Chapter 106

KBC [Melody Bank] had a long-standing tradition.

It was all about the morning commute.

The original ‘morning commute’ that became a hot topic during the 3rd round of [Jju-dol 3] was none other than KBC’s [Melody Bank].

The issue began with KBC’s open approach to artists entering the station, unlike other broadcasters who secretly sent singers in through a parking lot.

Though the exact origin of the ‘morning commute’ culture is unclear, it is generally speculated that the contrast between the glamorous stage look and the no-makeup morning commute appearance caught the public’s attention when it was covered in articles.

As a result, fans and reporters naturally became more interested in the ‘morning commute’ itself, and with the rise in popularity of K-pop, reports about fans waiting outside the KBC building started in 2012.

Finally, in 2013, KBC [Melody Bank] began live streaming the morning commutes of the participating artists in real-time, further spreading the morning commute culture.

Ultimately, KBC started managing the morning commutes for safety reasons.

Thanks to that, the ‘morning commute’ became a scene where reporters and fans orderly took photos from behind a fence.

Of course, it also meant that singers had to arrive at the shop even earlier due to this morning commute culture.

Especially for the pre-recording of [Melody Bank] that starts in the early morning!

Yet, here we were at 6 AM.

The morning commute was bustling in front of the KBC building once again.

Amid the throng of people,

a black Carnival arrived.

– Eeeeek!

– Guys!

Cheers erupted and camera shutters clicked everywhere.

The passenger door opened.

And out came the members in casual clothing.

The air filled with the sound of shutters clicking like a rainstorm.

– One, two!

– Hello! We are Seven!

As it was their first morning commute, everyone was dressed to impress.

“Do-hee!”

“Do-hee! Do-hee Lee!”

“Do-hee, over here!”

“Do-hee, wait a sec!”

“Do-hee…?”

Then there was Do-hee, dressed in a white hoodie and sweatpants.

*

After making the rounds greeting everyone,

we finally returned to our waiting room.

We were having a simple breakfast before the pre-recording.

“Broccoli… I really don’t want to eat this. Is there any sauce…?”

Suddenly, Seo-yoon Unni flashed a screen in front of me.

“Hey, you’re the worst-dressed today.”

“…?”

It was an article displayed on the screen.

Looks like the reporters had already written it up.

[“I just dressed comfortably!” Do-hee Lee’s refreshing first morning commute]

(Photo) (Photo)

(Seoul=News1) Seven’s Do-hee Lee attended the pre-recording of KBC2 ‘Melody Bank’ (Melbang) held at KBC in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 4th.

Wow… still looking pretty today.

“But where does it say worst-dressed?”

“You’re just the worst-dressed, you know.”

…?

“Your face.”

“Yep, my face is gorgeous.”
“Your face is so pretty.”

“Yeah, that’s my face.”

“Your face is Do-hee Lee.”

“Thanks.”

Chae-rin Unni shyly covered her face.

“Hey guys…”

“What does it matter? It’s just us.”

Literally, we never shared our waiting room with another group.

At least not today.

They said KBC might show their dominance since it’s public broadcasting, but chart-topping wins every time.

Ah, of course, there were managers around…

But hey, that’s understandable.

“Right. And if I’m not around, who’s going to keep our Do-hee company?”

“…? I will.”

“Your face.”

“Yeah, my face is super pretty.”

Chae-rin Unni let out a big sigh.

“Ha-ah… I wonder how hard it was for Na-eun Unni.”

Na-eun Unni had indeed struggled a lot because of Chiyo Unni and Seo-yoon Unni.

It would have been easier if we had members like me.

Meanwhile, Ha-rang Unni, who was eating salad, was making retching sounds.

“Ugh… what should I do… I think I have an eating disorder.”

“Really…? What do we do… Manager!”

Innocent Ye-eun Unni.

“Oh no… Am I going to waste away like this? Am I… the unfortunate female lead?”

Of course, Ha-rang Unni’s over-the-top drama was suppressed by Hana Unni.

“Quit saying weird things and finish your broccoli quickly.”

Caught out, Ha-rang Unni started throwing a tantrum.

“Ugh, I don’t want to eat! I won’t!”

“If our little Ha-rang keeps complaining, your practice hours will increase today, you know?~”

“I don’t care! Change my roommate!”

Sigh… At that age, still fussing over side dishes.

You have to be composed and calm like me.

“Do-hee… are you not eating broccoli?”

Sera Unni next to me pointed out my lunch box cluelessly.

Then Hana Unni got up from her seat and strode over to me.

“What? You’re skipping the world’s top ten superfood broccoli?”

Oh.

“I don’t want to… I won’t eat…”

Broccoli got shoved into my mouth.

“So cute…”

*

-Mpulse (Mwave Thursday)

-Melody Bank (KBC Friday)

-Hit Songs (SBC Saturday)

-Show! Music Center (MBS Sunday)

Today was the only Monday with a free schedule.

Of course, it wasn’t a day off.

Reality filming and dance practice.

And then.

-Ding

[The first WE live of [SAVEN]!]

[Hello! We are Seven!]

Since it was our first live app broadcast, I felt something awkward, shy, and a bit fluttery.

“Are we starting?”

“Did it start?”

The manager handed us the tablet.

Only then did we see the comments.

“Wow. Wow jackpot.”

-Yeah, kids, it started lol

-lol It’s their first time being rookies, so it’s wild

-Wow, first live ㅠㅠ

-I love you, guys!

-It’s my birthday today, how did you know to give me this gift ㅠㅠ
How did you know to give such a gift? ㅠㅠ

– Please tell Jun-sik to study hard!

