During the practice, I swung by the 3rd floor, the management headquarters, to adjust the schedule and found the staff whispering in a chaotic atmosphere.
─ You know, blood is thicker than water, no matter where you are…
─ Even without that, it was about time for a change. The management has been a mess for ages.
─ But, if you think about it, the Director is directly under the department head… So I doubt the system will change easily.
‘What’s going on?’
Just then, my childhood friend from the rookie development team, who is now the team leader, Manager So-young was chatting with the management staff.
I sneaked closer, poked her playfully, and peeked my head in.
“Unni, what’s the talk about?”
The staff I had vaguely met flinched, while So-young quickly hugged my head.
“Oh! It’s Do-hee! What brings you to the 3rd floor today? You came to see me, didn’t you!?”
“No. I’m here to adjust the schedule for a variety show next month. But unni, is there something going on?”
“Aah, it’s nothing much~ Just that Director Lee Jung-hye is said to be up for a promotion.”
“What? Seriously?”
*
“Wow, really?”
“What? For real?”
“Oh, is it true?”
“Yeah, that’s what the staff were talking about.”
As everyone responded with the same astonishment I had shown earlier, Woo-ah clapped her hands in understanding.
“But it’s about time for a promotion. When I joined, she was already the head of Management Headquarters. That’s been seven years now.”
That was true.
Back when I was cast on the street and first came into the company eight years ago, it was Director Lee Jung-hye who presented the contract and negotiated the terms with me.
She was super shocked when I showed her my record of being the top student and winning competitions.
Ah, those were the days.
“The one and only street casting from Debonaire. Lee Do-hee. The start of a legend…”
“Do-hee, your expression is a bit off.”
“Seo-yoon, you’re fine since your face is pretty.”
It seemed like Seo-yoon was left speechless by my rationale, as her mouth opened and closed vacantly.
“But Do-hee, what were you thinking that led to that comment? I’m just genuinely curious, not criticizing or anything.”
“……”
Honestly, Na-eun’s gentle tone hurt the most…
“So, she’s moving up to department head then?”
“Seems like, based on rank. Otherwise, she’d be going to the second department head, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
The second department dealt with completely different actors.
“So, what happens to the current department head?”
“Ah, according to Seo-yoon unni, the director’s promotion came about because the department head is leaving, so there’s a vacancy. But I have no idea where they’re going. I’ve heard rumors about going to LE or going to Lepro.”
“Oh, both are huge companies, right?”
“Yeah, right?”
Anyway, since this is none of our business now, I nodded aimlessly and grabbed the doorknob of the practice room again.
“So I’m going to buy a promotion gift for the director first. Maybe a diffuser or something. Do you want to come with me…?”
Na-eun unni nodded and smiled that mom smile.
“Sure.”
Is she pleased to see me always being respectful to my superiors?
“Do-hee, you should practice.”
Too bad.
*
As changes happened within Topist’s internal appointments and the members kept repeating their schedules and practices.
Last week, the self-content [DEB: ON AIR 2 | EP.1] was posted.
“[Watching Debonaire makes me think of my old base, lol]”
─Even when I asked them to pay more attention to the self-content, the kids went ahead and outsourced it with ‘their own funds,’ and now they are making me pay for it here! Entertainment companies are legendary.
All sorts of aggro from various factors.
“[The girl idol who apologized sincerely due to controversy]”
─Debonaire is too funny, controversy.jpg
“[Debonaire went to the betting station (Feat. Eun Se-ra)]”
─In the middle of it, Do-hee hits 2 for 2.gif
─Watching Do-hee pitch again.gif
─Chiyo, who is from a softball club(?).gif
And because of Debonaire’s original popularity and pure entertainment value, it quickly rose to the top trending videos.
Before long, it spread by word of mouth and the view count skyrocketed, hitting a whopping 2 million views in just one week, even though it was idol self-content.
[DEB: ON AIR 2 | EP.2]
And today, the second episode went up after a week’s interval.
The viewer ratings were unsurprisingly above last week’s.
However, surprisingly, episode two had an atmosphere completely opposite to what viewers expected from episode one.
It was surprisingly quiet and gentle.
[Finally Entering the Chinese Restaurant]
[Do-hee: One plain jjamppong and one sweet and sour, please?]
[Woo-ah: Beef jjamppong.]
[Do-hee: One cha-jjam and four plain jjam and one sweet and sour?]
[Chiyo: I’d like the cha-jjam as well.]
[Do-hee: …Two cha-jjam and three plain jjam and one sweet and sour?]
[Na-eun: I want the beef jjamppong too. Can I?]
[Do-hee: ……Three cha-jjam and two plain jjam and one sweet and sour?]
[Seo-yoon: I-]
[Shh, let's communicate silently with our eyes]
[Seo-yoon: No, I’m just going to eat plain jjam…]
Just gonna eat some sushi…
[Fortunately, Do-hee Chairman's gaze has softened]
[Seo-yoon: How about cream shrimp instead of sweet and sour pork?]
