Chiyo unnie came out of the bathroom with a long towel wrapped tightly around her body.
“Eek...!”
Startled, she grabbed the towel and covered herself, then thrust a hand toward my camera lens.
“Dohui-jjang, where exactly are you filming...?!”
There was no need to panic.
“You’re all still wondering who this strange person is, aren’t you?”
Because she was fully dressed underneath that towel.
‘I was wondering why she suddenly went into the bathroom.’
“Still, you’ll be seeing her often from now on, so I hope you’ll get used to her. I’ve been with her for three years, and I still haven’t gotten used to—”
“Ah! Dohui-jjang, you super hentai!”
—Thwack.
“Hey, you son of a—”
* * *
“The camera fell and briefly shut off from the impact.”
After returning to my room and sitting down in front of the piano, I turned the camcorder back on.
I wanted to start with a calm mind.
“It feels like it’s been a while since I filmed a self-cam. Thinking about our Shabenu makes me miss you all...”
“What was that? You said you missed Seoyoon the most?”
Ha...
“Me too~ V~ Heart~”
“Did you miss Chiyo, perhaps? It can’t be helped. Go ahead and look at her as much as you like.”
“What are you doing here? The fans don’t even know your name yet.”
“That is not true. I was also Shabenu. So we were all supporting the same person together.”
I should have locked the door.
“What does that have to do with—”
“Ah, my favorite is Seoyoon unnie.”
“The fans must have really wanted to see Chiyo too.”
“That is correct.”
“Ah, just get out already!”
“I have changed my favorite. It is Dohui.”
Was that supposed to work?
“Wooa unnie!!!”
I shouted for Wooa unnie at the top of my lungs.
“Eek... So narrow-minded, Dohui-jjang... All that big chest, and it’s completely decorative...”
“Chiyo, don’t interrupt Dohui while she’s working.”
Wooa unnie entered the room.
“Let’s go out and have some snacks. It smells amazing, right? Naeun unnie just baked some cookies.”
She patted Chiyo unnie on the back and ushered her out.
Phew...
“But why aren’t you leaving, unnie?”
“Why? I’m an unveiled member, aren’t I? I’ll stay. I want to hear the song Dohui made.”
“I’ll let you hear it later. I can’t concentrate while playing when I’m embarrassed.”
“Good grief... Embarrassed, my foot... When you were little, you used to kiss your unnie on the cheek and act all cute~ You were such an adorable baby bunny maknae...”
Seriously.
When.
Did I ever do that?
“How did you grow up so much and enter this turbulent period of adolescence...? Seoyoon unnie is sad because she misses those days, so I’ll be going... Shuffle, shuffle...”
I barely managed to get Seoyoon unnie out.
But this time, someone else came barging in as if this were a tag match.
Just as I was about to snap—
“Dohui, eat some snacks before you work.”
It was Naeun unnie.
She was carrying a tray filled with tea and cookies.
“I love you.”
Naeun unnie didn’t even listen to my confession.
She set the tray down, smiled,
then looked at the camera with a slightly bashful expression.
She tucked her hair behind her ear and spoke softly and primly.
“Hello. I’m Naeun...”
I was going to lose my mind.
* * *
It went without saying that a MIDI instrument couldn’t bring out the unique appeal of an acoustic one.
The performance would change according to the way my hands played,
and it wouldn’t contain my own personal interpretation.
The dynamics and accents.
That was why the recording of this piano piece had to come directly from my own performance.
“Today is recording day.”
A studio didn’t require much.
My room, although my piano had only been fitted with simple recording equipment, was in no way inferior to a professional studio.
The perfectly installed soundproofing played a part in that,
but even if I went to a professional piano-recording studio, noise generated by the piano itself couldn’t be avoided.
In the end, that meant the noise would have to be processed afterward.
The only things I needed to consider were the piano’s tone and sound.
In other words, which piano to choose.
There were several pianos favored by performers.
Every one of them was a high-priced luxury brand.
