“Do you like your older sister or not?” The answer is obviously the former.
Separated from blood relations, my older sister, who is always kind, pretty, and good at everything, was a source of pride for the family.
[Older Sister: Do-ah, I’m sad today.]
[I: Yeah, yeah.]
[Older Sister: If you keep giving short answers, I won’t give you any allowance.]
[I: Okay.]
[Older Sister: I won’t buy you the new Nintendo game, either.]
[I: Why are you sad today?]
[Older Sister: I miss Do-ah, boohoo!]
[I: (Bunny emoticon giving OK sign)]
“Sigh…”
Besides, my sister’s constant pranks sometimes made me think she was childish, and I couldn’t help but sigh.
But still, I like my sister. If asked to brag about her, I could talk for hours.
Of course, I’ve never done that publicly. I have no intention of bragging at all.
– “Mom bought me the Seven album for my birthday—aren’t you jealous?”
– “Let’s unbox the album!”
– “Yay, Do-hee photocard!!!”
– “Wow, that’s worth 100,000 won!”
I didn’t need to say anything because among school friends, my sister was already a regular topic of conversation.
– “But Do-ah, you really look like Do-hee!”
– “Really?”
– “Yeah, your expressions are similar! You’re pretty too!”
– “Is that so? Thanks.”
Above all, I was hiding my annoyance because I hated being a bother.
Regardless, being the sister of my older sister gave me quite a bit of pride.
However, there were times when I resented her.
[I: So when are you coming?]
[Older Sister: Do you miss me? Hehe.]
[Older Sister: But I don’t know. Boohoo.]
[Older Sister: Maybe in a month or two?]
Ever since her debut, there hadn’t been many chances for her to come home.
So on days like today, I couldn’t help but be excited.
“Brother! Have you put on all your clothes? You have to look nice!”
“Yeah, I’m coming right now!”
The hotel near the concert venue.
Due to inconvenient transportation, the family had reserved accommodations a day in advance and was finally getting ready to head out.
“Do-ah, please hold Dad’s hand!”
As soon as we left the accommodation, Dad extended his hand to me.
He always looked somewhat pitiful when urging us.
“Alright.”
So, feeling a bit sorry for him, I took his hand, and Dad had a touched expression.
“Do-ah, you have to keep holding my hand like this even when you grow up, okay?”
“Okay.”
I think it’s my sister’s fault.
“Do-ah, aren’t you hot? Want to grab ice cream on the way?”
“Sure.”
As we stepped out of the accommodation, the sun we faced was still hot for September, which was technically early autumn.
“But it must be really hot for Do-hee during the performance. I should’ve prepared some Omija tea to bring along.”
Mom was worried about my older sister, but thanks to the clear sky, it was a great day to go to the concert.
“Hey, aren’t you excited to see your sister at the concert?”
I nodded lightly towards Dad, who was beaming from ear to ear.
Honestly, Mom and Dad seemed a lot happier than I was.
With light steps, we headed to the concert hall.
The crowd grew rapidly as we neared the venue.
“Wow, a ton of people showed up.”
“Yeah, they said all the seats are sold out.”
Everywhere we looked, there were banners hanging up.
[“Saven 1st Concert: Link to Seventh Heaven”]
It was my first concert, and the intense atmosphere hit Do-ah with a wave of heat.
‘…So cool.’
We didn’t walk much longer before arriving at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena.
“Do-ah, look! There’s your sister!”
Photos of the Seven members were scattered all around the concert hall.
The one that stood out the most was, of course, my sister.
“Yeah, that’s her.”
I almost blurted out, ‘I have eyes too!’ but swallowed it down and smiled at Mom.
Mom pulled out her phone to take a picture of my sister and then grabbed my hand.
“Let’s take a picture with Mom and your sister!”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“Hey, come over here, bro! Let’s take a selfie to send to Do-hee!”
While we were posing in front of the poster, I suddenly felt eyes on me.
“Whoa, look over there! That kid is super cute, right?”
“OMG, sooo cute…”
At the center of attention were two college girls chattering away.
“I guess they came with their parents because they wanted to see the concert! How cute!”
“Right? Cutest thing ever!”
This was just another ordinary moment.
“But doesn’t that kid look a bit like Do-hee? Maybe it’s the vibe?”
Though the attention was nice, I didn’t want to get bothered by it.
Thinking we had snapped enough pictures, I tugged on Mom’s hand and said, “Mom, I want to sit down now. My legs hurt.”
“Oh? Alright…”
Mom’s gaze suddenly fixated on something.
“Oh! Do-ah, should we go get some merch? Look at that, it’s so cute!?”
Straight to the merch shop we went.
In a flash, Mom grabbed my hand and eagerly pulled me towards the booth.
“Ugh…”
Clearly, Mom is just a copy of Unni.
I had no choice but to calmly wait for Mom’s shopping spree.
I couldn’t understand why Mom was buying that when our house is already filled with my sisters’ things.
