"Yeah, yeah. You said you missed your unnie? Reallyyy? You did? Okay, I’ll definitely stop by Doa’s entrance ceremony, okay? Ah, of course you have to cover your face... Allowance? You’re a middle schooler now, so of course I have to give you some as a commemoration! But don’t go spending it all recklessly. Right, I know perfectly well that Doa can take care of things on her own. Huh? You’re busy? It’s morning! Hey, you... Are you busier than me? Hey. Lee Doa. Don’t hang up. Listen to your unnie. Hey, Lee Doa!"
After sleeping well and even talking to Doa on the phone that morning, I felt better than ever.
Which made it the perfect day to carry out my grand undertaking.
It was still the tail end of winter, before spring had arrived, with General Winter still lingering.
I dressed appropriately in front of the mirror for going out, centering my outfit around a short padded jacket. Then I set a navy beanie on my head and left my room.
"Dohee~ Come eat some tomatoes."
Naeun unnie pointed at the bowl heaped with fresh cherry tomatoes on the dining table.
"What about strawberries?"
"Strawberries? Sit, sit. I’ll wash them for you in a second."
"Huh? I was asking if you’d finished them all. I can wash—"
"Just sit there~"
Right then, accompanied by the rustling sound of clothes brushing together, Kim Seoyun burst out of the room next to mine, fully dressed.
"Hey, hey! I’m not late, am I?!"
I checked the current time on the LED clock attached to the refrigerator door that Naeun unnie had opened.
"Ten-thirty."
"Oh, perfect, perfect."
She dashed toward the front door.
That unnie had a solo schedule today.
"I’m off!"
─Bang, beep, click
The heavy sound of the door opening and closing.
"But where are you going, Dohee?"
Naeun unnie set the washed strawberries on the table and scanned my outfit.
"You don’t have a schedule today, do you? You were so happy that you could skip lessons and rest."
"Huh? Oh, I’m just going out to get some air. I do have a really simple schedule, too."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, but it’s such a simple schedule that it’s practically nothing, so I figured I’d meet someone while I was out."
I had commissioned several dance teams to choreograph the title track for our comeback.
But thanks to not having received any drafts yet,
if I had received one...
I would’ve spent the entire day in the practice room again.
Kim Seoyun would’ve cleared her schedule, too.
Well, even so, starting tomorrow I had a whole string of new schedules lined up, with my Popular Songs MC duties as the base, so things would be packed again until the comeback.
"But are Chiyo unnie and Ua unnie still sleeping?"
"I don’t know about Chiyo, but Ua went to the practice room early this morning. She said she wanted to try making a choreography draft herself."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yep, really. I’ll wake Chiyo up in a little while, then we’ll go to the company building together and take lessons or something."
I grabbed a few strawberries and stood up.
"Why? You’re not eating more?"
"I’m dieting."
"Seriously...? Again?"
* * *
"How much is one hotteok?"
"One’s two thousand won, or three for five thousand."
I rummaged through my wallet, pulled out a five-thousand-won bill, and handed it to the woman.
"Then I’ll have five thousand won’s worth..."
So much for dieting.
Since I was planning to snack outside, that had only been the bare minimum of conscience.
'How many calories could a few strawberries possibly have, anyway?'
But hotteok had gotten so expensive.
They used to be five hundred won when I was young.
"Thank you~"
With three hotteok in hand, I lowered my mask slightly and walked down the street, taking small bites.
I intended to burn off as much as I ate.
The destination was roughly seven kilometers away—about ten thousand steps.
A little over an hour on foot.
Still, listening to indie music through my earphones as I walked left me feeling refreshed rather than bored.
Enjoying this rare leisurely stroll, I hoped that no one would recognize me today...
"Excuse me..."
When I turned around, a young woman stood there fidgeting nervously.
About twenty or twenty-one years old.
"Are you... Lee Dohee?"
Though she phrased it as a question, the phone she held out toward me made it clear she was already certain.
Leaving the curious onlookers behind,
I smiled awkwardly and raised my index finger to my lips.
"Hup... I... I really, really... totally love you...!"
I felt a little disappointed and bothered, but for this person, randomly meeting a celebrity could be the start of a wonderful day.
So...
"Wow, what a coincidence. I really like people recognizing me, too. This must be fate, so let’s take a picture together!"
"Really? Oh my gosh, totally, totally!"
I subtly led her toward a place without people.
"And would you like one of these, too? They’re really good."
Since I wouldn’t be able to eat the hotteok while walking anymore anyway, I shared them with her.
I pulled my mask back up to cover my entire face, swept my bangs down, and headed off.
If I jogged a little, I wouldn’t be late for the appointment.
After running and walking for quite some time, I arrived at the JS company building.
"This place is big, too."
It was a building on a scale quite different from our company, Top East.
I was curious.
About our Yeeun unnie.
Had she forgotten that I’d said I would come see her, or did she still remember?
In the Saven group chat, I had acted as though I’d let go of everything, never once letting anything show, so she must surely have forgotten.
'There’s no way I could forget, with this being one of the few sources of stimulation in my daily life. Right?'
That was why today’s schedule was to film a challenge with Sera unnie—the very challenge Sera unnie had been pestering me about endlessly.
It was a little funny doing it after their promotions had ended, but the companies had arranged the schedule, so it was fairly official.
'They should be practicing their comeback song around now, too, so everyone will probably be there.'
The important thing was that this schedule had been arranged separately between the two of us, without Yeeun unnie’s knowledge.
I headed toward the front desk and lowered my mask slightly.
"D, Dohee...!"
There was no need to take it off.
"What? You were waiting for me?"
Sera unnie was already out on the first floor in front of the front desk.
