“Live broadcast SBC Trend Music’s real-time voting for the last week of November has closed.”
Joo Seung-bin and I took turns reading the cue cards.
“Who will be this week’s number one? Show us the results.”
The roulette spun, with the scoreboard gradually settling down.
“This week’s number one, with all the scores combined from the Trend Music chart, is?”
“Who will be this week’s number one, I wonder?”
The final accumulated score.
Fireworks exploded on stage.
“Ailee, congratulations!”
Joo Seung-bin and I handed trophies and bouquets to the Ailee members standing next to us.
They had been winning first place all week, so one would think they’d be somewhat composed, but the Ailee members still seemed in disbelief, with their eyes wide open.
“Thank you…”
When Ye-eun Unni received the microphone from me, she too seemed to be in a daze, her voice choked.
In the midst of this, I felt a grip on my right hand and turned my head slightly to see Sara Unni reaching out her hand.
I tried to subtly signal with my eyes, “You should hold hands with the Ailee members,” but Sara Unni just gripped my hand harder.
Still, I was at least holding Ailee’s youngest member, Bomi’s hand with Sara Unni’s left hand, and since it was a live broadcast, I didn’t push Sara Unni’s hand away.
Meanwhile, Ye-eun Unni, who was still making choked noises, seamlessly passed the microphone to Hana Unni beside her.
Fortunately, Hana Unni calmly began to mention the people to thank.
“First of all, thank you to our fans. And we thank our staff who worked hard with us… Director Jinseong for bringing us together… Manager Kwon Woo-hyun…”
At that moment, our eyes met.
Tears started to roll down Hana Unni’s reddened cheeks.
“To everyone who’s always with us and supporting us… And to the Ailee members…”
As an MC standing in the middle of the stage, I couldn’t tell exactly what emotion Hana Unni was feeling.
It’s probably a feeling that’s too complex to describe unless you’ve experienced it yourself.
Of course, I could vaguely guess.
It must be the relief of the burden from Seven’s success. The fear of a second challenge. Those emotions must have finally unraveled with a sense of reassurance, causing her eyes to well up.
As a member of the group, the fact that Seven has made a comeback struck me hard, making me choked up again.
Cheers erupted from below.
“Ailee, congratulations!!”
“Ahhh!”
I wondered if the tears that flowed were overlapping with the memories of our first number one from our past days with Seven, like a déjà vu.
As I stood there, overwhelmed with emotions, Joo Seung-bin poked me to remind me that I had lines to shout.
I realized there was a line I had to shout.
I freed Sara Unni’s hand, grabbed the microphone, and stepped forward.
“Should we say goodbye here then?”
“Where are we going next Sunday?”
“Let’s all go to the trendy song! Everyone, bye~”
And Ailee’s encore intro started to play.
*
On the way home.
I don’t exactly know why I felt overwhelmed watching Ailee’s number one win.
I let myself get a bit sentimental.
The pressure from Seven’s success.
The fear of not succeeding in this re-debut.
Was I the only one feeling those emotions?
Or maybe just Sara Unni felt that way.
Sara Unni was always filled with confidence in herself.
Of course, I also have absolute confidence in myself.
So maybe I’m just now gradually realizing what this re-debut means.
I wonder how Seo-yoon Unni feels.
Maybe she was inspired but didn’t express it; perhaps she was slightly scared.
She always gets nervous before going on stage, so that could be it.
At just 20 years old, still too young to be called an adult.
I want to comfort Seo-yoon Unni a little bit.
*
Normally, I would kick the door open, but today I knocked.
“Come in~”
When I opened the door, Seo-yoon Unni looked up from her phone while lying on her bed.
“Unni, do you want to go for a walk with me?”
“A walk? In this cold winter night?”
“It’s only 9, so what? Just put on your puffer jacket.”
Ignoring me, Kim Seo-yoon focused back on her phone.
She was chuckling at a funny variety show video.
“I don’t wanna~”
Then she copied the way I’ve been speaking lately.
“Ah, why? Let’s just go to the convenience store in front.”
Kim Seo-yoon twirled around and lay on her side, emphasizing her lines.
“Do you really want to go with this unni?”
Should I just give up?
“Ah!”
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, Seo-yoon Unni jumped up with a shout, grabbed some clothes from the hanger, and spun around.
“Since it’s my maknae saying she loves me so much, I have to go, right~ Really, Do-hee is such an unni fool~”
What a silly girl.
*
Dressed warmly, as I stepped out of the room, Woo-ah Unni glanced up from the sofa where she was resting.
“What’s up~? Where are you two going without me?”
“What’s this? Why are you leaving Chiyo out?”
“Just a walk in front. To help digest dinner.”
“Ha, if it’s not me, Do-hee keeps whining that she’s scared of going outside…”
I cut off Kim Seo-yoon’s nonsensical chatter.
“Woo-ah Unni, you wanna come too?”
“Why didn’t you ask me?”
