‘Why are they so close...?’
The female college student’s question was perfectly reasonable.
In fact, with the exception of Ailly, most other derivative groups did not finalize their members until around the time a survival project group was formed at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Dohee stepped in front of the camera on-screen and made a thoughtful sound.
[Dohee: Hmm... Who should I introduce first?]
[Seoyoon: Hey, wait.]
[Dohee: Yes?]
[Seoyoon: Why are you introducing us?]
[Dohee: Ah, should Naeun unnie do it?]
[Seoyoon: No? I’m going to do it. Let me try being the leader for once. I can do it well.]
At that absurd answer, the distinctive narration of *Life Theater* played.
[• The two are constantly eyeing the leader’s position.]
─Why do they act exactly the same even when the group changes? lol
─They’re consistent lol
[Chiyo: Me too. I want to try it too!]
[• Three?]
─You too? lol
When Naeun took off her mask and sighed, the three of them started playing rock-paper-scissors on their own.
It was so natural that it seemed like part of their everyday routine.
[Chiyo: Why are you so good at rock-paper-scissors?]
[Dohee: All right, go back in, go back in.]
They all accepted the result of the match without a word.
[• At last, it is time to introduce Debonair.]
[Dohee: Seoyoon, come over here first.]
[Seoyoon: What, I’m being introduced first? I’m the final boss.]
[Dohee: Actually, shouldn’t we start by introducing the image that represents Top East?]
[Seoyoon/Face of Top East: Ah~ That’s true.]
[• She likes it.]
[Dohee: When you think of Top East, you think of beagle energy. Yes, we’ll start with Seoyoon.]
[Seoyoon/Top East’s representative puppy: No, I’m actually very calm.]
─Ah~ So she means a rabid dog.
─She’s beyond beagle level...
─But Dohee, you’re a representative of that side too.
[Dohee: First of all, Seoyoon unnie, how old are you?]
Seoyoon parted her lips to answer, but Dohee immediately spoke up.
[Dohee: Yes, she’s 21 years old, and it’s been one year since she became an adult. Ah, these days she sometimes pretends to drink at the dorm, claiming that she’s an adult. But she only puts her lips to it, and the amount never seems to decrease. She just has a child’s palate.]
[Seoyoon: ...?]
[• Seoyoon is flustered.]
─LOL suddenly?
─Judging by this, Seoyoon must have teased Dohee with alcohol, right? lol
─At eighteen, it’s only natural to be curious about alcohol lol
─Wow... Come to think of it, the difference in their height and bust... Dohee’s the older one.
[Dohee: Anyway, Seoyoon unnie. What position do you hold in the group?]
[Seoyoon: ...Yes. I’m the me...]
The moment Seoyoon opened her mouth to answer—
[Dohee: Yes. Main vocalist. She does sing well, though. She was born with it.]
Seoyoon glared at Dohee, but nodded at the compliment that followed.
[Seoyoon: We’re getting along pretty well today.]
[Dohee: That’s enough. You can go back now.]
[Seoyoon: ...? It’s over?]
Dohee checked a nonexistent watch on her wrist.
[Dohee: We don’t have time. You should’ve won rock-paper-scissors.]
[Seoyoon: Hoo...]
[• She follows orders well.]
─She accepts defeat cleanly when it comes to a match lol
Dohee turned her head and scanned the waiting list.
[Dohee: Next...]
Chiyo waved both hands energetically, making a forceful appeal with her entire body.
─Knowing Dohee’s personality, she won’t pick her on purpose if she acts like that.
─For real.
Just as the chat predicted, the member Dohee brought over was not Chiyo, but the eldest, Naeun.
Chiyo, glaring at Dohee from within the blurry camera angle, was faintly captured as the greeting from Naeun began with the caption:
[Naeun: Hello, I’m Naeun, Debonair’s leader and lead vocalist.]
[Dohee: She’s 23! Five years older than me.]
─Huh? For a moment, was there murderous intent in Naeun’s eyes...?
─Hey, Lee Dohee!
Fortunately, unlike when she introduced Seoyoon, Dohee began enthusiastically listing Naeun’s virtues.
[Dohee: First of all, our Naeun unnie is perfect and hardworking in every way, but she’s also so kind that you can’t help but wonder how someone can be this nice.]