Of course, Mom had a warm heart wanting to keep records of her daughter.
But Do-ah was still a 5th grader who found it hard to comprehend Mom’s feelings.
After filling Mom’s hands with shopping bags, Do-ah entered the performance venue at a not-so-late hour.
The seats reserved for the family were in a special VIP section.
And not long after, Do-ah’s brows furrowed slightly at a familiar face.
“Do-ah!”
It was her high school Unni rushing over to hug her tightly.
“Oh my, Woo-ah! Long time no see!”
It was Woo-ah Unni, whom she had met a few times with her sister.
And following her Unni were two more.
“Hello, Mom and Dad~”
Na-eun Unni bent down to greet them.
“Good afternoon, Mom and Dad—”
Jokingly mixing in some Japanese.
“Tsk, Chiyo.”
“Hey, Kim Chiyo. You should be using proper Korean honorifics in front of your parents.”
Kim Chiyo was being scolded by Na-eun and Woo-ah Unni.
“Eh…? Kim Chiyo…? That’s too much… I don’t know Korean well… I’m not Kim Chiyo but Kimu Chiyo…”
She was as strange if not stranger than her own Unni.
*
“Wow, there are so many. Seriously…!”
Kim Seo-yoon, who gets nervous and makes frequent bathroom trips, seemed to have taken a look at the audience and shouted in an excited tone without even taking a proper breath.
“Did you take the calming herbal supplement?”
I brought it just in case she forgot again this time.
“Yeah, on an empty stomach before coming.”
Thank goodness.
“But Unni, are you eating anything?”
“What did you eat?”
“Just a simple salad.”
“Oh, I’m really not feeling up to eating right now. Hah… For real, once this concert is over, I’m going to eat the most delicious meal ever.”
Since the audience was barred from entering during rehearsal, they had to gauge the excitement from the murmurs outside, but facing the packed crowd directly made the jitters hit harder.
‘Well, it’s the first solo concert with 9,000 people.’
A recent article flashed in her mind.
[Seven’s first concert sold out 18,000 seats over two days]
[The concert caused a temporary server crash]
Of course, not everything was sunshine and rainbows under the title of sold-out.
If the backstage area was evacuated, the maximum capacity of the Olympic Gymnastics Arena is 11,000.
If the backstage is cleared, the maximum capacity of the Olympic gymnastics arena is 11,000 people.
But the number of tickets we sold per day is only 9,000 seats.
– Wait, why is the capacity 9,000?
└ That’s just what these companies do, lol. They lower the capacity and skyrocket the prices to maximize profits.
└ Seriously, the base ticket price being 150,000 won doesn’t make any sense?
└ For real, who could be as money-crazed as LE? Big corporations are even worse.
└ Despite wanting to be furious at the company’s upper management and LE’s tyranny, seeing the kids makes me ㅠ It’s my fault for falling in love, sighㅠ
Fans were also outraged by the tyranny of the agency.
“Let’s really nail this. At least we have to show what the ticket price is worth.”
So the members were even more fired up.
“Yeah. We practiced a lot, right?”
Hana Unni caught Ha-rang Unni while playing a game, and her pale face showed she was practicing harder than anyone else.
“Really… a lot… was done…”
The preparation was perfect to that extent.
Even during the rehearsal, there wasn’t a single mistake in the choreography and the eye contact was flawless.
“But where did Ye-eun Unni go?”
“Her? She said she was listening to some video or music or something and went to the bathroom.”
“Eh?”
A few minutes later, Ye-eun Unni returned looking full of confidence.
“Everyone move! Park Ye-eun is here!”
As the members finished getting ready one by one and gathered in one corner of the waiting room, Hana Unni slyly reached her hand to the middle and smiled.
“Shall we all put our hands together? We need to chant our slogan.”
I really don’t want to.
“Ah, this is embarrassing.”
“Isn’t it not embarrassing to act cute all the time?”
“Your face.”
“Yeah, I’m Kim Seo-yoon, a cool beauty. You’re Do-hee Lee. Planning to act cute on stage again today.”
“Shut up.”
“Just so you know, I plan to keep acting cute tomorrow too.”
…Damn.
“I actually find Do-hee really cute…”
…kind of.
In the meantime, Chae-rin Unni placed her hand over Hana Unni’s and said.
“Guys, let’s gather our hands before Hana Unni gets angry again.”
“Hey, Gong Chae-rin. When have I ever gotten angry?”
And after a moment of silence in response to Hana Unni’s unjust outcry that no one could empathize with,
Soon, hands filled with nail art gathered in one place.
“One, two, three!”
—Make the heaven wake the saven! Fighting!
Every time we do this, the staff can’t help but laugh.
It’s embarrassing and awkward, but… after doing it, I don’t feel bad at all.
“It’s 40 minutes before the opening!”
Until the empty audience seats are filled, there’s less than an hour left.
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