A new late-night hour considered the golden time on Fridays.
“Ah… A drink after work with my older sisters on a variety show?”
Bae Ha-young was, as always, sitting in front of the TV.
Tonight’s program airing in this time slot is the highly acclaimed variety show [Star Beside]! This public broadcast variety show, which always garners high ratings whenever idols appear, was particularly buzzing since Debonaire, who had a jackpot with their self-content, would be featured.
More importantly, it seems that the Topist’s policy has made Debonaire more reserved in variety show appearances during this comeback activity!
“I’m really looking forward to my sisters today…”
Of course, there were some predictable and expected scenarios.
For instance, the manager being flustered by the members’ antics, which he himself reported but didn’t even realize.
[Yu Young-ho: My kids don’t lie to me and really listen well. Seriously. They’re so nice.]
“Obvious yet fun, hehehe.”
Anyway, the broadcast started a few minutes later.
[Let’s make Friday hotter with Star Beside! Let me introduce today’s Beside!]
As is typical, the show opened with our kids, Do-hee and Seo-yoon, greeting the panelists.
But it wasn’t the vibrant greeting showcased in their self-content.
Rather, the opposite image.
Dressed in coordinated solid colors or tone-on-tone outfits that seemed to match their motto of neatness, both of them were greeting while casually tossing their hair over one ear, perfectly embodying the old money style.
“What is this, princesses?”
Even their timing of tossing their hair was synchronized.
It was amusing to see the actions of the duo, known as the sister group before becoming the Do-sisters, coordinate not just once or twice.
Anyway, seeing such a pure and elegant look suited so well—not even Na-eun, but the Do-sisters—made me realize how the wider age demographic tuning in, including middle-aged viewers, created such a huge impact.
“Truly, it’s public broadcasting, public broadcasting.”
Meanwhile, Manager Young-ho appeared on screen.
[Yu Young-ho: Hello, I am Yu Young-ho, the manager of Debonaire!]
“Oh, Manager Young-ho is on!”
This face was already familiar to Bae Ha-young.
Even if one wasn’t a fan manager, they naturally bumped into him while visiting Do-hee’s schedule on site.
I’ve heard he’s a team leader, yet his friendly demeanor matched with his warm appearance made him quite popular among fans.
It was a new person.
[Q: You’ve known the members for a long time?]
[Lee Young-ho: Yes, actually, the team Debonaire hasn’t been formed for long, but since I worked in the rookie development team before, I’ve been friends with the members since their trainee days.]
“Really? I guess if you’re at the team leader level, you have some experience, so it makes sense you seemed especially close during schedules. But is the rookie development manager continuing on like this? I’ve seen it a few times in smaller agencies, but I figured Topist wouldn’t do that with its larger scale.”
Bae Ha-young often felt puzzled about Topist’s operations like this. For now, she wasn’t causing any trouble for the members.
[Q: Then you must know the members well?]
[Yu Young-ho: That’s right. I’m confident that I know the members better than anyone else.]
[Q: I’ve heard you did the casting yourself.]
[Yu Young-ho: Ah, that’s not entirely true. One of our members, Do-hee, got cast on the street, and at that casting site, the current director was the previous casting team leader, and I was right next to them.]
“What? Seriously?!”
Of course, he knew the director. He had probably made a hefty bonus from that; it was mentioned in an article during the Seven days.
But to think Manager Young-ho was also present at that historic moment.
“But if you think about it, we’ve known Do-hee longer than Woo-ah, right…? You really know the kids well!”
And then the manager began to read the ‘B-Side report.’
Today’s topic!
[Yu Young-ho: All the members are so nice and listen well, that it’s actually a problem because there’s nothing to worry about.]
“Huh?”
Naturally, the panel burst into jeers.
[Hey~ Just speak freely!]
[Yu Young-ho: Haha…]
He awkwardly laughed, and along with that, the much-anticipated Debonaire’s residence was finally revealed.
[Now the residence comes out.]
[Wow, I’m really curious!]
[First Reveal! Debonaire’s Residence!]
As if aware of the stalking fans, there were curtains drawn in places where outdoor scenery could be seen, so the view was completely blocked.
[Wow~ The entrance is spacious!]
[Why is this so nice!]
With the surprised reactions of the panel, a cleanly decorated, large residence that looked at least 60 pyeong came into view.
[Seo-yoon: We moved here as we debuted.]
[Do-hee: That’s right, it used to have a more cozy feeling when we were trainees.]
[Q: How are the rooms being used?]
[Yu Young-ho: Well, the same-age friends Woo-ah and Chiyo wanted to share a room, so they’re in the master bedroom together while the other three, Do-hee, Seo-yoon, and Na-eun, each have their own rooms.]
