Bae Hayoung was browsing through the community.
“Holy...! This many views in just one week? Isn’t this the first time since Seven...?”
The Water Park outdoor stage had, as expected, recorded an astonishing number of views.
This was, without a doubt, the hot trend of the week.
[Is the Outdoor Stage Making a Comeback? Debonair’s Legendary Performance!]
In truth, these views and their growth couldn’t be attributed solely to the return of music-show outdoor stages after five years.
There had to be a combination of reasons.
First of all, there was the refreshing quality of the choreography, which seemed designed from the start for a beach or shallow water—and was maximized at a water park.
[Debonair - New Vibes @Yuhengayo 20250601] — 5.01 million views
─No, Debonair’s dancing in front while that one person casually plays in the water behind them is stealing the whole show lol
─Debonair and a swimming pool... I have no wishes left, even if I die now
─Their explosively gorgeous looks are on a whole different level from ordinary stages...
─I can’t help smiling
─Even the splashing water feels so fresh. I feel like I’m getting younger too ^^
─Dohee’s knee is bleeding ㅠ She’s working way too hard
Even compared to the legendary outdoor stages from fifteen years ago, the music-video outfits had a Y2K feel without losing an ounce of that sentimentality.
[Compilation of Girl Groups on Legendary Outdoor Stages]
─Wow, this is seriously nostalgic
─I really watched all of these live lol
─Watching Debonair’s stage today genuinely put me in a good mood. Even the outfits feel like they’re from that era
And despite that, the group’s superiority naturally showed through in their more sophisticated fashion and musical sensibilities.
[The Stage That Recorded the Highest Viewership for a Girl Group on a Music Show.mp4]
─I watched this in the barracks, and the reaction was seriously good
─But I really understand why Debonair is doing so well
└Lee Dohee is just sophistication itself. It doesn’t matter if the concept is tacky—she’s simply the undisputed number-one idol, yeah
Above all, the members’ self-written rap lyrics were spreading far and wide, showing signs of turning into a trend in their own right.
[Debonair Are Better at Rapping Than I Expected...(Not a Broth-Drinking Fan)]
I thought “self-written rap” was just media play, but they actually spit with some real feeling. First girl group I’ve seen like that since Coral Blue and Jeon Ha of Seven
─For real, I thought it was just a girl group forcing themselves to rap and hated it, but it’s actually pretty good
─Chiyo definitely spits well. Her pronunciation was insanely irritating when she sang in Korean, though
└What about Lee Dohee?
└I thought her self-written rap lyrics were good? But JO’s rapping style itself isn’t really my thing. Can’t you kind of feel that in Lee Dohee’s delivery?
└So you’re saying it’s bad?
└Go ahead and repeat after me: I’m dead now lol
└Author, where do you live?
└Please check your DMs ^^
Of course, the biggest factor seemed to be that the pre-release song Sweet Demon was enjoying ultra-ultra-ultra-mega-hit popularity.
“Mhm, exactly. It’s all thanks to our Dohee.”
Even so, it was an undeniable fact that this song was just as good, to the point that it was difficult to decide which one was superior.
[Sweet Demon VS New Vibes—Which Do You Like More?]
A preference poll posted on the community was split almost fifty-fifty.
“Jeong Sohyeon really knows how to make a song. That woman.”
One of the few employees at Top East whom I could trust.
But Bae Hayoung had her own sincere conviction.
The proposition that Dohee’s self-composed song was, unequivocally, the best!
It wasn’t as though Dohee had forced her favoritism on everyone throughout the messaging app.
[geniusproducerlee dohee: Ah~ You mean Debonair’s song, right? I listened to it too!]
[geniusproducerlee dohee: Personally, I liked Sweet Demon a little more.]
[geniusproducerlee dohee: It feels like... Sweet Demon had a little more effort put into it? I bet the composer worked really hard on it!]
[geniusproducerlee dohee: Yeah, yeah! That’s just how it felt to me as a listener. You know what I mean? I have really good ears, you know!]
[geniusproducerlee dohee: You want me to change my nickname first and then say that?]
[Lee Dohee: Yes, I’m going to go eat dinner now]
“She’s seriously adorable.”
That said, the new song was currently playing through Bae Hayoung’s speakers.
“Mhm, streaming is something you have to do continuously.”
They had to get it to number one on the music shows, didn’t they?
“Besides, I just can’t resist Rapper Dohee...”
When you thought about it, Dohee had participated in writing the rap lyrics too.
It was fair to consider this one of Dohee’s producing songs as well, wasn’t it?
Anyway.
Both of Debonair’s double title tracks—their debut and comeback songs—had become mega-hits.
Amid this festival-like atmosphere among the fans, Bae Hayoung was naturally sensing certain signs.
Yes, it was exactly that feeling from back then.
The feeling right before Seven unquestionably reached the top in Korea.
The atmosphere from back when they were sweeping up all the grand prizes.
And, in fact, it was even better than then.
“There was a lot more nitpicking and hate back then...”
This time, they weren’t giving people even the slightest excuse to tear them down.
* * *
─Who will become the winner of first place in the third week of June on Yuhengayo? Please show us the results.
─Congratulations to Debonair’s “New Vibes”~
The promotions had ended as of today.
Back in the MC waiting room with the trophy in hand.
Because of the special stage being held to commemorate my leaving my MC position in a few weeks, I was facing the PD, the other production staff, and Ju Seungbin for a moment.
