Chapter 213

“Happy New Year, Director!”

“Oh, Seung-bin, you’re here? Happy New Year to you too! Congratulations on becoming an adult!”

Joo Seung-bin knows that as an idol, he is inevitably judged and defined solely by the images portrayed in the media.

But it’s obviously a dream to think that only those who match their media image with their real-life behavior exist.

You actually witness it while being an idol.

Someone who claimed to have never held hands could just be a scandalous womanizer behind the scenes.

A girl idol with an unmatched angelic image could very well be known in the industry for her rough behavior and terrible personality.

An influencer famous for being well-connected might just be the one spreading all sorts of malicious gossip.

Therefore, the images reflected in the media are hardly trustworthy.

Especially if they belong to a large-scale entertainment company.

Creating an image is as easy as pie.

As long as the person doesn’t constantly reveal their true nature by making endless mistakes or showing bizarre behavior.

Or if there’s no nasty past, like a bullying scandal surfacing.

In the end, the public can’t verify anything.

After all, from before their debut, they craft a story through image consulting and concoct anecdotes together—how would anyone know?

Of course, Joo Seung-bin has benefited from this.

His company, Lepro, was ranked first among the top four ent. companies in market capitalization.

They always took great care of him.

But what Joo Seung-bin truly relies on are the real behaviors he witnesses with his own eyes and the whispers he hears about the reputation in the industry.

That’s why Joo Seung-bin made an effort starting with himself.

Even if it seems fake, he greeted everyone—cast and crew—with utmost respect and congratulated the singers who ranked first with enthusiasm.

“Hello, writer! Happy New Year!”

“Oh~ Seung-bin is here? You were amazing on the year-end stage! Awesome!”

Yet, despite having watched for half a year, there’s still a kid whose personality is hard to pin down.

After greeting the staff politely, Joo Seung-bin walked along the corridor to the MC waiting room.

They happily greeted each other after not seeing one another for nearly a month due to the year-end break.

“Oh, Seung-bin, it’s been a while!”

Do-hee Lee, still speaking informally today.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

Today, she’s reading a thick book that looks difficult at first glance.

Her unpredictable personality shows itself in this aspect as well.

“What book is it this time?”

Some days, she sprawls on the sofa while endlessly searching for strawberry lattes, and other days she chooses to sit in an uncomfortable chair, utterly focused on a thick book.

“This? It’s ‘On Duties.’ Not Kant, Cicero.”

Joo Seung-bin, who plopped down on the sofa, picked up a water bottle and asked reflexively,

“Is it interesting?”
“Or just why are you staring at me if it’s not?”

“I’m going to lend it to you later, so make sure to read it.”

“I don’t really want to, but I nodded.”

“Sure, whatever…”

“Can’t hurt to read it.”

“Anyway, the books Do-hee is reading are pretty useful.”

“I’ve been following along too.”

“But did you come early today?”

“Yeah, because of the recording. You didn’t seriously forget that I debuted, did you?”

“No way you could forget that.”

“I’m already number one on the charts.”

“I know. I saw the showcase.”

Do-hee smiled proudly.

“Awesome. I believe you practiced the choreography. Seung-bin, you’re doing the hard version of the challenge.”

“Sigh…”

“…? I worked hard on your challenge, didn’t I? What’s with this injustice…”

“If you tell me, I’ll do my best.”

Seung-bin let out a subtle sigh and changed the subject.

“But can’t you just hang out with your members today? There’s a waiting room, right?”

Do-hee let out a big sigh and pointed at the book.

“Our members are super loud… it’s chaotic…”

I want to ask if it’s worse than you guys, but I won’t.

“I can’t read… if I can’t get through this week’s amount… I’ll have to stay up all night…”

‘Stay up all night? Can’t you just not read it…’

Anyway, in the now quiet atmosphere, Do-hee started flipping through the papers one by one.

Despite it all, she sat up very straight.

It’s strangely impressive how disciplined she is sometimes.

Seung-bin thought there was a lot to learn from her.

He sat up straight like her and asked, “But isn’t that uncomfortable?”

Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, “Don’t you know? I’m used to it now.”

“Is there really a reason to sit like that?”

As the pages turned softly, Do-hee answered comfortably.

“Just, my ideal type is someone who sits with good posture.”

“Ah…”

That was a fact he was learning for the first time.

Originally, Seung-bin thought Do-hee had no idea about her ideal type on and off the show.

The reason he knew was simple.

His group member, Ailee’s ‘Sung-han,’ was interested in Do-hee.

Just the other day, he was pestering her for her number.

Of course, she had no intention of giving it to him and didn’t.

‘That guy needs to be put in his place…’

It’s pretty annoying to deal with a member who’s such a punk.
That’s quite annoying.

It was a fresher and more specific standard.

So, the ideal type is someone who sits up straight?

I suddenly became curious.

