As the winter sea breeze howled fiercely…
“Ugh, it’s so cold…”
“Chiyo, I told you to wear a long padding instead of a coat.”
“Unni, can I have a scarf?”
Dressed in layers that were less about fashion and more about survival, we walked into a beach in Gangneung.
“Hello~ Oh, are we filming right now?”
There were countless staff members standing by the beach.
About 13 to 15 of them.
They definitely looked like outsourced workers.
“Oh? Camera director? Long time no see!”
Thanks to that, I saw a familiar face, the camera director from [Debonair Season 3], waving at me.
“Do we start right away?”
“Don’t we have a slate?”
“Then let’s find the cameras first…”
“Where’s the main camera?”
After finding our individual main cameras…
“First, let’s say hello.”
“One, two, hello! We are Debonaire!”
The members naturally stood in front of the camera.
“Hi everyone~”
With the sound of applause from the staff, the male main PD grabbed the mic.
“As you all know, ‘DEB: ON AIR’ Season 1 documented Debonaire’s debut preparations in a documentary-style reality show. But starting from this Season 2, every episode will be a special variety show!”
The PD cheerfully clapped the mic as he spoke.
“Before I tell you what today’s special is, can anyone tell me what self-produced content is?”
Members raised their hands alternately.
“It’s content made directly by the agency!”
“It’s variety made according to our tastes.”
“It’s a variety show made for our fans to enjoy by the members?”
“Nope.”
The PD shook his head.
“That means… you won’t receive any appearance fees, you’ll spend your love and time, and even the budget might be deducted from your payments! Clap!”
“……”
Clap clap clap
“Of course, we can receive production support, but you wouldn’t start off a variety show that the fans watch with PPL, right?”
“……”
“So today’s budget is mostly funded by your own money!”
“……”
“But here’s the good news.”
I knew it would come to this.
There must have been a reason to mention something that neither the fans nor the members wanted to hear.
Some sort of motivation—surely the company provided some production support.
“Yes, two anonymous individuals have stated that for today’s first special, they are willing to cover the difference for the members!”
Two people?
Maybe the director and the CEO?
“The generosity comes from the storage…”
A staff member in the back hurriedly pulled out a monitor.
On the monitor screen that soon lit up, there were me and Seo-yoon from a few days ago in the meeting room, participating in a survey.
I was with Seo-yoon Unni, who was taking a separate survey.
─If the members face financial burdens, would you be willing to step in and help? Is this some kind of psychological test? Is this trip’s concept a loyalty test or something? But honestly, I would totally say yes. As long as it’s not a loan, I’m down to help the Unnis with whatever…
─Willing to help… obviously a circle. But our members aren’t the type to need it.
“The beautiful faces we have, how can their hearts be this kind? I couldn’t hold back my tears watching this video. Yes! Today, we have our two Chairmen who hired our staff and provided production support. Let’s give them a round of applause!”
─Clap clap clap clap clap
The sound of big applause echoed endlessly by the beach.
From the staff and the rest of the Unnis.
“……”
*
“You, the copyright from this piano piece turned out pretty well, huh.”
“It’s not as much as you think. And doesn’t Unni have multiple ads recently?”
“You’re the only one making money.”
“Wow, we’re loaded!”
…Arguing amongst ourselves doesn’t change anything.
Yeah.
How much could production costs be for something of this scale?
I hear the top boy group NND has 81 cameras for their special Self-Content.
This is nowhere near that; we’re looking at a max of 6.
Thinking of the revenue we’ll earn later, throw in some deductions…
“But, is our special really that fun at all? Honestly, I’d spend money for our Air and not even feel it’s a waste. Really not~ You know what kind of person I am, Unni.”
“I know, I know. I know Do-hee’s character well. So I’m asking, what fun can we find in spending money right now? Aren’t we supposed to suffer to have fun? We’re feeling great!”
“We’re already having fun.”
“Well, if you guys are feeling good, then Unni’s having fun too~”
“It must be super fun.”
The Unnis are in perfect harmony.
…Sigh.
Well.
After all, it’s a Self-Content for the fans, so we’re making this even at a loss. It’s promotional too.
Next time, I should insist on getting plenty of PPL…
“Yeah. As long as our Air watches a lot, we have no regrets. This time, it will be me and Do-hee sponsoring. Just so you know.”
Seo-yoon Unni nodded, perhaps sharing my thoughts, resignedly—
“Ah, this isn’t balancing out.”
“Hana Unni, wasn’t the YouTube crew small? They’re doing well there even now…”
“…Should we cut down on staffing first then? Restructuring.”
“Director, can you turn the camera off for a second? It’s fine. No, I obviously have to go with the Director.”
“Hey, let’s start with the PD. The PD first. High salary.”
.
.
.
Whatever happens, the content has to continue.
“So, what are we doing first?”
“You guys, please make a thumbnail for us.”
“Can’t we just go inside since it’s cold…?”
I don’t care if Chiyo Unni is cold or not.
I have to think about how to get our Airs to click on the video more.
And how to make people who don’t know us want to watch it.
We had to think about how we could make people who don’t know us watch the video.
So, thumbnail strategy.
Of course, one thing came to mind.
*
“What should we do now?”
“What are we doing?”
We were making thumbnails and waiting by the beach, but the Director was irresponsibly lingering a step away, just watching.
“You two Chairman and members can decide directly. Make it fun for the Air fans!”
Ugh, how annoying!
