Including Seven, this is already the seventh time we’re preparing for activities.
The preparation process right before the comeback varied each time depending on the album’s concept and format.
In truth, having become accustomed to it, the lifestyle and its nuances always followed a similar flow.
Although this time, there were a bit more opportunities to express opinions as a songwriter for the title track, for the most part, instead of making independent choices and worries, I just had to follow the schedule set by the staff, fit myself in, and do my best.
Thanks to that, the mental fatigue was relatively less.
There wasn’t even time to feel tired in the first place.
— Oops!
— Chiyo, please don’t do anything weird…
With the always noisy current members.
Like this.
“After our activities finish… Do-hee will have her activities, right…?”
“I guess so? Their debut date was two months apart.”
“Then we’ll just keep crossing paths like this… even if we want to hang out, we can’t meet… can’t see…”
“Right?”
The old members, and even Seven Unni, occasionally run into each other.
“But did you have time to play around during the debut year?”
“Ugh…”
When in the world was there time to mess around during the debut year? This unni is a bit lost.
“Then next year…?”
“Second year?”
“Yeah, yeah! Since it’s the second year…!”
The second year…
“We need to prepare for activities and fan concerts, right? It’s going to be super busy?”
It’s that time when we’re really looking to generate income and lay the groundwork.
“Do, Do-hee doesn’t understand my feelings!”
Sara Unni dashed away, turning her back.
“What do you mean?”
Anyway, Sara Unni’s group Ailee is starting their comeback activities.
Before that, I thought I might quit being an MC for music shows.
The production team also hoped I would continue, and the company said continuing would be good, so at least for this activity, I think I’ll keep going until summer ends.
“But I haven’t even seen a glimpse of Ye-eun Unni.”
Of course, our Hana Unni.
Even Miho and Bomi from Ailee said hi, but I couldn’t even greet Ye-eun Unni.
Could it be that she thinks I’ll bully her again…
“You’re the reason why!”
Joo Seung-bin interrupted my light musings.
His indifferent tone, eyes still glued to his book, somehow irritates me.
Feels like he’s trying to mimic me.
Joo Seung-bin glances this way, subtly testing the waters.
“…That mirror treatment. You guys saw the self-content.”
Something’s off with him lately.
When we’re alone, he keeps doing silly jokes.
“…? Anyway, just give me a drink. I’m thirsty and it’s hot.”
Still, Joo Seung-bin tossed me a strawberry latte from the trendy drink booth.
Gotta commend him for being well-prepared.
“Cool, thanks~”
Anyway, what I meant was the antics of my beloved doll, Ye-eun Unni were like an event, so it feels a bit disappointing that she’s being quiet.
[Ye-eun: To. Do-hee, I really miss you, but unfortunately, I want to focus on the stage this time, so I think we can only meet during the broadcasts for interviews. I believe you, a genius idol, will understand my passion… Hopefully, we can greet each other then. From. Ye-eun]
Sending weird texts like this.
If only Ailee’s comeback could be successful too and she could have flaunted some unknown rivalry spirit… it would have been so cute.
Was it quite shocking that she even visited the company last time?
Coming to the company was quite a shock, wasn’t it?
I should definitely go and throw in a compliment…
Amidst all this, Sara Unni popped back into the waiting room again.
“Do-hee…! I think I was wrong…! You’re just working hard! I’ll definitely make time to match your efforts!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
*
In mid-April, Ailee’s comeback was announced.
[2025’s Girl Group Era Begins with Ailee’s ‘Keep Going’, Drawing in i-mazing Charms]
[Ailee Takes the Watermelon TOP 100 by Storm with Her New Song ‘Keep Going!’]
[Ailee Achieves the Most Streaming Users in 2025]
Ailee released a fresh and sophisticated track that met the high expectations. Once again, she showcased the cute and pretty standard image of girl groups, leading to a mega-hit.
─Ailee’s debut was winter freshness, now it’s high-teen freshness cuteness, it’s insane, JS you’re really living your best life.
─These days, there are so many girl groups talking about hyper-pop and identity that I was getting tired, but this is really great.
But Debonaire, Do-hee’s Home Mama Bae Ha-young was biting her nails.
“No, of course it’d be great if everyone does well… but…”
[Do-hee Lee: Got scolded]
While the neighbors were thriving…
“We need to row the boat while the tide is high…”
Our main team hadn’t given any comeback-related announcements for weeks following Do-hee’s cute nickname tease, hence the anxiety.
“Why, why is there nothing at all?!”
Isn’t it time for Topist to drop some sneak peeks about the comeback to maintain the momentum they gained through entertainment shows?!
The public’s interest was rapidly shifting towards Ailee, and since there was no comeback information for us to ride that wave, it’s only natural to feel uneasy!
Of course, the named fans who were in the know were expressing their confusion in their own chat rooms.
[No matter how much interest you get, if you don’t promote, people won’t even know you’ve made a comeback!]
[For real, just judging by the timing, we should be in comeback season, but there are no concept photos!]
[In K-pop, it’s not just about the song, it’s also about the promo, you know?]
[Aren’t you new to small agency idols? LOL]
[Sh*t]
[Seems to me like they’re broke again trying to make another double title. LOL]
On the other hand, the majority of light fans, intoxicated by the entertainment buzz, had rising expectations.
─Our company chairman is in his 50s and knows Do-hee. LOL
─Ailee swept in and topped the charts in just a week after her comeback; if you look at the attention, Debonaire might find it even easier, wow I’m already excited.
─Aren’t both double titles going to break records?
Worrying, more worrying.
“If there’s no promo, it’s natural for the performance to be poor… People’s thresholds have gotten too high.”
When you fly high and fall, the pain is worse.
Of course, Do-hee had never disappointed until now.
