The place we arrived at in Dad’s car wasn’t the TopEast headquarters.
“Sweetie~ Is this the right place?”
“I think so?”
It was our dorm.
Even if we were going to practice, we had to unpack our suitcases and put our luggage away first.
Though it wasn’t the dorm near the headquarters that I remembered.
The lease on that place had already ended.
“Wow, our daughter’s living somewhere nicer than Dad?”
Instead, the place chosen as our new dorm was an apartment with a magnificent view of the Han River, famous for being used as a dorm by several idol groups.
“Right? I didn’t know they’d moved us somewhere this nice, either.”
Honestly, our old dorm hadn’t been that bad. It had two bathrooms, after all.
But this place looked even nicer than the dorm we’d had during Seven.
Of course, we’d have to compare the actual floor space, but at first glance, it certainly looked that way.
Was it really okay for us to live somewhere like this?
“I’m going now, okay?”
When I opened the car door and got out, Dad followed me.
Then, with an expectant expression, he spread both arms wide.
“Sweetie…”
“Oh, come here.”
“You have to visit home often, okay?”
In any case, after finishing my hug with Dad—
“Yeah, yeah.”
I entered the apartment after typing in the password I’d been given beforehand.
Then I arrived on the seventeenth floor.
—Beep beep beep beep.
“One… six, five, seven… four, six, five.”
When I opened the door and stepped inside, the interior was just as neat as the outside, and at a glance, it looked to be over fifty pyeong.
“Wow. This is amazing.”
Even so, nobody came out to greet me.
“What’s going on? Where did everyone go?”
There were shoes belonging to the older girls scattered all over the entryway.
“Their shoes are here.”
But still, not a single person came out.
I carried my suitcase inside.
“Is anyone—”
And just as I was about to call out loudly, what entered my view was—
Chiyo and Naeun sitting by the window.
“What…”
The two of them gazed at the Han River with melancholy in their eyes.
“For a commoner’s residence, this is not bad at all.”
“R-right.”
They were spouting nonsense.
Naeun was even sipping coffee.
“What are you two doing?”
Only then did they turn their heads toward me.
“Ah, no, this was Chiyo’s idea! She wanted to act out a scene…!”
Naeun hurriedly set down her coffee cup, her cheeks turning red.
“Welcome, commoner. You have worked quite hard. I commend you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You apparently own a rather substantial share of this house. It is a little disappointing that there is no terrace, however… Hoho.”
Just then, a singing voice came from somewhere.
“It’s another day of sun~”
Kim Seoyun appeared in a yellow dress, humming as though she were the heroine of La La Land and spinning around.
Then she clenched her fists ambitiously, as if steeling herself.
“Yes, Kim Seoyun! Today is a new beginning!”
It was irritating how well she sang, even in the middle of all this.
And yet, when she’d gone on a farewell trip with the Seven members, she’d cried and bawled her eyes out.
—Clap clap clap.
Chiyo, the chaebol, applauded.
“Commoner, your musical performance is quite impressive, is it not?”
“Of course.”
The older girls had gathered again after so long, but none of them had changed.
If anything, they were even more of a mess than before.
“So… Dohee, would you like some coffee? Ah, you don’t like coffee, do you? Should I give you some fruit instead? I bought some on my way here this morning.”
At least Naeun seemed embarrassed that she’d gotten involved with those two. She quickly stood up, carried her coffee cup to the kitchen sink, and started rummaging through the refrigerator.
“No, I’m fine.”
Meanwhile, Kim Seoyun looked at me and said what she wanted to say.
“Hey, Lee Dohee. What role are you going to play?”
“What role?”
“Oh! I just thought of a perfect one! The ‘same old jerk’ who falls in love with the chaebol!”
The chaebol, Chiyo, apparently accepted the role and sprang to her feet, pointing at me.
“The same old jerk…!?”
“Haa…”
I was about to ignore the two of them, but I decided to play along a little.
“Oh, you mean that incredibly obnoxious guy?”
Honestly, it was kind of my type.
The three of us burst out laughing.
“…Dohee?”
Naeun gave me a chilly look.
“Ah, right. I have to unpack.”
I picked up my suitcase again.
“So, which room is mine? We haven’t decided on rooms yet, have we?”
From what I’d heard, everyone had moved in today.
