After finishing a light dinner made of fruits, we settled into a set filled with our album merchandise.
[DEBONAIR THE 2nd EP [Joy, Anger, Sadness, Pleasure (RNBD)] COMEBACK LIVE] streaming has begun.
“Is it on?”
“Are you hearing my voice now?”
The intro to the first title track ‘SAME’ started playing, and the staff in front gave the OK sign.
But why is Chiyo Unni lying on the set floor in that pure white dress?
“Chiyo, stop being weird and sit up already.”
“I’m just a miserable victim who got killed by Do-hee… It hurts…”
Seriously, what is up with her?
Anyway, it’s only natural that the fans who had been eagerly waiting for the comeback rushed in quickly.
─Wow, the outfits this time are really amazing!
─Everyone loves the song so much ㅠㅠ
─Do-hee Unni is so pretty!
─Chiyo, what are you doing? LOL
The comments started pouring in faster than we could keep up, showcasing our full-on looks from the ‘SAME’ music video and stage outfits.
Confirming this, Na-eun Unni clapped her hands and opened the floor.
“Okay! One, two, three.”
“Hello, we are Debonaire.”
─What is Chiyo doing over there? Seriously, LOL
“Okay! It’s been a long time since we met the Air through a comeback live. Let’s introduce ourselves and share our thoughts one by one, shall we?”
“Yeah~”
As it felt like the screen zoomed in, I was the first to start on the far left.
“Um… Hey Air, long time no see? Even though it’s been a while, I’m glad we have something to show you that we worked on ourselves. This promotion will be for four titles, so it might be a bit long, but let’s hang in there together.”
─Clap, clap, clap.
I didn’t have anything grand to say, but everyone shared their simple remarks one by one.
“Hi, this is Woo-ah. It’s been a while since we did a live, right? We really wanted to do a live, so I’m really happy that we’re here…”
“Chiyo, could you please get up now?”
“Nah~”
After sharing a brief update, she continued.
“But! We’re just getting started, right? We’ve been working hard this time preparing songs and filming variety shows, and we’ll have plenty of chances to meet directly through music shows, fan meetings, and fan signing events, so get ready, okay Air?”
“Right, how rushed must it have been that you cut your tongue while eating?”
“Hey, Do-hee, do you want to make the atmosphere horrible for the live meeting with the Air?”
“No.”
With Seo-yoon Unni’s unnecessary cute hosting, we moved on to the main topic.
“We have some prepared corners for you, right?”
“Yes, first up, ta-da!”
Na-eun Unni pulled out the four versions of the physical album from under the desk.
“It should have started shipping today, and while some quick folks might have seen it already, most of you probably haven’t yet?”
The comeback live is originally meant to promote the album after all.
“Let’s each hold one and introduce it, shall we?”
At Na-eun Unni’s words, Woo-ah Unni nodded and picked up the Valentine’s version.
Seo-yoon Unni nodded as Woo-ah Unni picked up the Valentine’s version.
“Let me introduce this first. This is the Valentine’s version! If you take a look, you’ll see the colors are different on either side, right? The front is pink, and the back is red. Bright colors that are perfect for love! I’m not just saying this because it’s our album; it really turned out amazing. If it had just been a solid color, it wouldn’t have captured that album feel, but this pastel tone shows our duality perfectly! Air, you know what I mean, right?”
“Looks like Unni has some business savvy.”
“Alright, let’s check the contents inside first. Starting with the photocards. I wonder what we’ll find in here…”
But people couldn’t easily reach for their wallets.
“Wow, is that Do-hee? Everyone, look at this! Our Do-hee’s selfie is super pretty, right?”
“I, I have to buy this!”
“And on the back, it even has Do-hee’s beautiful signature!?”
“Oh my gosh, I want it! I, I want it!”
“Hey, I won’t buy it if it has Do-hee in it.”
“What’s in the second photocard? Ta-da, it’s Seo-yoon Unni!”
“Where’s the purchase site?”
“Hmm, as a picky consumer, I, Chiyo, can’t pass on a photocard like that.”
“And then for the poster… it’s our Chiyo?!”
“I want to buy it too! Me too, me too!”
“Everyone, calm down. There’s plenty of stock.”
—Seriously, the timing is spot on, lol, are we filming a skit? lol
—LOL a traditional reaction hub
—I’ve already bought all four types, so please send them quickly ㅠㅠㅠ
—How much is this again?
The Unnis gradually finished reviewing the four physical albums decorated for each date.
And now it was time to listen to the newly included tracks.
“Air folks, I heard you sent us amazing one-line reviews of the songs through the fan club community! But first, let’s talk about our album name! This is…
…!! …! !!
“Just let her do it.”
“Oh my gosh?”
“Yeah, let’s have Do-hee do it…”
“Me, me?”
—Oh please, lol, she’s just so shameless
“Me? AAAAAAAH!”
—Am I really doing this? lol
—Well, who else would do it besides the producer? haha…
—Stop with the facial acting and just go for it already
—Do-hee could really be an actress later on, lol
Oh my, I really don’t have to explain this.
“Ahem.”
But hey, I’m the producer, so I can explain better than anyone else…
I even attended the final meetings with the planning team to choose the album name, right? Um-hum.
“I don’t know if the album introduction text has gone up since we revealed the album, but shall we all take a look together?”
“Yes, sounds good~”
With Woo-ah Unni’s warm encouragement, I boldly ripped off the panel sticker beside me.
And there, written in big letters, was a very brief introduction.
