Chapter 241

Today, the company was so noisy that it nearly drowned out Chiyo Unni’s big voice.

“Why do you keep pretending you can’t hear me?!”

Ah, my ears!

“So, Pastel Love seniors are finally disbanding, huh?”

Sounds filled with regret and a bittersweet vibe.

“Do-hee Punch! Tsu Tsu!!”

Seven years of the original contract plus an additional three for the renewal.

After a long ten years of group life, Pastel Love decided to disband at the end of discussions.

No one could deny that Pastel Love was a significant source of income for Topist, as they proudly built pillars in the Topist headquarters.

Even though the boy group X10 seniors, who debuted afterward, surpassed their sales, they still remained the most respected group in Topist.

However, it’s now a time for generational change.

The company decided to hold a final gathering to express gratitude to the Pastel Love seniors for their long service.

“Unni, are you feeling down?”

“No~ Not at all.”

Despite her bright words, Woo-ah Unni’s expression, mixed with a slight sense of unease, couldn’t hide her discomfort.

For Woo-ah Unni, the Pastel Love seniors held a lot of meaning as they were her direct seniors.

From the early days of our training period when it was just the two of us, we frequently encountered the seniors, receiving a lot of love, especially since Unni admired them and nurtured her dreams.

“Just go say your goodbyes. It’s not like it’s the last day; we’ll bump into them again during activities, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

*

At a meat restaurant near the office.

“Ah~ You don’t have to give her a soju cup! She’s a baby! A minor! The only high schooler in Topist! The youngest! A baby!”

I endured the playful teasing of the Pastel Love seniors as they pinched my cheeks.

“Aw, so cute~”

The consolation was that I wasn’t the only one getting this treatment; most of our members were in the same situation.

“Our Chiyo was flying high in those YouTube videos, right?”

“Nom nom… meat meat.”

The Pastel Love seniors had a slightly tough older sister image compared to their initial concept, making Chiyo Unni, who just quietly ate without a word, amusing.

Of course, they were just kind seniors we had seen for a long time.

“Vita Unni, my cheeks hurt.”

I could make my demands proudly!

“Oh, really? Do-hee’s cheeks are so soft, I’m sorry~”

Vita, who didn’t want to be called Unni, quickly rubbed cheeks with me and left.

“I’ll be back soon, okay? Just having a drink with CEO Wi-dong?”

Even though today was a farewell party, it also had a bit of a company mingle vibe, so instead of sitting back with the members, everyone quickly mixed again.
We ended up mixing at the table.

Since Topist is a small company compared to the big ones, everyone knows each other as they come and go, and there’s alcohol here too.

So at the table where I sat…

“Hey, I told you. Our Do-hee is definitely going to make it big,” said Senior Vita while finishing her drink and chuckling.

“Why are you saying that like only you know?”

“If you think about it, Do-hee’s first debut was in our music video, right? We raised her. Do-hee, admit it!”

And sitting there was Senior Ho-won from X-ten.

“No, I really thought she’d make it big in many ways, didn’t you, Do-hee?”

“You did say that…”

Everyone’s talking about their own successes and showering compliments, but… with all the hype, it felt a bit embarrassing to lift my head.

I kept fiddling with my water glass.

“Uh? Is your glass empty? Then let me pour you some alcohol!”

“Are you drunk, Unni? What glass is empty, it’s for Mija.”

“Ah~ right. I thought I had grown up too! Hahaha.”

For some reason, it felt like Senior Vita was ogling my chest.

She kept hugging me earlier and seemed to like it a lot.

“Unni, just drink this…”

Senior Si-ryu poured Senior Vita some drinks and spoke to me.

“Do-hee, I watched the YouTube Self-Content that went up yesterday, and it was really fun! We might have to pass the original jokester title of Topist to you!”

Senior Ho-won nodded while pouring soju.

“Right, right! Didn’t they hit number one in ratings with this Self-Content?”

Honestly, the response was good enough to make me proud.

Of course, like a mature rice plant, I kept my head down, always humble as an idol.

“I didn’t do anything. It’s all thanks to my unnis making me laugh…”

“Oh, I saw it too! Do-hee’s guitar playing was no joke! Hahaha! I laughed so hard watching you sing.”

“Yeah, even at the batting center, your hits were insane! How about we go play baseball together sometime? Let’s have a Topist team-building sports day! Of course, Do-hee can be the batter, not the pitcher!”

“CEO Wi-dong! Did you hear? Team-building… Ah! I’ll pour a drink to celebrate the Chief’s promotion!”

…As things got lively in many ways, I sipped on some water to cool down and sneakily checked my phone screen.

There were a ton of messages flooding in.

[Seven7]

[Ha-rang Unni: I laughed so hard watching it ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Oh, my stomach’s a thief!ㅋㅋㅋ]

[Gong Chae-rin Unni: What’s wrong with her seriously;]

Besides the Seven talkroom, I got notifications from all over saying they really enjoyed our Self-Content variety show.

─[DEB: ON AIR 2 | Ep.2] #Trending Video 1st Place

The response was that hot.

It seemed like it had become a hot topic in the community as well.

Seo-yoon Unni’s close idol group, 3M’s Ina even…
The idol group Three M’s Ina is totally awesome.