As Dohee continued praising her, the camera shifted to Naeun, who looked embarrassed for a moment.
[Dohee: She always gives way to and takes care of the younger members. She makes sure we eat, and whenever I’m playing the piano, she cuts up fruit for me and brings it over, and even makes tea for me.]
─What...? Top East has a character like that?
─Tea and snacks...? She even brings them over...?
─For Dohee and Seoyoon too...?
By then, Seoyoon had joined Chiyo in the background, glaring at Dohee with her arms crossed irritably.
[Seoyoon: Why don’t we just introduce each other?]
[Chiyo: Please wait just a little longer.]
─LOL why is she so cute?
Ua waved at the camera without paying any attention, as if none of this mattered.
[Dohee: Anyway, I guarantee that she’s Debonair’s official angel.]
─Pardon?
─Hmm...
Even Ua, who had been waving, crossed her arms with an extremely dubious expression.
─LOL Ua disagrees?
─Our Dohee is definitely a baby angel^^
[Dohee: Naeun unnie, were you satisfied with my introduction?]
[Naeun: ...You praised yourself at the end, though?]
[Dohee (the no-nonsense youngest): Due to time constraints, we’ll move right on to the next person.]
Chiyo, who had been glaring at her, raised her hand again and put on a bright, fake smile.
[Dohee: Okay. Chiyo unnie, come over here.]
Once she stood in front of the camera, Chiyo covered her face, apparently embarrassed.
[Dohee: Don’t pretend to be shy.]
[Chiyo: Aww... I’m shy...]
[Dohee: Then I won’t introduce you.]
[Chiyo (the shy one): Oh? Then I’ll introduce myself! Hello! I’m Chiyo! I’m 20 years old!]
[• A perfect change of stance.]
─LOL what is she?
─Didn’t she say she was shy? lol
Perhaps realizing that she had been fooled, Dohee immediately tried to introduce her.
[Dohee: Chiyo unnie is...]
[Chiyo: Yes! I’m Debonair’s rapper. Even so, my pronunciation gets really good when I rap. Mic check, one-two, one-two.]
[Dohee: Ah, don’t hit me.]
─A random boxing reference at “one-two, one-two” lol
─Dohee suddenly became a punching bag lol
The scene switched to an interview segment.
Only three members, excluding Dohee and Chiyo, were seated in front of the camera.
However, the sound of the two bickering could be heard from off-camera.
─???
─LOL what’s going on?
[• Members who get along well.]
When the scene returned to the original shot, Dohee had a firm grip on both of Chiyo unnie’s arms and continued the introduction at her own pace.
[Dohee: The amazing thing about our Chiyo unnie is that, although she’s Japanese, her Korean and English pronunciation gets really good whenever she raps. It’s fascinating to watch.]
[Chiyo: I want to say just one thing...]
─LOL looks like Dohee subdued her.
─Is this really girl-group content? lol
[Dohee: Yes, go ahead.]
[Chiyo: I’m pretty good at Korean, aren’t I?]
[Dohee: Right?]
[Chiyo: Maybe that’s why everyone seems to add a Korean surname to my name.]
There was a brief silence.
A caption appeared beneath Chiyo.
─Kim Chiyo, for crying out loud lol
─I think I’m starting to understand Debonair’s team color...
─She’s really completely lost it lol
Back to the interview scene.
Chiyo and Naeun were seated in the chairs in front, while the other members sat in a circle on the practice-room floor behind them.
[PD: Which Kim clan are you from, Chiyo?]
Chiyo suddenly pulled out an Andong Hahoe mask from behind her and put it on her face.
[Chiyo: I’m from the Andong Kim clan.]
Naeun, who was sitting beside her, grabbed her head as if she had given up.
[The genuine Andong Kim clan’s thirty-second-generation descendant/Kim Naeun: Chiyo, we agreed to use that nickname only among ourselves...]
[(Kim) Chiyo: Did I make a mistake?]
─No lol A Japanese person whose nickname is Kim Chiyo.
─Putting aside the fact that she’s Japanese, giving a girl-group member the nickname Kimchi is a disaster lol
─It’s even funnier that Naeun is genuinely from the Andong Kim clan lol
─There’s someone even worse than Rahee and Seoyoon lol
Regardless, the members in the back continued chatting.
[Ua: Which Kim clan are you from, unnie?]
