─You don’t really compose songs like that, do you!?
─Aww~ I’m not that much of a genius~
─What? Why are you saying that, unnie?
─I just said the exact same thing for you. You said you felt pressured, remember? I was telling you not to feel pressured.
─Nooo! That’s not it!
The two continued their noisy back-and-forth even in the studio, while the members on-screen displayed their endlessly boisterous beagle-like charm.
─Is Dohee always this eccentric?
─Aww~ Do you really think I’m normally like this? It’s just a little MSG for variety-show entertainment.
─You’re always like that, Ms. Dohee.
─Tsk!
─We all knew that, but she’s incredibly good at variety! Why doesn’t she appear on variety shows more often?
Throughout the broadcast, master fan Bae Hayoung threw her head back and laughed like crazy. Even so, seeing the panelists laughing just as hard filled her with pride.
“Debonair is... entirely made up of Lahies. Except for Naeun, of course.”
But as idols, the members also needed their appearance to receive attention.
And in fact, there were loads of scenes prepared for exactly that.
First came the scene where they received their makeup separately at the salon.
─They’re all so prettyyy...
─They’re born celebrities, born celebrities!
“How do they manage to max out their visual power every single day?”
Once the commotion died down, the atmosphere had completely changed. It was hard to tell whether these were the same mischievous girls they had seen earlier.
And it wasn’t only the fans who had wanted to see this side of them at least once.
As though he had been desperate for it, Manager Yoo Youngho moved briskly.
First, he handed out the drinks he had bought from the café to the members one by one.
[Thank you!]
[Thank you berry much.]
Then, holding the final cup—a strawberry latte—he stood beside Dohee.
[Yoo Youngho: Strawberry latte with exactly one pump of syrup. Less sweet. Right?]
[Dohee: (covering her mouth) You know my tastes better than my mother...]
“Oh... exactly one pump of syrup... Make a note of that...”
Dohee had already finished her makeup and was sitting in the waiting area, waiting for her unnies.
[Yoo Youngho: Of course I know~ But if you say that, won’t your mother be a little hurt?]
[Dohee: Ah, my mother and I are more like close friends, so it’s fine.]
“I don’t think her mother sees it that way... Dohee?”
Manager Yoo Youngho probably didn’t know what Dohee’s mother was thinking either, but he nodded for the time being and casually led the conversation onward.
[Yoo Youngho: But how come you didn’t bring a book today...? You’re always reading one.]
It was the script that Director Jeong Sohyun had asked the production staff and Yoo Youngho to follow during filming.
[Q. Do the members read a lot?]
[Yoo Youngho: Yes, Dohee especially reads a lot, but I think all the members enjoy books. So they often stop by bookstores together and lend books back and forth. Thanks to that, the waiting room is unexpectedly quiet like this—]
Since an overly natural, innocent, and mischievous image wasn’t good for image consumption, Director Jeong had asked them to highlight slightly more serious and refined behavior to soften it.
Of course, if the member herself didn’t cooperate, all that effort was pointless.
[Dohee: Ah~ I left it at home on purpose today. Since we’re filming a variety show, I thought it might be rude to sit by myself and read.]
[Yoo Youngho: Ah...]
[Dohee: The staff are working so hard to film us like this, so we should work hard too.]
“Our Dohee, switching between Rahi and a professional idol... She’s driving me crazy. What am I supposed to do...?”
But fortunately, her thoughtfulness had shown through in an unplanned moment, allowing her to secure that serious image after all.
[Dohee: Ah, right. We need to get some screen time.]
That was, until Dohee blindly approached Chiyo and held up a V-sign.
[Dohee: Hello? I’m Chiyo! (･ω
Especially at the music video set.
The kind of place where an idol’s professionalism could shine the brightest.
[Q. What kind of song is your new release?]
[Yoo Youngho: The song is titled “Sweet Demon,” and we’re going to show you Debonair, demon-like idols with an irresistible sweetness.]
From the beginning, Yoo Youngho had considered this place the main stage where he would carry out Director Jeong Sohyun’s request.
And perhaps there had never been any reason to worry.
All the members were showing their serious sides on set—.
[Dohee: Ah, this isn’t my taste. Why do you eat this?]
[Seoyun: Then don’t eat it. Ua, do you want it?]
[Ua: ...The candy is black?]
Even so, it was a heartwarming scene.
─Seoyun’s kind of a veteran, so I guess she has her own method~
─That’s right. I used to get very nervous, so before big stages like concerts, I would often take Cheongsimhwan. But now, even if it isn’t Cheongsimhwan, eating something like candy...
─Aha!
Seoyun was encouraging the members in her own way.
