I left the sisters at the shop and am leisurely unpacking my things at the lodging.
“Ah, I need to call Mom.”
Suddenly thinking of it, I immediately took out my phone.
After one or two rings.
[Hey, our daughter~ Did you come to Korea?]
Hearing that familiar voice after so long, I greeted her warmly as expected.
“Daughter? Why aren’t you calling me princess anymore? Have you lost your affection for me? Trying to erase me from the family registry?”
It wasn’t a long pause, but a brief silence followed.
“Oh~ Is it because I got three wrong on the mock test? How could you do that to me?”
[If you’re going to spout nonsense, I’m hanging up~]
Usually, she would humor me, but I could tell she was sulking a bit.
“No, how can you do this to your daughter who just returned to the country right after arriving—?”
[What’s the point of our daughter coming to Korea when she never even drops by home? Whether it’s in America or Korea.]
Hmm, that’s a valid point.
“I was actually planning to go home right after this activity.”
[Yeah, right.]
“No, really this time. I’ll take a long vacation after this comeback; I swear it’s true this time.”
[Is that coordinated with the Director?]
“Not yet, I haven’t mentioned it.”
My mom sighed and muttered.
[You said the same last time…]
“I could take a vacation then, but I couldn’t go because I was busy writing the comeback song.”
[I don’t care, I’d much prefer to see my daughter who comes to visit than one who just sends me allowance.]
“You’d complain the moment I stop sending you allowance. And I couldn’t help it! The preparation period was short, and the older sisters had tons of individual schedules, making the day and night all mixed up. I practically had to do this project alone. Unless inspiration suddenly strikes, I have to deliberate on every single line…”
Still, as I kept whining, my mom’s tone relaxed a bit.
After all, she was the kind of mom who would give in just because I was her daughter.
Or maybe she was already relaxed from the start when she picked up the phone?
Good thing I called the moment I got back.
[So when does the activity end again? I saw an article that you’re coming back in two weeks.]
“Ah, that’s for the pre-released song. We’re having double title tracks again, so if we include both, it’ll probably be about a month and a half until we wrap it up.”
However, I noticed a touch of regret in her tone; it seems she really wants to see me.
[Got it, just make sure to eat well, don’t overdo it, sleep whenever you can. Call Dad too. At this rate, he might end up going to your fan signing event.]
“I was actually about to call him. And Do-ah—”
[Oh, I’ll tell her not to leave your messages on read.]
“Ah, okay.”
Unlike my little sister who only bothers me when she’s at home, she seems to be entering full-on puberty mode now and isn’t affectionate at all.
If only I had a sister like myself.
“I’m hanging up now.”
Of course, it’s not like there’s another person like me out there.
[Make sure to contact Dad.]
With that, the call ended, and I instinctively put my phone down.
But then it vibrated and rang again.
“Uh, why again?”
Maybe there was something Mom didn’t finish saying…
[Hello?]
“Uh, what? Mom? Sorry.”
That tone is unmistakable.
It’s Lira, with her usual calm vibe.
“What’s with the sudden call? You can just text me like usual. We’ll see each other soon.”
I really don’t know why she called out of the blue.
[See each other soon? You’ll read and ignore my texts, I’m sure.]
“Um.”
That’s a misunderstanding on Lira’s part, I think.
If Do-ah leaves my messages on read, my heart would just break. How can I possibly ignore it, given how empathetic I am…
[Anyway, today you’re free, right?]
More than anything, I value basic manners…
[Come to my studio right now. I trust you didn’t forget about the agreement. You owe me for those soccer tickets.]
“I— I… I… Mitzu, wait…”
“Uh… What did you just say?”
[Huh?]
“Hello? Can you hear me…?”
[Hello?]
“I’m not good at… let me try calling again…”
[Hello?]
Transmission error.
*
“Ah, what’s going on?”
As soon as I stepped into the elevator and confidently slammed open the studio door, I was greeted by Lira’s sharp gaze.
“I came right away like this.”
Despite rushing over because a promise is a promise, there was still a slight glare in her eyes.
“Is it really true that you can’t get a signal?”
“Oh please, if that was an act, I would have already become an actor.”
But in truth, if I wanted to act, I could have done it right away. I had received countless scripts since Seven’s time.
“Do you live in the basement? So you can’t get a signal?”
I pretended like the phone issues were a reception problem while refusing Lira’s repeated calls, but it seemed my acting skills are coming in handy.
“Yeah, I mean, roaches come out at the dorm frequently… Unlike my sister, the company is small…”
“I saw you on that dorm variety show.”
“Ah ha.”
So I quickly decided to change the subject.
