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When I arrived at the subway entrance near Daehak-ro, where we agreed to meet, Wooa was already there waiting.
I approached her quietly from behind trying to be as invisible as possible and spoke in as deep of a voice as I could muster.

“Hello, you’re just my ideal type, so…”

“Yes?”

When my Unni turned around and confirmed that it was me she smiled and replied.

“Oh, sorry~ I have a boyfriend.”

“Oh, now that I see your face from the front, you’re not my ideal type. Have a nice love life with your lover.”

“Ah, What the heck? You should ask me one more time!”

“I’m sorry, you’re not my ideal type…”

However today, Unni’s face looked different from usual.

“Hmm? Unni are you wearing makeup?”

“Yeah, why? Does it look bad?”

“No, that’s not it,. but it’s just that this is the first time I’ve seen you like this.. You’ve never come to practice with makeup on.”

“Of course, I went to practice comfortably. But today, I’m out to have fun. Have you never tried makeup on, Dohee?”

“What elementary school student wears makeup?”

“I did it even when I was in elementary school.”

Well, when I go to school these days, I see all the girls, including Sujin, wearing makeup.
Why would elementary school students even wear makeup?

“I don’t need to do all that stuff because I’m naturally pretty, with just sunscreen.”

Unni hugged me tightly and said,

“Right, our Dohee is pretty even without makeup.”

“So, where are we going?”

“I don’t know either, it’s my first time here.”

Well, how much can a first-year middle schooler have explored around?
Of course this is my first time as well.

“Then let’s just start with lunch.”

“Yes let’s do that~”

“What do you want to eat, Unni?”

“Anything is fine. Let’s eat whatever Dohee wants to eat.”

Anything? I just pointed to the first place I saw and said.

“Then let’s have gukbap¹ over there.”

“Um… sorry, I had soup for breakfast in the morning before coming here…”

“Gukbap for breakfast?”

“Yeah.”

Did you drink alcohol and needed a hangover cure or something?
Yeah, I guess it’s weird to eat the same thing twice in a row, especially for breakfast.
I searched for good restaurants near Daehak-ro on my phone.

“Then let’s go to this famous tonkatsu² place nearby.”

“Ah… Tonkatsu. Can’t we have something else? I’m trying to watch my weight these days, so fried food is kind of…”

Yeah well…, recently she’s been only eating low-calorie food at work and she kept saying she was gaining weight recently.

“Okay okay, then choose something you can eat.”

“No, it’s okay. Really, you choose. I don’t mind as long as it’s not what I said before.”

“Really this time?”

“Yes!”

I said pointing to a Japanese restaurant among the establishments that came up in the search results.

“How about sushi here? It doesn’t look bad.”

“Sorry, I can’t eat fishy food. Just that one exception.”

“Just starve then.”

I just left my Unni and walked to a gukbap restaurant alone.

“Aaang, I’m sorry! I’ll really go anywhere.”

Sigh.
I guess I should just go somewhere that a girl would like

“Ha… Let’s just eat pasta. Is that okay?”

“Yes!”

My Unni was grinning widely.
She’s so ecstatic that she’s dying.

We arrived at the pasta restaurant, sat down, and started looking at the menu, choosing our food.

“Dohee, what are you going to order?”

“Anything is fine.”

“Aang, I’m sorry~ Next time I won’t say ‘anything’.”

“Then I’ll have the Shanghai pasta³.”

“Got it! I’ll have the rosé pasta. As for the pizza, can we skip that?”

When I was a man, I could eat both pasta and pizza and still not feel full, but now that I’m a girl, just eating pasta alone fills me up.

“That’s fine, just order pasta.”

“Okay~”

After ordering out food, we talked about what to do next after eating.

“Dohee, where do you want to go after we eat?”

“Isn’t there anything you want to do, Unni? You’re the one who suggested we meet up.”

“I’m happy just walking around with you, Dohee~”

“Then let’s stop by a nearby cafe for some dessert, walk around to see what’s around, and then go to a coin karaoke.”

“Yeah, let’s do that, hehe.”

Every time my Unni meets my eyes, she grins, showing how much she likes me.
I can really feel how much she likes me. Well, I like my Unni as well.