[What are you watching on YouTube?]
└These days, I’m watching debonaire self-content variety shows… They’re so funny, you definitely have to check them out!

I recommended our self-content to fans via Instagram, and thanks to that, the growth of YouTube subscribers has been faster than before.

“I never thought people would be drawn in by self-content instead of music.”

What if I release my own amazing self-composed title here!?
“Kruuh…”

“What’s up? Who gave Do-hee alcohol!”
“No one did.”
“Anyway, let’s do a cheers to celebrate! Do-hee, you drink soda too! And of course, zero calories! You’re a hardcore dieter, ha ha ha!”

Before I knew it, my table had turned back into a party led by the seniors.
“Ah, I’m not sure if it’s okay to drink in front of minors~”
“Hey~ You guys are about to go to the military, so you should drink up while you can, ha ha ha!”

Oh… seniors are heading to the military?
“Ah, please don’t bring that up. I don’t even want to think about it.”
“Right? Do-hee looks so pitiful.”
“So when are you going?”
“Me and Ho-won are going this November and December, but the others are all next year.”

November? December? Even though my chances of having to worry about both extreme cold and guerrilla warfare training now have become slimmer, winter military service…
I’d rather have summer boot camp with heat restrictions for outdoor activities, and air conditioning for indoor training in lightweight uniforms.

But winter… No matter how many layers I wear, it’s cold, and wearing too many layers makes my body sluggish, then when I go out for training, my gear feels heavier, it’s cold outside, and I can’t sleep… Aaargh!

“What’s up? I feel like I just got a specific pity glance from Do-hee.”
“What does a kid know? They’re just thinking it’s unfortunate that the seniors are being dragged off to the Ministry of National Defense. Boo hoo. Do-hee, aren’t we pitiful?”
“Yeah, guys! We’re pitiful, so let’s have another drink!”

The drinks kept flowing.
Everyone looked like they had strong tolerances, showing no signs of getting tipsy.
Well, to be fair, most of them were in their late 20s or older, all at that age where they know their limits.

I feel like having a drink, it’s been a while.
Just enough to get a little buzz, though.
A sneaky drink…

“Ah!”
“What?”
“Huh? Not Do-hee. Are you guys re-signing?”
Now that you mention it, the X-Ten seniors are now in their 7th year.

As far as I know, this is probably the season for their re-signing talks.
After some observing, I exchanged a glance with the senior Shi-ryu, and Ho-won nodded.

“Ah, it’s confidential… but whether or not we do, we want to continue group activities. It’s not like we’re timing it with military service for no reason.”
“Right! Unless you’re starting your own company, we like our company~ Even if we’ve been working like oxen and just want to take a break now, our company has a lot of warmth. The staff are great, settlements are clear, and if you want to act, there’s also an acting department! It’s just… they don’t do much promoting or handling of things systematically… right?”
“Sure, let’s head out, but our company actually has a pretty good sense of community. The staff is nice, the accounting is tidy, and if you want to act, there’s the Actor Department too! It’s just that… we’re a bit lacking in promotion and structured operations… right?”

The seniors, who had been nodding quietly, turned their gazes toward me, seeking agreement.

“…A bit?”

“See! Look at this!”

“So, well… we handled the year-end stage, the album release strategy, the concept, the music video, and the outfits, all by ourselves. We had a bit more time compared to the older sisters.”

“True. Debonaire looks busier than us, I bet. And as far as I know, Do-hee is the advertising queen of the fourth generation. Am I right?”

“Ah, haha…”

It’s true they rank first in ad appearances, and their rates should be the highest too…

Feeling a bit shy about it.

“Yeah, with that schedule, when would they personally take care of such things? The company really needs to change that…”

“That’s true.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere at the drinking party turned serious.

Alcohol has a way of both lifting and sinking the mood.

“So when you guys leave, Do-hee will suffer as the only idol left. You guys being around helps the others learn too.”

That’s right. To keep an entertainment company healthy, it needs to have several idols under its wing.

“Still, if Inus disbands, they’ll just debut more boy groups with the trainees there.”

That’s also true. Baek-hwi and those under Inus had trainees from Topist.

“They’re like rookies, right?”

“We’re planning to focus on wrapping up our fall activities perfectly before thinking about the future.”

The company will certainly try to snag the X-ten seniors since members of Pastel Love are leaving too.

“Yeah, yeah. It might be the last activity, so make sure to prepare well. Let’s make a masterpiece.”

“Right. Everyone’s busy composing.”

Lately, the A&R team seems busier, so they must be collaborating.

As far as I know, the X-ten seniors have most of their members engaged in composing.

These two in front are also among them.

Though whether their songs are good is another story.

“Ah, by the way, isn’t Do-hee also learning composition? I heard she’s taking lessons from Joseph.”

“Really? So will Do-hee write a song for the comeback?”

“Oh please, as busy as she is, where would she find time for that?”

“But So-hyun unni became a director, right? She might care for her. If it’s her personality.”

…It’s true that she composed, but that’s a top-secret matter I must keep from the seniors.

“Nom nom… meat, meat.”

I’ve got to act like Chiyo unni.

“What’s that? It’s so obvious.”

“You did compose, didn’t you!”

“Your lips are curling up! Could it be the title?”

Ah, I want to spill the beans already!

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