Chapter 97

The existing fans of ‘SAVEN’ were mostly individual fans of each member.

However, there was one rare fan of the ‘SAVEN’ group.

Coincidentally, all the picks she had been eyeing had successfully debuted.

In fact, it was possible because all the debuted members were public picks.

Proving she was a group fan, her phone screen displayed Do-hee’s Instagram page.

“Ah, she must look even prettier in person! I seriously want to give her a kiss punishment.”

Every time she looked at Do-hee’s selfies, she was amazed—not just because of her face.

It was incredibly fascinating how Do-hee’s various selfies had different expressions and angles each time.

“Really a genius at expressions, a genius at selfies…”

Words that Do-hee would have loved to hear.

Fans might not know, but Do-hee was quite the diligent one.

Whenever she had a spare moment, she practiced various expressions in front of a mirror.

In fact, her agency had to force her to take selfie classes because she didn’t even know how to take selfies.

Anyway, while she enjoyed the different photos, a big question crossed her mind.

Clearly, every photo felt different, yet strangely familiar.

Then she figured it out.

She was so busy staring at Do-hee’s face that she didn’t notice her outfit until it was too late.

“Hmm… doesn’t Do-hee have any clothes…?”

Words that would have made Do-hee’s mom furious.

Do-hee’s closet was stocked with plenty of bright and girlish outfits.

But she always made excuses of school and trainee life to wear only comfortable clothes.

As a result, most of Do-hee’s selfies were either in her school uniform or training outfit.

Very rarely, she wore her mom’s forced bright attire, but it was indeed very, very rare.

“Well… she was a student and a trainee, so I guess it’s understandable.”

Thinking, ‘Do-hee must like to keep things neat…’, she then entered her fan SNS.

While she was carefully reading her timeline, a sudden YouTube notification popped up.

-Ding.

It was a notification from the official ‘SAVEN’ YouTube account, which hadn’t posted anything since its initial greeting.

▶[SAVEN Teaser]

She hurriedly clicked the notification.

The teaser started playing immediately.

A monochrome black-and-white video.

Displayed on the black-and-white screen was just the white SAVEN logo drawn on a chalkboard.

An attractive funky bass line began to amplify in volume.

Then the camera pulled away gradually.

The classroom scenery slowly came into view, one by one.

First, the silhouettes of members sitting on the chair that she had seen in the concept photo.

The camera zoomed out once more.

A particularly bright classroom window caught her eye.

There was a telescope set up by the window.

One of the members stood up from their seat.

Bathed in moonlight, her face came into view.

Do-hee Lee.

Do-hee approached the window and placed her eyes on the telescope.
There it is.

The siren-like synth sound that’s not annoying layered over the bass line, and on the screen, Do-hee’s eye is visible through a telescope lens.

In the black-and-white screen, Do-hee’s eyes shine bright red.

[DNA, everything engraved is new]

The screen swirled and got sucked into Do-hee’s eyes.

And then, a color screen regains its vibrancy.

[Sourness always feels refreshing]

Seven members dressed in casual street punk fashion stand in the middle of an urban crosswalk, looking straight ahead.

The screen turned black.

The red Seven logo appeared.

[Rose Nebula]

[10.31. KST 18:00]

*

A short 20-second video.

It had been less than 5 hours since it was uploaded, and views shot over 1 million.

It seemed likely to break the record for the debut song teaser of a rookie girl group.

“What are they saying? How’s the comment reaction? Good?”

Seo-yoon Unni asked with sparkling eyes beside me.

I scrolled down to check the comments and read them.

“‘Wow, Do-hee is pretty as ever…’, ‘Wow, I’m already excited ㅋㅋ but why is Do-hee so stunning?'”

“Not about your comments!”

I mean, jealousy much?

“Okay, I’ll check out yours too.”

Scrolling down more, I read the comments mentioning Seo-yoon Unni.

“Kim Seo-yoon seems a bit disappointing…”

Seo-yoon Unni’s expression sank.

“Really…?”

Could it be true?

“Just kidding. ‘Seo-yoon is super cool ㅠㅠ.'”

“Do you wanna die?”

“There’s more. ‘Seo-yoon is so petty ㅠㅠ.'”

“You’re really gonna die.”

Anyway, the teaser reactions were hot.

Mostly, comments expressing anticipation for the song and concept, along with supportive comments for the members.

Negative comments seemed to have been pushed down so far it was hard to find them.

“The reaction is good, so it’s boosting our spirits~”

I felt like we could really practice hard.

.

.

.

Or rather, I felt like giving up.

“Come on, stop whining and get up already! Let’s try it one more time!”

Out of the seven, five were sprawled out on the floor, except Hana Unni and me.

“Damn… I told you not to make that person the leader!”

*

The SAVEN members are focused on showcase and stage rehearsals, just 4 days before their debut.

Do-hee’s Home Mama stared intently at the TV playing ads.

On the corner computer, the teaser video looped endlessly.

“Sigh… just looking at photos can only last so long.”

It’s also tiring to edit while scrolling through Instagram.

I’m done watching the teaser hundreds of times now.

Home Mama needed a brand-new, lively video.

The age guide started flowing on the screen.

“Yes!”

I couldn’t give up on streaming the teaser, so I muted it.

Setting my posture with anticipation, I sat up straight.

<'Fell in Love' topping various charts!>
<'Rose Nebula' teaser hits 2 million views on the first day!>
[Final debut with 7 members!]
Seven!

The reality show has begun.

First up, the media caught wind of the big buzz around ‘SAVEN’ and their immense popularity.

Next came the personal profile pictures of the members grabbing attention along with the reality program’s name.

[Let’s start dorm life!]

