I Decided to Become a Perfect Girl

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“Malatang? Chiyo, can you eat stuff like that?”

“Why not?”

“You’ve gained weight lately.”

On the way to the office for the final meeting and wrap-up.

“Eh? Me?”

“I’m spot-on with my observations. You seem to have gained about 3 kilos.”

“Could it be that Woo-ah-chan is jealous of my current volume?!”

“…Not particularly? If it were Do-hee, I wouldn’t know.”

As was usual, everyone was excited about the menu selection for tonight’s small party.

“Don’t get too carried away in self-reflection, okay? That one is totally out of the question.”

I stepped back from the typical chaotic atmosphere, closing my eyes dreamily to gather my personal opinions—

“That looks like an asymmetric chest.”

“…What?”

“Eh, Do-hee-chan, you were listening? I thought you were asleep, but you have quite the lewd side like your own chest…”

“Do-hee, is it really asymmetric?”

“What—”

Chiyo Unni glanced around and lowered her voice slightly.

“To be honest, I’ve never seen it bare, so I’m not really sure… If you show me now, I’ll correct my opinion…”

“Shut up.”

“Why not~.”

What’s with the ‘why’?

At least today, I’m glad the Road Manager is a woman.

“I’m curious too, show it to us~.”

These two, caught in the pull from Kimchi and Kimchi, felt like talking to Woo-ah Unni would only make things more confusing, so I hurriedly moved closer to the two in front who still seemed busy with the menu selection.

“Why, do you want anything else to eat?”

“No, just checking the menu.”

After having everything on the screen, our Kim Seo-yoon was thinking about eating more now that the activities were done.

I wonder how much taller she wants to be.

“Sister, how about measuring your height again?”

“Huh? Wait, Do-hee, do you think I’ve grown a little taller? Do you think so?”

“Yeah?”

I was just habitually picking a fight without thinking.

“Actually, I’ve been feeling like I’m taller when I look in the mirror recently. Since you’re saying it too, it really feels like it might be true?”

“Really? Seo-yoon, you’ve grown?”

“No, Unni, it’s said that even girls can grow taller after becoming adults. Some people can grow 3 to 4 centimeters!”

“So, doesn’t that mean Seo-yoon is really getting taller?”

“Right, Unni? Right, right?”

“Then~.”

I was worried I might get hit over my habitual fighting, but I’m relieved that they liked it.

And anyway, Seo-yoon would probably only grow 0.1 centimeters.

Anyway, since I had achieved the purpose of subtly diverting Chiyo Unni’s attention while blending in with the ones in front, I decided to take a short rest.

“I’ll sleep just a little.”

“Show us your asymmetric chest before you sleep.”

“Just a quick peek for us, okay? Our little secret~.”

Naturally, I pretended to be tired, crossing my arms over my chest and lying back against the seat.

After some time passed, suddenly my view was flooded with light.

As I opened my groggy eyes, all the internal lights were on.

“Do-hee, hurry out. We’re here.”

“…Ah, okay.”

I had somehow fallen asleep, and it seemed like we had already arrived at the office.

The members were already entering the office in the distance.

“Were you really tired? You didn’t wake up even when called.”

“Yawn… Is there anyone who isn’t tired after all that activity?”

I took Unni Woo-ah’s hand as she naturally reached out and stepped off the van.

“But Do-hee.”

“Yes?”

“Your chest isn’t asymmetric~?”

Hehe, she laughed playfully and quickly dashed off toward the office before I could respond.

Staring blankly at her retreating figure, I twisted my shirt to check the state of my undergarments.

No mess… everything was perfectly intact inside.

“Mm.”

If it were my own, I wouldn’t be able to be so calm about it. Musing about my messy hairstyle from sleeping, I made my way toward the elevator where Seo-yoon was pointing.

“Ah, Do-hee~ hurry. We need to finish and get home for the party.”

Seems like she’s in a good mood all day today, even though the extended chatter is a bit annoying.

“But if I rush, it won’t mean much.”

“Why?”

“We’re planning a long meeting today.”

“Ah, seriously.”

I’m the organizer here.

“No, seriously, isn’t there a lot to do?”

“It depends on how the Unnis listen to me, right?”

“Ah, it’s starting again.”

Starting tomorrow, we have a two-month break, and I need to finalize everything I planned before that.

Creating music for this team is my role as producer Do-hee, hee hee.

“Just listen quietly without saying a word.”

“That’s not fun if there’s no excitement.”

“Do-hee, you talk too much, it’ll just drag on~.”

“Exactly, so I hope we can wrap it up quickly and just respond.”

“Ugh.”

Honestly, I was just looking for a good excuse to joke around, but I had planned to finish early today.

Everyone was weary, after all.

We need to chill after this.

‘I’m not someone who works just because I want to work.’

I’m someone who wants to play all my life, too.

“I’ll try to finish as quickly as possible. Get in, get in.”

With that thought of only saying the essentials, I hurried into the meeting room.

Director So-hyun was waiting there alone.

