"We're going to hit a million on the first day of initial sales, I think."
"Really? A million on day one?"
"Isn't that an error?"
"Wow, jackpot!!"
Listening to the conversation between the Topist employees and planning team in charge of Debonair, Jeong Sohyeon suppressed the corners of her lips from rising and asked calmly,
"How many copies?"
"It's the Lunar New Year holiday starting tomorrow, so accurate predictions are difficult, but."
She had been bewildered by how quickly the group's releases were climbing various music charts from the start despite the Friday digital release, but she was astonished by the tremendous sales volume that was unbelievable for only three days since pre-orders began.
"For now, it looks like we'll start with a minimum of 850,000 copies."
She had expected sales to trend upward since the previous album had been so successful, but with so many incidents overlapping here and there, she hadn't thought they would see such a steep surge.
"Director! We're getting bonuses, right?"
Thanks to this, even though it was Sunday, a day off, and even though tomorrow marked the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, the company building was packed with employees who had come in.
"Yes, I'll speak to the CEO and make sure you all get bonuses, of course, as well as overtime pay and vacation leave, so let's work hard until tomorrow."
"Yes ma'am!"
"Understood!"
Of course, in the entertainment and broadcasting industries, rather than keeping track of holidays, it was already a given to bunch up work all at once and rest all at once.
"Thinking about how the buzz more than doubled after the year-end stage, the performance Dohee presented seems to have had an enormous impact beyond what we thought. The keyword 'Dohee fever' is still a hot trend."
"Probably because both title tracks are purely self-composed by the members, the title 'genius' is being attached and making headlines."
It was clear that people were definitely captivated by Debonair.
"From the start, the element of this project being sensual seems huge too. Definitely."
"Ah, as expected, how do the director's ideas never seem to fail?"
Organizing the expected results slowly in her mind, Jeong Sohyeon—who had been mapping out follow-up promotion schedules—took a sip of coffee at her subordinate's sycophantic remark and said,
"This project was Dohee's idea."
If the results had fallen short compared to the investment, Jeong Sohyeon had planned to take responsibility herself, so she had kept it hidden except from herself, a few executives, and her uncle.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Since success was already all but guaranteed, it should be fine to speak of it now.
"Why do you think Dohee led the songwriting and wrote the music video scenario too? From the very beginning, she laid out the framework and finished the planning all by herself, that's why."
"...Really?"
"What would I gain from lying to you?"
She had been a bit stunned herself at first.
The employees' current expressions were only natural.
"Th-then if we put out articles saying Dohee planned it from the start, there'll be huge repercussions."
"I'm still thinking about that."
"You have to reveal it! The mood is already good, and the influx would be enormous! This is guaranteed to be a jackpot!?"
"Exactly, overseas fans go crazy for genius titles too, you know. Of course, revealing it right now is bad timing, so if we set it up as a reignition tactic near the end of promotions? Yes, if we drop it at the last moment, it's guaranteed, guaranteed!"
Naturally, from a profit structure standpoint, revealing it was the right move.
"Let's think on that a bit."
"Aww, Director!"
"I'm worried Dohee might feel burdened about the next album for no reason. If people's expectations rise, the deviation for disappointment grows too."
"That is true, but..."
However, even as Jeong Sohyeon said that, she strongly felt that if it were Dohee, she would probably welcome even that burden.
'Ah, what do you mean, me a genius?'
She was a child already accustomed to the title of genius, after all.
*Heh, he-heh, e-heh.*
A child who couldn't even hide the corners of her lips.
She might go on a variety show of her own accord and subtly reveal it without even being asked.
Compared to her abilities, she was certainly humble, but...
She was a child who fundamentally loved receiving praise.
"Let's definitely finish this week's schedule first before thinking about it. It won't be too late to worry then."
"...Yes."
"Yes, until both title tracks are fully released along with the album."
For now, all Jeong Sohyeon—who oversaw everything about Debonair—had to do was carry out the plan.
* * *
"Dohee, if what you said is right, this concept is about singing the sentimentality of a special day. Why February 18th and 19th?"
