Park Ye-eun, a member of Ailee and former member of the disbanded Seven.
What does Yeeun, as she is known by her stage name, think of the Debonair members?
The ties that had begun during the filming of the audition program had, as expected, remained a welcome presence even throughout her life in the entertainment industry.
‘Naeun unnie is the kindest person I’ve ever met... I’m jealous... O-of course, our Hana unnie is kind too, but she makes us practice every single day even after schedules...’
There was no need to even mention Seoyun, whom she had spent two years with.
‘Seoyun unnie used to take care of me a lot in the beginning, like Naeun unnie... she didn’t use to be like that... but later on, she started acting like L-Lee Dohee and teasing me a little...’
Still, she was one of the unnies Yeeun liked most.
And even though she had never met them separately, the other unnies of Debonair, whom she had run into a few times and interacted with, were also good people she had quickly grown close to.
‘Chiyo unnie seemed scary on the outside because she’s so playful... but once I actually met her, she was soft and squishy like a little rice cake... all tiny and adorable...’
‘Ua unnie was super chic onstage... but listening to her talk, she’s secretly really cutesy... But how does she handle Lee Dohee...?'
As for the last one, Lee Dohee, there was likely no need to give an evaluation.
“Yeeun! Dohee says to pick up the phone!”
Sera unnie came running over, her face flushed, and delivered the news like a messenger.
‘L-Lee Dohee!’
“...Don’t come into my room! And tell her no!”
Dohee was the very embodiment of a little devil.
The image of a little devil that Yeeun had in her head from the media.
Lee Dohee was like a perfect copy of it.
Her personality, for one.
With a deceitful and cunning nature, she would grant wishes in exchange for contracts with people, only to demand unexpected consequences or a great price, driving the wisher into trouble!
And as for her looks, well, frankly, there was no need to say twice.
A little devil with such attractive and seductive looks that she could bewitch people in no time.
‘These days, her b-boobs have gotten even bigger too...! How insolent!’
Yeeun firmly believed that the reason little devils appeared so often in Debonair’s concepts was because Debonair’s producer had undoubtedly drawn inspiration from Lee Dohee.
In truth, that insight was fairly accurate.
But she had no idea how that very same Lee Dohee could look so silly whenever industry people were around or the cameras were rolling.
‘She’s tough... so tough...!’
Lee Dohee was so polite that the entire industry was full of rumors about her good manners.
‘That’s right, demons are always the ones who act more polite than anyone, wear suits, use honorifics...! So fake...!’
Lately, even industry seniors had been watching Debonair’s self-produced content, where only Lee Dohee’s cheerful side was shown, and directly shouting her out to fans, saying she had a great personality and was funny.
[Debonair’s self-produced content is seriously so, so funny lolololol I laughed so much watching Dohee-nim this time, I seriously want to get close to her lolololol]
Some newly debuting juniors even named Lee Dohee as their role model.
[Is there an idol you want to be like?
For me, it’s Lee Dohee sunbaenim!! I’ve been a huge fan since Seven, and she’s so cool and pretty both onstage and off!
I want to be like her professional side!]
And it wasn’t just one or two of them.
[I ran into her in the waiting room last time, and she was so pretty, seriously...]
‘B-but looking at it this way, in a sense, she really is born to be an idol...?'
In any case, the problem was the people who wouldn’t sympathize with her.
“Mm-hmm, Dohee. Yeah! Got it!”
Like Sera unnie over there, holding the phone tightly with both hands and nodding several times.
“Yeeun! She says if you pick up, she’ll call off the bet!”
“S-she’ll call it off!?”
“Yeah! But what bet?”
Since winning the grand prize last year, Yeeun had been regretting, just a little, the somewhat arrogant and playful provocation she had made to tease Dohee.
A bet that the side who entered the Billboard Top 100 first would pay the other a whopping ten million won.
‘Still, we’re from a big company... I thought we’d be faster!’
Even so, she couldn’t answer the phone.
If she took that call, she might get caught in Tsukuyomi.
Mockery, derision, ridicule, sarcasm, teasing, belittlement, taunting, contempt!
Yeeun thought of Seoyun in her mind.
Back in Seven, if there were any unnies who had been able to handle Dohee somewhat well, there had been two. Hana unnie, and Seoyun unnie, who was still attached to Dohee even now.
It would be difficult to scold Lee Dohee in everyday life...
But she hoped Seoyun would at least scold Dohee in their self-produced content.
Yeeun was hoping for that kind of catharsis.
* * *
“No, I called because I thought she might actually send it, but why.”
[Web message]
─Park Yeeun has deposited 9,990,000 won into Lee Dohee’s XX Bank *** account
They hadn’t even entered the Billboard Hot 100 yet. They were at 103.
But in the meantime, why did she shave off ten thousand won?
Rebellion? An act of resistance?
Or a spirit of thrift?
“Wow, now you’re even extorting money? Seriously.”
Seoyun unnie, who knew none of the circumstances, was looking at me with something close to contempt.
Whatever the case, I sent it back.
“I just sent it back, okay? I even added fifty thousand won so she could buy herself bread. I felt bad for her.”
“What the hell, why are you only sympathizing with Yeeun?”
“The fridge is full of bread, so go stuff your face.”
“Yesss~”
“Leave one apple pie.”
* * *
The next day, the self-produced content containing Yeeun’s hopes that Seoyun would give Dohee a good scolding had only a few minutes left until upload.
─Airs who ordered chicken and are waiting for the self-content, raise your hands?
