At exactly 10:00, when Debonair’s self-produced content was released—
─Ding!
Dohee’s No. 1 fan, a fansite master, naturally hummed with excitement as she immediately opened YouTube.
“Ten o’clock is the perfect time for office workers to shower, lie down in bed, and watch.”
Self-produced content from rookie idols was generally highly likely to be painfully boring, but naturally, that didn’t matter to her in the slightest.
“If anything, I’m looking forward to this more.”
Going by the fansite master’s prediction, their first piece of self-produced content would be less of a variety show and more—
A reality documentary, from the process of preparing for their debut to the showcase, with the underlying message of, “Wouldn’t you like to support these members?”
“And Dohee being serious? I love that so much~”
That might actually be rarer.
Dohee was extremely mischievous, after all.
Of course, the moment she stepped onstage, she became endlessly serious, which was another thing to love about her.
In any case, if the fansite master’s prediction was right and it really was a reality documentary, then the thumbnail for the first self-produced content showed—
The members standing in formation inside a practice room.
And Dohee’s outfit visible in the thumbnail today was…
“Yes, sweatpants and a white T-shirt.”
They said Dohee had started dressing up to the nines on her way to work, but in the practice room, her clothes had always remained consistent.
‘Well, comfortable clothes are definitely best for practice…’
And honestly, she loved this too.
That tiny detail only served to emphasize—
The midriff revealed by a cropped boxy T-shirt, as if she were hot.
The clearly visible straight abdominal muscles.
“Fucking hell, Dohee unnie…”
It was January, and they were currently promoting their debut.
Since it was winter, there had been no reason for her to expose her midriff, so the fansite master had never known.
She had heard Dohee had some abs even during her Seven days, but she never imagined they had become this defined.
Especially since Dohee was obviously wearing compression underwear.
That unmistakable line despite everything… It was overwhelmingly stimulating…
“…Are you out of your mind? What are you thinking about your unnie right now… Oh! Get a grip?”
─Smack, smack.
The fansite master slapped her cheeks several times, then—
[DEB: ON AIR | EP.1]
“Oh… Debonair… ON AIR… The title is actually really good?”
While staring at the title, she let out an exaggerated exclamation and immediately started the forty-five-minute video.
‘Huh? Forty-five minutes? It’s that long? Self-produced content?’
As if reflecting her overwhelming emotions, the opening began with the grand sound of piano keys.
It was the self-composed song by Dohee that had been revealed in the trailer earlier.
And appearing in time with it was the English dictionary from the trailer.
The dictionary contained the following definition in large letters:
DEB:
─1. A young woman making her debut in society
─2. A girl who will debut soon
An effect of the ink being erased, followed by new letters being written.
DEB: ON AIR
“Huh? Seriously?”
Unlike before, the fansite master let out a genuinely bewildered exclamation—not an exaggerated one.
She had thought they had come up with a good title, but—
“DEB had a meaning like this too?”
The fansite master quickly searched it.
“…A young woman making her debut in society. From ‘debutante,’ 1917, derived from sub + deb… What? It’s actually real…?”
Who would have thought there was still a new meaning hidden in the group’s name?
They had clearly kept it hidden specifically for the self-produced content.
She could already vividly imagine fans on every community and social media platform gushing that Top East was a bunch of perverts who knew exactly how to target their fans’ tastes—
No, they were already flooding her social media feed.
─I’m seriously a fan of another group, but does Dohee’s face, body, and proportions make any fucking sense? Is she doing everything by herself?
─Is she really a minor…? I’m genuinely curious about Dohee at twenty… How does she get prettier every day…?
“Ah, not that.”
After pressing an empathetic like, she scrolled down her news feed.
─Is Top East always like this? Seriously, their planning…
─Never thought I’d be impressed just by seeing the title of self-produced content
─For real, every single thing about them is too sophisticated to come from a small agency
The fansite master couldn’t hold back her rising pride and wrote a post herself.
Dorahee @Dol_Ahyee
─Let’s just keep going like this, Top-dong. Take good care of our unnies and keep doing this, and even getting your stock listed won’t be a dream
In any case, that wasn’t what was important right now.
Back to the video… She focused on the video again.
It might have been her imagination, but now that she knew the meaning of the title, she felt even more immersed.
In any case, the opening and preview were still in progress.
[Naeun: Huh? It’s a camera? Where are we going today?]
[Uah: Right? Where are we going?]
[Seoyoon: But with things like this, it’s better not to know.]
[Dohee: It is more fun not to know.]
[Chiyo: Are we taking a walk with an unknown dog…?]
The members were seated around a conference room.
[All: (Ignoring her)]
[Chiyo: I’m scared of dogs… When I was little, the Shiba next door bit me… Dog… It hurts… Itai…]
She continued spouting nonsense.
“…Hmm.”
The subtitles were brightly colored in pink, too.
The fansite master pondered.
Maybe it was a variety show rather than a reality program.
Well, she liked variety shows too.
* * *
Fortunately, once the opening ended, the video was packed with an unexpected amount of reality-documentary footage.
There were so many humorless scenes that she almost wondered if it would be boring.
The members simply appeared again and again, focused on something.
Before she knew it, the fansite master was completely absorbed, doing nothing but nodding.
Choreography practice, physical training, the vocal room, conversations between the members.
