After finishing a light dinner of fruits, we settled onto the set, which was decked out with our album merchandise.
Streaming for [DEBONAIR THE 2nd EP COMEBACK LIVE] has started.
"Is it on?"
"Can you hear my voice right now?"
The intro for the first title track, "SAME," began to play, and the staff in front flashed OK signs.
More than that, why was Chiyo unnie lying on the set floor like that in a pure white dress?
"Chiyo, stop acting weird and sit down already."
"I'm an innocent victim murdered by Lee Do-hee... It hurts..."
Why does she really have to be like that?
Anyway, it was only natural that fans who had been eagerly waiting for this comeback quickly flooded in.
—The styling this time is seriously on point
—The songs are all so good ㅠㅠ
—Dohee unnie, you're so pretty
—What's Chiyo doing lolololol
Comments began flying up faster than we could even read at the sight of us fully decked out in the hair, makeup, and stage outfits from the "SAME" music video.
Having confirmed that, Naeun unnie clapped and opened the proceedings.
"Alright! Two, three."
"Hello, we are DEBONAIR."
—Why is Chiyo lying over there, seriously lololololol
"Now! It's really been such a long time since we've met our Aire through a comeback live. Shall we each say hello and share a word of determination?"
"Yeeeah~"
Feeling the camera zoom in, the first to start was me, standing at the far left.
"Um... Hello, Aire. It's been a while, hasn't it? It's been a while, but I'm relieved we're confident enough to show you the songs we worked on ourselves. Since this promotion has four title tracks, it'll be a bit long, but let's work hard together."
—Clap clap clap
I didn't have anything particularly grand to say, but we each shared our brief thoughts one by one.
"Yes, hello, I'm Wooah. It's been a while since we've done a live, right? We really said so many times that we wanted to do one, so I'm so happy we're doing this..."
"Chiyo, shall you get up now?"
"Neh~"
After briefly mentioning how we'd been as well.
"But! We're just getting started, aren't we? We were passionate before promotions too, but this time, while preparing the songs, we also worked hard on variety shows, and starting from music shows to fan meetings, fan signings, and more, we'll have so, so many chances to meet in person, okay? Brace yourselves! Aire, you know, right?"
"That's right. We were so pressed for time and in such a rush that I bit my tongue while eating."
"Hey, Lee Do-hee, are you trying to make the atmosphere hostile at a live where we're meeting our Aire after so long?"
"No."
With Seoyoon unnie's hosting, laced with unnecessary aegyo, we moved on to the main topic.
"We have some corners prepared, right?"
"Yes, first, ta-da!"
What Naeun unnie pulled out from under the desk was this time's 4-type physical album.
"Shipping started today, so a few quick ones among you might have already received it, but most of you haven't seen it yet, right?"
Comeback lives are basically meant to promote the album, after all.
"Shall we each hold one and introduce it?"
At Naeun unnie's words, Wooah unnie nodded and picked up the Valentine version.
"I'll introduce this one first. This is the Valentine version! As you can see, the two sides have different colors, right? The front is pink, and the back is red. Bright colors perfect for love! I'm not saying this just because it's our album—the album really came out so well. If it had been a single color, it wouldn't have captured the album vibe, but it's a pastel tone that perfectly shows our duality! Aire knows what I mean, right?"
She's quite the salesperson, my unnie.
"Then let's check the contents inside. Starting with the photocards. I wonder what's inside—"
But people don't open their wallets that easily for—
"Wow, it's Dohee's? Everyone, look at this. Isn't our Dohee's selfie seriously, seriously pretty?"
"I-I have to buy this!"
"Plus, Dohee's elegant signature is on the back like this!?"
"Gasp, me! I-I want it!"
"Ugh, if it has Lee Dohee in it, I'm not buying."
"And in the second photocard? Ta-da, it's Seoyoon unnie!"
"What's the purchase site?"
"Hmm, a picky consumer like me, Chiyo, for those kinds of photocards..."
"And on the poster... it's our Chiyo?"
"I wanna buy too! Me too, me too!"
"Everyone, please calm down. We have sufficient stock."
—Seriously, the timing is perfect lolol what kind of skit are they filming lolol
—lololol masters of reactions
—I already bought all 4 versions so please send them quickly ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
—And this costs only how much?
The unnies finished reviewing all four physical albums, decorated for each date, one by one.
And now it was time to listen to the newly included tracks.
"We heard that our Aire listened to the songs and sent amazing one-line reviews through the fan club community! But before that, let's talk about our album name first! This is...
...!! ...! !!
"Just have her do it."
"Oh my?"
"Yeah, let's have Dohee try it..."
"M-me?"
—What "oh my" lolol honestly so shamelessly pretty
—Sitting there like "M-me?" lolololol
—Yes yes, who else but producer-nim would do it haha...
—Cut the acting and hurry up and do it
—Dohee could seriously become an actress later lololol
Good grief, I didn't necessarily have to explain it myself.
"Ahem."
But well, since I'm the producer, I can explain it better than anyone else...
And I attended meetings with the planning team until the very end and chose the album name myself, didn't I? Hmm-hmm.
"I'm not sure if the introduction post went up when the album was released, but shall we all look at it together first?"
"Yes, sounds good~"
Spurred on by Wooah unnie's warm response, I boldly peeled off the panel sticker standing beside me.