"Yeah... You said you’d come at this time... Dohee always keeps her promises and arrives right on time..."
Sera unnie ran over and threw her arms around me.
"But you’re a little cold, unnie."
"No... I’m warm now..."
Why was this unnie being so sentimental today?
* * *
Yeeun unnie’s innocence made me smile again today.
"Ha-ha! Where are you going, unnie?"
"Aaaah! It’s Lee Dohee! Run awaaay!"
Since I made both my pursuit and my voice sound playful, Yeeun unnie’s escape was leisurely, too.
"...B, Bom!"
"Yes?"
"You run, too! That creature’s a demon!"
"A demon? Dohee unnie? No way, she’s really nice..."
"The reason demons appear in Debonair’s lyrics is... th-that girl is the culprit...!"
"Gasp...!"
What was she talking about?
"Ah, unnie, come here. You promised to have lunch with Sera unnie and Hana unnie. I’m treating today!"
"Whaaat...!? Is that truly so...!?"
"Yep~ I’ll buy you Hanwoo!"
"Kyahahaha!"
Even after entering the entertainment industry, I guess a person’s innocence doesn’t change.
'Isn’t she going to get scammed one of these days?'
More importantly, had this unnie grown bolder lately?
Where had her dejected self gone? Why was she suddenly so confident?
While I was thinking that, Hana unnie, who had been watching with a smile from the side, asked me,
"You’re really buying us Hanwoo?"
"......?"
Was this unnie pretending to be innocent, or what?
Damn it.
* * *
Honestly, I had no desire whatsoever to tease Yeeun unnie.
At first, I had only given her advice because I wanted her to do well.
It was out of an abundance of benevolence, love, friendship, and love for humanity.
Not because Yeeun unnie’s reactions were cute and entertaining or anything.
Yeah.
That was why, now that we were no longer in the same group, there weren’t many things I could casually advise her on.
Her usual posture and mindset.
How to execute choreography and emphasize its key points.
Vocal guidance, and so on.
Those kinds of details were things I could only give immediate feedback on when we were together.
"But... unnie. Flexibility is important even if you’re not in a girl group."
"Gyaaaah... T, time out... It hurts, it huuurts...!"
"I have to do this so you won’t get hurt in your everyday life."
I was sitting on Yeeun unnie’s back while she did the splits.
Sera unnie was clinging to my back from behind.
Under the combined weight of two people, a wail naturally escaped Yeeun unnie.
I felt a strange sense of exhilaration.
'Yes... This is it. This is the Yeeun unnie I know...!'
I alone knew Yeeun unnie’s true, true nature...!
"Ah, I said it huuurts...!"
"...Should we take a short break?"
When I let her go, Yeeun unnie once again gave me a murderous glare.
"...Y, you petty little grudge-holder!"
"What...? Petty?"
"I, I’ll do a three-line acrostic poem with ‘petty’...!"
"...Petty."
"Petty... petty much!"
"Little."
"Little... little!"
"Grudge-holder."
"Grudge-holder... grudge-holding Lee Dohee!"
"......"
After a brief silence, scattered applause began to grow.
─Clap... clap-clap
"Maybe we can start sending our Yeeun on variety shows now."
"Bom admits that one, unnie!"
"Oh..."
Hana unnie, the Ailee members beside her, Bom, and Miho all chimed in.
Honestly, even I had to admit it was a quick-witted response.
The content was satisfying, too, and I found myself impressed by Yeeun unnie’s progress.
"...Fine, I’ll let it slide because your quick thinking was good."
"R, really...?"
"No."
"Aaargh!"
Ah, my dopamine...
* * *
"Still, being in the practice room together like this brings back old memories. Don’t you think?"
Yeeun unnie didn’t answer. She merely let out a long sigh and awkwardly hauled herself to her feet. Judging by the way she rubbed her hip joints, the stretching seemed to have worked well.
The answer instead came from Sera unnie, who was still clinging to me from behind.
"Yeah, I love it...! Dohee, join Ailee, too...!"
"Should I?"
"Yeah...! Let’s go sign a contract with our producer...! She said she missed you, anyway...!"
"...What are you talking about? Are you serious?"
I pulled Sera unnie down from my back.
"Enough. Get down now. My shoulders already get stiff all the time."
"Aw..."
It wasn’t even as though we hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so why was she clinging to me so much?
Of course, the unnies often latched onto me at the dorm, too, saying I was soft.
"But Dohee, I heard you composed the title track for your comeback."
Hana unnie asked while continuing to stretch her sides.
"Huh? How did you know? Who told you?"
I had wanted to brag, but I’d kept it hidden just in case.
"Seoyun told me in a private message. She said you kept acting all smug while producing it."
"...Ah, seriously, Kim Seoyun. I was going to keep it hidden and then tell everyone myself. Sigh... Since it’s already out, can I listen to an Ailee song before I go? I want to practice it."
The answer came back firmly.
"You play it perfectly after hearing it just once."
"Oh... Sharp observation."
In any case, since people were calling Debonair and Ailee rivals, I was honestly curious, too.
As a listener, I was looking forward to hearing Ailee’s song...
"Enough. Let’s go get lunch already. There’s a Hanwoo restaurant out front. I hear the tenderloin is good."
"...Hanwoo? We’re eating Hanwoo for lunch?"
"You said you were treating."
"I’ll enjoy the meal, Dohee unnie!"
"Dohee, earlier... We said you should just be our unnie’s little sister, but since you debuted with Saven first... It’s only right to call you our senior, isn’t it? Thank you, Dohee sunbaenim!"
Yeeun unnie also sidled over awkwardly, wearing a coy expression despite herself.
"......"
Seriously, what was going on? Why was everyone acting like this?