“ Mother, I want to go too. ”
“ You have to go practice at the company that day. ”
“ Ah, I don’t want to. ”
“ If you don’t want to, what will you do? ”
“ I don’t know, just let me go! ”
“ Just bear with it. Instead, I’ll take loads of pictures of Do-ah. ”
“ Ugh, so annoying~ ”
The day after tomorrow is our Do-ah’s entrance ceremony for elementary school.
To not be there for such a moment…
As I sulked, Do-ah came over to comfort me.
“ Unni, I’m okay! ”
I hugged Do-ah and said.
“ I’m not okay… Everyone will definitely swarm around Do-ah… ”
I’ve already received several confessions from the elementary kids myself.
Unlike my resolute self, Do-ah is softer-hearted and might not be able to refuse…
“ Do-ah, if the boys swarm around you, are you going to say you’ll live with me forever? Got it? ”
“ No. ”
“ Huh…? ”
What do you mean ‘no’ from Do-ah?
Back then, she always said she understood whatever I said…
Has Do-ah grown up now?
“ Why…? You promised you’d live with me forever! ”
“ Unni, you haven’t been playing with me lately. ”
“ Is that why? Should I quit being a trainee then? You’re the most important to me, Do-ah. I can’t live without you. Sob sob. ”
Mom, who overheard this, couldn’t hold back and hit me on the head playfully.
“ Ouch! Why did you hit me again! ”
“ Quitting? What do you mean ‘quitting’? Enough talking, just hurry up and get ready. You have the end-of-month evaluation tomorrow, right? ”
“ I don’t care… sob sob… ”
Forget the end-of-month evaluation, Do-ah is the most precious…
“ Do-ah, can we sleep together tonight…? ”
“ If I sleep with you, you’ll just keep hugging me. It’s uncomfortable, I don’t want to. ”
“ We’ll just hold hands while sleeping… ”
“ No, I’ll sleep alone. ”
Do-ah said that and went into the bathroom to wash up.
I can’t believe our Do-ah is already at an age to be independent…
That night, I searched on my phone for ‘8-year-old independence’, ‘8-year-old adolescence’, and ‘children wanting to do it alone’ and ended up falling asleep late.
The next day at the office.
“ Unni, I’m here… ”
“ Do-hee~ ”
Woo-ah Unni rushes over to give me a hug again.
“ You’re a middle schooler now, let go of the hugging. ”
“ No, even if I become an adult, I’ll still hug you. ”
Since I kept accepting it, now she hugs me when she gets bored.
Did Do-ah find it annoying when I hug her?
I miss Do-ah…
How cute will Do-ah be when she introduces herself on entrance ceremony day?
As I sulked, Woo-ah Unni asked.
“ Why do you seem so down today? ”
“Tomorrow is my younger sibling’s entrance ceremony, but I have to go to work too…”
“Oh, is your sibling now an elementary school student?”
“Yeah. Sigh…”
I miss Do-ah…
I don’t want to do anything…
“Ask Team Leader if you can just attend the entrance ceremony and then go to work.”
“It feels awkward to be absent for personal reasons…”
Especially since I’m getting paid for it too.
I don’t know about Woo-ah unni though.
“If you do well on the end-of-month evaluation, you can ask.”
“Got it.”
“Well, if you can’t see him, you can’t ask, so let’s hurry and practice.”
…
After practicing all day, it was time for the end-of-month evaluation.
There were cameras set up on both sides, and in front were the vocal teacher, dance teacher, Team Leader Jeong So-hyun, and finally the representative sitting as judges.
The song Woo-ah unni and I prepared was originally a duet dance song for a boy and girl.
The representative started speaking.
“How old are you two?”
“I’m 12.” “I’m 14!”
“It seems like the age isn’t quite right for this song. Who’s doing the male part, and who’s doing the female part?”
“I’m doing the male part, and unni is doing the female part.”
“Really? Well, let’s see you start.”
The music started, and Woo-ah unni and I began dancing and singing.
The highlight of this song is the sexy appeal of enticing each other.
I put on the most alluring expression I could muster for the performance.
After the song finished, the judges didn’t seem to have bad expressions, so we must not have done poorly.
Vocal trainer Kwon Hyuk spoke first.
“Do-hee and Woo-ah, your skills have improved a lot.”
“Thank you!”
“Overall, you did well. But both of you keep tightening your voices when you’re dancing and singing, and your expressions get distorted. Are you going to do that on stage too?”
“No.”
“I told you that being a singer means live performance is basic, right? Saying it’s hard because of dancing is just an excuse. You can fix it. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Next was dance teacher Moon Ye-rim.
“It was good overall.”
“Thank you!”
“Especially, Do-hee dances with a masculine charm really well, and your expressions are good too.”
“Yes!”
“But how tall are you now, Do-hee?”
“152.9 cm!”
You’ve grown a whopping 10 cm in a year.
“Have you ever seen a guy shorter than a girl on stage?”
“No.”
“Then why did you take on the male role? Woo-ah is taller, right? Are you going to do that on stage too?”
“I’m sorry. I told unni I wanted to play the male role.”
“I know you can dance the male parts well, but you should approach the end-of-month evaluation as if it’s a real stage. Get it together.”
“Yes.”
“Switch your parts and come back for your next evaluation.”
“Understood!”
Now it’s Team Leader Seo-hyun’s turn to evaluate.