"Right, Tuesday, February 17th is Seollal."
Before explaining the plans for the remaining two title tracks.
The unnies raised questions first.
"Honestly, because of what you said, I did consider Seollal too."
Naturally.
A glaring red mark indicating a public holiday fell right on the comeback week, pointing to Seollal, Korea's greatest traditional holiday.
"So just get to the point. Why the 18th, the day after, and not Seollal?"
And this was why I had unnecessarily appended feet to a snake—emphasizing things everyone already knew.
"Honestly, I talked about Christianity, and how the US market is the global market so we only need to care about American sentiment. I went on at length about stuff like that."
"Well, that's true."
But them just accepting it so readily somehow puts me in a bad mood.
I had tried to tell it in an entertaining way for my unnies, too...
Hmph.
"For Christians, February 18th, 2026 is an incredibly meaningful day—more so than Friday the 13th or Valentine's Day."
"...Really?"
"If we search for it, nothing comes up though?"
Unnie, if you just search for February 18th, of course nothing comes up—it's the lunar calendar.
"Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time. Do you know what these mean?"
"Hmm..."
Of course, I wasn't asking because I thought my unnies would know.
"Just as the East celebrates holidays according to the lunar calendar, the West also has a Christian liturgical calendar. Some of it follows the lunar calendar, and some the solar calendar?"
All four of you are non-religious, after all.
"What's important there is that the liturgical calendar divides the year based on Jesus's birth and resurrection. The four periods divided thus are Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. And the non-fasting periods connecting between them are Ordinary Time."
And what I'm going to talk about among these is Lent.
"But as I mentioned, Christmas is December 25th on the solar calendar every year, so Advent and Christmas are fixed. Easter changes every year. It's lunar."
"Oh."
"But I said Lent is based on Easter, right? In Hanja, it's four (四) and ten days (旬), meaning forty days. It's the forty days before Easter. And since this is calculated in solar calendar days, well, anyway, Lent always starts on a Wednesday and ends on a Saturday."
"Hey, but how do you know that stuff? You're not religious."
"I read books, what else."
Are you surprised again because Dohee is so erudite?
"The Bible is humanity's bestseller, so of course I've read it. Plus, you can't leave out Western history, philosophy, or theology, so I've read some theology books too."
This much is basic.
"Ah! Don't be surprised. Though I've only skimmed the surface, I've even read the Buddhist scriptures, the Quran, and the Hindu Vedas, hoo-hoo-hoo."
"Hmm..."
But their reactions are a bit strange.
Why do they all look so uneasy?
"Dohee, unnie thinks you need to rest a bit more comfortably. Manage your stress too. I feel like you'll burn out."
"Me too, honestly I'm sometimes scared Dohee will collapse and get rushed to the hospital someday... I'm so worried."
No, this isn't the time to worry about me.
If you're that worried, express some exclamations of wonder.
Why don't you know that's my source of vitality?
"Honestly, she's still holding up because her body is resilient. If it were Naeun unnie, she'd be in the hospital by now."
"...Seoyun-ah?"
"No, I don't mean that unnie is old... it's just that unnie's body isn't as fresh as Dohee's? Ugh, this sounds bad if I put it that way."
"...I got it, so stop talking."
"No, unnie, I mean you're young, you're young! Relatively speaking."
"I said I got it."
Why are they fighting here again..?
"...No way."
Meanwhile, Wooah unnie whispered to me from the side.
"...Isn't it your first time seeing Naeun unnie make such a stern face?"
"...Guess so."
"...I-I didn't know Korean well back then, and not knowing she was my senior, I called Naeun unnie an old person and got scolded all day long."
You deserved to get scolded, you crazy brat.
Anyway, why does the topic keep straying sideways?
It's my project briefing time, so focus.
*Clap-clap!*
"Alright, alright, anyway, I said Lent starts on a Wednesday, right? But this day is called 'Ash Wednesday.'"
Naeun unnie answered.
"So February 18th is that day."
Thankfully her voice and tone are kind.
But her face is still so expressionless. Scary...
