[Wooa: Basically, I really love the song, and I think I’ve grown attached to my part. Isn’t the song really fun? It’s good and funky.]
Though it wasn’t included in the behind-the-scenes footage.
Before entering the recording studio, Wooa had sat beside Dohee and thoroughly filled the lyric sheet with notes, making sure she was fully prepared.
[Wooa: More than anything, we recorded and worked together with a producer(?) we were working with for the first time. But they knew us so well, as if we’d known each other for years. They assigned the parts really well~ and explained exactly what they wanted, so I think they really brought out our own vibe. Air will like it a lot too, right?]
Once she entered the recording studio, she finished her recording neatly, just like the older members before her.
─It is Dor-ducer’s first time, thoughㅋㅋㅋ
─Why is Wooa so shamelessㅋㅋㅋㅋ
But Chiyo’s recording that followed was different.
Even though it was behind-the-scenes footage, there was a slight sense that things were dragging.
[♪Swee-ee-e... —Cut.]
Because, unusually, Dohee had been caught on camera several times, leaning all the way back in her chair and agonizing over things.
─If Dohee personally added these subtitles, upvote
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s cute just imagining it
In fact, out of the four, the part with the most specific directing from Dohee was Chiyo’s.
[Dohee: “Sweeeet” feels too drawn out right now, so tighten it up just a little.]
[Unnie, can you make the “sweet” a little more firmly defined? But don’t pronounce it too clearly. It’s okay if you chew up the pronunciation. Just the feeling, just the feeling.]
[I’ll let you hear it. Yeah, let’s do that “sweet” one more time, just for the last time.]
[Shorter, shorter. Ah, that was good just now. I’ll go with that.]
[When you say “De-mon,” try placing just the tip of your tongue against your lower teeth instead of your upper gums. Keep only the tip there. Let the middle of your tongue touch the roof of your mouth. Yeah, so in English pronunciation, it’ll be a mix of the D and Z sounds. Yes, that one.]
From somewhat abstract directing to detailed and precise instructions that went as far as specifying the position of her tongue.
─What the heck, why is our Rahi so cool...? She cuts things off so crisply and directs so clearly that I’m drooling...
─During Seven, Dohee was sitting beside Chaerin blankly, drooling like an idiot instead... ㅠㅠ Seriously
And these intense impressions Dohee occasionally gave off would spread through the communities, etching themselves into people’s minds just as vividly as her looks.
Not that she was making anything up, either.
Because of the nature of this song, which had a lot of choruses.
The emotions had to change through the first, second, and third verses as the song progressed.
[NEED: I’ll try making this part a little shorter too.]
[Not bad, but this “demon” needs to be a little faster.]
And since the parts had been distributed evenly, Chiyo had quite a lot of chorus lines in addition to a single line in the intro.
In any case, it was Dohee’s role as the director to point out the key details to Chiyo, who was the least vocally experienced of them.
Of course, the reason there was an unusually large amount of behind-the-scenes footage featuring them was.
Also because both of them were talkative and mischievous by nature.
[Dohee: Yeah, unnie, that was good. This time, try rolling the ends of the syllables a little more and say it sexily—]
[Chiyo: (lowering her shoulders with a soft sweep) If it gets any sexier than this... Chiyo will be excessively, superfluously sexy. Not suitable for broadcast...]
[Dohee: Phew... (dryly rubbing her face)]
─ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah, why is Chiyo so funny and cuteㅋㅋㅋ
─Hot take) Chiyo is sexy, that’s for sure... Chiyo has this adorable charm that attracts people... It’s a genuinely bouncy kind of sexy... I think I’m going insane... I’m going to die because of you, Kim Jisu...
* * *
At the same time, Dohee’s fansite master, Bae Hayoung, was uploading comments and posts in real time.
─(Video) Collapse......
─Just kill me......
─Ms. Dohee... You’re really cool?
─You’ve turned me into a total Dohkki...
─(Photo) When did our soft, squishy baby grow up this much...
─I guess I have to die
─(Lee Dohee banned list updated++)
No drinking sweet chocolate lattes and widening your eyes
No little heart-fluttering chuckles
No tender eye-smiles
No folding your arms and staring quietly
No teasing the older members cutely and then praising them in a way that makes their hearts flutter
No seriously directing while guiding them in a low voice
No committing felonies under the pretext of demonstrating
The intense energy of a fansite master, as always.
“Haah...”
But when she watched Dohee’s recording and directing behind-the-scenes footage, there was no helping the fact that she, like Bae Hayoung, would come down with “Dohkki syndrome.”
─Take the video down!!! This is not fit for review!!! My nose is going to start bleeding—!
And before the tissues she had rolled up and stuffed into both nostrils could even dry, another piece of content came rolling toward Bae Hayoung.