They probably hadn’t unpacked yet.
The interior seemed to contain only the furniture the agency had selected and placed, and there were no personal belongings yet.
‘There seem to be four rooms, at a glance.’
Just then, someone tugged me slightly backward, and a hand came to rest on my shoulder.
“Baby.”
There was no mistaking this back hug. It was Uah, who had already known me for seven years.
“Did you miss me, baby?”
I didn’t know where she had appeared from, but Uah rested her chin on my shoulder and flashed me a fresh smile.
Then commentary came from the back of the living room.
“Oh… So Lee Dohee turns out to be the heroine torn between the chaebol and her childhood friend…?”
“Commoner…! I am sorry…! Come to me…!”
“What will she choose!?”
This place really was a madhouse.
“What are you talking about? How long has it even been since we last saw each other?”
Before I could react, Uah’s arm, which had been draped around my shoulders, suddenly dropped.
“Shall we see how much our baby has grown?”
And then her hands began fondling my breasts.
“Ah, stop it. What are you doing?!”
A little while later, Uah was sprawled out on the floor, whining.
“You’re not the Dohee I knew! Sob, sob, you’ve become a boob monster…”
I was the one who’d been assaulted.
“And they’re not even that big, okay?”
What kind of boob monster?
They weren’t that big, either.
Just a pretty, modest D cup.
“Become a boob monster like Lee Dohee versus getting Kim Seoyun’s beautiful figure, a body-line genius showered with praise from fans without a single detractor.”
“The former, of course.”
“Hey!”
Naeun also gave a discreet nod.
“I choose the former, too…”
“Unnie!”
Under the older girls’ piercing gazes, I grew embarrassed without meaning to and covered myself with my hands.
* * *
Everyone was busy unpacking.
—Seoyun, do you want this?
—What is it? Oh my gosh, this is totally my style. Why? You’re not going to wear it?
—Yeah, I don’t think I will. I brought it by mistake.
I also dealt with the clothes Mom had stuffed into my suitcase.
Of course, that was after we had each chosen our rooms.
There were four rooms in total, and three people wanted private rooms.
—I’ll share a room with Chiyo. The three of you can have private rooms.
—Why? We should just play rock-paper-scissors.
—No, Seoyun and Dohee have individual schedules, and Naeun unnie is still a leader, so she should have a private room, too. But if we move rooms next time, can we get priority?
Since Uah and Chiyo had willingly given way first, the matter was settled quickly, and the three of us were able to use private rooms.
After that, we were busy ordering things to decorate our respective rooms.
—Oh my gosh, they even have a garment styler here?
Most of the furniture had already been prepared, so it wasn’t strictly necessary, but everyone had their own personal tastes.
All of this was paid for with the company card, too.
Of course, if we wanted to replace something big, like the furniture or beds, we’d have to pay for it ourselves. Still, I could feel how high the company’s expectations for us were.
The first day passed quickly as we organized and cleaned the dorm, and that evening, we held a modest dinner party to celebrate our new beginning.
* * *
It was a scent that calmed the heart and made me feel at ease.
Maybe it was because I’d missed it.
A nostalgic smell.
Well, I had smelled it every day from the age of eleven to fifteen, so it made sense.
Besides, I had spent nearly as much time there as I had at home.
The practice room in the basement of the TopEast headquarters.
“So, are we practicing first?”
“They told us to go downstairs and warm up for now.”
“Dohee, pull my leg for me.”
We changed into our indoor shoes, stretched, and warmed up.
Then, as we chatted together, we excitedly tried to predict what was going to happen.
“Don’t you think they’ll explain our debut name and concept today, at least?”
What could happen today?
“Probably? Ah, I want to do something pretty and innocent. Honestly, when you think of Kim Seoyun, you have to admit I’m a refreshing beauty, right?”
“Pfft.”
“Chiyo is cho-kawaii, so… I want a cute concept! Why is everyone looking at me like that?! I really am cute! You cannot deny it!”
And how we would make our debut.
Before long, General Team Leader Jeong Sohyeon came down to the practice room.
She smiled and spoke with certainty.
“Girls, let me make this perfectly clear. Your debut is confirmed.”
Thanks to that, the members smiled along with her, filled with anticipation.