─1 minute left lolololol
─Last week was seriously hilarious, but Seoyun of Rahiz? This is honestly something to look forward to lololol
And finally, the content was released.
The title was, in fact, a little insane.
─No, the self-content title lolololol
─I’m already laughing, seriously lololol
Perhaps it was a setup that could be somewhat expected.
Seoyun, who usually lamented being surrounded by T-types.
[Seoyun: You know, right? That the eldest unnie and the maknae are T-types. Ua says she’s an F, but she only sympathizes according to her own standards. She’s definitely a T. A T.]
As expected, in the intro, Seoyun was in a meeting with the PD again today, telling her tearful story in great detail.
[Seoyun: Chiyo’s MBTI changes every week, for one.]
[PD: C-can that happen?]
[Seoyun: I’m telling you, she’s the only case like that I’ve ever seen.]
Chiyo’s bright, innocent face flashed across the screen.
[Seoyun: Anyway, when I send messages to the members in the group chat, they always read them and ignore me!]
[PD: Oh dear...]
[Seoyun: And the group chat name too... Wow, seriously, I suddenly feel wronged. Look at me right now, I’m tearing up. Even when I save our members’ names, I don’t just save them normally. I put hearts next to their names, and instead of Dohee’s name, I call her our maknae and stuff, but they just save me as Kim Seoyun Unnie, full surname and everything. Lee Dohee doesn’t even put unnie. Just Kim Seoyun. Does that make sense? Of course, after I complained, she changed it to Seoyun Unnie four years ago.]
[PD: That was too much of Dohee...]
─Lolololol the PD is good lololol
─Saving it like that does make it easier not to get confused later lololol
─But Kim Seoyun is kind of hurtful ㅠㅠ
[Seoyun: Exactly! No, one time Ua got all serious at me, so, okay, when we were having a party together after activities, I was putting snacks on a plate since we could just plate them, right? But she came stomping over and went, “Why did you mix them together!!” I mean, even if a little powder gets on them, how much could the taste change?]
[PD: Ah, what snacks were they?]
[Seoyun: Chocolate cookies and Cheetos.]
[PD: ...(no comment)]
─This is a bit;;
─Seoyun, I can’t cover for you on this one
─She’s asking you to sympathize
[Seoyun: No, obviously I separated them into sections! It’s not like I shook them up and mixed them. It was a party, so I was trying to make it look pretty!]
Anyway, Seoyun changed her wording and began another story.
[Seoyun: You know when I tell Dohee I’m hurt by something? Do you know what she says then?]
Seoyun even imitated Dohee’s voice as she reenacted it.
[Seoyun: Unnie, apparently there’s emotional empathy and cognitive empathy. But the empathy you’re talking about is emotional empathy, where the body unconsciously reacts to another person’s pain. They say sociopaths, psychopaths, and people with autism or Asperger’s syndrome have no emotional empathy at all?]
[PD: Oh...]
It was an imitation, but Dohee’s tone when discussing theoretical matters was quite serious.
[Seoyun: Though I can’t admit it, the reason you get hurt is probably because I’m a person with comparatively low empathy levels. In that case, what I need is cognitive empathy, in other words, learning. That’s why I always ask you to describe exactly what emotions you feel when you’re upset with me. I really don’t know unless you tell me.]
─That’s so Lee Dohee lololololol
─Lololol But it sounds like Dohee said it really kindly
─Contrary to her image, Dohee isn’t just playful about everything. She’s serious lololol
After finishing her long and sorrowful story, Seoyun wiped her tears and spoke.
[Seoyun: Fine. People are different, so how could we possibly share every emotion? I know that demanding unconditional empathy can become a form of violence in reverse too. That’s why I’ve always held back...]
[PD: Right. There’s even the phrase “violence of empathy.”]
Her true feelings, that is.
[Seoyun: So today, let’s commit a little violence.]
[Seoyun: Ha, you think I don’t know? I want to be genuinely empathized with at least once too. Not meaningless, brainless sympathy, but sincerely. No, should I line up all our members today for starters? If they each take one hit, maybe they’ll sympathize a little? Just line them up and beat them with a bat.]
─Lololololol is she insane
─Line them up and bat them lolololol
And so began another day for Debonair.
The location was the café in the TopEast company building.
The members looked at Seoyun, who was seated at the head of the table.
[Naeun: What is this, Seoyun, were you really that hurt all this time?]
[Ua: See? You don’t understand how Seoyun unnie feels. I totally sympathize with you, unnie.]
─Lolololololol Ua adapts so fast
─Ua jumped right in lolololol
─Even if it’s hard, I don’t think Naeun would be the reason it’s hard lololol
[Dohee: Are you making fun of our Seoyun unnie right now? How should I scold her, unnie?]
[Seoyun: Lee Dohee, one warning. Accumulate three and you get no meal today.]
[Dohee: What the fun!?]
[Seoyun: Pronounce it properly. I’m not letting you off today.]
[Dohee: I meant it seems like it’ll be fun. What the fun. Your content is the best, unnie.]
─No, Dorahee is seriously on fire these days lololololol
─What the fun, she says lololololol
[Chiyo: But e-empathy? Ah, dried persimmons?! I really love dried persimmons!]
[Seoyun: That’s one warning for you too. Stop cosplaying whenever you’re at a disadvantage.]
[Chiyo: What the fun...]
It was the beginning of a fun piece of content.
And the beginning of Debonair’s official catchphrase, “What the fun.”