Chapter 281

“Huuaam…”

“Ugh, I’m so tired…”

The members slowly nestled onto the sofa.

“Do-hee, I’m feeling sleepy too…”

Woo-ah Unni snuggled into my embrace.

“Alright, Do-hee, let’s just take a quick break. I’ll wash my face and be right back.”

“Mm… If Na-eun Unni says so. Okay.”

“Hey, Do-hee, stop playing favorites!!”

“End discrimination! End discrimination!”

I could deeply understand everyone’s fatigue.

During the day, we prepared our end-of-year stage performance, each detail uniquely tailored.

At night, I was writing music centered around myself back at the dorm.

With all that, my fatigue piled up double, and I occasionally felt my consciousness fading and my eyes closing.

But I just had to do it.

“Ah, seriously, Do-hee.”

“Please, Unni, don’t do that.”

Kim Seo-yoon, lying flat on the sofa, was poking me with her toes.

“What do you mean ‘don’t do that’? Look at that expression of yours, all proud of yourself for working hard even now. You’re the one who scheduled everyone so tightly, causing us all this trouble.”

“Haha, please don’t…”

And as if to join in, the mischievous Chiyo Unni next to us also stretched out her toes.

“…Do-hee! Do-hee!”

“Haha, it hurts, Chiyo Unni.”

“Good! I’m glad it hurts!”

But whether Kim Seo-yoon knew it or not, I, Do-hee, knew how to handle Chiyo Unni.

“Chiyo Unni.”

“What?”

“Nice and pretty people shouldn’t act recklessly like that.”

“Hmm… true.”

“Right?”

“But you’re not pretty! You’re dead!”

“…-!”

“…I think my toe strength might be better than I thought?”

Chiyo Unni looked a bit apologetic and surprised.

“Sorry, that was my mistake.”

Just endure, just endure.

“Being human means loving, cherishing, and embracing each other, and that’s not enough… I’m not the only one trying to do well here.”

“Wow, you talk like a little girl, chattering away.”

Of course, I knew.

Even when Seo-yoon Unni gave me that kind of sarcasm.

Even when Chiyo Unni kicked me.

It was rooted in a mutual affection we shared.

“Right, Woo-ah Unni?”

“……”

“Kimchi, pinch this person’s toe. Seriously, how could she sleep all alone without a conscience?”

“…Got it.”

Woo-ah Unni let out a sudden scream as she woke up.

“…W-what was that? It felt like a huge bug just bit me.”

“Did you pinch your skin on the sofa leather?”

“Leather…? Oh, is that what happened…”

Anyway, everyone seemed to be running themselves ragged, even more than during our trainee days, so it seemed like we were all at our wits’ end.
It seemed like everyone was on the brink of death.

But there was no helping it.

“I’m here.”

Na-eun Unni, who said she would just wash her face, had even done a cleansing, so it was time to get back to work.

A while after midnight, the members who had been tormented by me, the ruler of Song Camp, Do-hee Lee, were looking pale and whining.

“I can’t do this anymore today…”

“Me neither…”

Kim Seo-yoon was already pretending to sleep with her pillow on the sofa.

“Sniff sniff…”

Even Na-eun Unni was starting to change the subject.

“Do-hee, come to think of it, you haven’t been working lately, right?”

“Working? I’m doing it right now.”

“No, your solo song. How about we just wrap it up for today and either sleep or prepare for your song? The thing is, the solo song is urgent, and the awards ceremony is really around the corner.”

Of course, it was absolutely out of the question.

“Don’t worry. I’ve already finished recording~”

“…Wasn’t it supposed to be recorded with the piano!?”

“Huh? No, that’s just for performance. If you mess with that, the keys will break. Actually, I met the Director before even buying that, and I got the company card after I played the recorded version for him.”

“……”

“And you know, I’m Do-hee Lee, right? Would I let my solo song interfere with the group album work? Never. I’m not that irresponsible.”

“Ah…”

“Sniff sniff…”

Meanwhile, Kim Seo-yoon’s sniffles were trembling even more.

The pitch was even changing.

“Hmm… Are you all really that tired?”

“I’m not making excuses… but you know, Do-hee, we’re now planning separate year-end stages…”

Na-eun Unni’s words were longer than usual today.

But they really did look exhausted.

“Ugh, then should we call it a night for today?”

“Yes!!!”

“Let’s do that!”

“Please, Do-hee!!!”

Seo-yoon Unni, who was pretending to sleep, had the loudest voice.

“Haha, thanks to Seo-yoon Unni, I guess I have to work for 30 more minutes.”

*

At the beginning of November, when the cold had become a part of daily life.

Bae Ha-young had a dumbfounded expression.

“…Really? Our kids are going to be on Mwave?”

It was already the season leading up to the year-end stage.

[MVMA GUESS WHO ARE PERFORMERS?]

I never expected our kids to be on the lineup being heavily promoted by MWAVE.

“Really?”

In fact, at the time when they should have been making waves, I was getting frustrated at Topist for postponing their comeback to next year, but now I was resigned to the idea.

I couldn’t believe they were going to participate in an awards ceremony that wasn’t on good terms with Topist.

“Could there be some changes happening internally in Topist?”

Bae Ha-young’s thoughts were somewhat valid.

The relationship between Topist and Mwave wasn’t just known among fans; anyone using the K-pop community knew it was a contentious one.

Unfortunately, that often became a target of ridicule for fans of other groups.
They had often become the laughingstock among the fans.