One of the skills I’d acquired after countless fan meets.
“Hey, Lira, but you changed the diffuser in the studio?”
Quickly catching any minor changes in her.
“What scent is this? It’s fruity and nice.”
Although this was only my second time in Lira’s studio, unlike the leisurely phytoncide scent that used to swirl around, this time it was filled with a fruity aroma.
“Cigarettes.”
“Ah.”
Feeling a bit awkward, I casually turned to look at the sofa and sat down quietly.
For some reason, it felt toxic.
The smell was sour.
Now that our eye levels were similar, I finally spotted the electronic cigarette on her work desk.
Of course, even if I’d seen it sooner, I wouldn’t have thought it belonged to her.
“But, Lira, do you smoke cigarettes normally?”
She and I had a surprising number of common points, so I inferred she’d dislike smoking.
“Only when my head’s pounding. I don’t smoke regular ones at all.”
“I see.”
That was within the realm of what I expected.
“But my head isn’t pounding because of me, right?”
She glanced at me, let out an irritated sigh, and leaned back on her chair.
“Did you eat?”
“Oh, I haven’t, but will you treat me?”
Lira nonchalantly played with her phone for a moment.
“I’ll order gopdeori-tang.”
“Oh, but I’m on a diet before activities anyway.”
Why is she glaring at me again?
It’s not like I was a novice at activities or anything.
She didn’t even invite me as a food friend in the first place.
The Coral Blue members might be busy, but there’s no way Lira, who’s been active for over eight years, has no friends.
Wait a minute.
What if she really has no friends?
“What weird thought are you having now?”
“Huh? No, no, I was just thinking.”
I avoided Lira’s half-asleep gaze.
But usually, that menu is ordered for two servings.
Without a second thought, she was about to order directly.
This means she really wanted to eat but, based on Lira’s personality, her extreme cleanliness probably made her hesitant to order two servings just to avoid unnecessary waste.
“Then I’ll just order, excluding yours.”
Oh, that’s not right.
They sell single servings too.
I didn’t realize since I never ate it.
I just couldn’t eat gopchang well.
Still, something in my stomach felt uneasy, probably because we were talking about food.
“Oh, but suddenly I’m feeling hungry too? How about a chance for just one bite?”
Thanks to this, I playfully clutched my stomach and whined.
Without a care, Lira pointed toward the door.
“Go outside?”
“Go right; there’s a protein drink in the fridge.”
As expected, she hates just having ‘one bite.’
But I could relate.
I somewhat agree.
─Ah~
Because Woo-ah Unni always joked around asking “What are you eating?” every time she had something to munch on.
After I solved my upset stomach with a protein drink, sucking it down like a baby, I decided it was time to get to the point.
“So, the reason your head is pounding is because of the work today, right?”
“I caught air conditioning sickness.”
Lira shrugged her shoulders.
Clearly a clever joke anyone could see through.
Being a good junior, I laughed hard at it.
“Well, it is technically work, but do you know what song we’re working on today?”
“Wahaha!”
“Just go away; it’s annoying.”
Even when you laugh, it’s still annoying.
“You know that Inus is disbanding soon, right?”
There was no way I didn’t know.
The popular boy group that debuted with [Bold Season 4].
They were also the group Baek-hwi was part of, who consistently ranked at the top of the individual brand reputation charts for male idols every month now.
“Yeah, I know. Their contract is ending soon. Speaking of which, Kang Si-hwan is also under our company, and the staff are busy preparing to launch a new boy group next year.”
“So, I heard that LE is planning a new audition show?”
“Really?”
Nodding her head, Lira turned on her laptop and opened her composing software.
“They said this time, they’ll cooperate with the rep.”
The reason Inus didn’t continue to Season 5 or 6 after debuting with ratings as high as Seven was simply that the Big Four entertainment companies had declared they would no longer participate.
“It’s me.”
“Huh?”
Lira’s unexpected statement left me baffled, but she continued.
“I haven’t really felt motivated lately. My head is pounding.”
Hearing Lira’s rare moment of weakness was surprising.
“We’ll probably make a comeback, but it won’t be until around fall next year. I’m not motivated to write songs aimlessly until then. I even thought about gathering some trainees and forming a group myself, but it seems that due to that situation, it’s become too challenging to find trainees that catch my interest.”
She might normally be like this around the Coral Blue members, but it was the first time I had ever heard her speak like this.
“Anyway, since LE asked me to be a special judge just for one episode of their first broadcast, I said yes. I’m even writing the theme song we’re working on now. Well, even if they’re trainees from a smaller agency, there could be some interesting ones.”
Honestly, I thought there wouldn’t be a case like that, but as if reluctant, Lira added.
