“Mom, I want to go too.”
“You have to go to the company to practice that day.”
“Ah, I don’t wanna.”
“What are you going to do if you don’t want to?”
“I don’t knowww. Let me gooo.”
“Try to be patient. I’ll take lots of pictures of Doa instead.”
“Ugh, this is so annoyiiiiiing~”
The day after tomorrow was the day our Doa would have her elementary school entrance ceremony.
How could I not be there for such an important moment...?
When I grew gloomy, Doa came over to comfort me.
“Unnie, I’m okay!”
I pulled Doa into my arms and said,
“Unnie isn’t okay... It’s obvious that everyone’s going to see Doa and cling to her...”
Even I had been confessed to by elementary school kids several times.
Unlike me, who was decisive, Doa was softhearted and might not be able to turn them down...
“Doa, even if boys start clinging to you, you have to tell them that you’re going to live with Unnie forever, okay?”
“No.”
“Hmm...?”
I couldn’t believe Doa had just said no.
In the past, no matter what I said, she would always say she understood...
Had Doa already grown up that much?
“Why...? Doa, you promised you’d live with Unnie forever!”
“Unnie doesn’t play with me much these days.”
“Is that because Unnie doesn’t play with you? Then should Unnie quit being a trainee? Doa is the most important thing to Unnie. I can’t live without you. Sniff, sniff.”
Mom, who had been listening, smacked me on the head, apparently unable to stand watching any longer.
“Ow! Why did you hit me again!”
“Quit? Who said anything about quitting? Stop talking nonsense and get ready for bed. You said you have your monthly evaluation tomorrow.”
“I don’ttt. Sniff, sniff...”
Monthly evaluation, shmonthly evaluation. Doa was the most precious thing in the world to me...
“Doa, want to sleep with Unnie tonight...?”
“If I sleep with you, you keep hugging me. It’s uncomfortable. I don’t like it.”
“I’ll just hold your hand while we sleep...”
“No. I’m going to sleep by myself.”
After saying that, Doa went into the bathroom to wash up.
Our Doa had already reached the age where she could be independent...
That day, I searched for things like “independence in an eight-year-old,” “eight-year-old puberty,” and “child who wants to do things alone” on my phone before finally falling asleep late.
.
.
.
The company building, the following day.
“Unnie, I’m here...”
“Dohee~”
Ua rushed over and threw her arms around me again.
“Unnie, you’re a middle schooler now. Stop clinging to me.”
“No. I’ll keep clinging to you even when I’m an adult.”
Since I kept accepting it, she had become an unnie who hugged me whenever she was bored.
Could Doa have found it annoying when I hugged her, too?
I missed Doa...
How adorable would Doa look introducing herself at her entrance ceremony?
Seeing how gloomy I was, Ua unnie asked,
“Why do you look so lifeless today?”
“My little sister’s entrance ceremony is tomorrow, but I have to come to work tomorrow too...”
“Oh, your little sister is starting elementary school now?”
“Yeah. Sigh...”
I missed Doa...
I didn’t want to do anything...
“Ask the team leader if you can attend the entrance ceremony and come to work afterward.”
“It feels awkward to miss work for a personal reason...”
Especially since I was getting paid for it, which made it feel even more awkward.
Ua unnie probably didn’t know that, though.
“You can ask after you do well on the monthly evaluation.”
“Okay.”
“Right. If you don’t do well, you won’t even be able to ask, so let’s practice.”
.
.
.
After practicing all day, it was time for the monthly evaluation.
Cameras had been installed on either side, while the vocal instructor, dance instructor, Team Leader Jeong Sohyeon, and finally the company president sat in front of us as judges.
The song Ua unnie and I had prepared was originally a mixed-gender dance song sung by one man and one woman.
The president spoke first.
“How old are you two?”
“We’re twelve.” “Fourteen!”
“Isn’t this song a poor fit for your ages? Which one of you is singing the male part and which one is singing the female part?”
“I’m doing the male part, and Unnie is doing the female part.”
“Is that so? Start, then.”
The MR began, and Unnie and I started singing and dancing.
The main point of the song was a sexy appeal in which the two performers seduced each other.
I faced the stage with as bewitching an expression as I could manage.
When the song ended,
the judges’ expressions weren’t bad, so I supposed we hadn’t done too poorly.
Vocal trainer Instructor Gwon Hyeok spoke first.
“Dohee and Ua, your skills have improved a lot.”
“Thank you!”
“Overall, you did well. But when you sing while dancing, you keep putting too much force into your voices. Your expressions become distorted, too. Are you planning to perform like that onstage?”
“No, sir.”
“I told you that live singing is the foundation of being a singer, didn’t I? Saying that dancing makes you tired is nothing more than an excuse. This is something you can fix. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
Next was dance instructor Moon Yerim.
“First of all, that was good.”
“Thank you!”
“Especially Dohee. You dance with a lot of masculine energy, and your expressions are good, too.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“But Dohee, how tall are you now?”
“I’m 152.9 centimeters!”
I had grown nearly ten centimeters over the past year.
“Have you ever seen a man onstage who was shorter than the woman?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then why did Dohee take the male role? Ua is taller than you. Are you planning to do it that way onstage, too?”
“I’m sorry. I told Unnie that I wanted to do the male role.”
“Dohee, I know you’re good at dancing like a man, but you need to treat the monthly evaluation like a real stage, too. Get your head straight.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Switch parts and be evaluated again next time.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Now it was Team Leader Jeong Sohyeon’s turn to evaluate us.
“Girls.”
“Yes!”