– Seha

.

.

.

– Fighting, Seven!

– Jun-sik, let’s just watch Seven~

Comments were pouring in rapidly.

The viewer count was increasing terrifyingly in real-time.

I sent the OK sign to the manager in front.

Hana Unni took the lead.

“Yes! We’ll greet everyone! One, two, three!”

“””I’m in seventh heaven, hello! We are SAVEN!”””

As we greeted, the number of comments kept rising, reaching a speed that was hard to track with the naked eye.

For now, let’s set aside the comments.

Hana Unni started the proceedings.

“Shall we introduce ourselves one by one?”

Thus began the introduction time.

We greeted the fans in the order we were sitting.

Then we followed up with our first-week sales figures and said our thanks.

“The sales figures from last Monday to yesterday, Sunday, are out, right? Our first-week sales are!”

“330,000 copies!”

First-week sales of 330,000 copies.

Of course, the world’s top K-pop girl group has first-week sales of 1.5 million, and boy groups have 4 million in first-week sales.

Even top-tier popular girl groups generally reach at least 400,000, with some reaching 600,000, 700,000, and sometimes achieving million-seller status.

So, 330,000 copies by itself isn’t an overwhelming figure.

Nevertheless, having a debut album with first-week sales of 330,000 is literally unprecedented.

“Wow~”

“Thank you!”

Expressing gratitude to the fans who purchased the album was a natural step.

“So what are we doing now?”

The issue was that this was the end of the script.

It wasn’t exactly a cue to just say it out loud.

Clueless Ha-rang Unni.

“Um… How about a recent update? I see seniors doing that live!”

“Hmm, aside from music shows and sleeping, what updates do we have?”

“That’s true? Then… time to read the comments!”

A naturally (?) flowing comment-reading time began under Hana Unni’s guidance.

The members crowded their faces on the tablet.

Their faces bumped together.

I could just start WE Live on my phone, you know?

Silly people.

First, Ha-rang Unni began reading comments.

“Ha-rang, you’re really really so pretty! Ah~ Thank you!”

…?

“I didn’t see that kind of comment. Oh!? Do-hee, are you the prettiest? Haha, thank you~”

Kim Seo-yoon pointed at us, looking dumbfounded.

“Wow… look at these girls making stuff up together. Huh? Seo-yoon, you’re the prettiest in the world, right? I think so too! Thank you~”

– LOL, why are these kids so shameless? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Are they idols or girl groups? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Right, guys, you’re the prettiest! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Both idol and girl group are correct;;

Noticing the situation, Ye-eun Unni also followed suit.

“Whoa. Ye-eun is… the cutest…! Thank you…”

“Ye-eun Unni, I don’t think that’s true, though.”

At my comment, Hana Unni and Sara Unni chimed in.

“Yeah, Ye-eun, I really don’t think anyone said that.”
“I think I saw it… not!”

“Hmm… Did you read Sara as Ye-eun?”

The poor Ye-eun Unni, left all alone, jumped up and down.

“No way… I saw it, I swear!”

– LOL, Ye-eun is super cute.

– Is Ye-eun’s position the tank?

– LOL, Tank-Ye-eun.

– Sand ‘Park’ Ye-eun, haha.

– Please tell Jun-sik to study hard!

Chae-rin Unni was reading the comments diligently.

“Jun-sik, study hard!”

– Wait, Jun-sik is my dad’s name…

– I hear Jun-sik is in his 40s.

– This is going to be controversial.

– A girl group member speaking informally to an elder?

“I’m sorry…”

– Please cheer for Seung-jun too!

“Uh… Seung-jun, fighting!”

– Seung-jun is an elementary school student, huh?

– It’s okay to be informal with him.

– LOL, true!

– Haha, Chae-rin, this is your first time on live, right?

As they were chatting while reading comments, the Manager sent us a sign.

Before we knew it, the promised 40 minutes were nearly up.

Since we had a schedule and reality filming afterwards, we had to wrap it up soon.

“Everyone, we’re so sorry, but we have to leave now.”

Hana Unni’s words sent the comments into a frenzy.

– Nooo, don’t go! 😭

– Why so soon? 😭

– I was watching without studying for my exam, you know? 😭

“It’s disappointing, but we plan to communicate more often through our lives!”

Chae-rin Unni tried to soothe them, but the crying in the chat wouldn’t stop.

“Oh! And we have one last surprise for you so you won’t be too sad, right, Do-hee?”

Ha-rang Unni suddenly spoke up.

I clapped along to ease the sobbing viewers.

“That’s right! We have something prepared!”

It seemed Ha-rang Unni had prepared something.

“Drumroll, please!”

Ha-rang Unni pointed at me with both hands.

“Cute youngest Do-hee’s aegyo~”

“Eh?”

“Yes!”

“Yay?”

“Yes!”

Seo-yoon Unni, blooming with laughter, rallied everyone.

“Okay, Do-hee! You prepared well, didn’t you?~ Hands together!”

“Wowww~”

The crying in the comments stopped in an instant.

– LOL, Do-hee’s aegyo, let’s go!

– Unni’s heart is racing 10 seconds before it happens! 😭😂

– Show your aegyo, cutie! 😂

– LOL, show us!

…Ah.

*

“Hu…!”

Holding her breath, Do-hee made an adorable fist under her chin.

Then, tilting her head slightly, she spoke with a cute voice.

“Are you gonna see Do-hee again next time? Got it?”

[The live has ended.]

– ??? LOL!

– LOL, where did she go?

– Haha, Do-hee pressed the end button so fast! 😂

– So cute! 😂

– I want to kiss her! 😂

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