“Hey, guys.”
“Yes!”
“Do you know we’re picking new trainees this year?”
“We’re aware.”
“Do you think the new kids will be worse than you?”
“No.”
“Get nervous. The reason you look good now is that there’s no one to compare you to.”
“Yes.”
“Especially Woo-ah, you’re 14, two years older than Do-hee, so you need to do better. At 14, you’re not exactly a baby trainee.”
“Yes…”
“Do-hee, you could’ve done better than this too.”
“Yep…”
“If I didn’t expect anything from you, I wouldn’t even say this, you know?”
“Yep!”
Finally, it’s the CEO’s turn.
This is the most nerve-wracking part.
“I think I’ve said everything before, so I won’t evaluate anymore.”
“Yes.”
“But let me say one thing: just because you’re currently our only trainees doesn’t mean you’ll automatically debut. We’ll be bringing in more trainees soon, and those who show no potential will be immediately dropped. You all need to work harder. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Good. The stage was fun. Both of you have definitely improved a lot.”
“Thank you!”
Phew, I’m really glad the last words were positive.
If I keep this up, I might even get to see Do-ah’s entrance ceremony!
After the evaluations, I cleaned the practice room and wrote in my journal before going to Team Leader Seo-hyun.
“Team Leader!”
“Oh, why?”
She answered nonchalantly while watching the video of the monthly evaluations.
“Can I come in after lunch tomorrow?”
“What’s your reason?”
“It’s my little sister’s entrance ceremony, hee hee… I’ll work hard when I get back!”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Still answering nonchalantly, my teacher.
“Really?”
“Anyway, Woo-ah is also coming in late tomorrow for her middle school entrance ceremony, so go together and catch up on lessons.”
“Thank you, Team Leader!”
I bowed at a 90-degree angle.
Only then did she smile at me as if I were cute.
She may be a bit indifferent, but she really looks out for us.
I left the office building and called my mom.
“Mom, when are you coming?”
– Oh, right. I forgot I was checking clothes for Do-ah’s entrance ceremony. –
“… How could you do this to your daughter? It’s emotional trauma.”
– You’re already 12, so you’re grown up enough; just take the bus today. –
“A delicate daughter could be in danger at night, and you’re not even worried?”
– Delicate? It’s only a ten-stop bus ride, what’s the big deal? Just walk along the main road~ I’m hanging up! –
Mom just spoke for herself and hung up.
I’m a girl in elementary school, you know?
Especially, I’m a super cute girl!
Even though it’s safe in Seoul, it’s still something to worry about!
It’s totally worth worrying about.
I eventually took the bus home by myself.
As soon as I entered the house, Dad welcomed me.
“Did our daughter come back? Not tired?”
I answered while taking off my shoes.
“Just a bit. So, where are that rotten mom and Do-ah?”
Mom emerged from the room.
“Here’s the rotten mom.”
“Looking at your appearance, you definitely seem like the kind of rotten mom who breaks promises like it’s a meal.”
“Well, you wouldn’t say that if you saw Do-ah!”
“No matter how pretty Do-ah is, she’s still a rotten mom.”
“Just wait. Do-ah, come out~ Your sister is here~”
Do-ah came out from the room, wearing a tweed dress layered with a turtleneck and a black ribbon tied in her hair.
So freaking cute.
“Sis!”
Do-ah ran over and hugged me.
“Wow, our Do-ah looks like a spring princess!”
“Yeah, Mom picked it out for me.”
Do-ah used to find it annoying when we picked clothes for her, but as she grew up, she started to like it.
While holding Do-ah, I said to Mom.
“Okay, I’ll admit it this once. No more after this.”
“Okay. Thank you!”
“Oh, and I’m going to Do-ah’s entrance ceremony tomorrow.”
“What about your lessons tomorrow?”
“The team leader allowed it. Thanks to the rave review from the month-end evaluation.”
“How disappointing. It was just supposed to be the two of us teasing you.”
“Guess the rotten mom isn’t going anywhere.”
“I wish that the rotten daughter who talks back to her mom would just disappear.”
Finally, Do-ah chimed in.
“Both Mom and sis are so childish.”
“No, Do-ah. It’s Mom who’s childish; I’m 12 years old, okay?”
“Whatever! At 12, you’re already grown up enough.”
“Just you wait until you’re 37.”
“Hey, did you hear that? Do-hee just teased Mom for being 37!”
Mom hugged Dad and said.
“Both of you, stop it. It’s embarrassing in front of Do-ah.”
“Dad, are you embarrassed by me?”
“Are you embarrassed by me?”
“No, it’s not that I’m embarrassed…”
Sigh… I’ll just have to tell you later when I become a celebrity and go up on stage.
I pretended to hold a microphone and shed tears as I spoke.
“My beloved father is embarrassed by me, a celebrity. That’s why he doesn’t acknowledge me as his daughter in public… I hope he can be proud watching me receive this award today… Sniff sniff…”
Mom joined in on the act.
“Aww, my poor daughter, come here and let Mom hug you.”
“Okay!”
I ran to Mom and hugged her.
“Mom is so proud to have our daughter in this world.”
“I’m happy to be your daughter, Mom…”
Dad watched us with a sigh as he hugged Do-ah.
“Seriously, I wonder who took after whom to end up like this.”
“I’m embarrassed for my sister and Mom.”
Hearing that from Do-ah is a bit painful.
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