The Italian Fazioli, with its rich, beautiful resonance and soft touch.
The Austrian Bösendorfer, natural and free of excessive spread, with excellent projection.
The Japanese Kawai, with its broad, deep sound and rich harmonic composition in the upper register.
And my piano now.
The one I had splurged on and bought after making up my mind to indulge myself.
A Hamburg Steinway, whose grandeur and sound were incomparable even among the countless luxury instruments.
The keys of this expensive piano
held this song perfectly.
I placed my hands on them and began the recording.
* * *
“Ah! Director, this is something I filmed by myself during the recording because I thought we might release it as behind-the-scenes footage...”
I hadn’t had particularly high expectations.
Although I had shown my musicality by participating in the composition and arrangements during Seven’s activities the previous year, I was still a seventeen-year-old girl who had never created a song entirely on her own. I had only begun studying in earnest at the start of this year.
That was why I had been wondering whether I had made an unreasonable request.
At one point, I even considered asking Dohui whether she would like to collaborate with another pianist.
But I hadn’t been able to bring myself to say it, because she always spent her free time doing nothing but playing the piano.
And so, when the song came through the speakers,
I found myself acknowledging it once again.
That this girl joining the company was an unparalleled stroke of luck.
Even Jeong Sohyeon, who had worked in the A&R department for many years
but lacked expertise in classical music, could tell.
It was perfectly intense.
The trailer would seize the public’s attention completely.
What remained was for the title tracks to do their part.
Which meant it was probably time to gradually increase her exposure in the media again.
* * *
Mokdong SBC, where I arrived as soon as school ended.
The hallway outside the radio studio.
“You here?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Seoyoon unnie, who had been chatting amiably with the stylist, greeted me.
I slipped naturally between them and had my makeup touched up.
After greeting the writers, I entered the studio.
—Like the righteous TS Shampoo, which has stubbornly used only good ingredients for years...
An advertisement played between segments. Inside the booth, the DJ spotted us and waved.
An Jihyo was a comedienne in her forties who greeted the members each time with bright, cheerful energy.
“Dohui! Seoyoon!”
“Hello!”
“Hello, sunbaenim! It’s been a while!”
“The studio suddenly got so much brighter with you two here. How are you both so pretty?”
Seoyoon unnie answered with a radiant smile.
“Really? Ahaha, thank you~”
I demurely swept back my hair.
“Oh, I’m not that pretty~”
Seoyoon unnie shot me a sidelong glare.
“What’s gotten into her?”
“What is it, Seoyoon unnie?”
“And what’s with the honorifics?”
“What? Oh, no... You told me last time to use them. Ah, I’m sorry for showing it outside, unnie... I’ll do better next time. Please don’t hit me...”
“What? Seoyoon hits Dohui?”
“Hit her, my foot. Damn it. Look at her height. If anyone’s getting hit around here, it’d be me. She’s even stronger than I am!”
“I’m sorry... You told me to pretend I was the one bullying you when we were outside... I’m sorry I’m so oblivious... I’m sorry...”
“Wow, Seoyoon. I never would’ve thought...”
Kim Seoyoon began hopping around in protest.
“No...! Do you think I’d do that?! She isn’t even someone I could bully in the first place!”
An Jihyo burst out laughing and gestured for us to come in.
“Yes, sunbaenim! Unnie, you go in first... You said elders should go first...”
Today, this was my role.
“Ah, stop doing that outside!”
Now that I was a high school student,
I needed to show a slightly more mature side of myself.
“We’re going to the signal!”
As soon as the producer gave the cue, An Jihyo wiped the laughter from her face and began the broadcast.
“On the always-thrilling radio show, This Moment! An Jihyo’s Durai is starting now!”
“Our guest on Durai today! Oh my, they’re far too fresh and adorable to call mere Durai guests—they’re super, super, super amazing guests, aren’t they? Let me introduce them. The Seven stars I adore so much, who, sadly, we can’t see right now but are shining wherever they may be! And among them, the Gemini pair! Lee Dohui and Kim Seoyoon. Welcome!”
