I Decided to Become a Perfect Girl

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Chapter 1: The Call from Do-hee

“Eh? I picked up…!”

On the other end of the phone, an incredibly cheerful and unique voice greeted me.

“Do-hee, Do-hee…!”

“Uh, why? Are you bored again?”

Of course, it wasn’t new for Sara Unni to call whenever she was feeling a bit dull, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.

“No, Do-hee! I heard you’re on vacation!”

“What? How did you find out? Ah, did I post it in the group chat? No, only my work people and the members should know about it.”

“Seo-yoon just called me and was whining about you dumping work on her while you’re off enjoying your long vacation!”

“Agh, Kim Seo-yoon is spilling the beans again. She’s such a snitch.”

“Ah, I guess that’s true!”

“What do you mean ‘I guess that’s true’? I was just joking!”

“Ah…! Ah!”

Only then did I hear the awkward laughter of Sara Unni on the other end.

She had tried to crack dad jokes with me multiple times, so it was clear she had a taste for this kind of humor. But it seemed my recent joke might have felt a little lacking.

“Manager Young-ho, honestly, how would you rate that last one?”

“Huh? What did you say? I couldn’t hear it. Maybe it was filtered out of my ears because I didn’t want to listen.”

“Then why are you playing the radio?”

Manager Young-ho calmly took a sip of his coffee and turned up the radio volume.

…I choose to think of it as his consideration for my call privacy.

“By the way, Seo-yoon told me to expect great things; she bragged that the song Do-hee made is amazing!”

“Well, of course! What I wanted to give Seo-yoon wasn’t just work but a new horizon. Someday, like Sara Unni, she too will understand her younger sister’s deep feelings.”

“Ah, and she was overly excited that she stole Do-hee’s song!”

“……”

Really spreading rumors everywhere, huh?

But thinking about how she acted all sensitive while secretly showing off made her pretty cute in a way.

“Oh, and by the way! She whined about a birthday gift too! Said she felt left out!”

“Nah, what’s with that? Does she have no money or hands? Last birthday, I treated her to an expensive meal! I even sent a gift card to your mom for Seo-yoon’s birthday celebration.”

“Oh! Then you should treat me to a meal on my birthday too! Not just gifts or gift cards, but let’s meet up!”

“Really? Alright.”

As soon as I heard that positive answer, it seemed like Sara Unni was quite eager to hang out, talking about marking the schedule on her calendar.

After all, she was a second-year idol.

The time when they were busy and wanted to hang out whenever they had a chance.

Especially since her agency, JS Entertainment, was notoriously known for its packed schedules.

I could easily understand her longing.

‘Actually, I’m a bit of an exception in this circle.’

Even in our company, cases where the schedule was given this much leeway were probably a first among all past artists.

Even Manager Young-ho was the team leader who was almost always around me.

He was likely trying to gauge my feelings out of consideration.

In my heart, I could understand his perspective, and I thought anyone would act that way…

But I had no intention of abusing it.

“By the way, Do-hee! When are we seeing each other next?”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean? We decided to hang out next vacation…!”

“Ah, ah, I remember! It was written in the notice.”

Since Sara Unni kept insisting on hanging out just the two of us, I had made a promise to post it in the personal chat room at the beginning of the year.

But even if it was disappointing for her, our appointment had to be postponed.

“Why?! This vacation is like two months long!”

If it were our members, they would have thrown a fit about it.

Of course, except for Na-eun Unni.

Seeing Sara Unni wrap up her complaints so easily, it was clear that she was actually quite charming, unlike the impressive first impression her features gave off.

However, hearing the reason that she was taking a break due to exams made her voice sound mildly whiny.

“Do-hee is always busy… And when I try to do things on my own, too many people come looking for me so I can’t even have fun…”

“Of course, in between, I can take a few days to refresh myself, but honestly, you’re pretty busy too. Didn’t you say you barely got sleep last time?”

“Ugh…”

“I might not be able to match my time to your whims. It might be better to just wait until after the year-end awards together.”

“Fine…”

I already had an appointment with the piano teacher that had been arranged, but that was an exception—and I decided not to bring it up with Sara Unni.

I was worried she might feel hurt for no reason.

“By the way, is the baby home right now~?”

“Baby? Who’s the baby…!!”

“Ah, geez, you scared me. Did you not hang up the phone?”

Usually calm, but the volume of Sara Unni on the other end of the call was so loud that I casually answered, thinking it must be Do-ah or someone else, before abruptly ending the call.

“Wow, it really shows why she’s the main vocalist.”

There was definitely a reason Seo-yoon Unni was the lead vocalist in Seven.

It was tough to keep up with Sara Unni’s strange volume.

‘Well, just because your volume is good doesn’t mean you sing well…’

But considering that Sara Unni sang well and had great vocal power, it was still impressive.

Even though she wasn’t particularly tall.