But things don’t always go as planned.
The company had changed, so who knows how the song might turn out?
“So please, just start the promo already…”
One of the striking differences that K-pop has from other music markets is the incredibly solid promotion.
It was a very clear promotion.
While overseas singers don’t even bother with teasers,
the K-pop scene reflects this by catering to otaku-type fans with various promotional methods.
First up are the usual teasers, concept photos, and promotional articles.
There’s always a lot of noise about leaked shooting scenes, choreography, and melodies.
Some even attract attention by dropping teasers a whole month in advance!
High-quality promotional videos that capture their identity and worldview, often made with thousands to millions of dollars.
Anyway, companies continuously tried to create something for the community to go viral or form public opinion.
“But why isn’t our Wi Dong making an effort? Should I just make him bald, really?”
At least, shouldn’t he be doing the basics? The basics!
I wanted to quickly write a public post urging Topist right away, but—
—Ding!
“Oh, Do-hee texted…”
[Lee Do-hee: Something happened…]
“Something happened…!? I knew this would happen. Those Topist guys! What on earth is going on…?!”
[Lee Do-hee: No, it just happened now]
[Lee Do-hee: I really overslept for the first time in a year, oh my… ]
“Oh.”
Seeing Do-hee doing her usual shenanigans made me feel less worried, and my anxiety faded.
“Alright… let’s trust and wait.”
She decided to organize her thoughts based on pure fan heart and wait.
And exactly two days later,
when there was still no information released,
a video popped up on Debonaire’s official channel.
“Suddenly posting a teaser?”
[DEBONAIR ‘Sweet Demon’ Official M/V Teaser]
It was a video that didn’t even last 20 seconds for something that was supposed to be ‘first revealed’.
The melody was nearly unrecognizable because it was composed of two intertwining tunes.
The noise interference and the sound of violins were overwhelming.
The members’ appearances were obscured behind sparkling fragments that made their silhouettes blur.
Only two things stood out clearly.
The black screen faded out, revealing the music video release date in three days.
[DEMON]
Echoing was Do-hee’s voice.
“Wait, what? No announcements and then suddenly a comeback in three days?”
It was so baffling that it made one wonder if they actually intended to promote at all.
The video quality seemed made just to lower fans’ hopes and expectations.
Still… Bae Ha-young hid her disappointment and decided to check the feeds for promotional articles that were likely released together.
Usually, they interpret things to release as articles.
“Here it is.”
[Debonaire, comeback title track ‘Sweet Demon’ to be pre-released on the 12th… ]
“Oh, a pre-release.”
Unlike the last time when they dropped two title tracks all at once, it seemed they were planning to stagger this release.
/ Since their debut, Debonaire has swept the charts with double title tracks, and they lead the atmosphere of their first comeback with ‘Sweet Demon.’
Topist Entertainment announced through their official SNS on the night of the 9th that they’d released the teaser for the first title track of their second mini album ‘DBNR (Dictated But Not Read)’, set to be pre-released on May 12.
“Knowing the album name now is legendary…”
The album title ‘DBNR’ generally stands for ‘Dictated But Not Read.’ Additionally, ‘DBNR’ is also an abbreviation of the group name ‘Debonair.’
Dictated But Not Read, this expression means that something has been noted down but not read, signifying that there’s no correction made to the transcribed expression.
So, Debonair (DBNR) indicates that in the process of transferring their image to the album, they captured their honest and diverse selves without any corrections.
“Still, I kinda love this…”
Honestly, the lack of promotion so far was just a complaint; ever since the last time, the person planning the group and album was a bit, well, a bit different.
[The name Debonair was truly created by a genius…]
I liked the first album name [ID = Group Identity = I Debonair], and now the second album is [Debonair = DBNR = Dictated But Not Read].
There’s just so much room for interpretation with the group name, seriously.
Over here, the reactions in the feed and community have always been heated.
“Wow, the person who came up with the group name is really a genius… They know exactly what an otaku like me goes crazy for…”
Meanwhile, the mentioned video, lasting about 10 seconds, mixed various melodies and created chaos.
Sweet Demon. A sweet devil, the paradoxical two words reflect the confusion the listener experiences.
This immediately evokes curiosity about the charm of the Debonair-style concept coming up in the comeback announcement in May.
“Seeing it like this, the teaser has some meaning…”
But separately, it seemed like the teaser was not doing its job.
“But really, what promotional effect do you expect from a teaser suddenly dropped 3 days ago? No matter how good the hidden meaning is.”
It’s just our comeback day.
It seems like Topist’s promo team thinks going around music shows counts as promotion.
“Ugh…”
Then it happened.
The SNS feed started overflowing with posts in a hurry.
“What’s going on?”
—Whoa, is this pre-released title a self-composed song by Do-hee?
—(https…link) The article came out; it says it’s a self-composed song.
“R-really?”
Bae Ha-young quickly clicked the link.
[Debonair’s comeback pre-released title = ‘Sweet Demon’… composed and arranged by Lee Do-hee…]
“It’s a title track, not just a b-side?”
The lack of promotion was strangely unbelievable.
I think I finally understand the strategy behind the promo.
‘An impulsive release of a pre-released title. Yet, the stardom of Do-hee alone creates organic virality. And it hits number one right away.’
That’s a well-crafted storyline that could firmly establish the top-tier idol image that might have slightly blurred after Seven’s disbandment and their debut.
“And… this is just the pre-release, so the second title will start with perfect promotion.”
So, if this title is good!
—Ding!
At the same time, an alert sound indicated a message from the baby.
[Lee Do-hee: (waving rabbit emoticon)]
For sure… Do-hee may not be a noble, but that cute mischievousness always reassures the fans.
It gave a strong assurance that the song would be good.
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