“Hello, I’m Dohui~”
“Yes, I’m Seoyoon!”
“That’s all? Huh? Your expressions don’t look very happy. Your cheeks are puffed up like balloons. Was there some problem with my introduction?”
“We aren’t twins.”
“That’s right, we’re not.”
“Ah, that part!? Okay, great! We’re doing a visual broadcast right now, so look at the camera and prove that you aren’t twins!”
“See? Perfectly bright, sparkling eyes—and mine are bigger! And her eyes have a softer shape!”
As Seoyoon unnie clearly introduced our features, I demurely swept back my hair.
“Ah, she keeps making me look like the weird one.”
“Huh...? I’m just acting like I normally do...”
“Hahaha, exactly. Dohui really came in with a committed concept today, didn’t she?”
“Exactly! She suddenly started using honorifics from the waiting room onward. She’s being strange.”
“Lee Suhwan has sent in a message. Would you like to read it?”
“...It’s nice to see our twins together like this again, kkkkkk.”
“Ms. Dohui, please answer!”
“We said we aren’t.”
“Hey, are you the only one who hates it? I hate it too!”
“Kim Mingyu says, ‘Fine, then don’t be twins. Just be sisters.’”
“Yes. Let’s stop there, then.”
“That’s my absolute limit.”
“Certainly, that must mean the two of you seem that comfortable with each other, right?”
“I’m just letting it slide. She’s my younger sister, after all.”
“You’re the only one who thinks that way. I get along well with all my unnies.”
“Hah, you have no idea how much I let you have your way because I’m your unnie.”
“It’s because your little sister is so cute and pretty, isn’t it?”
“Ah~ Gu Hyeonwoo has sent in, ‘Seven Sisters, you two always look exactly alike~’ So let’s take a brief break here. I’d like to ask you both a question! Now, it’s been three months since your official media appearance after your formal activities ended in March this year, right? Seoyoon, what have you been doing all this time?”
“Hmm, after spending some time with my family, I returned to the agency and have been working very hard to prepare for my debut.”
“Ah! Debut. That’s right, that’s right. You have to debut again. And what else? Don’t tell me that’s all?”
“Hmm... We moved to a new dorm? There have been a few dorm-related episodes, but aside from practicing, there really hasn’t been much. If anything, Dohui probably has more to talk about.”
“Okay, then let’s move on to this question. Dohui, what have you been doing?”
“Uh, I...”
“Yes, I know! It was huge news when you entered a competition recently and won the grand prize. And now you’ve become an ambassador for the famous luxury brand C?”
“Yes, and...”
“And you’ve been going to school!”
She knew everything already.
Then why had she asked?
“I’ve just been practicing, same as Seoyoon unnie.”
“Oh, Dohui’s sulking!”
“...I’m not.”
“Kim Seonuk has sent another message. ‘She’s the youngest, and she’s always been a sulky little maknae, so please understand her, Jihyo noona~’ Oh, of course I should understand her!”
Seoyoon unnie gave a standing ovation.
“Oh, Kim Seonuk. A perfect character analysis.”
I glared at the camera.
“I’m not sulking.”
Naturally, Kim Seoyoon was delighted. She leaned close to the microphone
and whispered,
“Ah, and this is something I got permission from the director to talk about... We’re really going to reveal it for the first time on Durai.”
“Oh, what is it, what is it...?”
“A spoiler. About our next group.”
Huh? This was the first I’d heard of it.
They had permission to give spoilers?
“Wow... Seoyoon, such incredibly huge information!? Listeners, you heard her, right? Pay attention, pay attention!”
“When we debut again...”
“When you debut again?”
“Dohui will be...”
“Me?”
“The maknae again!”
I wondered what kind of spoiler that was supposed to be. It was absurd,
but the DJ and Seoyoon unnie were having the time of their lives, as though it were a festival.
Looking at the countless radio messages congratulating us,
I couldn’t say I felt all that good about it.