[Seoyun: Chiyo, do you want some candy? It really helps relieve your nerves.]
Chiyo nodded and accepted the candy very sweetly.
It went straight into her mouth.
[Seoyun: How is it? (beaming)]
[Chiyo: ......]
Dohee, who was standing beside her, leaned on one leg and made a question-mark gesture.
[Dohee: I don’t understand why anyone eats licorice candy.]
At the same time, the candy shot out of Chiyo’s mouth.
[—Ptooey!]
The candy traced an arc, struck Seoyun, and fell to the floor.
[Seoyun: ......]
A little while later, the screen showing Yoo Youngho also captured Seoyun and Chiyo bickering together.
[Chiyo: Take that—take that! ( ง •̀_•́)ง⁼³₌₃]
[Seoyun: Oh, whyyy! That’s the whole point of eating it! It relieves your nerves! It makes you stop thinking!]
And Naeun was clearly a living Buddha.
Even as she picked up the candy from the set with a tissue, she was smiling.
Yoo Youngho, watching all of this, couldn’t help but wear an extremely pleased smile as well.
[Yoo Youngho: Hahahaha.]
The shot gradually zoomed in on Yoo Youngho’s tightly clenched fist...
Watching the broadcast, Bae Hayoung was suddenly reminded of the Seiven days.
[Q. You boasted that, having been with them for so long, you knew the members better than anyone. But considering that, your accuracy is...]
[Yoo Youngho: The script and the girls keep being different... Yes. Variety shows are difficult.]
The producer who had filmed Seiven’s reality show.
Seiven’s managers.
They had all said the same thing.
‘They’re such kind and wonderful kids, but sometimes they’re difficult because they don’t listen.’
Of course, it had been said more jokingly than seriously.
It meant that they were affectionate and extremely mischievous.
The reason it suddenly came to mind was because she thought of Aily, the group next door.
The variety shows featuring Aily, made up of Sera, Ye-eun, and Hana, had never had an atmosphere like this.
“Definitely not...”
Then the one who had led this mischievous atmosphere was—
[Yoo Youngho: I even made a promise with all of them, before filming, you know? (aggrieved)]
“Ah...”
* * *
“Today was seriously legendary.”
Bae Hayoung clutched her cheekbones, which had begun to hurt after laughing far too much.
As befitted a master fan, uploading edited clips from the variety show was a given.
Checking reactions while browsing various online communities was optional.
[Dohee Lee doing an impression of Charlie Puth lol.jpg]
[I get why Seoyun and Dohee keep teasing Chiyo lol, she reacts way too well lmao]
[The more I see Naeun, the more I like her because she’s so, so kind and pretty]
[Wow, I’m watching SVID and Debonair’s dorm is insanely nice]
[My mom asked why they’re all so pretty]
[Dohee and Seoyun are seriously insane at variety shows]
[Debonair’s manager totally losing his temper lol]
“Huh.”
But unexpectedly, the community’s reaction was more lukewarm than she had expected.
According to her calculations, this should have been the moment when more than half of the newly posted threads were filled with Debonair-related posts.
“It was this legendary, though?”
At best, about forty percent of them were.
The rest were currently focused heavily on another topic.
[My friend got me a ticket lol I’m excited]
[It’s already university festival season]
[The lineup for Akaraka has never been bad]
[I’m a current student and couldn’t get a ticket, fuck]
The largest university festival in Korea, held that year with only the hottest singers invited.
“Oh, right. It’s already that time of year...?”
If so, it made sense.
[Is NND the only boy group with enough public popularity to appear at Akaraka?]
[Which girl groups do you think will come?]
[Seems like Aily and Debonair will both be there?]
It was the time of year when everyone was busy speculating about whether their favorite artists would appear.
“Then... will our girls be there too?”
Getting a ticket wasn’t actually an issue, even if she waited until later.
With money and her master-fan connections, she could somehow get one.
The problem was whether “our girls,” who weren’t currently going around performing at events during their comeback promotions, would be appearing tomorrow.
“They must have definitely been invited.”
After all, they were the hottest girl group at the moment.
And tomorrow’s music show was MBS’s Show! Music Center.
Even during their promotions, they could easily skip it since it wasn’t Yuhangayo, where Dohee was an MC.
So maybe she should get a ticket.
“But what if they don’t appear? What about the money I’ll waste? I’ll have to skip at least one fansign. Then I won’t get to see Dohee?”
“But if they do appear, it’ll be Debonair’s first historic university festival...?”
It was a time of agonizing deliberation.
“Ugh, should I get a ticket or not...”
“Aily will definitely be there because of their schedule anyway, so I can think of it as getting to see Ye-eun, Sera, and Hana again after a long time!”