“And I think LE will also want you to come as a special judge, probably around episodes 3 or 4?”
“Me?”
That was a bit unexpected.
Although Kang Si-hwan, a Topist trainee, was still active under Inus, the relationship between our company and LE had worsened without any signs of improvement.
That’s because our company isn’t that big, nor is it very organized or systematic.
Still, the reason I hadn’t thought too badly about the company was that I rarely thought poorly of it.
“In a way, I’m the reason we’re still at odds with big corporations.”
I had heard that actors under Topist had increasingly been leaving the company without renewing their contracts because of that.
Of course, it was fine since they were still earning more from us, but still.
“Well, I thought you wouldn’t be interested.”
“Oh, no. I was just thinking about the company.”
Lira continued in her same bored tone.
“LE’s vice chairman is in a succession process with his son, so he’s been cutting a few high-ranking people on the entertainment side.”
“Oh~”
It definitely seemed like Lira had heard a lot being at her level.
Well, I was the only one comfortable with her, and Lira was one of the stars who was among the top at the Do You Know Club.
After chatting with Colin, who approached me after we got close following a talk show in America, it was natural for Lira’s name to come up.
“So who got fired, approximately?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Given the context of Lira’s words, I quickly deduced that the person who got fired was probably an executive who wasn’t on good terms with our company.
It was easy to deduce that the executive with dental issues was not doing well.
“But I’ve heard the staff on the LE side talking about something recently.”
“What about?”
“One of them was let go, and the public reason was that their ability to grasp market trends was insufficient.”
Lira added more.
“They even mentioned that group’s name multiple times in the report. So, with that justification, the next executive will probably try to improve relations with that company, at least on the surface.”
“Ah~”
It was a situation that was easily understandable.
“But don’t you think it was a big deal that you showed your face to support during the World Cup, unnie?”
“Yeah?”
“I mean… it’s a bit awkward for me to say this, but the first thing that comes to mind is appearance, right? And I’m the prettiest in Korea… So, I think I have a pretty good sense of aesthetics, so I can be objective about it.”
For the first time, Lira’s face twitched while she maintained her usual uninterested expression during my gossiping.
“Oh, of course, you’re a top five in Korea?”
Regardless, Lira was definitely a stunning beauty.
If it were my past life, she would have been totally my type!
Of course, Lira completely ignored my words and turned away, changing to the sample of the song she was working on, still speaking in her usual bored tone.
“Well, I didn’t think you’d be particularly interested in the business talk.”
“Huh? I was finding it really interesting!”
Even as I said that, I quietly agreed with Lira’s statement.
There was an unlikely connection between us.
“Oh, but wait. Did you really write a song like this? It’s actually really good!”
The sound that was catching my attention was the sample Lira had set to play.
It was definitely a different song than the usual designs shown by Coral Blue.
“Stop flattering me for no reason.”
“I’m serious. I don’t force compliments. You made this starting from the melody, right? It has that vibe.”
“Well, sort of.”
Being a theme for trainees participating in auditions, it was indeed fresh and bouncy.
“By the way, you know NND is all coming back now after their military service, right? Even though the article hasn’t come out, there’s no way you wouldn’t know that.”
“Of course, I know. We had discussions in meetings with the staff about whether to adjust the comeback timing because of it, and I said we should just go for it.”
“Are you that confident?”
“No? This time, I’m just going to give up on first place.”
NND was simply a disaster.
Competing with their music quality?
That was meaningless in front of their overwhelming fandom scale.
The person right in front of me was the biggest victim and witness.
“You know best, don’t you?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Lira made an awkward expression.
I’m sure she never thought I would be any different.
It’s already tough to win unless the song is exceptionally good.
Especially when NND comes back after waving their white flags?
That was not just any disaster.
“And you heard my song’s beat from the last time.”
“It was okay.”
Right, because you gave me the hip-hop license.
You can’t do idol hip-hop without Lira’s permission.
“But honestly, the lyrics and melody combined are about 1.3 times better? I’ll let you listen to it later. But to be honest, I don’t know if it’s better than the last album. For at least that much, we need to win against NND.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
It was Lira’s company staff bringing the delivered food.
“Unnie, let’s eat first and then hold a listening session, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
As Lira leaned forward to take the food, she got up.
“But unnie, just one bite for me.”
“……”
Oh, don’t grimace like that.
When I got on the plane today, Young-ho was subtly staring, so I took half of my meal.
It’s really because I’m hungry.
“I can’t eat tripe anyway; it disgusts me, you know? Just a piece of chicken.”
Lira had a rather crumpled expression for her standards.
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