It had only been a few days since the article announcing Dohee’s selection as an ambassador went out.
From her first appearance until now, Dohee had never once failed to become a hot topic, and today, too, she was being discussed across all sorts of communities.
[The first idol from a small-to-mid-sized agency selected as a high-end ambassador]
[Lee Dohee Instagram update.jpg]
[Lee Dohee filming a pictorial after promotions ended.mp4]
That did not mean people were simply sharing information.
It meant that, inevitably, she had become the subject of the comparison posts that kept appearing.
Especially in K-pop communities.
[Honestly, it’s funny that people tried to compare Minseo and Lucy to Eun Sera and Lee Dohee. Never mind the individual gap, ThreeM and Pure Girl don’t even have the group results]
─ㅋㅋㅋ It was only their fans who were trying to put them on the same level. Did you actually take that seriously?
─They probably can’t even do that anymore. The only thing they could cling to was that their company got them an ambassador spot through agency power
[This is a bit sensitive... but am I the only one who thinks Lee Dohee is the top female idol individually? After this promotion, seeing how she got selected as an ambassador alongside Lira, it feels like the generational shift is definite now]
─ㅋㅋㅋ? Are you insane like your fave? Now you’re comparing her to Lira too? Do you not know Coral Blue’s YouTube alone has 100 million subscribers? You people have been so exhausting since Seven, seriously ㅋㅋㅋ
└But... even if people keep saying Lira, Lira, Coral Blue’s members are all in different agencies now, so who knows if they’ll even do group activities anymore ㅎㅎㅎㅎ...
─Don’t worry, even if Lira promotes solo, she’ll still be a top star in buzz that Lee Dohee could never beat in her lifetime ㅋㅋㅋ Top East, what a joke
─This isn’t an Air opinion, so please stop feeding the crazies
[But I guess we can say Lee Dohee is definitely the individual top of the 4th generation now. Even before, Sera and Dohee were the two tops, and people said Sera had pulled ahead on Instagram after Aili’s debut thanks to company backing, but Dohee overtook her again. And including the U.S., Dohee’s global search index was way higher from the start]
─The hierarchy between Eun Sera and Lee Dohee was already settled when they were in the same group
─Please stop comparing two girls who are actually close
└For real, Sera and Dohee are basically a couple incarnate
But the posts standing out beneath the surface were not the usual comparisons with other groups.
They were more malicious attempts to drive a wedge between the Debonair members, the kind that did not easily appear even in communities.
[It’s honestly kind of pitiful how Airs keep trying to package Doh and Yun as being on a similar level... If Yun were that amazing, she would’ve become a high-end model like Doh too...]
─Agreed. The other members only debuted recently, so whatever, but they even did Seven together and the difference is Fendi versus Chanel ㅋㅋㅋ
[Yun is honestly the biggest victim. If Doh hadn’t been there, she would’ve swept up all the popularity as that rare visual main vocal. Ugh]
─Exactly ㅋㅋㅋ Right now, the two top visual main vocals in the idol scene are Eun Sel and Yun
[Yun becomes more likable the more I see her. Ever since debuting on Seven, she’s been lumped together with Doh because they’re from the same company and compared every day, but she never shows it]
ㅡEven when Doh is rude to her unnie, she endures it well ㅋㅋㅋ
└I’m telling you, Yun just grew up receiving a ton of love from her family. Her understanding is on another level, yeah
[Kim Seoyun’s issue isn’t Lee Dohee, it’s Top East ㅇㅇ Look at Kwon Hana and Park Yeeun. They got selected by Burberry on their second promotion]
─Agreed. It’s just a huge difference in agency power
─But if Kim Seoyun hadn’t had chemistry with Lee Dohee, wouldn’t her debut on Seven have been uncertain too? Whether you like it or not
└That would be Park Yeeun, wouldn’t it? She’s the one whose ranking shot up from sticking around Lee Dohee
[The one fortunate thing about Debonair is that there aren’t any members with ambiguous positions]
─Agreed. Each of them definitely has her own role and charm
─?? ㅋㅋ I just think the producer did a good job. These days, aside from the leader, most groups don’t assign main roles at all, so why do you think only Debonair did? They fixed them exactly so no one would end up looking ambiguous
└I’m genuinely curious. Top East announced they were taking legal action ages ago, so what kind of guts do you have to confidently spout this nonsense...?
└ㄷㄷㄷㄷ An Air appeared! Whew, scary, so scary ㅋㅋㅋ~ Guess I should delete my comment
And Kim Seoyun, too, was vaguely aware of that ominous undercurrent.
[My idol is Chanel, but yours is only… Controversy as “class theory” around idol luxury ambassadors spreads]
That was the title of the article Seoyun was currently reading.
To summarize, it said this.
As the influence of K-pop idols’ global fandoms expanded, competition among luxury brands to bring in “ambassadors” had intensified.
Whether or not an idol worked as an ambassador was leading people to mistake it as a measure of popularity and influence.
And while agency competitiveness in the past had been judged by appearances on popular variety shows, now it was being evaluated by their ability to secure global ambassadors.
Seoyun agreed with the article to some extent, but switched windows.
“Well, it’s not like I’m one to talk.”
Still, perhaps because she suddenly became bothered by public opinion, she searched around.
As expected, she found communities filled with meaningless comparison posts.
“This place never changes.”
Starting with who was better than whom, people even wrote stories based on Dohee’s and her own expressions and argued over whether they had fought or not. Since it was nothing new, she was used to it.
“I’m... used to it, I guess.”
Of course, since it was her own dream and something she had started because she enjoyed it, Seoyun had long since sorted out her feelings and accepted it.
Becoming an idol meant being placed on the chopping block of public opinion and constantly becoming a target of comparison with others.
