"The modifier that describes me in a single word is 'idol.'"
I subtly tucked my long hair behind my ear and looked out the window.
"But since I'm an idol, I suppose it's inevitable that I have to think about my diet every single moment."
Franchise coffee in my hand.
"For someone like me, this low-calorie americano truly always serves as a grateful source of strength and comfort."
When I brought it to my nose, the fragrant, savory aroma of the beans rose subtly.
"Why is she drinking coffee all of a sudden?"
"Ah, Dohee got a coffee ad this time."
"She should just drink strawberry latte like usual, what's with her?"
"You guys, why are you like this again? Dohee is making an effort for work. As her unnis, you should be proud and cheer her on."
"Unni, I'm the most admirable person in the world to myself."
"I also think I'm the most admirable."
"Honestly, I think I'm the most admirable too?"
Yes. I could describe this aroma like this.
"It feels like the chocolate scent is so strong it almost comes off as dark chocolate? This is truly you."
I tapped the cup with my finger.
"Pre. Mi. Um~?"
"She's putting on airs."
"Isn't that coffee just 1,500 won?"
"Yeah."
Anyway, I've had my fill of the aroma, so now it's time to taste.
I daringly placed my rosy lips against the cup with elegant grace.
Sip.
"Mmm~ this unique acidity."
And elegantly.
"Bitter..."
I spat it out into a tissue.
I almost spat it on the floor.
"Dohee."
The manager, who had been watching this whole process, made a strange expression from beside me.
"Then how about this?"
But Yeongho-ham, whom I've known for nine years now, wasn't someone who would give me a hard time.
"You like lattes, Dohee. If you add milk to this one too, it becomes really smooth and you can barely taste the bitterness."
He had just been waiting to help me like this.
"Ah? caffè e latte?"
"Yeah, yeah. Cafe latte."
Right, to be honest. Americano is inevitably difficult for a relative beginner like me.
"Mmm~"
But with this smooth body and harmony?
"Oh, industry award."
I gagged it right back into the cup.
It just tastes like coffee with milk, ugh.
"Chiyo, where did you learn words like that again?"
"Is it her first day? She probably watched YouTube somewhere again."
"That's not it? Wooah told me."
"...Wooah?"
The manager handed me a new coffee again this time.
"Caramel macchiato?"
"Yeah, this one will really be okay. You know? It's totally sweet."
Yes, drinks should be sweet.
Why on earth do people drink coffee that's just bitter!
"Of course, since Dohee doesn't like things too sweet like macchiato either, I adjusted the syrup moderately—"
"Dohee-tto, macchi-atto, bwahaha."
Ah, Yeongho-ham, you genius.
Sneakily keeping up with rhymes in real life too.
"...Dohee?"
Anyway, since it's a sweet drink.
This time, I boldly poured a mouthful in.
"Oh?"
"Right? It's edible, isn't it? Come to think of it, the product for this ad is apparently zero sugar but made sweeter than the existing mix. At that point, the taste is almost similar to a macchiato—"
"...Urgh."
"This doesn't work either...?"
My stomach churned and felt nauseous.
"Ah, I really can't drink it... I drink energy drinks just fine, so why doesn't coffee agree with me?"
While I was still slightly gagging, Kim Seoyoon grabbed my cheeks at the worst possible moment, saying she loved it.
"Why do you think? It's because you have a baby's palate."
What are you talking about. Unlike Park Yeeun, I don't even picky-eat vegetables.
"Kim Seoyoon, you drink the three-set coffee collection I left behind."
"Put those nasty things away."
Kim Seoyoon pushed aside all those precious coffees coated in my wet lip balm.
"Oh, reward, reward~"
"Chiyo, are you really drinking tha— ...why are you giving it to me?"
"I'm giving it to you, unni. A reward."
All those cups were taken by Unni Chiyo with petite hands as if catching a toss.
"Whyy. Want me to mix in some of mine too? Double reward?"
"This wasn't the group life I had in mind..."
Anyway, this won't do.
"I guess I'll have no choice but to just reject the coffee ad."
"Is it really a no-go? The director said they definitely want you to do it... Dohee, think about it again."
"Coffee itself just doesn't suit me at all. If someone who can't drink coffee films an ad, they'll get torn apart, no?"
"No, but still..."
The manager subtly sighed.
Don't tell me the director is grilling the manager?
Or could it be...
"Come on, Manager! How much are they even paying for a coffee ad~ Positive thinking!"
"Right, like it's my ad~"
No, but that's not it.
Manager, we're a team here.
"For now, I'll go find the director during tomorrow's meeting and tell them myself."
Anyway, what's important right now isn't some trivial coffee ad.
[Me: Coffee]
[Lira: ??]
Since this is a point coming from overseas reactions.
I need to lay the groundwork more solidly.
[Me: I got offered a coffee ad but rejected it]
[Lira: ?? Yeah?]
Anyway, aiming for the top as an idol meant following in the footsteps of Coral Blue or NND.
[Me: So it's no different from having filmed a coffee ad]
[Lira: ;; okay, congrats]
Coffee really doesn't matter anyway.
* * *
[INFO/NEWS] Today's Global Spotify
[24th SAME/DEBONAIR] ▲5
3,145,912 +72,120
─The listener count really rises every single day without ever dropping once, damn
─Top East doesn't even have another group to receive trickle-down benefits from, why are they doing so well?