[Lol, in the end, when they called out Ma Ma, she just went out immediately.]

[I couldn’t understand what kind of guts a small agency that isn’t even one of the big four had.]

But there was no reason to be bothered by that.

It was proof that Debonaire was doing well.

[Wow, girl group heyday? Lineup jackpot…]

[Isn’t it just that Seven was at their peak?]

Among the countless groups being revealed, the only girl groups competing for the grand prize were Ailee and Debonaire.

[Looks like Debonaire also wants to win the grand prize? Lol]

And above all, among the two groups.

There were two familiar names in the lineup for solo artists.

Specifically, the former members of the disbanded Seven.

─Jeon Ha-rang

─Gong Chae-rin

[Am I really seeing the complete Seven after two years?]

That was currently the hottest issue in the community.

*

“I knew it would come to this.”

Seven was born from Mwave’s program, [Jodol].

The derived group was doing so well that.

It was already expected that LE, who was obsessed with ratings, would push for a special stage among Seven members regardless of the agency’s intentions.

Of course, they had no intention of avoiding it.

So we decided to meet up and lightly prepare for our old shows.

“Hey baby Toki! How long has it been since we saw our youngest Do-hee? Come here! Let’s have a tight hug, unni!”

However, supporting Ha-rang Unni was a different story.

It was seriously annoying.

I should just push Seo-yoon in.

“Starting with Seo-yoon? Yeah, our Seo-yoon!”

“Unni!”

For sure, Seo-yoon Unni clicked well with me so much that we quickly embraced and started making a fuss.

Thanks to that, I could step back and check out the practice room of the Day Entertainment.

‘It’s pretty spacious here… it’s similar to ours.’

I wonder if Lira practiced here too.

“By the way, hasn’t anyone else arrived yet?”

“Ah, Chae-rin? She came a long time ago, but she said she was going to the bathroom and hasn’t come back yet?”

“Oh, Chae-rin Unni.”

It’s obvious without even looking. She probably ran off somewhere to hide and rest to avoid Ha-rang Unni.

“Hehe, then shall we hug our youngest now?!”

Since Ha-rang Unni is being all handsy and noisy like that.

“Oh, don’t touch. That’s sexual harassment!”

“Aww~ She’s our little sister, what’s wrong with that~”

Ha-rang Unni always seemed so carefree.

“Wow, her chest is like a mirror. It’s closer than it looks. Bigger than it appears for real. How is this even possible?”

It was such an unrefined remark.

Is this hip-hop?

“Do-hee, what size did you say you were?”

“I don’t know, just take your finger away.”

“Seo-yoon, what’s her size?”

“I don’t know, it’s annoying, so don’t talk to me.”
“Don’t mess with me.”

“Why are the Topist sisters being so prickly with me today… By the way, our youngest seems to have lost a lot of weight since I last saw her. Did you go on a diet?”

“Me? I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m finishing my growth spurt. My baby fat seems to be disappearing.”

“Huh? That baby fat is still there, though?”

Well, that part hasn’t changed.

“You’ve grown in proportion to how much you lost, you know.”

“Seriously, Seo-yoon, don’t you know your size? You two are basically sisters.”

“Ugh, I don’t know! I said I don’t know!”

“Why are you getting so annoyed…”

Even with Ha-rang Unni’s tiny voice, Kim Seo-yoon shot back sharply.

“Ah, let’s be real—if I’m still wearing the same underwear, it’s probably still the same E-cup, right? Why even mention that to me?”

She insisted on spilling my measurements…

“What? E? A, B, C, D, E? How can it be E and you’re this skinny? I can feel your ribs and abs, yet it’s E there!? Really!? For real?”

Hah, I’m just glad it’s only us in the practice room.

I guess Ha-rang Unni’s mouth never changes, huh?

“Unni, doesn’t the company tell you to keep your mouth shut? There’s a limit to how free you can be.”

“Our company is a den of criminals, so being a bit free with my words isn’t a problem, okay~?”

“Real bragging rights there.”

When I clicked my tongue, Ha-rang Unni’s expression stiffened a bit.

But I guess I couldn’t say she wouldn’t be conscious of that.

Maintaining such innocence in that agency must have taken her some effort.

It seems my sarcasm was out of line.

I should apologize right away…

“Do-hee… Do-hee, can’t you let me? I’m really envious of your future husband right now…”

“Shut up.”

“Whoa, it’s been ages since I’ve heard Do-hee curse!!

As I kicked away the ever-offensive Ha-rang Unni, the others began to arrive one by one.

Right at that moment, Ailee and the members walked in.

“Oh! You all are here!?”

“I need to hit the restroom.”

“Ha-rang, it’s been forever!”

“Wait a second, Unni, just a moment!”

The only member who physically controlled the noisy Ha-rang Unni, Hana Unni, chimed in.

“What’s going on? Why are you acting like this?”

Silently, Se-ra Unni wrapped her arms around me and stared at my face with teary eyes.

“Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“Well… you went to Paris and didn’t meet up for months… I’ve been sad…”

“No, this time I was really busy! I told you I was working on music!”

As soon as we met, Ye-eun Unni was avoiding my gaze, her eyes darting everywhere.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything! I’m just standing still! What! What!”

And finally, Chae-rin Unni showed up.

“Wow, it’s so weird getting back together after so long. I don’t want to practice.”

Hmm… Definitely.

As Chae-rin Unni said, with all seven of us together after such a long time, today seems particularly chaotic.

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