When I look in the mirror and meet my own eyes, the corners of my mouth go up without me even realizing it, so it’s no wonder my Unni does too..
I have many sins.
Many sins~

“By the way, did you know our agency will be holding auditions for new trainees soon? I heard that applications will be open on our website starting next month.”

“Yeah, I know~ It’ll be fun when new trainees join, and we all take lessons together.”

Even though they’ll be competitors at the end of the day, my Unni doesn’t seem to be worried.
I don’t know what level the new trainees who will be joining soon will be, but I’m not sure if Wooa’s gentle nature can handle the competition.
I read online that the competition between trainees can be intense. What should I do about Unni?

Soon, our food came.

“Thanks for the food.”

“Dohee wait a minute! Let me take a picture first.”

Unni took out her phone and started taking pictures of the food.

“Unni, do you have Instagram?”

Since we’re trainees, the company has banned us from using SNS. They don’t want us to accidentally say something that could get us into some mishaps later.

“No?”

“Then why take pictures of the food?”

“Just because it’s pretty.”

Even after living as a girl for 12 years, I still don’t understand it.
If you’re going to post the food pictures on SNS, maybe, but why take pictures otherwise?

After finishing our meal,
Unni and I decided to walk to a famous cafe we had found earlier to help digest our food.
While walking to the cafe, I noticed Wooa was no longer beside me.

‘What, where did you go?’

When I looked back, Unni was standing in front of an accessory stall.

“Dohee, look at this. Isn’t this ring really cute?”

“It’s just so-so.”

“Should we get matching friendship rings?”

“Why get friendship rings? It’s a waste of money.”

“Ah~ come on~ please?”

Sigh, she’s like a kid.

“Ajumma how much is this?”

“Two for 20,000 won⁴!”

It looks so cheap but it is expensive.
The sign even says ‘Only cash or bank transfer is accepted.
As I kept staring at the lady, she seemed a bit embarrassed and said,

“Well, since such a pretty girl is buying, Ajumma will give you a discount. Just 18,000 won~”

She only gave me a discount equal to the value-added tax.

“I’ll transfer the money.”

Anyway since I am earning money while living as a trainee, I might as well buy it for her, thinking of it as playing with a child.

“Dohee, I’ll buy it!”

Unni took out 18,000 won from her wallet.
Kid, what money do you have?”

“I said I’d buy it, so I’ll buy it. Okay?”

“Then so be it.”

As for the cafe, I’ll pay for it, what else is there.

After buying the rings, we started walking to the cafe again, but Unni disappeared once again.
What is she going to buy now?
When I turned around this time I saw her being approached by a man.

“Can I get your number? I really like you.”

Looking at his face, he looked like a college student.
Unni, not knowing what to do, was fidgeting, as if it was her first time experiencing this situation.
At this rate, she’s going to give her number.

“Unni, what are you doing?”

“That’s… they asked for my number.”

“Hey.”

“Yeah⁵?”

He responded informally.

“Yes, my Unni is a first-year middle school student. Please go away.”

Even though she put on makeup today and looked a bit more mature, even if he got the benefit of the doubt, at most, she looks like a high school student. Why would he do something like this?

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The man apologized several times and then left.

“I was really scared.”

“What’s there to be scared of? Next time someone asks for your number, just say you’re sorry and refuse. Are you going to be like that even after debuting?”

“Won’t you be there to stop them for me, Dohee?”

“It hasn’t even been decided if we’ll debut together. So what are you talking about?”

I took care of Unni and headed to the cafe again.
Before long, someone called out to me this time.

“Excuse me.”

Just simply going to a cafe is difficult.
What is it this time?
I turned around to answer.

“Yes? Me?”

Why is this Ahjussi staring at me?
No way, surely this Ahjussi isn’t trying to pick me up?
No, surely not~
And clearly to anyone who looks at me, I look like an elementary school student, right?

“Yes, student. Are you interested in the entertainment industry?”

So it wasn’t someone asking for my number, but street casting.
Finally, I’ve surpassed my Dad’s number of castings.
It’s a monumental day.
I need to brag about it when I get home.

“I’m sorry, I’m not interested.”

“Are you really not interested? Student, you should definitely become a celebrity.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If your friend here also comes for an audition as well, you both will get selected. Why don’t you at least try auditioning?”

“I’m really not interested, I’m sorry.”

