The high school girl standing in front of a roadside mirror was wearing her school uniform and smiling with satisfaction.
As befitted an arts high school, it was a navy-blue uniform with a clean shape and a stylish fit.
“Hmm-hmm, okay, good.”
More than anything, it was the high school emblem attached to the uniform.
Hanseong Arts High School—known as an entertainment academy—was considered a place for the in-crowd among teenagers her age.
“Hello! I’m Hyeona, and starting today, I’ll be filming a vlog about life at Hanseong Arts High School♪!”
At an age when she was especially sensitive to the opinions of her peers, she was immensely pleased with the title of Hanseong Arts High School student.
“First, I’m going to have brunch at a popular restaurant near Hanseong Arts High School!”
Thanks to her excitement, she had come out early in the morning, despite the entrance ceremony not being until one in the afternoon, to scout out the area around the high school.
Of course, it seemed she wasn’t the only student doing so.
From early morning, the streets near the busy district were packed with students wearing the same uniform.
“Oh, I think it’s about time to head out!”
The high school girl, Hyeona, had been chattering away while holding a selfie camera, but after checking the time—
“Then I’ll head to the school’s main gate for the entrance ceremony!”
She left the busy district behind and began making her way toward the school.
—Murmur, murmur.
True to its reputation as an entertainment academy, the surrounding area was already packed with reporters and fans.
They had come to cover the idols entering Hanseong Arts High School that year.
“Wow, there are so many reporters! Let’s take a look and see who’s coming! According to the school bulletin board, a ton of idols are entering this year too!”
The crowd was so unusually large that even the police had been stationed there to control it.
‘Who is it?’
Hyeona hurried over and stood in the entrance ceremony passageway, which only students were allowed to use. Then she began watching the idols enter through the main gate one by one.
“Oh, everyone, look over there! That’s her, right? Chaesol from Floralrin! Wow, I’m not exaggerating when I say she might be the prettiest person I’ve ever seen in real life!”
“It’s Juchan from J-Pit! Holy crap, he’s insanely handsome!”
Because she could see them up close as an entering student, rather than from far away like the fans, her exclamations of admiration were captured vividly in the vlog.
Then, as the entrance ceremony drew closer, the air around them, which had been moderately noisy, grew so tumultuous that it seemed to tremble.
Camera shutters erupted from every direction.
Fans screaming and shouting.
Police officers rushing about.
—Dohee-yaaaak!!!!
Hyeona hurriedly readjusted her camera, stretched her neck out farther, and peered down the central road.
“Oh, oh! You know who that is, right!? I think Seven’s Lee Dohee is here!”
The fact that Seven’s Lee Dohee would be entering the school had already spread as far as it could through the school community, so Hyeona had known about it for some time.
She just hadn’t known Dohee would be this pretty.
No—she had known Dohee was pretty, but she hadn’t realized she would look like this in person.
The girl emerged through the crowd, waving and greeting everyone.
“Holy shit…”
Earlier, Hyeona had said that Floralrin’s Chaesol was the most stunning person she had ever seen in real life, but…
After seeing Lee Dohee, she understood why people called her one of the representative visuals of the fourth generation.
It wasn’t merely her features. Her proportions and aura were on another level.
Dazed, Hyeona kept her gaze fixed on Lee Dohee and followed behind her all the way to the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was being held.
“Ah, ah! This is the auditorium where our entrance ceremony will be held! It’s huge, right?”
After taking her seat according to her assigned number, Hyeona filmed the scenery around her.
The spectator seats on the upper level of the auditorium were still overflowing with camera crews.
She couldn’t tell whether they were fansite photographers or reporters.
“I bet it must be pretty exhausting for the idols too. You know that incident, right? When a sasaeng fan went to an idol’s family wedding and caused a huge scene?”
The entrance ceremony began soon after.
Entrance ceremonies were never exactly quiet to begin with.
But Hanseong Arts High School’s entrance ceremony was particularly chaotic.
Camera shutters going off in the spectator seats.
Whispers aimed at the celebrity students, especially Lee Dohee, who was sitting in the first row.
The boys sitting beside Hyeona were also whispering as they stared at Lee Dohee.
“Ah, I really want to be in the same class as her.”
“Same. Forget becoming close—I’d be happy if I could just exchange a few words with her… Maybe our hands could brush when we’re handing out papers.”
“Wow, you’re seriously creepy.”
“No, honestly, it’s not unreasonable to hope for that much.”
“I’m confident, so I don’t need any of that. I’ll become friends with her through my smooth talking, then date her in secret where no one can see us, confess, and start going out.”
“You idiot, what a delusion. You’re not even in the same class as her.”
“That’s true. Ah… Are there no clubs? I’m so jealous of the practical music students. I wanted to go into practical music too.”
Hyeona let the conversation go in one ear, but honestly, she sympathized.
She felt disappointed as well.
As everyone knew, Lee Dohee was an idol.
And all the celebrity students at Hanseong Arts High School attended the practical music department.
‘If we were in the same class, I could become friends with her, film a vlog together, and chat with her…’
She had entered the piano department because that was what she wanted.
But at that moment, for some reason, she felt a little regretful.
After the principal’s long and boring speech,
the congratulatory video from idols who had graduated from Hanseong Arts High School,
and the welcoming performances by the second- and third-year students came to an end—
“…And with that, we will conclude the 2024 Hanseong Arts High School entrance ceremony! Students, please move to your respective classrooms in order, beginning with the first row. Parents and other honored guests, please remain seated for a moment to ensure a smooth departure.”