“The lineup will remain exactly as it is, and you’ll debut early next year.”
But then came the team leader’s next statement.
“However, the process may be very difficult. So for a while, work hard on exercising and build up your stamina first.”
And when I saw the person who came down behind her, my spirits sank from the very beginning.
“Oh, Dohee and Seoyun are here today, too~”
Our dedicated personal trainer, Coach Minyeong, gave me a radiant smile.
* * *
“How tall are you, Seoyun?”
“165.2 centimeters.”
“Okay, forty-five kilos. Pass!”
“Yes! Did you see that? I told you I’m extremely disciplined about taking care of myself.”
One by one, the members stepped onto the scale.
For some reason, I began to feel uneasy.
“Coach, I’m not trying to make excuses or anything… but I’m 171 centimeters tall, you know?”
“I know~ I take that into account.”
I exhaled every last bit of air and stepped onto the scale.
To be as light as possible.
Then the number appeared on the scale without mercy: 55.2 kilograms.
‘Fuck, when did I gain this much weight? Is it because I ate like usual during vacation but didn’t dance? Or did I really eat that much?’
Even accounting for the weight of my breasts, which were heavier than the older girls’, I’d put on quite a bit.
I hurriedly covered the scale with my hand.
“Dohee, move your hand, okay?”
Of all times, Uah—who was 172 centimeters tall, just slightly taller than me—had weighed in at 51 kilograms moments earlier.
“Coach, just a moment.”
The target weight Coach Minyeong had set for me was fifty-two kilos.
If I gained muscle, it would be a perfectly good weight for my appearance.
“I did gain a little, though, didn’t I?”
“Of course you did. Coach can tell just by looking. So move your hand~”
If things continued like this, I was sure she’d work me to death all day.
“But I’m a singer who’s now, in my own way, communicating with the world, you know?”
“Coach~ Lee Dohee’s tongue is too long~”
“I pinched her belly fat yesterday, and I could grab a little bit~”
“Our maknae does not manage herself properly.”
“Dohee’s going to have to go on a diet again~”
Ignoring the familiar accusations coming from behind me, I stared at Coach Minyeong desperately.
“So if you look at it from a different perspective, I haven’t gained weight. Rather, my point of contact with the world has expanded. You can see it that way, right? What do you think?”
It was true.
“Haha, our Dohee has gotten much better at talking~”
The coach pried my fingers off one by one.
Then she looked at the scale.
“As expected~ Dohee is the most professional of all! Look at how much prettier her body line has become. She even bulked up just the right amount. All right, to encourage everyone to follow Dohee’s example, we’ll start with five sets of twenty burpees, for a total of one hundred, okay?”
“Ah, Lee Dohee!”
“No, Dohee can just do them by herself!”
“That is not right. Not right at all!!!”
“Dohee, I’ll check your diet from tomorrow…”
“Everyone, lay out your mats~ Don’t worry. If you do exactly as Coach says, she’ll shape your lines into something that looks just right.”
The fact that I’d missed this practice room had been an illusion.
* * *
That night, all the members collapsed when they returned to the dorm.
It was a familiar sight.
“Ah, Kim Seoyun, I said I was going to use the bathroom first!”
Naturally, Kim Seoyun dashed into the bathroom, insisting that she would use it first.
Uah slipped into the master bathroom.
Chiyo lay down on the bed or sofa without even washing up.
Naeun let out a sigh.
Still, somehow, everyone managed to wash up, and the members gathered in the living room, sprawled across the sofa.
The sofa was wider than before, with enough room left over even after all of us lay down.
We turned on the TV and flipped through the channels.
“Should we watch a movie and go to sleep?”
Then the channel stopped briefly as we were flipping through.
—Kim Chanwoo is saving the distance by keeping his lead foot alive!
A live broadcast of a UFC championship match, which had been the talk of the town lately, was on the screen.
—Kim Chanwoo comes in with both hands extended. Straight in, straight in! Oh, he throws! He connects! A perfect counter!
Then came an exclamation from beside me.
“すげ…”
Chiyo’s eyes were sparkling.
‘Oh, fuck…’
“Hey, hey, change the channel.”
At Seoyun’s urging, Naeun hurriedly changed the channel, but—
From that night onward, Chiyo kept trying to use standing strikes on the members for quite some time.