It had only been a few days since the third competition.
The internet was overflowing with spoilers.
[Jodol3 Third Competition Review.txt]
[Jodol3 Theme Evaluation Review (Team Assignments, Competition Songs Compiled)]
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[Review of Attending the Third Competition (Rambling + Long Post?)-Jodol3 Category]
It was only natural, in a way. Most of the audience members were likely hardcore fans, and the number of people attending the third competition had more than doubled that of the first and second competitions combined.
And the team receiving the best reactions was, as expected, the one with the girl-crush concept, .
It was the team that had taken first place in the team voting and received the reward.
However, if one had to choose the trainee who had been mentioned the most, it was Lee Dohee, who had taken first place in the individual voting.
-Dohee’s concept fit her so damn perfectly ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ She was literally “subtly” personified. It suited her so well. She dances well and sings well too.
-The stage started with a close-up of Dohee in the center, and everyone around me went wild ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Dohee’s visuals were seriously insane.
-Dohee got such a great reaction from the live audience, and she’s gotten so much better-looking and improved her vocal color a lot, so she totally owned both the singing and dancing. As an aside, I was jealous that a middle schooler could be so tall and slim with such a small head....
-She came out in a yellow dress with her hair tied up with a huge white ribbon, and she looked the most unique and pretty. I was shocked seeing her in person. Her proportions were great, so her dance lines were pretty, and her facial expressions were excellent.
-Lee Dohee was the center, and before the start she was looking down with her eyes lowered. She was seriously fucking pretty. Her proportions too—she was an idol from heaven.
Lee Dohee’s fansite master was happily reading through those posts while editing the photos she had taken at the theme evaluation a few days earlier.
A smile naturally spread across her face at the thought of making a large amount of money for the first time in a while.
Judging by the reviews, the data she had taken of the popular members was skyrocketing in value.
“Hmm~ Gong Chaerin came out well too. This should sell nicely.”
Well, after she sent off the fan gifts, there probably wouldn’t be much left in the end anyway.
That was how the structure always worked: the money eventually flowed back to the entertainers.
‘No. Maybe I’ll actually have some left this time?’
Since the girls had become such a hot topic, she began to hope that she might even be able to upgrade her camera.
With that hope, she threw herself wholeheartedly into editing.
After finishing the edits without noticing the passage of time, she began browsing the internet in search of new developments.
Then a real-time trend surfaced, following her algorithm.
#LeeDoheeSubwayAdvertisement
Mentions were pouring in in real time.
-Wow, Seoyoon’s subway ad is upㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I went to see Dohee’s subway ad ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-OMG I saw Dohee, Seoyoon, and Naeun at Konkuk University Station! I hit the jackpotㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
‘What? Dohee already went to see it...!?’
She hurriedly clicked on a social media post that had made its way into her algorithm.
It was a post from an account claiming to be one of Dohee’s fans.
-I went to put up Post-its and ended up seeing the babies... ㅠㅠㅠ Thank you. Babies, let’s debut!!!
(Group photo)
(Dohee verification shot)
(Dohee verification shot 2)
(Video)
└No way, I was at Konkuk University Station earlier too ㅠㅠ Seeing this... I’m so unlucky, so unlucky
└Did Dohee come out wearing just jeans and a white T-shirt again? ㅋㅋㅋ Still, she’s so pretty... the embodiment of purity
└They came as a group! Girls, debut ㅠㅠㅠ My favorite girls
└Dohee is insanely pretty and adorable... ㅠㅠㅠ
└ㅋㅋㅋ Dohee’s verification shots are so cute. She’s a master of aegyoㅋㅋㅋ
└Her proportions are crazy
└I love these three so much. I hope they debut together ㅠㅠ
└Wow, what’s with Lee Dohee’s bodyㅋㅋ Look at that auraㅋㅋㅋ
She had been staring at the photos as if spellbound, but then she came to her senses and played the video.
In the video, a woman who appeared to be a manager was taking photos.
[What do I do? She’s so pretty.]
[Dohee, give us another pose!]
[Girls!!! Look over here!]
Hesitating at the fans’ shouts, Dohee changed poses as she was photographed.
“Crazy, she’s so cute...”
The only difference from the casual outfit she had worn last time was that she had changed from a plain T-shirt to a logo T-shirt, but she was still too pretty to resist.
The video ended by panning to the advertisement featuring Kim Naeun, running alongside Dohee’s, while Dohee’s face was bright red.
“Ah... I was going to go too...! I was going to get there early and wait!!!”
Once a subway advertisement funded by the fans went up, it was only natural for all the Jodol3 contestants to visit and leave verification shots.
So she had known Dohee would come.
She simply hadn’t known when.
She worked to earn money so she could indulge in her fandom.
Yet here she was, earning money and missing out on the very thing she was earning it for. The fansite master was miserable.
***
I was lying face-down on the floor in front of the entrance, throwing a tantrum.
“I don’t wanna gooo.”
Mom showered me with nagging.
“Are you not getting up? Are you a baby? Doa goes just fine, but you’re her older sister. You should be setting an example, not the other way around. Hurry!”
I turned my head and looked at Doa. She was staring at me with eyes gone cold, as if she thought I was pathetic.
“Lee Doa, don’t look at your sister like that!”
“Good grief... Unni, you’re so stupid.”