“Hey, everyone, you all seem really tired. Hurry and sit down.”

“No way, after the activities today, everyone is feeling completely awake…”

“Exactly. The teacher is tired from working overtime because of Do-hee.”

“Real, real.”

“Did I do this for my own good? Of course, it’s partly for my own benefit. I’m off on vacation starting tomorrow.”

“You really have no conscience.”

I sat down, trying to be conscientious.

“But Director, have all the team members clocked out today?”

“Yes, I let everyone go home. Why? Did you want everyone to join the meeting?”

“Oh no, it’s actually easier for me this way…”

Actually, I expected that a few would still be around.

“I was just worried about you, Director.”

Over various circumstances, I had taken on many essential duties for our group, but since it was still the director’s responsibility to commercialize the drafts I suggested, as the market expanded, the director became busier rather than freer.

“If it’s a staffing issue, I’m worried that discussing the planning I’m mentioning today might be too much.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve added a few more people, and if it’s urgent, we can even use external staff.”

Well, if that’s the case, I’m at least relieved.

‘After all, it’s not easy to increase company staff.’

Once hired, it’s difficult to let someone go, and increases in labor costs take a large part of the company’s expenses.

Nevertheless, I personally hoped they would hire more before the year was up.

“Anyway, let’s get started.”

I opened a water bottle in front of me to wet my throat and began to speak briefly.

“Honestly, I think what I’m discussing today isn’t fully sorted in my thoughts, so it’s better to talk face to face.”

Even now, I wasn’t sure if my reasoning was correct.

“Honestly, I feel a bit dissatisfied with this album. Of course, I think it’s quite fun and, reflecting that, it made it to Billboard, getting a career-high of 68th place on Tekmabec, and people are saying the song’s good, but if I promote it in the U.S. more, it could rise…”

Ultimately, as the producer, it was crucial that I have a clear vision.

“I’ve mentioned it several times. I’ve felt the limitations of this album from the moment I started writing songs. I’m not saying this just because the vacation stopped me from promoting in the U.S.”

If the songs at the level I was thinking were actually written,

Wouldn’t they have effortlessly hit 50th?

No, I had the instinct that they could have easily ranked within the top 30.

“Of course, my intention for this album was to color the heavier feeling from the last RNBD album playfully, so it could be viewed as a success, but I got a bit confused in between. Beyond strategies, isn’t it true that if the musical quality is superior, it shouldn’t matter? I genuinely felt like I could create better songs than this. Is this really my best work?”

Maybe I had been tricked by the winds blown into me by Grant from Warner Records for a moment.

The next album being significant, it might’ve skewed my thoughts toward taking a strategic approach for this album.

Or maybe since I have to take the college entrance exam this year, I was feeling like I wanted to just make a meal of this opportunity.

“So, to be honest, I was somewhat disappointed in myself.”

“Disappointed?”

“No, no way, that’s not it.”

“Right, Do-hee, why would you be disappointed…”

“I mean, I liked it, though…”

Confused or disgusted replies echoed around.

“Do-hee, I think the teacher also thinks it’s a good album. It’s tough when the standards are set so high for you.”

Of course, the Unnis said that, and even the director.

“I’m not saying that I dislike this album to that extent, it’s just that I feel like there are things I wish were better.”

But already in my mind, I had concluded my calculations.

I could write much better songs, and I had just concentrated excessively on the album’s concept.

“Anyway, our next album will be a full-length one.”

I stood up and wrote the names of the previous albums on the whiteboard at the side of the meeting room.

─Debonair

─DBNR

─RNBD

─DEB ILL

From the debut to the current album.

“It’s time to complete the Debonaire series with the group name.”

Most idols did just that.

They create a series of concept albums with singles and mini-albums, culminating in a full-length album for the finale.

So, it’s the album where they have to put in the most effort and feel the most pressure.

“Watching the NND stage made me think more about this. Is it true that K-pop, when seen by foreigners, is a genre where musicality is prioritized? Does that mean my view is wrong? Shouldn’t we be working with a focus on performance?”

That was the subject at hand.

“But if we take it for granted that K-pop is a genre where performance is particularly emphasized, can we surpass NND and reach first place? They just topped Billboard again.”

Of course, I had some vague confidence.

Some unknown sense of self-confidence or something.

“Sure, Billboard first place? We’ll manage somehow if we keep on steadily. But surpassing that status seems created by the thick layer of NND’s fandom to me. Most overseas K-pop fans are women, and since we’re the same gender…”

In the end, that was the essence.

“Then, just like domestically, we should consider popularity abroad too. Nowadays, popularity is based on challenges, right? But since when did K-pop become a genre that solely relies on challenges? No matter how much trends come and go, isn’t the ideal highest point to utilize trends well but also propose new trends?”

“What kind of trend are you trying to suggest, Do-hee?”

The director asked gently as if chiding me.

Maybe she was thinking similarly as well.

“Exactly that. Why have award ceremony stages become so boring? Why do the ratings for award shows keep plummeting?”