So Kim Seoyun coolly beckoned to Lee Dohee, who had just finished showering and come out.
“Hey, Chanel Whatever.”
“Oh my? Did you call for me?”
“Yeah, come here.”
Dohee’s eyes sparkled happily.
The reason she had deliberately called her Chanel was simple.
Unfortunately, Dohee had spent all day refusing to answer unless she was called Chanel.
─Hey, Lee Dohee.
─Maknae~
─Pretty Dohee-yam~?
─Ah, Lee Dohee, seriously!
Anyway, Seoyun sighed and showed her the screen.
“Hey, they say you and I are keeping each other in check?”
“Wooong? Seoyun unnie might be, but...”
Then, cupping her face with both hands like a flower, Dohee quickly ran into her room.
“Good and kind Chanel knows nothing about that. Stop reading things like that and go to sleep, since there’s an event tomorrow~ Chanel sleeps early, so her skin is nice too~”
“Good grief...”
It was such an absurd assumption. From the beginning, the two of them often read community posts together and laughed them off.
“Ugh... That crazy Rahui, seriously.”
Still, the reason words lacking any intelligence or restraint bothered her just a little more now was probably because the fatigue she had accumulated while living as an idol had built up quite a bit.
Every day lately had been an event, too.
“I should... I should hurry up and sleep too, yeah.”
Seoyun went into her room, turned off the light, and tried to sleep.
* * *
Paris Spring/Summer season.
One month before S/S Fashion Week.
I had ended up experiencing it myself this time, but each brand would provide its ambassadors in advance with the clothes and lists for what to wear at the fashion show and at the airport.
“Wow.”
And I, too, had come to choose clothes today.
“Wow, for just one of these... ten million won? This is seriously excessive. Seriously excessive.”
Honestly, if it were not for my image, the thought that I really would not have wanted to bother doing this came naturally.
“Amazing, amazing!”
“All of this is...”
Because it did not feel good to see the styling staff unnies shrinking back because of the prices.
In the end, they were just clothes.
“It’s not like they’re knight armor.”
The unnies, who had been carefully looking through the clothes, naturally asked me.
“Dohee, what kind of outfit do you want to wear? Do you have a concept in mind?”
When it came to choosing an outfit, my opinion took priority above all else.
“I... just like comfortable things. Something comfortable for a long flight...?”
“That outfit is kind of my style, though.”
Even so, if you asked whether I had ever given the staff any clear answer about outfits, not really.
The trigger had been when I first debuted on Seven.
Unlike my real desire to dress comfortably and hip, the image fixed for me was that of the cute youngest member.
Between those two completely opposite routes, the direction fans wanted was obviously the latter.
“It’s important to dress according to an idol’s image too.”
So from then on, my stance became that, whenever possible, I would leave it to the stylist unnies, who were the experts.
“Please take good care of me again today, unnies.”
To begin with, the styling staff unnies were not the kind of people who would intentionally put me in something strange.
“Shall we? Still, since you said comfortable earlier... how about autumn warm tone?”
And I also did not want to become someone who was unnecessarily fussy about clothes.
The total price of the pure-looking outfit we chose like that, including the bag, was nearly around eighteen million won.
That night, I showed the unnies the photos from the fitting.
“Do you think this makes sense?”
“I am not jealous at all, though? Chiyo is a genius, so she will become an ambassador in no time, though?”
“What are you talking about? I was just asking if it isn’t expensive.”
“True, it is pretty expensive.”
As expected, the only one who quickly understood my true feelings was Wooa unnie.
“Actually, the amount isn’t what’s important, right? The friendship rings we matched back then were ten thousand won each.”
“You two got friendship rings?”
“Yeah, before you and Seoyun unnie joined? When I was in my first year of middle school. Dohee got street-cast by JS that day too, so I remember.”
“Ah~ So that was the day Dohee got street-cast by JS?”
“That’s right. Back then, Dohee said she would make our company one of the top five agencies.”
Wooa unnie chuckled, as if it were a pleasant memory.
“She said stuff like that too? Well, knowing her personality, if anything, she must’ve been even worse back then.”
“Exactly~”
“You know, I still keep that ring really preciously.”
Seeing the unnies laugh and chatter about my past like that, one corner of my mind suddenly began to itch.
Because I could not remember where I had put that ring.
To begin with, it was not like there had only been one or two people I had gotten matching friendship rings with.
I had matched them with the Seven members and with the current members back when we were trainees too.
Of course, I was keeping those two comparatively recent group rings on one side of my desk.
But as far as I remembered, the only ring I had personally matched with Wooa unnie was...
“But Dohee, don’t tell me you lost it or something, right?”
Perhaps she sensed something from my expression, because Wooa unnie’s eyelashes trembled faintly.
“N-no. It’s probably in a drawer at my family home.”
“Probably?”
“No, almost definitely.”
“Right? You know what that ring means.”
It seemed the meaning of that ring was more precious to her than I had thought.
Seeing how, on Wooa unnie’s face, where a light smile was now spreading, there briefly appeared the bright, pure gaze she had had as a child.
“But unnie. Our Doa... Doa is still at that age where she goes crazy when she sees shiny things, you know? So she has played with it a few times, so I really don’t know for sure. That kid seriously rummages through her unnie’s drawers.”
“She does?”
But the smile with which she quickly accepted my excuse also held an indescribable sadness.
“Doa is young... so that could happen.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll look for it next time, anyway. But it’ll definitely be there.”
Knowing Mom, she had probably organized it in my drawer, but if I could not find it next time, I would have no choice but to sell Doa instead.
It can’t be helped, Doa.
You’ll just have to think of it as earning the allowance your unnie gives you.