“No way. It’s freezing out. Just grab some wet wipes on your way back. I have nothing to clean the room with.”
“Okay.”
In the meantime, Chiyo Unni was puffing out her cheeks and pretending to be sulky.
“Expensive ice cream.”
“Got it.”
Just as I was stepping out the door, Na-eun Unni shouted, “Wait a sec!”
She followed me to the entrance and wrapped a scarf around my neck herself.
“Do-hee, it’s cold outside.”
“Unni, what about me…?”
“Seo-yoon, you look warm enough, so it’s fine.”
“Why the discrimination? I’m a baby too.”
“Okay, okay, have a good time, babies~”
“Yeah, we’re off.”
Leaving the three of them behind, we stepped out of the house.
Looks like Na-eun Unni still sees me as a child.
After all, first impressions stick.
When I first met Na-eun Unni, I was 12 and she was 17.
Stepping outside, the cold air puffed out in clouds.
“Ugh… it’s freezing. Let’s share the scarf.”
Seo-yoon Unni loosened one end and wrapped it around her neck.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
But somehow it got wrapped up anyway.
“Good?”
“Ugh…”
A bit uncomfortable, but due to the scarf, Seo-yoon Unni and I ended up sticking close together as we walked slowly along the apartment path.
And then, in a quiet voice, Seo-yoon Unni said,
“Hey—”
“It reminds me of the past.”
My luck was buried.
“What about?”
“When we were trainees. After we ate, it was always you and Woo-ah that I went for walks with.”
“Yeah, that happened.”
Honestly, we three were the closest among the trainees.
“Man, back then I got scolded by my mom a lot because of you getting 100 points.”
“Should’ve studied a bit.”
“If I had studied back then, there wouldn’t be a Kim Seo-yoon today.”
Back then, the latest addition, Chiyo Unni, wasn’t even around yet.
And Na-eun Unni was the oldest among the trainees, taking care of everyone.
“Still, you were so nice back then… so cute…”
“Still nice and cute.”
“Hmm… really? Well, I guess you were just a bit of a fool, but nice.”
Thanks for that.
“Oh, and remember? Last year when we went to the West Sea…”
“Unni, the day I fell forward while jumping far in front of the camera.”
“Hmm… did that happen?”
She avoided my gaze, probably feeling embarrassed.
But not all embarrassing memories were so bad.
All passing moments turn into precious memories.
As we strolled through the chilly winter night, reminiscing about memories, I finally brought up what I had been wanting to ask earlier.
“How are you these days, Unni? Are you doing okay?”
Of course, Seo-yoon Unni was more worried about me.
“Why? Are you having a hard time?”
“No, it’s just that today, Ye-eun Unni and Hana Unni were crying a lot. It was kind of unsettling.”
Seo-yoon Unni let out a strange, happy smile and chuckled.
“You came in first place, so you must feel glad, right? Plus, Ye-eun usually cries a lot when she’s by herself, and Hana has had her share of struggles with the transition, dealing with all sorts of negativity…”
“What about you, Unni? Are you okay?”
“Honestly, I do have some worries. When I turn off the lights and lie down, I feel tired but can’t fall asleep, and negative thoughts creep in. I wonder if after our debut, people will still like the changed me. What if we fail this time? Just stuff like that…”
Seo-yoon Unni hesitated for a while and whispered.
“But, you know, even though Na-eun Unni is the leader… the real experience is with you and me, right? And I’m the eldest among us. So, worrying about it feels foolish. During that time, I should be teaching the members well, I should be leading… you know, stuff like that. Uh-huh.”
“Did you feel sorry for that?”
“Not for you.”
“Sigh.”
As Seo-yoon Unni let out a chuckle, steam wafted up in the cold air.
“Actually, you’re a source of support for me. But I just don’t want to say these weak things in front of you. Since I’m still your Unni, I hope you can lean on me.”
The white mist emerged like my figure in the chilly air.
“You are a support.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh.”
If I were just childish, I wouldn’t have gotten close back in elementary school. At that time, I found it annoying to hang out with young kids.
Seo-yoon Unni was in middle school, playful on the outside but mature inside, which is why we became friends.
“Even when I tease you childishly, you secretly feel like I’m a support for you.”
“That’s true.”
I linked my arms with her and quickened my pace.
“It’s cold. Let’s hurry and buy what we need and get inside.”
“Oh, I have a schedule tomorrow morning. I need to go home quickly and sleep.”
“Okay.”
The soft sound of our footsteps resonated monotonously.
It was Seo-yoon Unni’s cheerful voice that broke the silence.
“Oh, right! You have a schedule tomorrow too.”
“Huh? I don’t have anything tomorrow. I think I have vocal practice or something?”
“No, no, I didn’t want to suffer alone, so I told the Director that you’re coming with me tomorrow since you’re free.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“I’m serious. Didn’t the Manager tell you?”
What a crazy girl!
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