”
Mom shot me a sidelong glance.
“Don’t tell me you begrudge your mother spending a little money?”
Could my family really be like that?
An entertainer earned money, and her family spent it recklessly.
“No, it’s not that. Of course I’m happy when you spend it... But it’s still a large sum, so you should at least tell me before—”
Mom put on an angry expression.
“Do you think it’s your money? Good grief, your father’s car was old, so I bought a new one. How could you not trust your mother like that? You’re making tons of money, but the moment I say I replaced my car with your money, your eyes go wide. Honestly...”
“That’s not what I mean. I was surprised because you didn’t tell me and then said you bought it with my money. Do you think I’d tell you not to spend it?”
“What a wicked daughter.”
“No. You just have to tell me.”
“What a bad daughter.”
“No, I really want to buy you a house too...”
“Really? Then should Mom move?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve been wanting to decorate a pretty room for Doa now that she’s growing up, so this works out perfectly. I couldn’t do it because you hated the idea, but I should decorate Doa’s room like a princess’s~”
“Uh-huh...”
“Your father will be so happy too~ He’ll say he’s benefited from his daughter~”
“...Let’s go look together during the next vacation.”
“Really? Mom was just joking.”
“...No. This is what I earn money for.”
“Our princess is so sweet~ Should Mom give you a kiss?”
“Uh-huh...”
On the way to the TopEast building, I broached the subject again.
“But Mom, um... If you could completely transfer my account to me now...”
“Tsk, not until you’re an adult.”
“Why not?”
“I have a feeling you’ll invest it and go completely bankrupt.”
“...Gasp.”
“Even when you grow up, you have to ask Mom’s permission before spending money.”
On the way to the TopEast building, I tried bringing it up once more.
“But Mom.”
“Tsk, I told you, no.”
“No, not that.”
“Then what?”
I clasped my breasts together and pushed them toward Mom.
“How are they?”
“......”
“I’m a 70D now, you know?”
“......”
“Haah. I wonder if this is how Mozart felt when he looked at Salieri.”
Mom drove in silence.
“She was once a rival I was jealous of, but at some point, she became impossible to compare with... Ah, the summit is lonely.”
Mom pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“Get out.”
“Why?”
“You’re not my daughter.”
“Then whose daughter am I?”
“You’re not my daughter.”
Reuniting with Mom after so long was always fun.
“Still, it’s a relief my face resembles Mom’s~”
“What a wicked daughter.”
“But I’m pretty, right?”
“What a bad daughter.”