[Naeun: Th-there. (Gestures) The line beside you isn’t aligned here. Seoyoon came out a little. Adjust your stride.]
[Seoyoon: Okay, I’ll match Uah.]
Feedback passed back and forth without a single joke.
[Dohee: Let’s change the draft for the first part.]
[Seoyoon: How?]
[Dohee: If you use your hips that forcefully, it feels too old-school. Even taking into account that it’s retro because it’s disco.]
[Uah: Then like you danced earlier?]
[Dohee: Yeah. Use your hips a little less, and instead of keeping your arms tucked in, give your shoulders some recoil. That creates a bigger counter-movement in your arms and upper body, so I think it brings the feeling to life more. What do you think?]
As those scenes played, countless live updates and reaction posts appeared on social media.
─So Dohee was the one who changed this?
─Now I understand why Dohee’s abs got so defined. Their workouts are fucking intense…
The documentary grew heavier as it approached the latter half.
The members’ personal interviews, described as “inner thoughts cams,” began to reveal their honest feelings.
─Naeun
Naeun, who had unfortunately been eliminated in eighth place on *Idol Descent*, had been restless inside while watching her younger sisters promote as Seven.
Moreover, she kept wondering whether she had been made leader now because of her age rather than her ability.
Watching the members with more experience and those who excelled in their own ways, she repeatedly found herself worrying.
─Seoyoon
Seoyoon, who actually had the most experience, was feeling the weight of that experience pile up on her.
Even though she thought she was doing her best and working hard every day, there were still the negative perceptions and bad luck surrounding the spin-off group, along with the popularity she had originally possessed.
She couldn’t help worrying that the fans might be disappointed by the new sides of herself she was about to show them.
─Uah
Uah had been a trainee for the longest.
That inevitably meant she was always bound to feel anxious.
She constantly questioned herself, wondering what she could do well.
She acted optimistic, but waiting for an opportunity could never be entirely comfortable.
─Chiyo
Chiyo had come alone from Japan, and she often felt keenly aware of her shortcomings—not only because of her limited command of the language while living in a foreign land, but also because she had spent the shortest time as a trainee among the members. She couldn’t help feeling lonely from being unable to see her parents.
But Dohee, whom the fansite master was most curious about, simply—
[Dohee: Still, I think wanting to do our best is something (edited) everyone feels.]
She merely smiled faintly and moved on.
Even so, it wasn’t boring.
The documentary’s melodramatic emotional thread ran through the entire production, focusing on how serious the members were and how perfectly they wanted to present this debut stage.
It was healing content that left one’s heart heavy while also making one proud of them.
The fans simply empathized, enjoyed it, and loved it.
─All the members have such great stories…
However, during the final ten minutes, the video suddenly became lively and chaotic.
The conference room from the opening.
The very same conference room where Chiyo had been spouting nonsense.
[Ha Jiyoung/Head of the Content Production Team: All right, everyone, please pay attention.]
In fact, right after Chiyo’s nonsense, a company employee had entered and brought the room to order.
[The name of a fan club holds as much meaning for the artist as it does for the fans, you know.]
The topic that followed wasn’t exactly something that should have caused a commotion, either.
[…hee, so I thought it might be good for the members to come up with the fan club name themselves.]
─Are they finally revealing the fandom name?
─Heart pounding
After forty minutes, the documentary seemed poised to end on a warm and meaningful note, with the members creating their fandom name themselves.
The problem, however, was Dohee, who pulled a notebook out of her bag.
[Dohee: Oh… I actually have a lot of ideas already. (Flipping through it)]
From that moment on, the atmosphere changed completely.
Perhaps the editor knew it was about to get noisy because they had already watched the video, or perhaps they wanted to end the serious documentary on a note of laughter. Either way, the editor changed the emotional trajectory of the video.
[◀◀◀]
The footage rewound.
[Dohee: … (Thinking)]
During breaks in choreography practice, Dohee would laugh and chat with the members, only to suddenly sit by herself, deep in thought, before taking a notebook from her bag and writing something down with a ballpoint pen.
Similar scenes could be spotted in the vocal room, at restaurants, and even inside the car while they were traveling.
Then the video returned to the present, to the conference room.
Dohee hid the notebook beneath the table and flipped through the pages as though searching for something.
[Seoyoon: What is it?]
[Naeun: (Curious) What is it? What’s written in there?]
[Chiyo: What is it…?]
The viewers were just as curious as the members.
Uah casually leaned over Dohee’s shoulder and sneaked a look at the notebook.
A moment later, Uah started giggling.
She lightly moved her lips.
[Uah:
Like, I’m a weirdo
Like nothing ever
Happened]
And it was unmistakably a rhyme from a set of lyrics.
[Dohee: Ah…! Ah, what the heck!]
[Seoyoon: What is this? Have you been writing lyrics lately?]
Dohee’s face turned bright red.
[Dohee: No, it’s just that some composers write the lyrics first and then the song… And when I make a song, sometimes I have to attach any lyrics at all to it first…]
Her excuses came tumbling out.
[Seoyoon: No, but what Uah just read is actually better than I expected.]
[Naeun: Right? It’s pretty good. It’s only one line, but it immediately makes you imagine a story.]
Dohee’s lips… lifted ever so slightly, in a manner that made her feelings obvious.
[Dohee: R-really…? It has kind of a pop-ballad feel, you know? Ahem… Is it okay…?]