A Song Worth Saving
The song Love Connect was easy on the ears, the kind of track you could listen to without much effort. The first time I heard it, I couldn’t help but wonder why it had never taken off. But the outdated costumes and choreography that felt somehow off had held it back. The bizarre music video concept had also played a part in burying the song so quickly. In more ways than one, it was a truly unfortunate track.
‘They brought it back like this?’
It was the same song, yet it felt completely different. Yeoreum was a natural dancer, but she wasn’t a professional choreographer. That was why she had focused on simple movements and kept the formations uncomplicated. As long as someone wasn’t completely uncoordinated, they could pick it up just by watching.
‘So that’s why she insisted on showing all five of them. The vibe is genuinely different.’
Even though they were temporary members, the full, dazzling stage of a complete Red Blossom unfolded before my eyes. Despite the actress and the former trainee joining in, their chemistry was perfect. The formations never clashed. It looked as if they had always been a five-member group. Each girl’s individual charm brilliantly decorated every frame.
Just by looking at the director and the cameraman’s faces, there was no need to ask for their impressions. If the people filming were this spellbound, how much more would the viewers be?
“Wow, Cha Soyeon… she’s actually insane.”
Cha Soyeon’s girl group performance couldn’t have been any better. She rode the curves of entering and exiting the formations perfectly, seducing her partners with a coquettish smile. The way she slightly stuck out her tongue with those half-lidded eyes—she was the very definition of a temptress. The sensual groove kept sending blood rushing downward. It was an endurance test on par with when Yeoreum had given me that massage.
The housewarming stage came to a close with Yeoreum’s refreshing wink captured in the ending shot. The three male spectators, as if possessed, erupted into endless seal-like applause, raising their voices in excitement.
She said she had simply acted out the expressions she thought looked good while watching girl group stage videos.
If anyone else had said that, it would have sounded arrogant. But coming from Cha Soyeon, it didn’t. When someone with that level of ability said it, it simply became a fact. That was how overwhelmingly good her girl group acting was.
“Manager, what did you think of Chie?”
Only then did I realize I had been so distracted by Cha Soyeon that I had forgotten to praise Chie. The evaluation that she was the ace of C Unit hadn’t come out of nowhere. She had only received crash lessons from Lina, yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of awkwardness.
“She was incredible. If Team Leader Baek Hagyeong had seen it, he would have given an immediate okay.”
Chie, who had been anxiously waiting for my evaluation at the end, lit up with joy.
“If this goes out, no one’s even going to notice the housewarming. How did you come up with this idea?”
I was genuinely impressed. Once the video was released, the impact would probably be historic.
“It was Soyeon unnie’s idea. Since we’re going to make a comeback with all five of us anyway, she suggested we show it off in advance.”
Once again, Cha Soyeon had grabbed everyone by the collar and hard-carried the whole thing. The girls ran off to the kitchen to prepare for the next segment.
Cha Soyeon, who had been following them, glanced back at me and whispered.
“What did you think of the part in the middle where I licked my lips and winked at you, Juwon?”
That had been the most arousing move of all, and she was specifically asking me to evaluate it.
“It wasn’t a joke. How can you act so seductively?”
“It wasn’t acting.”
“Huh?”
“I was genuinely trying to seduce you, Juwon. How could I possibly act out seduction?”
She gave me the exact same expression from the video, then headed into the kitchen.
What… what the hell?
‘I clearly told you to be careful of your personal feelings.’
If Cha Soyeon had been the winner of the stage, then Yeoreum was the undisputed champion of the kitchen.
“It took fifteen minutes during practice, but since the recipes are simple, I shortened it to ten. Manager, please keep a close eye on the time. Sera will help me, while Soyeon unnie, Lina, and Chie will act as the tasting judges. At least two out of the three have to approve for it to pass.”
Having finished her prep, Yeoreum explained the rules. Since they had to cook anyway, they were turning it into entertainment content by adding a variety show concept to the filming.
“We’ll cut out the failed parts during editing, so don’t feel too pressured.”
“No, please include all the failed dishes except for the boring segments that we’ll fast-forward. I want to show the viewers everything raw and unfiltered.”
Yeoreum gripped the knife with burning determination. They would probably overlay some dramatic BGM on this scene later.
When the first dish, salted pollock roe rolled omelet, came out in just nine minutes, everyone burst into exclamations of admiration.
“It doesn’t smell fishy at all! The salty flavor is perfect! Pass!!”
“It’s much softer than Teacher Park’s rolled omelet. Approved.”
Every time a new dish appeared, delicious reactions and all sorts of flowery praise heated up the kitchen. The sight of beautiful women tasting food with expressions of ecstasy comparable to orgasms was literally a spectacular sight.
“If we had filmed cold noodles like this, the ratings would have been at least double, right?”
“I’d say triple.”