[Seoyoon: I’m from the Gimhae Kim clan.]
[Dohee: From now on, just say you’re from the Andong Kim clan. It’s funnier that way.]
[Seoyoon: I’ll ask my dad.]
[• She takes variety shows very seriously.]
─Rahee, have you really lost it? lol
─Why are they suddenly asking about ancestral clans? lol
─What does she need to ask her dad for? LOL
Usually, the production crew avoided including their laughter, but the scene returned to the practice room accompanied by the staff’s loud laughter.
The members refreshed the mood with everyday expressions, as if nothing had happened.
The camera zoomed in on Ua, who wore the most shameless expression of them all.
Dohee’s arm entered the camera angle, wrapped around Ua’s waist, and pulled her forward.
[• The youngest takes the lead for the long-waiting Ua.]
And then the reason the members had seemed so close to the female college student, Ua’s fan, began to emerge.
[Dohee: Before introducing Ua unnie, there’s something I really wanted to say. All of us have actually known each other for a long time, you know?]
[Ua: Right?]
[Dohee: Naeun unnie and Seoyoon unnie joined the company in 2019, and I joined in 2018...]
─As expected of the longest-serving trainee, who joined at eleven...
─So Seoyoon and Naeun joined at the same time.
─It makes sense that Naeun takes such good care of the younger ones. From Naeun’s perspective, Dohee’s first impression was a fifth-grader. Yikes.
Meanwhile, the camera captured the three quietly talking in the back.
[Seoyoon: When I first met her, I thought it was cute and endearing that a twelve-year-old was trying to teach me things just because she was my senior... But these days, that kid is just...]
[Naeun: Tsk, don’t say that. She’s still kind.]
[Chiyo: She was at least cute when she was fourteen... But now she’s completely cheeky... Tsk tsk...]
─That’s such a close-friend vibe lol
─A twelve-year-old Dohee trying to teach them must’ve been insanely cute...
─Chiyo’s vocabulary is totally Korean lol
─Wow, even with a rough calculation, Chiyo trained for four years. What’s with Top East’s training periods? Insane.
─There’s a reason they’re so good onstage.
The chat window filled rapidly as new facts were revealed.
[Dohee: Some of you may mistake me for the longest-serving trainee, but Ua unnie actually trained for a few months longer than I did. We joined in the same year, though.]
[Ua: Right~ Dohee was street-cast later. Remember? At first, she was terrible at dancing. She was only good at piano.]
[Dohee: Ahem.]
─Wow, so they’ve both been trainees for eight years?
─They’ve all been around for such a long time.
[Dohee: Anyway, to conclude, our Ua unnie is kindhearted, but after training for so long, there’s nothing she can’t do. She’s a truly versatile main dancer. And finally, I’m Lee Dohee, Debonair’s center!]
Dohee gave the camera a thumbs-up and finished her introduction.
[Dohee: Okay, introductions over!]
But two members popped into the frame from behind, as if to say it was not over yet.
[Seoyoon: No, the word “center” isn’t enough to describe you.]
[Chiyo: I’ll do it for you. Very thoroughly.]
Dohee, suddenly alarmed by their enthusiasm, waved her arms frantically.
[Dohee: No, it’s fine. I don’t need it.]
[Seoyoon: Lee Dohee is! Ve~ry ill-mannered, you know? Sometimes she treats her unnies like younger sisters.]
[Chiyo: Exactly! That’s what I was going to say! When your unnie teaches you something, you’re supposed to say thank you! Chatter, chatter! Korea is the land of Eastern manners, you know!]
[Dohee: What’s a Japanese person doing going on about Korea being the land of Eastern manners?]
[Chiyo: I’m Kim Chiyo!]
[Dohee: No... In the first place, did I say anything wrong? I’m only saying this because I want all of you unnies to do well~ Enough. Enough! Stop!]
Dohee pushed the two away and tried to slip out naturally.
However, they grabbed both of Dohee’s arms.
[Seoyoon: Tsk! Look at this, look at this! You’re talking back again, aren’t you? Huh!]
[Chiyo: We’re going to teach you a proper lesson today! Do you really think of me as your unnie or not?]
The camera slowly shifted its focus to the back.
Ua sat comfortably on the sofa, leisurely watching the spectacle, while Naeun let out a deep sigh.
[• This is Debonair’s extraordinary everyday life.]