March, spring.
A season where young sprouts begin to stretch their arms sneakily.
Our cute little sprout too.
Baby, Do-ah.
Was supposed to be a middle schooler.
“Today, I’m just going to practice a bit and head out right away, for real.”
Early dawn, 6 AM, earlier than usual practice time.
The members are slowly warming up in the practice room.
“Stop whining. Who’s stopping you? I’m helping you right now.”
“I will definitely… definitely go, I swear.”
“Sigh, should I go too? It’s been a while since I saw Do-ah.”
“Seo-yoon, could you not pretend to be close to Do-ah?”
“Oh, it’s so hard to match your energy. I think I’ll just take a nap after this.”
I felt a bit guilty knowing that my sisters were waking up early for group practice, sacrificing their sleep for me.
I couldn’t bring myself to say ‘I love you, thank you’ because it felt too cheesy.
Maybe I should buy something delicious on the way.
“But you know, I really like this dance the more I do it.”
“Really? This part is the one I choreographed.”
“Unni, I’ve told you over ten times already. I know.”
“Why~ I can brag a bit. Hurry up and compliment me. Do-hee, please praise your older sister~”
In the end, Woo-ah unni participated in some choreography of the new title track.
“Wow… Woo-ah unni made the chorus!?”
“Ugh… that’s so fake. Chiyo, show them.”
“I’m, I’m crazy! W, Woo-ah did it! I, I’m freaking out, jackpot!!!”
“This sounds just like a metronome.”
“Right? It tastes bad.”
“…Bummed out.”
Even though I combined choreography from more than four famous dance teams, inserting my own steps, especially in the chorus, wasn’t an easy feat.
It meant I not only danced attractively but had a strong sense of choreography as well.
But that doesn’t mean it’s hard for me.
“I, Lee Do-hee, can definitely do this…”
“I’ll start practicing now.”
Na-eun unni spoke a little sharply, unlike her usual self.
Is she tired…?
“Yes!”
But if it’s to meet Do-ah.
*
“Are you all dressed?”
“Yeah.”
Do-ah was checking her outfit in front of a full-length mirror.
‘If she’s in middle school, she must be a little grown-up now?’
Unlike her elementary school days when she wore casual clothes, dressing in regulation outfits reminded me of everyday workers like Dad in his suit heading off to work in the early morning.
It reminded me.
I smiled slyly at the mirror, feeling the crisp texture of the neat school uniform.
“You look just like your older sister.”
Mom was peeking at me.
Do-ah turned her head slightly and put on a serious face again.
“Why, I said you’re pretty! Super pretty, Princess~?”
Mom always said I resembled my sister, but to Do-ah, the one who looked most like my sister was actually Mom.
Sister.
Do-ah had been thinking about the sister who hadn’t come to the graduation ceremony since the morning.
“…Is sister coming today?”
Not that I particularly wanted to see her.
But family events are important, after all.
Her sister hadn’t come to the graduation day, using the excuse of a schedule and making songs.
“Who knows?”
─Beep beep beep
Just as she finished speaking, the sound of somebody entering the passcode for the front door lock echoed.
“I think sister is here?”
Mom chuckled as she saw Do-ah’s lips unknowingly curl into a smile.
And the moment the front door opened, the sound of a bag hitting the floor was followed by sister bursting into the room.
“Whoa, what an aggressive look! Middle schooler Do-ah in a school uniform!”
Sister immediately pulled me into a tight hug.
“Do, Do-ah… sob, my Do-ah is old enough to wear a school uniform now.”
Her voice trembled; was she really crying?
“Yeah.”
Although I didn’t dislike it, I gently placed my hand on sister’s back.
It hadn’t been that long since we met, but somehow I still wanted to act a bit cutesy with her.
“Do-ah is already in middle school…?”
“Yeah.”
It was just a little embarrassing, and I was only asking for allowance.
I always think of it, but sister is Do-ah’s very proud…
“You’ve aged…”
“You’ve aged more!”
“What’s that?! You have nothing to say to your sister after a long time?”
“But you said that first!”
“So what? Are you the older sister?”
“What does that matter?!”
“Why don’t you act like the older sister and get born first?”
Seeing sister throwing a tantrum again, Do-ah reluctantly called out for Mom, who had briefly gone to the other room to touch up her makeup.
“Mom! Sister is!”
“You know I changed your diapers. What about the day you took your first steps? I was so proud… Ah! Why are you hitting me! It’ll make you dumb!”
“You’re so smart, it’s okay if you get a little dumber.”
“Is that something a mom with kids should say?!”
Sister should just let us see the entrance ceremony and go quickly.
*
Just like that, in March’s spring.
It was a day filled with dopamine for Do-hee as she snapped pictures of Do-ah in her school uniform.
It was a day, but for Do-hee’s fan Home Mama, the happy times filled with dopamine were over, and they were entering a season of inactivity for the first time since the debut.