└Moreover, since the company is what it is, they don't even get a single playlist push; it's just pure interest, yeah
─Is Debonair doing Keuhaim this time?
└Yeah, last time Sweet Demon's peak listener count was 2.73 million
└It's unexpected, I thought it'd do even better
└Some male idol fandom attacked it
A career high being renewed day by day.
It was truly a grand festival for the fans.
Bae Hayoung was no exception.
"Today too, I shall re-enter the fandom."
Without a single day of rest since the album release.
The promotions were already in their third week, but she had been enjoying them like crazy until now.
"The beautiful voice of the Guilty Woman flows from the Wolf Girl's face, how could I not!!"
First, the main title from the promotions spanning week one to week two, SAME.
#[FancamLab Debonair... SAME]
From the colorful suits in the music video.
To the prisoner uniforms with white and black stripe patterns.
And leather skirt coordinates with kitsch and modern vibes, etc.
DolAhyee @Dol_Ahyee
─So this is the authority on girl power??? She does tomboy styling but becomes girl power max alpha female... Totally fallen
The varied stage costumes crafted with as much effort as the conceptual song's atmosphere fueled the buzz.
[4th Generation Girl Group Instagram Follower Rankings]
The members' SNS followers rapidly increased day by day.
─So Seoyoon is 4th place, huh
─Why are all of Debonair's follower counts so high?
Seoyoon had already surpassed 10 million, and even the later members had long since surpassed 5 million followers.
─Last time Dohee posted those friendship rings she matched with Wooah in elementary school and tagged her, so Wooah gained 300k followers that day
Dohee in particular was overwhelming even among them.
─What's with Lee Dohee, beyond the norm, how is she at 25 million alone???
└Look at the view count of the piano performance video on Dohee's Insta, lol
─Eun Sera is in 2nd place but the gap is 8 million, ddd
─Honestly, it's a fact that over half of the idol industry's overseas trickle-down comes from agencies, but this Lee Dohee climbed up alone with pure skill without any of that, lol
└Basically, the ratio of Korean followers is higher than other idols too
Such things were indeed elements that gave fans pride.
Above all, the challenge, which remained the most effective promotional tool, was still going viral through short-form videos despite being a culture that had somewhat lost interest.
DolAhyee @Dol_Ahyee
─The way she kills the dance point moves is insane... She doesn't even think about dancing hard, it's just her dance, her song, her world, that alone is my world
The result was that the members naturally climbed the global chart ranks step by step without needing to take any additional action.
[20th SAME/DEBONAIR] ▲1
3,351,525 +21,304
─At this rate they'll really make it onto Billboard, damn
└They already charted on Billboard 200! And the rank keeps slowly rising!!
─Are they really going to Billboard??
─A legendary album gets recognized no matter what, it's just a matter of time
The situation where word spread even without specifically residing overseas was something anyone could recognize.
"It'd be nice if they rose, but... it's probably difficult."
But Bae Hayoung, the most passionate fan, didn't bother harboring expectations of making the Billboard Hot 100 even while seeing those excited comments.
"It's not like Dohee just has 25 million on Insta."
At a glance, it could seem like there was enough recognition.
"Looking at Google overseas search traffic, after Lira, it's Dohee to the point she even beats the Coral Blue members."
But that couldn't exactly be seen as interest toward the group called Debonair.
If Dohee debuted solo, maybe; but among her current Instagram followers, not many were interested in which group she was in.
Foreigners had become followers simply due to her overwhelming beauty, or knew her as a pianist after seeing her performance videos, or even knew her as a famous model or influencer who was an ambassador for Chanel and Cartier.
That indicator was clearly shown in the US Spotify chart listener count.
[79th SAME/DEBONAIR] ▲1
341,946 +1,120
A number that was noticeably low compared to the global chart no matter who looked at it.
Bae Hayoung resorted to the inevitable company-blaming that all fans do.
"It's all because Top East caught a member that exceeds their standing."
The infrastructure problem of a song distribution company was a structure where its small scale was further revealed when going overseas.
"Well, Top East's management isn't bad these days... but what can you do when that's the truth."
Rather than blaming structural limitations, Bae Hayoung decided to simply enjoy the promotions and wandered the internet for a while to find more Debonair-related news.
Then she suddenly spotted an eye-catching gossip post.
─I'm an insider, Debonair seems to be signing a really big contract with overseas soon. If this goes well, they might make Billboard. Also, Dohee got a coffee ad but rejected it, and the industry was super flustered because it's the first time an entertainer rejected it, lolololol
└Proof?
└Believe it or not
└A cafe brand ad? Or mix coffee?
└Since it's mix coffee, they're super flustered on that side too, lolol there had never been an entertainer who rejected it before, lolol
└So why did she reject it, lol
└Because she can't drink coffee, lolol she's cute
└Ha, this punk's credibility suddenly rose, did they do some research?
Bae Hayoung burst into laughter at the gossip post, but immediately passed over it as no big deal.
"It's not like these so-called insider posts are a rare occurrence."
There were too many gossip posts in the idol world to give attention to every rumor.
But a few days later, Bae Hayoung couldn't help but open her eyes wide in surprise after confirming an article.
[Top East's Debonair signs partnership with Warner Music America 'Targeting North America·Billboard']
"...What?"
Because it was exactly the article that made her recall the gossip post.
The story of a huge contract that could target Billboard.
And if that was the case.
"...She really rejected it because she can't drink coffee? No way, a Maxim-like mix coffee ad? That? For real?"