I grabbed Unni’s hand and turned away.
But the Ahjussi showed no intention of giving up and followed us, speaking again.

“Student, can you at least give me your number?”

I should just be honest and tell him.

“Actually, both my Unni and I already have separate companies.”

“Oh really? Which company?”

As a private trainee, I can’t reveal which company it is.

“I’m sorry.”

The Ahjussi sighed and took a business card out of his inner pocket.

“Our company usually doesn’t reveal our name during castings, but I’ll make an exception because it’s a shame.”

The business card read:
‘JS Entertainment, New Talent Development Team, Casting Director Hwang Taegyun.’

Oh.
JS Entertainment, so it’s one of the top four agencies?
I need to brag about this twice as much when I get home.

“Dohee, let me see too.”

I handed the business card to Unni.

“Wow! It’s JS!”

The man smiled at my Unni’s reaction and replied.

“That’s right, it’s JS. Come work with us.”

Should I listen to the contract terms?
No, that’s too slimy.
I have a sense of due diligence to my company.

“I’m still sorry.”

“No wait, which company are you with, then? Are they from the other big 4 agencies? ZY? HARU? REPRO?”

“I can’t tell you… I’m sorry. Let’s go, Unnie.”

Awesome!
I’ll have a story to tell when I debut later.
Turning around we started heading back to the cafe, but my Unni seemed to have some regrets.

“Wow, it’s really a shame about JS.”

“What’s the shame? Our agency is good too.”

“But it’s still one of the big four major entertainment agencies.

“We’ll just have to debut and make our agency one of the top five entertainment agencies”

“Really?”

“Yes, so just focus on practicing hard and worry about debuting.”

“Yes!”

.
.
.

I played with Wooa Unni and returned back home.

“I’m back~”

Doa was the first to come and welcome me back.

“Unni, you’re home?”

“Yes, I brought a delicious cake for my Doa~”

“Unni, you’re the best!”

Mom and Dad didn’t even show their faces when their daughter came home.

“Where are Mom and Dad?”

“They’re in their bedroom.”

I opened the door to their bedroom and walked in.

“What are you doing when your daughter comes home…”

Dad and Mom were lying on the bed, with Dad giving Mom an arm pillow.
Why are they still like this in the evening?

“Oh, our daughter is back?”

My Dad said.

“Aren’t you embarrassed in front of your daughter? Cuddling like that since early evening.”

Mom, who was lying down quietly watching TV and eating snacks, said.

“What’s there to be ashamed of.”

“Why is Mom eating snacks at dinner time? It’ll ruin your appetite.”

“Is it that late already? Doa must be hungry. I need to make you some food quickly.”

“Only Doa is hungry? What about me?”

“You too, Dohee~ Okay? So, did our princess have a good time?”

“Fufu…”

Mom saw me laughing strangely again and said.

“Here she goes again. Tell me, what is it this time.”

“Ah, look at this business card.”

Mom took the business card from me and exclaimed loudly.

“Omo! This is JS! Really?”

“Fufu, Dad has been cast only once. But Lee Dohee? She got cast twice by major agencies. No comparison, only praise.”

“So what did you say to them?”

“What else would I say? I said sorry and came back home. Why? Lee Dohee is a woman of loyalty.”

“Yes, you did well. The company treats you well, so you have to be conscientious.”

“I’m just being treated according to my abilities. ‘Only just’⁶, loyalty from Lee Dohee.”

“Sigh, I really don’t know why my daughter is acting like this.”

“’Mom’⁷, are you jealous?”

“Sigh.”

The next day.

After my tactless carefree Wooa Unni told everyone that I got street-casted by JS Entertainment, when I went to work I had a meeting with Team Leader Jeong Sohyun and Vocalist Management Director Lee Junghye.

I told them I like our company so I wouldn’t go anywhere.

1. Gukbap is a Korean dish of cooked rice in hot soup, where the rice is typically mixed into the soup
2. japanese pork cutlets
3. Shanghai pasta is a dish that combines pasta with a variety of ingredients, including chicken, vegetables, and a sauce.
4. Currently that would be around 15 dollars usd
5. 응-informal way to say yes or give an affirmation
6. she said this in English – RAWS had English mixed with Korean text
7. said this in English