The reality variety show kicked off in full swing.

Kim Seo-yoon and Jeon Ha-rang were spinning around with their heads in what appeared to be their dorm.

A song was echoing in the room.

[Ha-rang: Don’t spray perfume~ You’ll get caught by Hana~]

[Seo-yoon: It’s Do-hee but~]

[Do-hee: I’m just here.]

[Ha-rang: Shake your head! (shaking Do-hee’s head)]

The dorm was buzzing right from the start.

As soon as I saw it, laughter burst out.

The comments on her timeline were echoing the same reaction.

-Haha, these kids are already hilarious

-What’s with their beagle vibes? Hahaha

-High schoolers in action, lololol

But the dorm was filled with ominous background music.

With the subtitle [The Leader's Arrival], Hana entered the room.

[Hana: You all still have energy? It was all excuses after all.]

[Do-hee: I just watched.]

[Seo-yoon: I’m going to sleep first. Goodnight.]

Seo-yoon dashed into the room marked with [Seo-yoon & Ye-eun].

[Do-hee: Unni, come here. Let’s go to bed.]

Do-hee also grabbed the hand of Unni Sara who was watching in the corner and returned to the [Chae & Do & Ra] room.

[Ha-rang: (turning off the music)… Can we sleep now?]

[Hana: Let’s start the first set of squats.]

An all-too-familiar interview scene from [Jeodol3] flashed on screen.

[Q: You want to change rooms?]

[Ha-rang: Yes… please…]

[Ha-rang: (glancing sideways) I… also want to change the leader… this is going to be pixelated, right?]

[What’s going on with the members!? ]

[We’ll reveal the room and leader selection process!]

=First Night in the Dorm=

[Production Staff: You all have a mission!]

[Seo-yoon: I don’t want a mission…]

[Ye-eun: I don’t want to… ]

The members flinched at the mention of ‘mission,’ and it cut back to the mission reveal process in [Jeodol3], eliciting laughter.

-Hahaha, these kids hate missions more than anything

-They’re at the peak of their PTSD right now, lol

-Perfectly edited for comedy, lol

Since it was a brief lottery, the formation process flowed simply, with scenes to induce laughs sprinkled throughout.

[Ha-rang: Please let us select our rooms again…]

[Hana: Come on Ha-rang~ Let’s unpack~]

-What in the world did Hana do earlier that got her this reaction? Hahaha

-Oh, why are they so funny? They seem to have a good relationship though.

-So this is how they became roommates.

-Hopefully, they get along well.

-They’ll probably switch again, right?

[Shall we propose a leader then?]

Next came the leader selection process.

[Do-hee: No way Hana Unni is the leader!]

[Ha-rang: I agree!]

-They were asked to propose and immediately went straight to opposing, what a duo, lol
[Sera: Well… me too…]

[Hana: Why me!]

– Sera opposed it too, haha.

– Speaking of which, all three who opposed are in the FATAL group for the second round, lol.

– What happened, haha?

[What on earth happened with Hana? 'Jodol3' behind-the-scenes revealed!]

‘Jodol3’ dorm.

Jeon Ha-rang is face-down on the floor.

Eun Se-ra is lying on the bed, looking exhausted.

[Hana: Snack time again, kids~]

And Hana is pulling endless snacks out of her bag.

[Sera: (reaching out)…]

[Ha-rang: I want chocolate…]

[Do-hee: (sigh)]

With trembling hands, like baby birds, Ha-rang and Sera reach out for snacks.

[Do-hee: Unni Hana, so what time are we waking up tomorrow…?]

[FATAL group leader Hana Kwon!]

The leader Hana Kwon decided the practice schedule.

Leader moments appeared one after another, starting from the first practice.

[Let’s wake up at 8 tomorrow! We can get 7 hours of sleep.]

[Hmm… let’s try waking up at 7:30 tomorrow.]

[Should we wake up around 7? We’ll get 6 hours of sleep~]

[Everyone’s managing well…? 6 o’clock.]

[Should we not sleep at all tonight?]

– Haha, she was just messing with the kids.

– So legendary stages come with legendary practice hours, lol.

[Q: Won’t the team members struggle?]

[Hana: That’s why I’m feeding them snacks!]

[Q: …I see.]

The screen returned to the dorm.

[Hana: Who else would do it if not me!]

The ages of each member were displayed as subtitles below them.

[The only adult, 21-year-old Hana, could she possibly be the next leader!? ]

– Haha, but Hana is a likable, action-oriented leader.

– Hana really does fit the leader role, lol.

– Agreed, agreed.

But Do-hee confidently stood up from her seat.

[Do-hee: I’ll do it.]

Do-hee’s achievements scrolled by.

[Jodol3 first-round competition leader]

[Jodol3 ranked first overall]

[Center that SAVEN is proud of]

[XXX beverage advertisement model]

[X1 'Thinking of You' music video female lead]

<19-time grand prize winner in various piano competitions>

– Haha, wow, her specs are insane even upon rewatching, lol.

– Really grateful for this idol who became number one, haha.

– Sorry, Mom…

└ No, your mother is happy to have you as her daughter.

└ My mom said she wanted to swap places with me and Do-hee, sob.

└ Go apologize to her right now.

└ Damn…

– But why is it so cute that the youngest wants to be the leader, haha?

– Youngest leader, I’m all for it!

Of course, after Do-hee’s declaration, she was shot down with a word from each member.

[The leader is Hana Kwon!]

The screen displayed an interview with Jeon Ha-rang again.

[Q: If you could go back in time, would you recommend Do-hee as the leader?]

[Ha-rang: …? No way, that’s not it. It’s better that I do it.]

---

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