[Ah~ one, one, one, one?]
And one by one, the members’ personal rooms made their appearances.
First up was Do-hee’s room, where she was stretching in a white tee and sweatpants.
[Morning stretches are a must!]
[Why does even stretching look so pretty~]
[So flexible!]
Of course, Bae Ha-young accepted this as a given. It was part of Do-hee’s routine, famous since her Seven days.
Not that it wasn’t impressive, but…
Actually, the real attention was on Do-hee’s room rather than the stretching.
Sure, there had been a glimpse of Do-hee composing a piano piece, but that mostly filled the screen with piano footage, so this was the first time viewers were seeing the room’s scenery.
“Wow, it’s really spacious…?”
Not as big as the master bedroom, but certainly quite large.
The panel seemed to share the same query.
[Seo-yoon: Yeah, Do-hee’s room is the biggest. The youngest is… not giving up anything to the sisters!]
[Looks like Seo-yoon has some serious complaints~]
[So what determined the room assignments?]
[Do-hee: The older sister is just joking around, and I was the one who got the big room. I needed the space for a piano and soundproof wall. As you see, the piano takes up a lot of room.]
[Seo-yoon: (joking) Yes, actually, Na-eun unni and I gave up our space.]
Just then, Do-hee started playing the piano on-screen.
Since this was also part of Do-hee’s famous routine, Bae Ha-young happily accepted it without suspicion, but the panel began to push the concept a bit too far.
“Well, after stretching, playing the piano…”
In fact, it was only famous among Kpop communities and fans; ordinary viewers and the panel had no clue.
“This should really be making waves…”
Bae Ha-young couldn’t help but feel a bit wronged even as she pouted.
[Seo-yoon: But Do-hee really does this every day when she gets up. No exceptions.]
Hearing this solid affirmation from Seo-yoon, who had been in the industry for seven years, made her feel proud.
“See, it’s true! Our little one is so commendable!”
[Do-hee: Yes, it’s a routine I’ve kept up since I was young.]
[Ah, really? So that’s why you play so well? There’s definitely a method to getting good at something…]
Luckily, the panel seemed to smoothly accept this, slowly listening to Do-hee’s explanation of her piece.
“Yeah, scenes like this need to make it to mainstream media to really spread, heh heh.”
“To spread out, you need to go out with a bang, heh.”
Nodding in satisfaction, I happily listened to Do-hee’s song explanation.
A room appeared, with Seo-yoon’s background accompanied by the sound of piano.
Seo-yoon, lying on the bed in a daze while staring blankly at the ceiling, jumped up upon hearing the piano music.
─Ha-ah…
[Seo-yoon: Honestly, it is a bit of a setup.]
At that moment, Bae Ha-young felt an involuntary shiver at Seo-yoon’s explosive statement.
“Uh…? The concept is playing the piano in the morning…?”
If Seo-yoon calls it a concept, all sorts of ridiculous stories will come up.
[Seo-yoon: No, usually I open the door to wake up the members and play super loudly while stepping on the pedals… But here, it’s all quiet! No, I’m in the next room, and her playing is my alarm, my ALARM!]
“Oh, so playing a calm piece is the concept.”
I was relieved.
“Anyway, I need to set that song as my alarm too.”
If it were Ra-hee, she’d probably play a prank like that on Seo-yoon at least once in the morning.
I feel at ease.
*
─Every morning when I wake up, does the older sister wake up? And now I’m going to show you my extraordinary skills, starting early…!
─Ugh!
After a bit of tussle between Seo-yoon and Do-hee.
[Ah, Na-eun!]
[The leader of the debonaire?]
The room that appeared this time was decorated in pure white, resembling its owner.
With a bed adorned with frills, a vague silhouette could be seen.
As the light turned on, Na-eun, having gotten up quite a while ago, was fiddling with her phone while already in a cardigan.
Then, the sound of a piano could be heard.
Although there was a difference from Seo-yoon.
─Do-hee is awake?
To Na-eun, the piano music wasn’t a wake-up alarm.
─Seeing it’s a calm piece today… Maybe she’s lacking energy? I should make some refreshing juice for her.
It was the alarm time to get ready to check on the members.
[It’s not a concept, right?]
[Is this really not a concept?]
“Crazy… Is Na-eun really some kind of angel…?”
[Na-eun: Do-hee, go wake the older sisters~ I’ll make kiwi juice for you.]
And finally, as Do-hee entered, the main room was revealed.
Here, there was no reaction to the piano sound whatsoever.
[Do-hee: Did I play something too calm today…? Hm.]
On the pink queen-size bed lay Chiyo and Woo-ah, intertwined and sleeping together.