[Murder Scene]
─ Hahaha, the kids’ sense of comedy is insane
─ This is more fun than a variety show
─ It’s the person who takes the last shot that naturally attracts attention, LOL
Of course, there were some intense moments, but the quiet atmosphere remained unchanged.
[What are the true intentions of the Debonaire members...? ]
[Do-hee: Honestly, I hate that stuff. It’s just for the show.]
[Chiyo: I feel the same way.]
[……]
[Chiyo (one month into debut): What the heck.]
[Member maintaining calmness despite the false appearance]
─ Um… this seems like an exaggerated act
─ Forcing a low tension, wow
─ The broadcast perspective of a month into their debut, LOL
Even while receiving food and eating, there was no exaggerated expression at all.
[Seo-yoon: But I get what you mean. I’m not really into exaggerated acts either.]
[Do-hee: We’re actually quite cultured, you know.]
[Chiyo: That’s right.]
Of course, there was Na-eun, who was amazed, glancing at the three.
An editor was there, interspersing question mark subtitles and scenes from that night, which would appear later, supporting this.
[Chiyo: Haha, I am the king!]
[Do-hee: Your Majesty, please take note!]
[Seo-yoon: Please take note! Older sister, hurry up!]
[Na-eun: … To, please take note…]
─ Hahaha, the editing is hilarious
─ Episode 1 was definitely attention-seeking, LOL, it’s a hilarious controversy
─ Is it a royal game? LOL
Anyway, this meant that the early part of Episode 2 was quite calm.
[Seo-yoon: Then let’s keep the self-content as it is, without any embellishment.]
[Do-hee: I like that.]
[Na-eun: Yeah. I hope you all get a moment to reflect on yourselves, right?]
Whether it’s something hidden or your true self.
[─ Slurp]
[Actual Meal Time]
[Thanks for the meal.]
A quietness free of worries about the broadcast.
True self-content.
[Seo-yoon: How much did it come to? Should I contribute?]
[Do-hee: Buy me dessert.]
Even when Do-hee swiped the card, the atmosphere continued until the members left their signatures at the shop.
But old habits die hard, and soon they arrived at the pension.
[Today's Lodging]
The members checked that there were three rooms and beds, and quickly revealed their true colors.
[Do-hee: Hey! Gather around! Let’s make a bet. What’s the rule?]
[Seo-yoon: The one who comes in last shouldn’t even sleep in the bed.]
[Woo-ah: Unqualified. The last place should just sleep on the floor with a blanket.]
: You don’t have the qualifications. The last place should just roll out the blanket on the floor and sleep.]
[Chiyo: Sounds good! Bring it on!]
─ Trying to act comfortable while constantly aiming for comedy.
─ The over-the-top antics are over ㅠㅠㅠ I wanted to see a calmer side.
They could have totally bonded like the other girl groups.
[Naeun: Hey guys, how about we all squeeze onto the bed? It’s a double size, so we could totally fit… ]
[Dohee: Are you going to sleep on the floor, Unni?]
[Naeun: What’s the game about?]
<Today’s Game: Send the Bottle Cap Far Away>
[Dohee: Okay. Just pick a room in order of who sends it the farthest, and the last two have to sleep on the floor.]
[Woo-ah: If it goes out of the desk, it counts!]
The members each brought a bottle cap from their drinks.
[Seoyoon: Huh? Na-eun Unni, are you secretly practicing right now?]
[Dohee: That’s cheating! Cheating!!!]
[Naeun: ……]
<So sensitive because of the room>
[Rock, Paper, Scissors!]
The first batter, Woo-ah, took a deep breath and stood in front of the desk.
With an intense vibe.
All eyes were on her, and even the tiniest sound of her breath pierced the air.
[Naeun: This… is for the room, right?]
<※ Just for the room>
And all sorts of shenanigans followed.
[Dohee: Huh? Did you touch it? Did you touch it!]
[Woo-ah: Na-eun Unni, stop!]
As soon as Na-eun picked up the bottle cap for a moment, the members yelled.
[Naeun: Guys…?]
[Seoyoon: Guys, what are you talking about? It’s over.]
Chiyo even pulled out an idiom she probably learned somewhere.
[Chiyo: Have you heard of “nakedly becoming unprepared”?]
Thanks to the production staff’s video review, Na-eun got a second chance.
[Dohee Lee: It’s over! It’s done!]
[Okay!!!]
[Naeun Unni, nice!]
In a show of revenge, Na-eun knocked Dohee’s bottle cap away and clapped like a seal, creating a festive atmosphere.
[Naeun: What do I do… I guess Dohee has to sleep on the floor…]
[Dohee: …… (frozen)]
<Last place confirmed>
─ I didn’t expect much from the idol self-content, but it’s just hilarious watching them bet against each other ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The members, who were already noisy even without the ridiculous antics, had yet to finish episode 2.
<It’s just been a whole day of games>
They were planning to play another game.
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