“Hey guys, I’m kind of hungry, should we just have lunch?”
“Sure~ Then Seo-yoon Unni and Do-hee are covering this, right?”
“We’re going to eat something expensive~ Hehe.”
These people are infuriating.
Still, we had to eat lunch anyway.
Instead.
“We have to make it funny even when we’re eating lunch, right? So members, let’s have a lunch bet.”
Seo-yoon Unni, being the seasoned entertainer she is, immediately jumped in with extra comments.
“Okay. Not using the company card, but my personal card. Let’s treat all the staff, how about that?”
But all we heard from the staff was just cheering.
Our members were like,
“Our settlement hasn’t happened yet…”
“I’ll pull out the New Year’s money bank that I saved up for Seo-yoon and Do-hee! It’s okay!”
“If we lose, I’ll just have to ask Mom for a loan…”
“Director, why are you staring like that?”
“Yeah, why are you looking at us like that?”
It’s ridiculous that they’re looking for free food while acting clueless.
“We’re not avoiding spending money right now. We thought it might be fun if the Air fans laugh and we compete a little, you know?”
“Exactly. It’s all about the fun. If we just push it along, what’s the point of it being fun…”
*
A one-on-one bet with Seo-yoon Unni was set up.
“What do the members want on the menu?”
“Oh, don’t act pitiful and hurry up.”
“Seo-yoon and Do-hee can choose. They’re paying, so they should eat what they want, right?”
“This time, I promise to eat nicely.”
“Let’s do that.”
Thanks to the minimal conscience of our grateful members, the menu was left to us.
I recalled a list of tasty places I had looked up on the way.
The thing that really matched my taste was, of course.
“How about some soft tofu jjampong? I heard the nearby place is famous for it.”
“Oh! Sounds good. I wanted to try it since it’s famous.”
“Then should we also order some sweet and sour pork with the jjampong?”
“Yeah, yeah, we need to eat it deliciously. Did you all see? We’re really generous.”
“Is that okay for the members? What about the staff?”
“Anything’s fine. I’m Kim Chiyo, I like spicy stuff.”
“I like it too.”
“Hmm~ Is it possible to get a beef brisket jjampong?”
Ugh, Woo-ah Unni is really annoying today.
“So, what about the bet…”
As if waiting for this moment, the Director stepped forward a bit.
“Oh, it’s cold. Let’s go inside and play games. There’s a betting place nearby. Baseball betting?”
“……”
*
We quickly arrived at the nearby baseball betting place by car.
I quickly made it to the nearby baseball batting cage.
Then, we divided into teams.
Older sisters Seo-yoon and Kim Na-eun Unni.
Younger sisters, me, Woo-ah, and Chiyo Unni.
“Can you hit?”
“Well, in Japan, girls are good at baseball too. The boys have baseball clubs and the girls have softball clubs. Haven’t you heard?”
“…Seriously? You’re really that good? Ugh, this puts our team at a disadvantage… I mean, I didn’t expect anything from Na-eun Unni at all…”
─Tap!
“Wow! I-I hit it! Seo-yoon, did you see? I hit it!”
“I knew Na-eun Unni could do it!”
“But Chiyo, have you ever played, uh, softball?”
“No.”
…It was a battle of which side had the higher batting average.
Na-eun Unni had 1 hit out of 2 at-bats.
“Okay, younger sisters, it’s time for our first batter~”
As I took the bat from Na-eun Unni and stepped up to the plate, some memories came flooding back.
In my previous life, I loved baseball…
“Wow, when Do-hee threw the ball to Sara, that was thrilling.”
That was just Seo-yoon Unni’s petty interference in trying to win the bet.
I focused on the screen motion and the batting machine.
The pitching motion of the pitcher on the screen.
The sound of the belt turning.
─Ding!
A powerful hit.
Ah, if only I weren’t in a girl’s body, I would’ve excelled in sports.
“If they call me to bat at the baseball field this time, should I try hitting instead of pitching?”
I casually spun the baseball helmet and turned around.
“What are you two doing?”
I made eye contact with Seo-yoon Unni and saw Chiyo Unni nodding.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
…I still had another turn at bat, so I turned my head back.
I stretched the bat forward and adjusted my helmet again.
“Wow~ our Do-hee looks so cool. You’ve seen something, haven’t you?”
“Watch out, she’s gonna throw the ball at Sara!”
“Senior Sara looked like it hurt a lot.”
“She got bruised back then.”
─Ding!
And again, a hit.
A home run would’ve been nice, but…
“Wow, Do-hee, you’re doing great!”
“Jackpot.”
2 hits out of 2 at-bats.
A perfect batting average of 1.000.
Now all that is left is for the older sisters…
“What are you two doing?”
“It’s nothing.”
With them both giving thumbs up, what do they mean by nothing?
“If you two deliberately don’t hit, Unni will never buy us lunch.”
Chiyo Unni nodded and took the equipment to step up next.
“Kyaah!”
I barely dodged the ball.
“I-it’s my first time holding the bat today! Seriously.”
…Phew.
Afterwards, Seo-yoon Unni, fortunately hitting the ball, had 1 hit out of 2 at-bats.
“Oh, you hit it.”
“No, that was a bunt, not a hit!”
Woo-ah Unni had 0 hits out of 2 at-bats.
“This is harder than I thought~?”
“Ah, please just hit it once…”
The total batting average for the older sisters was .500.
We had a batting average of .333.
In the end, I had to pay for lunch.
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