The students filed out one after another.
Hyeona took out her camera and began filming again as she headed to her classroom.
“All right, this is the piano department classroom where I’ll be spending the next year!”
When she arrived at the classroom a moment later,
she saw the students gathered in front of it, whispering among themselves.
—They say Lee Dohee is in the piano department?
—What? She’s not in practical music?
—What the hell? I was happy because I thought she’d be in the practical music building.
“No way.”
A laugh escaped her lips.
“I have to ask her to film a vlog together sometime!”
Just being in the same class as Lee Dohee seemed enough to make her vlog a huge success.
* * *
“Hello. I’m Lee Dohee, and I’m active as a member of Seven. I’m sorry if I make any of you uncomfortable. Please feel free to treat me normally from now on. Thank you.”
One thing she could definitely feel now that she had become a high school student was that—
the students in her class didn’t rush at her in a mob the way elementary and middle school students had.
‘Well, I suppose high school is around the age when people start to mature.’
Maybe school life wouldn’t be so bad after all.
If no one around her interfered, she would have some time to herself.
Since debuting, she had had much less time to play the piano, but being in the piano department meant she would have plenty of opportunities to practice.
‘This is my chance to start playing seriously again.’
Of course, there were still plenty of people watching from outside the classroom.
But she could just assume it was because it was the first day.
‘Besides, I’ll be missing school for a while anyway.’
After making it through her introductory greeting on the first day without incident, she collected the handouts after the final homeroom period and prepared to leave.
“Dohee!”
Normally, she would have greeted the fans gathered around her before heading toward the main gate, but the voice was far too familiar.
“Oh, Unnie!”
It was Wooa, waving both hands enthusiastically as she welcomed Dohee.
Beside her stood Chiyo, looking embarrassed as she held a bouquet.
“Manager, just a moment!”
Ignoring the crowd as best she could, Dohee approached the two of them.
“Wow~ It’s a bouquet? Is this baby’s breath, and is this peony?”
“Yeah, peonies symbolize a new beginning~ The trainee unnies, who are all poor, pooled together some money to celebrate our Dohee’s entrance!”
“Oh, I’m pretty touched. I’ll definitely get revenge.”
Chiyo quietly handed her the bouquet.
“…I prepared it for Dohee. Hmph.”
“Why are you so embarrassed, Unnie?”
Chiyo’s face was bright red, and she kept glancing away.
“Is it because there are so many people watching?”
“Ah, it’s because peonies also symbolize bashfulness, so she’s acting it out.”
“I-I didn’t prepare it specifically for you!”
“…Her personality really hasn’t changed.”
While Dohee examined the bouquet—
“If you’d entered the practical music department, we would’ve taught you all kinds of things~”
“I-I don’t know! We should be going now!”
“Yeah, bye~”
The older girls said they had to get back and left just like that.
It was Dohee’s turn to return to the company and practice as well.
As she walked through the school gate, the members of Seven approached her with huge smiles, accompanied by a camera filming behind-the-scenes footage.
‘The blessings of reunion just never end, do they?’
“Where are the flowers?”
Kim Seoyun came running up empty-handed.
“Did you pull them out on the way here?”
“Do you want to die?”
Still, the members who came after her brought a huge bouquet.
It was almost as big as Ye-eun’s torso.
“D-Dohee! Guess who the flower is!”
“You’re more of a flower than Ye-eun, Unnie.”
“Uniform Dohee…!? That’s right! Dohee is the flower…!”
They walked toward the main gate, joking around.
“All right, Hana-ssi? This is a special occasion too, so let’s take a picture!”
“Everyone, Harang wants to take a picture! Let’s take one of today’s main character by herself first. Lee Dohee, come over here!”
Holding the bouquet, Dohee posed with the school’s main gate in the background and took a picture.
“But what brings Chaerin Unnie out too? You’re not usually bothered to come.”
“…I can at least congratulate the youngest on entering school, you know?”
They took a group picture as well.
Thanks to that, even more fans began gathering around them.
In the end, they had no choice but to practically escape into the car.
“So, have you thought about what you want to eat?”
Hana Unnie asked about the menu at the same time.
A filling meal before practice had recently become part of their daily routine.
Since it might be their last chance to eat properly, they had to fill up as much as possible and prepare themselves with the strength that came from a good meal.
“Still, a Chinese restaurant is the right choice for an entrance ceremony.”
Sera Unnie smiled brightly.
“As expected… We even have the same tastes…! Malatang…!”
Hana Unnie made the decision.
“Okay, let’s go eat malatang, Dohee’s favorite!”
……? No, I meant jjampong, not malatang. Fuck.
“Yay, I-I want hot pot too!”
The members liked it so much that Dohee had stopped pretending to dislike it and simply ate it with them.
Apparently, somewhere along the way, they had started thinking it was her favorite too.
“Manager Hyeonsu, you know the place in front of our company, right?”
“But is malatang really that good, girls? I don’t think it’s anything special.”
“Ah, Manager, don’t ruin the mood! Dohee says she wants it!”
The person Dohee resented most was Kim Seoyun, who clearly knew that Dohee disliked it to a certain degree and still acted like this.
Still, since the members liked it, she supposed this much was fine.
They headed to their usual restaurant.