Doa, when you say that, your big sister gets really hurt... Sob.
Still, I couldn’t help not wanting to go.
“I don’t know, I don’t know. I said I don’t wanna gooo.”
This was the vacation I had been given until the next filming session.
I had intended to relax and rest easy...
‘Why did summer vacation have to end right after filming ended?’
“Are you going to keep acting like a child?”
“You always say I’m still your baby. Waaah~”
What could I do? Being at home made me feel completely at ease.
“You promised Mom! Get up!”
Of course, I had promised to rest for only two days.
My physical condition wasn’t good, since I had practiced all night throughout filming.
“I don’t know, I don’t know~”
But after working that hard, couldn’t I rest a little longer?
I sneakily glanced at the clock. If I stalled for just ten more minutes, I could use being late as an excuse to get out of it anyway.
“Good grief... Mom will drive you there, so get up.”
“No need.”
It wasn’t that far on foot.
“Then I’ll hold your hand and take you there.”
“Ooh~ I don’t really like that~”
“Lee Dohee!”
Mom finally lost patience and grabbed me by the legs.
Thanks to that, I was dragged along, sweeping up dust from the wooden floor.
“Mom, there’s so much dust on the floor~ We really need to clean~”
Mom continued dragging me along in silence despite my words.
Apparently, she had no intention of letting me off.
“Good grief...”
With no other choice, I got up, dawdling all the while, brushed myself off, and put on my schoolbag.
“Fine, fine, I’ll go.”
Only then did Mom speak.
“Have a good day, sweetheart~ Get along with your friends~”
Mom patted my butt.
“Good grief...”
This would all be solved if I just took the high school equivalency exam.
Dragging it out like this was exhausting.
I needed to debut already.
I didn’t know how things would turn out, but if I debuted through Jodol3, it would be a month from now.
I had to endure it until then...
I made my way to school, putting up with it.
The students kept sneaking glances at me.
Whether they lacked the courage or were trying to be considerate, they only took pictures while looking at me and didn’t approach.
‘Oh...? This might be more manageable than I thought.’
I had been worried, but this seemed bearable enough.
However, the moment I entered the school—
“Oh, it’s Dohee!!!!!!!!!!”
One friend’s ear-splitting shout served as the signal, and the students began gathering around me one after another.
“Ah.”
At this rate, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to move an inch, so I ran toward the classroom.
I barely made it to the classroom.
Having reached my destination, I opened the door with a lighthearted sense of relief.
But the moment I opened it, gazes came flooding in.
“It’s Dohee!”
“Ah.”
I guess I had underestimated things.
The last time I had come to school before summer vacation, only the title-track stage had been revealed. In other words, even the first episode hadn’t aired yet.
But now, Jodol3 had aired up through episode eight.
Unlike back then, when it had still been bearable—
“Dohee-yah!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Eeeeeek!”
“Give me your autograph!!!!”
The level of buzz and the ripple effect were on a different scale.
The students rushed at me.
“Guys...?”
Please, just calm down...
“Calm down!”
It had reached the point where I was actually starting to feel afraid.
Of course, this was not an atmosphere that could be calmed with words.
But if I left the classroom...
I looked outside.
Students were wandering around outside the classroom, as if some kind of barrier had been erected.
Regardless of grade, they were gathered outside, murmuring and holding out their phones.
‘This is why I didn’t want to come... Damn it.’
I hated Mom so much...
With no other choice, I sat at my desk and was trapped there, forced to endure a brutal interrogation.
“How did you come to school today? Is filming over? What did you film?”
“Who are you teamed up with this time!? Get Sera unni’s autograph for me!”
“Dohee! I love ‘Fatal’ so much! I’m seriously a fan now!”
“I voted for you, you know? We voted for you, right?”
“Keu-keu-reu-pping-ppang Dohee TV~”
“Can I take a picture with you!?”
There were all sorts of noisy questions.
“I didn’t tell you before, but I liked you!!! I love you!”
“Hey, I liked her first!?”
“Me too!”
There were even kids who took advantage of the chaos to confess their feelings.
What the fuck was I supposed to do...
I was dizzy...
The bell rang for class, and the teachers arrived.
-Everyone, go back to your classrooms! You have class!
-Sit in your seats, everyone!
After they repeatedly tried to rein everyone in, the atmosphere finally calmed down.
Once morning homeroom ended—
“Dohee, could you come to the teachers’ office for a moment?”
This time, I went to the teachers’ office, signed autographs for the teachers, and took pictures with them.
That much was only natural.
“I’ll vote for you! I’ll be watching~”
“I’ll be rooting for you, Dohee! Fighting!”
“Oh my, thank you, Dohee.”
They didn’t have to speak formally to me...
“Oh! Who do we have here? Isn’t this Lee Dohee, the pride of Suan Middle School!?”
Only after listening to the principal’s belatedly affectionate speech and taking a picture with him was I finally able to return to class.
The glowing eyes swarmed toward me again.
‘Should I just leave early... No, should I drop out right now?’
Among them was Sohee, smiling as she looked at me.
Despite all the commotion around me, I could hear her laugh perfectly clearly.
“Heh.”
She was mocking me.
I wanted to run over to Sohee right then and there, make her pay for spreading my photos, and punish her.
But—
“Tell us everything already!!!”
“Dohee-yah!!!”
...I miss Mom...