“You know we’re recruiting new trainees this year, right?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Do you think the kids who are coming in will be worse than you?”
“No.”
“Be nervous. The reason you look good right now is because you have no one to compare yourselves to.”
“Yes.”
“Especially you, Ua. You’re fourteen, two years older than Dohee, so you need to be that much better. Fourteen isn’t all that young for a trainee.”
“Yes...”
“Dohee, you could have done better than this, too.”
“Yes....”
“If I didn’t have expectations for you, I wouldn’t say any of this. You know that, right?”
“Yes!”
Finally, it was the president’s turn.
I was the most nervous now.
“It seems everything has already been said, so I won’t evaluate you any further.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But if I were to say just one thing, don’t assume that you’re guaranteed to debut simply because you’re currently the only trainees in our company. Our company will be bringing in more trainees soon, and we’ll immediately terminate the contracts of those without potential and send them away. You need to work harder, too. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. The stage was entertaining. Both of you have definitely improved a lot.”
“Thank you!”
Whew. Fortunately, his final words had been positive.
If I did well, I might be able to attend Doa’s entrance ceremony after all.
After the evaluation ended, I cleaned the dance studio and wrote in my journal before going to Team Leader Jeong Sohyeon.
“Team leader!”
“Yeah? What is it?”
The team leader answered absentmindedly while watching the video recorded during today’s monthly evaluation.
“I was wondering... could I come to work after lunch tomorrow?”
“What’s the reason?”
“It’s my little sister’s entrance ceremony, hehe... I’ll work hard after I get back!”
“Sure. Go.”
She still answered absentmindedly.
“Really?”
“Ua will be coming in late tomorrow because of her middle school entrance ceremony anyway, so go with her and use it to coordinate your lessons.”
“Thank you, team leader!”
I bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
Only then did she look at me and smile as if she found me cute.
The team leader could be a little indifferent, but she did take good care of us.
I left the company building and called Mom.
“Mom, when are you coming?”
—Oh, right. I forgot because I was looking at clothes for Doa to wear to her entrance ceremony.—
“...How can you do this to your own daughter? You’ve wounded me deeply.”
—You’re twelve now. You’re old enough to take care of yourself, so take the bus home today.—
“What if your delicate daughter gets attacked on the streets at night? Aren’t you worried?”
—Delicate, my foot. It’s only ten stops by bus, so what’s the big deal? When you walk, stick to the main road~ I’m hanging up!—
Mom said what she wanted to say and hung up.
Hey, I’m an elementary schoolgirl.
And not just any elementary schoolgirl—I’m an SSS-rank beauty.
Even though Seoul was safe, she could at least worry about me.
In the end, I took the bus home alone.
When I entered the house, Dad greeted me.
“Our daughter’s home? Aren’t you tired?”
I answered as I took off my shoes.
“A little. So where are that mean mom and Doa?”
Mom came out of the room.
“That mean mom is right here.”
“Judging by your appearance, you certainly seem like the sort of mean mom who breaks promises as easily as she eats meals.”
“Heh, you won’t be able to say that once you see Doa.”
“No matter how pretty Doa is, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re a mean mom.”
“Just look first. Doa, come out~ Unnie’s home~”
Doa came out of the room wearing a turtleneck layered under a tweed dress, with a black ribbon tied in her hair.
She was fucking adorable.
“Unnie!”
Doa ran over and hugged me.
“Oh my, our Doa’s wearing a princess outfit for the new school year!”
“Yeah, Mom picked it out for me.”
When Doa was younger, she found it bothersome, but as she grew older, she began to enjoy having Mom and me choose her clothes.
Still holding Doa, I spoke to Mom.
“Okay, I’ll admit it just this once. There won’t be a next time.”
“Okay. Thank you!”
“Oh, and I’m going to Doa’s entrance ceremony tomorrow.”
“What about your lesson tomorrow?”
“The team leader gave me permission. It’s thanks to all the praise I got during the monthly evaluation.”
“That’s too bad. I was only going to watch you and tease you.”
“As expected, a mean mom never changes.”
“I hope a mean daughter who speaks so disrespectfully to her mother goes somewhere far away.”
In the end, Doa said,
“You and Mom are both so childish.”
“No, Doa. Mom is the childish one. Unnie is twelve, after all.”
“What are you talking about? Twelve is plenty old enough.”
“Are you sure you’re as mature as someone who’s thirty-seven?”
“Oppa, did you hear that? Dohee is teasing me by calling me thirty-seven!”
Mom clung to Dad and said,
“Stop it, both of you. You’re embarrassing yourselves in front of Doa.”
“Dad, am I embarrassing you?”
“Oppa, am I embarrassing you?”
“No, it’s not that you’re embarrassing...”
“Sigh... Someday, when I become a celebrity and go up onstage at an awards ceremony, I’m going to say this.”
I pretended to be myself in the future, gripping a microphone and shedding tears.
“My beloved father is ashamed of me because I’m a celebrity. That’s why he never goes anywhere and calls me his daughter... I hope that after seeing me receive this award today, he’ll finally be proud of me... Sniff, sniff...”
Mom played along, too.
“Oh, my poor daughter. Come here. Mom will give you a hug.”
“Okay!”
I went over and threw my arms around Mom.
“Mom is prouder of our daughter than anyone else in the world.”
“I’m happy to be Mom’s daughter, too...”
Dad sighed as he watched the two of us and picked Doa up in his arms.
“Seriously, who did the two of you inherit this from?”
“I’m embarrassed by Unnie and Mom.”
Hearing that from Doa kind of hurt.