“Yes, I’ve arranged to practice with Senior Seungbin next Wednesday.”
Since the managers and other staff were present, I even used honorifics.
“What time...”
“Whenever’s convenient for you. I’ll be at the company building all day that day.”
“Ah, then I’ll contact you through your manager before I come.”
“Yes. You’ve worked hard.”
Now all I had to do was leave quickly.
But once I actually stood up, I felt strangely wistful at the thought that in just a few weeks, I would be seeing the walls of this waiting room for the last time.
“PD, I’m sad.”
“Why?”
“I won’t be able to give myself the trophy and then receive it from myself anymore. It was one of my little pleasures...”
People chuckled.
Meanwhile, the guy sitting across from me, who should have laughed along, remained silent, looking at me with an expression that seemed to say, Not this again.
‘What are you staring at?’
─Persistent.
I secretly thought it was lucky that Ju Seungbin had been my co-MC for the past year.
He was young, but he had a sense of professionalism and didn’t behave carelessly.
Well, luck in one’s colleagues was luck too, I supposed.
“Then I’ll be off!”
And so I returned to Debonair’s waiting room.
There, I watched my self-composed song finally get pushed out of first place on the music charts.
─Watermelon Top 100
[1st New Vibes / Debonair] ▲1
[2nd Sweet Demon / Debonair] ▼1
It was only natural.
Pre-release songs were bound to gradually get pushed down.
But this had happened faster than expected.
‘I didn’t think my masterpiece would get pushed down this quickly...’
The outdoor stage I had planned for Senior Chiyo must have caused quite a sensation.
I hadn’t known it would have this much influence, either.
“Ugh, my money...”
I’d been raking in those sweet royalties, and now this!
“Money? You have plenty of money, Dohee.”
As soon as we returned, Senior Wooa—who had gone out of her way to hug me—raised her eyebrows in puzzlement.
She didn’t know.
She didn’t know how expensive a high-class house suitable for our Doa would be.
I didn’t want to take out a reckless loan, and she was still a minor, too.
“I need to make money quickly so I can move our Doa into a nice house.”
“A house? What kind?”
“First of all, a suburban house with a garden and lawn that naturally give off a phytoncide scent. It has to be in Seoul, but the neighborhood needs to be quiet, and it should be at least two hundred pyeong on the second floor... A-and... and... and moooore! My copyrights!!”
“Um... okay, I understand. Calm down.”
Phew. Right, I had to calm down.
I’d still be getting some royalties from the lyrics anyway.
If this did well too, that was a good thing... Yes.
“But, Dohee.”
“Hmm?”
“Wouldn’t a house like that be really hard for your mother to clean later?”
“Ah, is that so?”
“I imagine it would be.”
“Hmm...”
That was true, but...
“But that’s not my problem.”
“Wow.”
Wooa reflexively opened her mouth and began clapping dryly.
─Clap clap... clap...
“You’re right. Amazing.”
“No, I was joking.”
I had no intention of making my mother suffer, either.
“Tsk tsk...”
Just then, someone approached us, getting on my nerves.
“What an awful daughter, tsk tsk.”
It was Kim Chiyo, the culprit who was currently irritating me simply by existing.
“Ha, if I hadn’t helped that unni, I would’ve earned a lot more royalties. Mom, I’m sorry... Your daughter was trying to be filial... I’m ruined because of dongchimi... Blame the dongchimi... It went bad because you kept it at room temperature...”
“...? But in any case, first place would have changed soon because everyone was captivated by my rap. Hehe. Do you see these comments?”
The comments?
I slowly examined the screen she held out.
=======================
─Chiyo, seriously ...(omitted)
.
.
.
─You really are a genius, Dohee... You write lyrics well and ride the flow well... You’re seriously so damn cool, I’ve fallen for you
─Chiyo (omitted)
.
.
─Lee Dohee really did learn from JO lol Her diction is good, her rhythm is good, and it was such a surprise, but it sounds great
=======================
“Hmm, all I see are compliments about me.”
“...? Huh? What happened to your eyes?”
There were a few other things mixed in here and there.
But I couldn’t be bothered to read them.
“More importantly, someone moved around on her knees across the swimming pool floor to help you, bleeding buckets in the process. And this is how you treat me...”
At that, Senior Chiyo grew solemn.
Her expression turned gloomy too.
“I’m sorry...”
“No.”
Why was she suddenly taking it so seriously? Honestly.
I should change the subject.
“Anyway, it’s not as though the things I’ve helped you with so far were just one or two.”
“That’s true...”
“Come to think of it, I taught you everything about writing lyrics too. Since you’re not good at English, I even taught you all the English slang and words that would fit.”
“I am grateful for that...”
“Right? Actually... Wait, I even put the sentence structures together for you.”
“I’m grateful for that too...”
“No, then aren’t the copyrights mine?”
“Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that I have first claim to the royalties...”
“...You little—”
“And you said that public and private matters must be kept clearly separate if the group is going to last a long time...”
“Who said that?”
“You did... Last year, when I said I was too lazy to do the laundry and lay down on the bed, you threw laundry and underwear at me while saying...”
“I mean, who gave you such good advice?”
“Yes, Dohee. Keep public and private matters clearly separate. Everyone has their own tasks and their own share.”
“Mhm, that’s right. Yes, I taught you well.”
What a sly piece of old kimchi.