[‘RNBD’ is an album that captures the spectrum of emotions humans feel, 희노애락 (Joy, Anger, Sadness, Pleasure). If the previous album ‘DBNR’ showcased the pure essence of Debonaire, this one presents a Debonaire tailored to the emotions of the world.
The songs released according to each day’s theme reflect the emotions represented by the letters in RNBD, ‘Rejoice’ for joy and elation, ‘Nettled’ for anger and annoyance, ‘Blue’ for sadness and gloom, ‘Delight’ for pleasure and happiness.]
Expressing the joys and sorrows through the spelling of RNBD: ‘Rejoice’ with joy and exhilaration, ‘Nettled’ with anger and annoyance, ‘Blue’ with sadness and gloom, ‘Delight’ with pleasure and happiness.
“…Hmm.”
The introduction to the album I painstakingly created myself.
I wanted to introduce it, and I had a lot to say and plenty of behind-the-scenes stories.
“Yes.”
Strangely, my mouth wouldn’t open.
It’s like the emotions I felt when I first faced myself on screen were beyond words.
“Uh…”
I just stared blankly at feelings that I couldn’t logically or rationally understand.
“We worked really hard on this album. I had so much to say.”
Since I started working on several songs, it became strangely common for lyrics or melodies to suddenly pop into my head, even now.
“Please listen in your own way and enjoy with your interpretations.”
Even when my older sisters looked at me incredulously, saying I was lost in my own world again, I could only blush and let it pass.
“Now, shall we listen to our intro song and read some one-liners from the fans?”
It’s true, describing overwhelming emotions is always difficult.
*
“Debonaire sets its own initial record in just two days… Mini Album ‘1.13 Million Sales’”
“Debonaire’s ‘SAME’ enters the US ‘Billboard 200’ main chart… A global sensation is brewing.”
Someone was reading the article about Debonaire.
Radio writer Lim Ji-young.
“Writer, I heard you took on the review for Debonaire’s new release this time?”
“Oh, something like that. The team leader asked me to write it.”
And she was also a music critic.
That said, she didn’t necessarily possess profound expertise.
However, her authority as a radio writer provided her with a wide range of musical exposure, which meant that many radio writers were entangled in the music reviewing industry.
“Seriously, the songs this time are great. Wow, I really think Do-hee Lee is truly a genius. Of course, the members participated a lot, but Do-hee is the one leading, right?”
“That’s true.”
As she watched her junior radio director excitedly discussing idols, Lim Ji-young secretly smirked but nodded in agreement outwardly.
“Right now, ‘SAME’ is the most attention-grabbing track, but I actually prefer ‘Do it anyway’ and ‘Just a Day’. Both have great lyrics. Wow, truly an idol capturing the indie vibe perfectly…”
She couldn’t deny that not only the concept but the songs themselves were pleasant to listen to.
“Honestly, between the two songs, ‘Do it anyway’ is the better one. You know, right? ‘Do it anyway’ is a famous quote from Mother Teresa. Despite everything. I thought maybe Do-hee was inspired by that.”
“Mother Teresa? Of course, I know. I was actually going to write that.”
“Ah, I knew it!”
Lim Ji-young nodded as if she were aware of facts she actually wasn’t.
I nodded.
What makes her authority is stuff like that.
The reason Im Ji-young browses through Debonaire’s articles is quite simple.
Even though the music review company Im Ji-young belongs to is the largest pop music critique industry in Korea, their reviews focus more on analysis based on the musician’s background and information rather than technicalities and structures of the songs or lyric interpretations.
Because of this, they’ve become known for only doing reviews that seem ‘high-end.’
If you look closely, it’s a format you can’t escape from criticism, though.
“Anyway, it clicks, right?”
Thus, Im Ji-young was just looking for a flaw to deduct points from.
If it were really great, there would be no points to dock.
“How should I put it? Looking at each line of the lyrics, everything is well structured? Honestly, I was really moved when the album concept was revealed.”
“What about Euphoria?”
“The song that came out on Valentine’s Day? That one was amazing too. It evokes pure love, and on top of that, the sound of those four songs is all different, it’s impressive. The range is wide.”
“Really?”
Im Ji-young unconsciously made a mocking expression.
“To me, it sounds so outdated. How should I say it, it straight up feels like a 2nd-generation vibe? The indie sensibility of the two songs released later feels way more sophisticated.”
“…Oh, is that so?”
“Yeah, to be honest, the synth sound is unavoidably old-fashioned. Of course, fans might think it’s good, but is it truly good music in a meaningful sense?”
“When you put it that way… I guess that could be the case, haha…”
And that was the only critical point Im Ji-young had pinpointed.
Originally, she and her colleagues had a huge bias against ‘idols’ and ‘auto-tune, synth sounds’ set as major deduction factors.
“That one song lowered the album’s overall quality. It was disappointing. But I definitely saw Do-hee Lee’s potential? Yeah, she’s going to develop greatly moving forward.”
Even so, Im Ji-young didn’t dare think of deducting too many points—maybe just 0.5 or 1.
Tons of fans don’t really mean anything.
If you treat the fans’ blind, unconditional support carelessly, that’s enough.
The problem is that Do-hee is also recognized in the classical music scene.
Not just mere mentions from classical listeners.
Many pianists, even university professors too.
“At best, what does it matter for idols…”
“Huh?”
Anyway, Im Ji-young was somewhat considering holding back, so her expertise wouldn’t face any attacks.
*
[Info/News] This year’s first idol to receive four stars from ban-eum
RNBD (2026)
Debonaire
★★★★☆
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