Such specific and realistic conditions for an ideal type usually come from real-life characters.

Like a first love.

So, Joo Seung-bin cautiously asked,

“Is there… someone who meets those conditions?”

Do-hee Lee’s reaction was immediate without hesitation.

She confidently pointed to herself with her thumb.

“…yeah.”

I wondered if I asked for no reason.

“Ah…!”

“…?”

“There’s one more person!”

“Who?”

“My sister!”

“Ugh…”

“But you know, our Do-ah pretends not to, but she secretly follows everything her sister does? Want to see a picture? I have a video too, it’s super cute.”

Seeing her excitedly chatter about her sister made me a bit curious.

“Okay, show me.”

“Absolutely not! Only I get to see it.”

“…ugh.”

“Hey? What is that face? You gonna curse at me or something?”

I can’t seem to pin her down at all.

*

Do-hee’s Home Mama, with the username ‘Dol Ahyee’, was beaming.

[As you all know! Our Debonaire will be showcasing their debut stage today~ Ahem!]

[Ah~ I totally forgot about that.]

[What?]

─Do-hee genuinely looks flustered, haha, so cute

─That doesn’t look acted at all, haha

Do-hee always had a good reaction when watching variety shows as the MC.

[Reality Show/Situation of Debonaire: Do-hee and Seo-yoon’s usual entertaining vibe]

─Haha, I really hope they invite Do-hee and Seo-yoon more often on variety shows

─Those two are bound to get fixed shows soon

The recent variety show with Seo-yoon also received great reactions.

[Debonaire hits #1 on daily charts just one week after debut… the situation is insane]

Breaking the jinx that survival project groups inevitably fail after Ailee, Debonaire also grabbed the #1 spot on music charts right from the start.

From the perspective of a hardcore fan, no matter where you scour the community, dopamine is flooding out.

However, while browsing the Kpop community, the Home Mama quickly caught wind of an underground opinion.

[Future of Debonaire looks bright]

This assertion has been formulating since a few days before [Reality Show] was released.

─Do-hee and Kim Seo-yoon kept appearing even during their hiatus, but after debuting, they’re only showing up together…

└They seem a bit greedy. The other members deserve a chance too.

└Especially Do-hee, but I guess being a celebrity could be good, yet there’s really a lack of consideration.

└Agreed… she always wants to shine solo.
As expected of the two, it seems like they’re going to steal all the spotlight while the others are left in the shadows…

Guaranteed, they’re just nurturing the popular two. Focusing on their favorites exclusively.

“I knew it would turn out this way.”

Home Mama’s predictions about public opinion perfectly aligned with reality.

Haha?? It’s because those two are popular and get called out; Topist isn’t a top-notch company that hands out benefits from the start.

If a group is doing well, there will always be people who get envious, so it couldn’t be helped.

But…

“Come on, it’s only been less than a week since debut, you guys.”

The fact that public opinion is already splitting the members right from debut was a bit premature.

“Ugh… This is why I dislike survival groups. You have to deal with toxic fans for life.”

These are the folks who were praying for Amaseven’s downfall.

They must be so annoyed.

Sub-groups Ailee and Debonaire.

Both achieved number one on the music charts right after their debut, proving Seven’s name value.

Still, Home Mama was secretly worried.

Groups that only shine a few members usually don’t last long.

That’s not an exaggeration; it’s far too familiar in the idol scene, isn’t it?

With chart-topping achievements happening now.

Fans are already starting to attach to the group.

Just like Do-hee’s Home Mama pointed out.

The individual fan accounts for Woo-ah, Chiyo, and Na-eun were gradually appearing.

However, given the nature of idols, the fandom could easily be swayed by public opinion.

Rather than solidarity from the start, personal fandom could take hold instead.

There was even a possibility that the members involved might crumble from within.

Honestly, it was hard to understand why Topist gave them this opportunity.

Topist’s inexperience was glaring. Rookie idols should be hustling hard together in the beginning.

Exactly… They really can’t manage ㅋㅋ

At a crucial time to launch their YouTube content, establish member relationships, and strengthen fandom engagement,

Only the variety show featuring Do-hee and Seo-yoon was released, which raised some eyebrows.

‘Please don’t tell me Show Shock Entertainment isn’t able to put out the good stuff…?’

All things considered, one reason Seven did well was thanks to the backing of the big conglomerate LE and the self-produced TV variety show on channel Mwave featuring Seven.

Their vibrant chemistry among the members had kept those toxic individual fans in check.

‘Besides, those kids had the chance to bond through the survival process…’

The members of Topist being brand-new could lead to awkwardness.

‘It’d be bad if they get swept away and their teamwork falls apart; sigh…’

Carrying those worries, the second week of activities began, where they could finally aim for the number one spot on music shows.

It was now the week when various variety shows from several public broadcasting channels would be unveiled to earn broadcast points.

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