And there, a very brief introduction was written largely.
["RNBD" is an album containing the spectrum of various emotions people feel: joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure (喜怒哀樂). While the previous album "DBNR" showcased DEBONAIR's pure side, this album contrastingly presents DEBONAIR aligned with the emotions of the world.
The songs released matching each day's image are emotions connected from the letters of RNBD expressing joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure: "Rejoice" for joy and delight, "Nettled" for anger and irritation, "Blue" for sadness and depression, and "Delight" for fun and happiness.]
"...Hmm."
The introduction for the album I had produced with my own hands for the first time.
I had wanted to introduce it, and I had a lot to say—a lot of behind-the-scenes stories too—but.
Strangely, my mouth wouldn't open.
How should I put it? An emotion greater than when I first faced my own image on screen.
"Uh..."
I simply stared blankly at an emotion I couldn't even understand rationally or logically.
"We really worked hard preparing for this album. There was a lot we wanted to say."
Ever since I finished working on several songs, there had been strangely frequent moments when lyrics or melodies suddenly came to mind, and it was the same now.
"Please listen in your own way and enjoy with your own interpretations."
Even though the unnies were looking at me dumbfounded, saying she'd fallen into her own world again, I just smiled bashfully and had no choice but to gloss over it vaguely.
"Shall we listen to our intro song now and read the one-line reviews our fans sent us?"
Swelling emotions are difficult to explain, after all.
* * *
「DEBONAIR Achieves Own First-Week Sales Record in Just Two Days… Mini Album Vol. 2 Posts '1.13 Million Copies' Sold」
「DEBONAIR's "SAME" Enters US "Billboard 200" Main Chart... Global Fever Rises」
There was someone looking at DEBONAIR's articles.
Radio writer Im Jiyeong.
"Writer-nim, I heard you took on the review for DEBONAIR's new album this time?"
"Ah, well, yes. Their team leader asked me to write it."
And she was also a popular music critic.
Not that she held tremendous expertise.
The authority of being a radio writer served as proof that she listened to music broadly regardless of genre, so originally, most radio writers were intertwined with the popular music criticism industry.
Watching her male junior, a radio director, excitedly talk about idols, Im Jiyeong inwardly scoffed but outwardly nodded as if agreeing.
"'SAME' is getting the most attention right now, but I still liked 'Do it anyway' and 'Just an Ordinary Day' the most. Both have good lyrics too. Wow, for an idol to really nail the indie vibe like that..."
She couldn't deny that the concept and even the songs were pleasant to listen to.
"Actually, between the two, I like 'do it anyway' better. You know, writer-nim? That 'do it anyway' is Mother Teresa's famous saying. Even so. I think Lee Dohee was probably impressed by that."
"Mother Teresa? Of course I know. I was going to write about that anyway."
"Ah, as expected, right?"
Im Jiyeong simply nodded as if she knew facts she actually didn't.
Because those were the things that built her authority.
The reason Im Jiyeong was scanning DEBONAIR's articles was simple.
Even though the music criticism company Im Jiyeong belonged to was Korea's largest in the popular music criticism industry, their criticism focused more on analysis based on musicians' backgrounds and information rather than areas requiring expertise on technique, structure, or lyrical interpretation.
Because of this, they were also famous for only doing so-called "impressive-looking" criticism.
Though if you looked closely, it was a format that couldn't avoid criticism in reverse.
"It works anyway, doesn't it?"
Therefore, even now, Im Jiyeong was merely trying somehow to find flaws to deduct points.
If it were truly amazing, there would be no points to deduct.
"And what was it, if you look at the lyrics one by one, the structure is well-organized? I was actually so moved when the album concept was revealed."
"What about 'Euphoria'?"
"The song that came out on Valentine's Day? That was incredibly good too. It really brings pure love to mind, and wow, really, all four songs have different sounds, so it's amazing. The range is wide too."
"Really?"
Im Jiyeong made a scoffing expression unconsciously.
"To me, it sounded too old-fashioned. How should I put it, should I say it blatantly has a 2nd-generation feel? Rather, the indie sensibility of the two songs released afterward felt more refined."
"...Ah, is that so?"
"Yeah, honestly, you can't avoid that the synth sound is old-fashioned. Of course, fans might say they like it, but is that truly good music in the meaningful sense?"
"From that perspective... I suppose it might be, haha..."
And that was the single point of criticism Im Jiyeong had managed to find.
Originally, she and her colleagues held prejudices against "idols" and "Autotune, synth sound," setting them as tremendous deduction factors.
"That one song dropped the album's completeness. It was a shame. Still, I definitely saw Lee Dohee's potential? Yes, she'll develop greatly going forward."
Even so, Im Jiyeong didn't dare think of deducting a large number of points. About 0.5 or 1 point.
Having many fans amounted to nothing special.
She could just treat it as fans' thoughtless, unconditional support.
However, the problem was that Lee Dohee was receiving recognition even in the classical music industry.
Beyond simply being mentioned by classical listeners.
Many pianists, even university professors.
"Even so, what does an idol amount to..."
"Pardon?"
Anyway, Im Jiyeong intended to be somewhat cautious. So her expertise wouldn't be attacked needlessly.
* * *
[Info/News] First idol this year to receive 4 stars from Ban-eum
RNBD (2026)
DEBONAIR (DEBONAIR)
★★★★☆