"Y-yeah. On this day there's a rite where believers all fast, and the priest draws a cross mark on the forehead with ash, and stuff like that?"
"I see."
"......"
...I should probably just say what I have to say quickly.
"Of course, some denominations hold the rite and some don't, but Catholics and many Protestants do it, and the day itself is indeed important in Christianity."
"So what's the meaning of this day? It's a day to confess sins and repent. Therefore, it's a day to remember the importance of consideration and forgiveness, something like that."
Please forgive that good-for-nothing Kim Seoyun, Naeun unnie.
"Repentance, forgiveness, consideration... The theme feels profound somehow."
"Right, it definitely doesn't feel very idol-like."
If my unnies understood it that way, that's a relief.
"So the song we'll present on the 18th is, strictly speaking, in a CCM, hymn style."
"...A hymn?"
"That's just what it's called, so don't worry too much. In fact, there's a case where a composer made a song as a hymn, and it was so good that idols persuaded them to release it as K-pop. You'll find it if you look."
"...Wow, fascinating."
"These days hymns are diverse in genre too, with no restrictions from hard rock to hip-hop. Of course, the hymn I'm talking about has a slightly more classical image."
"Exactly how?"
"Most famous hymns were born in the Baroque era. Bach, or Handel. Of course, there were also Beethoven, Haydn, Schumann, Mozart in the Classical and Romantic eras... Well, anyway, from what I know, hymns grew more ornate starting from the Renaissance and blossomed in the Baroque era? I think that's right. What was before that, Kyrie eleison? The song of mercy, something sacred. But then in the Baroque era, counterpoint emerged, along with monophony, polyphony, and diverse harmonies, and hymns also adopted ritornello forms, ornaments, and thoroughbass—that is, bass. Anyway, they gained so much structural complexity."
Talking about this side of things is endless.
In fact, old music is mostly sacred music.
"What I want to say is the straightforward melody of hymns, simple harmony structure, four-part chorus, and so on?"
Put more simply, this:
"The goal of this song is to build harmonies."
Honestly, I'm already excited.
"Isn't it going to be super, super fun? Think about it—on the 13th and 14th, we showed a really idol-like sound and stage and MV, but then suddenly the song dropping on the 18th is completely contrasting, relying on just one guitar or one piano while the members stack harmonies with only their voices."
"Ah, of course, it's not a flashy a cappella feeling? Strictly speaking, it's an indie sensibility? A totally easy-listening vibe where you layer voice upon voice in a low register. Then an acoustic guitar would be better than a piano, right? Since Wooah unnie and Naeun unnie can play guitar, the two of you can play! At first one or two people sing, then in the end we stack harmonies!"
The truth is, I really love this kind of indie sensibility.
"I actually really wanted to use this kind of day as an excuse to write another song. Rappers can do emotional hip-hop too, not just indie, but for idols, especially girl groups of a young age, there's a strongly cheerful feeling that gives people strength? That cheers them on, so there are limits to writing heavy themes."
Ah, talking about this, lyrics suddenly come to mind.
"But I said earlier that this is the Lenten season, right? So what about the crown of thorns? In the Bible, thorn bushes appear frequently, and they're a symbol of suffering. So, thorn bushes. Even if suffering hurts you."
"The title would be... yeah, kind of like 'even though it was so.' Something like that. Or rather 'Even though,' 'despite'? Anyway, even if we were hurt and in pain, let's not fear love. Move forward? Let's love each other? Something like that."
"I've just thought of some specific lyrics too. We start by cutting at eight syllables, proper indie sensibility, in 4/4 time to make the melody easy to compose. For example, 'Even if everything passes by, in the place where it hurt, even if left alone, there are words I want to say'—something like that. Oh, but that's not bad? I feel like a melody is coming to me right now, too..."
The melody, if I were to hum it, would feel something like this?
"How was that just now? It's good, right? I don't think it's something that sticks intensely in the ears, but it's exactly the feeling I want. Building up calmly, and then the harmonies will be so beautiful."
Ah, hurry up and answer me—I'm asking what you think.