“Crazy Top Dong, don’t stop! Keep pouring out content for our older sister!”
It’s because all the various entertainment shows filmed before the debut, the debonaire members’ debut documentary, and the small games they played together had already been released.
They had a few behind-the-scenes music show clips from January as another self-content, but obviously, this had its limitations.
So now, the only content Home Mama could enjoy was the weekly music show hosted by Do-hee.
Their eyes kept wandering towards Seo-yoon’s entertainment clips.
“Let our Rai-hee do entertainment like Seo-yoon. MCing is just reading a script, right? Let her show off her Rai-hee power!”
Of course, MCing had its own charm.
Every day in different outfits, Do-hee, who sometimes blushed while reading slightly cringy scripts but maintained her cheerful enthusiasm, was quite the sight.
Especially when thinking about the new fans of Woo-ah, Chiyo, and Na-eun, it was clear that whining was not the way to go.
They didn’t have any personal content, so how much harder could it be for them…
“It’s my job! Quickly, is there any variety show for our Rai-hee aside from public broadcasting?”
While fussing and browsing through SNS, Home Mama quickly checked a new feed.
A new scoop, it was a post where someone late posted a captured sighting on Instagram.
[“Crazy, I think I saw Do-hee for real. Like, it’s obvious it’s Do-hee, the proportions are insane! Jackpot!”]
[“Can I talk to them? They’re cute and pretty while humming and eating hotteok, I’m so nervous!”]
[“Wow, crazy, we took a photo together! I got a hotteok too, LOL!”]
[“(Photo) It’s real! I really like them! They said they like people who recognize them first and thanked me for the connection, then asked to take a photo… I was so touched! Got hotteok too, it was delicious!”]
Home Mama couldn’t help but bury their face in their hands upon reading the post.
“So cute! Why can’t I get into this scene? Boohoo. Why do they share hotteok? Hehe, boo.”
From the outfit, it looked like it was just a week ago. It seemed to be the day they stopped by the JS building and filmed the debonaire challenge with Sara and Hana.
“This day was so great…”
At this rate, Home Mama was more than ready to fangirl over Do-hee with their internet friends for at least four hours.
—Looks like they walked directly from the dorm to the JS building that day, LOL!
└(Photo) Do-hee, who liked walking since trainee days
└I heard her walking mate was Seo-yoon and Woo-ah back then.
—(Photo) Confirmed Rai-hee power 100%!
└For real, who suddenly hands out hotteok? LOL!
└(Drawing of a rabbit character handing over hotteok) Just drew this!
Here we go!
In the meantime, it’s really sweet that someone recognized and suggested taking a photo as a connection.
…
Before I knew it, four hours had passed.
Looking at the clock, it was almost 10 PM.
For the sake of healthy fandom, it was time to start getting ready for bed and wash up.
Home Mama couldn’t hide her disappointment as she got up from her seat.
─Ding!
Home Mama jumped at the sound.
[DEB: ON AIR 2 | EP.1]
At exactly 10 PM, Season 2 of On Air dropped with no forewarning.
But today, Home Mama had decided she wouldn’t watch it.
I’ll sleep and watch it tomorrow; there’s always tomorrow’s dopamine.
“I’ll save it for later…”
However, the thumbnail was a bit off.
“What’s going on, are our kids in trouble…?”
With a black background, Chiyo was kneeling with a dramatic lamentation, while the members stood beside her giving a 90-degree greeting.
In bold white letters, it said, “We are sorry.”
“What the heck.”
Home Mama briefly contemplated.
Did someone do something wrong?
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t find anything.
Except for some outrageous nonsense.
There should be a controversy about the kids.
“At least it’s a strong rumor that Do-hee is just too pretty…”
Anyway, this thumbnail looked like the kind of clickbait you see on YouTube.
We’re sorry for misleading our dear customers.
As compensation, here’s a Gacha pull of 200 draws, blah blah…
“I can’t hold back.”
Home Mama forgot about saving it for tomorrow and hastily typed on SNS, “The kids’ Season 2 is up!” before clicking the video.
And there it was, the familiar intro from Season 1.
Home Mama, expecting to see the dictionary definition of DEB, was suddenly greeted by the thumbnail’s scene.
Instead of a black background, there was a blue beach.
On the white sand, Chiyo lay sprawled out while the members bowed their heads in silence.
The only sounds were screeching seagulls and the crashing waves in the brief moment of stillness.
As Chiyo lifted her face, heaps of sand adorned her hair.
[Chiyo: …Is that it?]
[Do-hee: That.]
[Woo-ah: Older sister should do it.]
[Na-eun: Huh? Ah, okay.]
Maybe it was from the cold, but Na-eun’s cheeks were flushed as she shouted.
[Na-eun: Uh uh, we’re really gonna make you laugh, so sorry!]
[Debonaire: We’re sorry!]
A loud round of applause, likely from the staff.
It was an oddly surreal opening for a girl group’s own content.
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