It was the popular program.
“The preview is finally out...!”
A grand dopamine festival after so long.
The video, less than twenty seconds long, passed by in an instant.
─Hello, we’re Debonair.
─Feed us.
─We’ve been watching the girls since (bleep)—
─(The panelists cheering)
Each scene made viewers desperate to watch, but the scene everyone was most curious about was this one.
─Ah... Wait a moment!
The songwriting behind-the-scenes!
“This is coming out...? Really!?”
They had just been wondering what it would be like if there was songwriting behind-the-scenes footage while watching the recording and directing footage.
And since this was the first variety show appearance to be made public after Debonair’s own content, it was obvious that it would draw an incredible viewership.
Though... they still had to wait a few days.
* * *
My throat was parched, so I swallowed a yawn and stepped out of my room for a moment to get some water.
‘Huh?’
Outside, where I’d thought the lights would surely have been turned off.
The orange lights were still on, softly illuminating the kitchen.
And Chiyo unnie was sitting at the dining table.
I checked the ticking clock. It was eleven.
During promotions, we usually slept only three or four hours a night, so this was normally the time when every member would be dead asleep.
I made some noise and slowly approached Chiyo unnie.
“What are you doing, unnie?”
Perhaps only then noticing me, Chiyo unnie turned her head as she flipped over the phone screen she had been staring at and placed it face-down on the table.
“...Nothing.”
I gazed at the phone covered by her hand for a moment.
“What is Dohee doing at this hour?”
I took two cups from the cupboard and slowly filled them with water from the purifier.
One with a mixture of purified and hot water, and the other with cold water.
“I was going to drink some water.”
Of course, the cold water was my preference, while the lukewarm water was for Chiyo unnie, whose voice cracked ever so slightly at the ends.
“But your voice sounds a little hoarse, unnie. You must have practiced singing a lot today, huh?”
Caught off guard, Chiyo unnie took the cup of water in her hands.
“It’s good to work hard, but tomorrow’s the day we’re guaranteed first place. You should take care of your throat. Your condition is important if you’re going to do the encore live.”
Unnie obediently began taking small sips of the water.
“Want me to add some honey?”
“I’m fine.”
She refused rather coolly.
“Don’t imitate Naeun unnie.”
“......?”
Of course, Chiyo unnie was only human, so her energy wasn’t infinite, and it was natural for her spirits to drop at night.
But today, just as the orange light was reflected in her glass of water.
Questions and melancholy were reflected in the lenses of her eyes as well.
Across their moist surfaces.
“Do you have something to say?”
When I shrugged, Chiyo unnie met my eyes.
“Why do I look so amazed? How can you look this good even without makeup? I’m always amazed, no matter how many times I see you, right?”
Chiyo unnie moved her lips, then gulped down her water.
“Ahh... Water tastes so good!”
The lukewarm water.
‘Wouldn’t that be a little hot...?’
Still, it was a relief.
She still looked all right.
In fact, even without asking, I knew perfectly well where her melancholy had come from.
She had almost certainly searched her own name online.
All idols did it.
Especially in the early days after debut, they did it frequently.
It wasn’t something you could simply stop doing because someone told you not to.
The frequency merely decreased naturally as the years passed.
“So is Wooa unnie asleep?”
“Completely fast asleep.”
“Really?”
I shrugged again, then helped unnie up and moved with her to the window, where the night view of the Han River spread out before us.
“Wow... It really is nice every time I look at the night view. The company found us such a great place.”
“That’s true.”
These were the kinds of times we were living through lately.
Unlike the early days after debut, when I and Seoyun unnie monopolized all the attention, the group itself had found its footing and was gaining popularity.
It was the time when the public was gradually starting to take interest in several of the members.
Naturally, interest always contained both goodwill and malice.
Chiyo unnie had probably encountered several new kinds of attention today.
“It’s exactly the kind of weather that’s perfect for us to go out and have fun together. The weather’s nice.”
Of course, I would have liked Chiyo unnie to show me her melancholy today, but I had known from the beginning that she wouldn’t.
Chiyo unnie, who had come all the way out to the kitchen to use her phone so she wouldn’t disturb Wooa unnie, who had gone to sleep first.
She must have felt deeply uncomfortable revealing her gloom to me, who had spent a long time receiving even more attention than she had.
So rather than drawing out what was in her heart, the only thing I could do was—
“They say it’s going to reach twenty-one degrees tomorrow.”
Have a light conversation, share a sense of comfort, and talk about the pleasures that would arrive in the near future.
“When these promotions are over, let’s set up a table here and have a party.”
“Let’s do that.”
“What should we eat tomorrow?”
And I, too, would often find a sense of stability in situations like this.