Thinking about it, Sara Unni was really a cheat character…

I stared at my phone blankly and confirmed my face reflected on the black screen.

…I should take a selfie.

“Um, Sara Unni, what’s the title of this song again?”

“What?”

I was just about to capture a bubble selfie that matched the vibe perfectly.

“Radio?”

“Oh, I think I heard this song before.”

“This is probably Mahler, right? Uh, Symphony No. 5?”

“Ah~ right. Mahler, Mahler, don’t say ‘don’t’!”

“Hey, can you drop me off here? I can’t join you anymore.”

“Don’t drop me off!”

“…That got a little chuckle out of me, to be honest.”

Seriously, why is Manager Young-ho suddenly so good at dad jokes nowadays?

He’s delivering them so naturally.

Is he transforming into a dad or something?

“Everyone seems to be aging…”

“Yeah, Do-hee should enjoy her last teen years while she can.”

“Yes.”

I quietly acknowledged, rubbed my lips, and looked outside.

Our apartment complex was already in sight.

“Even if it’s not for a schedule, if you ever need to move, be sure to let me know. It can be dangerous if someone starts recognizing you.”

“Okay~”

It had been quite a while since I had seen the exterior of our home, and just looking up at it felt like receiving a warm sense of comfort…

“Eh? Mother, ah! Are you coming back from shopping?”

“What? My daughter!”

Alright, let’s go inside first.

What if someone sees us?

Of course, I was all bundled up with a mask and a hat, plus sunglasses, so it shouldn’t be easy to recognize me, but the way my mom kept hugging me and planting kisses on me made me feel like I might be exposed anyway.

* * *

“Ugh…”

“Okay, that’s enough already.”

“Shush! This is a year’s worth of recharge. You are getting the consequences of all that allowance you received so far. There’s no such thing as free money in this world.”

She kept calling herself a pig, saying she had gotten a lot fatter since I last saw her.

She was endlessly poking at her own belly fat.

“Ah, stop it! That’s so tickly!”

Even though I didn’t want to laugh, it was hard not to when she kept tickling me.

She’s supposed to be somewhat autonomous, yet my sister was so willful.

“Our pig, how much do you weigh now?”

“Now I’m at fifty, okay? I’m not a pig.”

“52? Or is it 50?”

“…52.”

I’ve been stuck to my sister on the bed for almost an hour now.

“At 165 cm, that’s considered a pig by idol standards, haha!”

“Ugh…”

“Oh my? Is a second-year middle schooler sighing now? I’ve been losing sleep just thinking about you. While someone gets to enjoy affection from her sister, you’re just sighing away.”

When my sister gave me a peck, I pretended to hate it, but inwardly I was smiling. But now it was genuinely exhausting.

I felt her lipstick marks sticking unpleasantly all over my face.

Even though she has her own cool image at school.

“This sister of mine? Recently lost some weight and is now at 48 kilos! If you take away the weight of her chest… it might be around 2 kilos, or maybe more. Closer to 3, perhaps?”

Regardless of whatever I said, my sister was still being herself.

“Anyway, if you take away that weight, you’d be 45 or 46? At that height of 172 cm, that’s too skinny, right? You must be worried about that? Boohoo! You have no idea how much I’ve been starving for my art recently…”

And the same goes for Mom when she showed up.

“My girl is 48 kilos? Why are you so thin? Come out. I’ll make you something right now. Let’s eat a snack before Dad gets here.”

“Hey, don’t interrupt. Just set the table and call me. I need to torture Do-ah.”

“Is my daughter ever going to change when she visits after a while?”

“Mom, do you realize how considerate I am as a daughter? Right now, I’m fully in the process of filial piety. As a parent, when is the saddest time? It’s when your child grows up too soon and no longer argues with you. Out there, I’m called a professional idol more than anyone else, so I’m sure you were genuinely worried about what would happen if I came back and treated you like an adult. You were probably hurt for no reason, right? I fully understand that feeling. That’s why I’m working hard to remain your childish little daughter until I grow old. You can thank me for that. Today’s expression of gratitude can be requested in the form of delicious snacks instead of your nagging?”

“You sure can talk, can’t you?”

“I’ll take that as being hit right on the mark. How about some Jjapaghetti made by Mom after a long time? Please add cheese and a fried egg. Of course, make it a sunny-side up.”

“Geez…”

Still, if my sister got to eat a snack, then at least I would be freed from this hug…

“After I eat Jjapaghetti, I’m going to torment Do-ah again! When I see her, she pretends to hate it. It’s like I’m just a harmless little kid playing a prank on Mom. Right?”

“You really are childish.”

“Really? Am I giving off that image?”

But really, the good thing was that my sister, even though she complained about the upcoming September mock exam, immediately dived into studying as soon as she arrived.

“Are you sleeping?”

In the early morning, she confidently grabbed my pillow and got onto her bed.

“Do-ah, can you move over a bit?”

“……”