The director and I watched the tasting scenes with completely dazed expressions. It was a rare spectacle that satisfied both lust and appetite at the same time. This too would probably rack up views just as much as the cover dance.
We decided to insert a cut of Chie’s greeting as if it were an insert shot.
“Um… hello, my name is Matsuoka Chie. I was a second-year trainee, but I left my agency due to some circumstances. I’m currently living with Sera unnie. I thought the housewarming performance would be fun, so I joined in. I haven’t officially debuted yet, but since this is my first stage, I hope you’ll watch it kindly…”
Her slightly awkward tone and the way she glanced around nervously only made her cuter. Slipping it in between Cha Soyeon’s cover dance and Yeoreum’s cold noodle segment would leave a nice impression.
The director, who had captured plenty of satisfying cuts, was grinning from ear to ear.
“I’ll edit it as quickly as possible and send it over. This one feels like it’s truly going to be legendary, so look forward to it.”
With that, he packed up his equipment and left.
“Haa, this feels even harder than filming for the music show.”
“Still, it’s been a while since we filmed something like this, so it was fun.”
“Bring out everything we made earlier. Let’s start the actual housewarming.”
“Okay.”
The girls bustled about, laying out food on the table. I had been so focused on timing everything earlier that I hadn’t noticed, but about half of it was drinking food.
“It feels a bit disappointing to eat all this without any alcohol.”
“Why wouldn’t there be alcohol?”
Yeoreum said as she pulled out soju and beer from the fridge.
“We’re not kids, and it’s a housewarming. There has to be alcohol.”
“Sera unnie and I get drunk after a few glasses, but Yeoreum unnie can really hold her liquor. Chie, can you drink well?”
“I’ve never tried before.”
“Then today’s the day you learn.”
Lina handed a glass to a teary-eyed Chie.
“I brought alcohol as a housewarming gift too. It’s whiskey that women like, apparently.”
The whiskey Cha Soyeon had brought was a Balvenie 30-year. Even I recognized that one. A friend of mine had brought a Balvenie 12-year when he got into a big company and was treating everyone to celebrate his employment. He had bragged that it was the first time he’d bought a foreign liquor over 100,000 won. When I looked it up later, I found out you could buy it at the mart for around 130,000 won.
‘They had a 30-year version?’
It started with a fruity, sweet aroma—definitely a whiskey women enjoyed. It crept up on you, so it was also popular as a “work alcohol” for seduction. But that 30-year bottle, even the case looked extraordinary. I opened my phone and searched for the price.
‘What… the hell?’
It was over five million won. Even at that price, supply was so low that it was extremely difficult to obtain.
“Why is your face like that? Did some weird article come out?”
Yeoreum asked with a worried expression.
“No, it’s just that the whiskey Soyeon brought looked expensive, so I looked it up.”
“And?”
“It’s over five million won.”
Everyone except Cha Soyeon, who already knew, froze solid. A moment later, dolphin-like screams echoed throughout the entire living room.
‘I clearly told you to be careful of your personal feelings.’
“Are you crazy?! How are we supposed to drink this!”
Everyone waved their hands frantically, pushing the bottle away. The empty spot was quickly filled by beer and soju.
“I received it as a gift, so I didn’t know the price. But what’s the big deal about five million won? Once you all make a successful comeback, this much won’t even look like the price of bottled water to you.”
“We haven’t succeeded yet,” Yeoreum stubbornly refused.
Cha Soyeon narrowed her eyes and changed her target of attack to me.
“What kind of man is so cheap that he looks up the price of alcohol? With that kind of attitude, how are you ever going to take me?”
“Take… unnie?”
Yeoreum’s eyes widened into perfect circles. Sensing danger, I quickly grabbed a glass and jumped in.
“Hahaha, we haven’t even drunk anything yet and she’s already drunk. Let’s have a drink together. I’m thirsty.”
In the meantime, Cha Soyeon was staring intently at my phone screen. It was a blog post introducing the Balvenie 30-year. She read through it completely, then looked up with a meaningful smile.
“Girls. That whiskey… is apparently super popular as a ‘work alcohol.’”
“What’s work alcohol?”
Question marks popped up over the Red Blossom girls’ heads.
“It’s the liquor a man gives a woman when he’s trying to make a move. You know how when a guy likes a girl, he wants to try all sorts of things? That’s the drink he uses then. It’s much easier to do those things once the woman is drunk.”
Everyone’s eyes widened again, and flames seemed to rise from their backs. Just how far was this woman willing to push the atmosphere?
She brought back the whiskey that had been pushed into the corner.
“I’ll ask again. Who wants to drink this?”
Yeoreum shot her hand up. Sera raised hers with a look that said it was too late. Lina glanced at me, blushed, and shyly raised her hand. Chie lowered her head deeply and quietly raised hers.
“See? Juwon, please pour each of them a glass.”
“But why aren’t you raising your hand, unnie? Aren’t you going to drink?”
Cha Soyeon picked up the bottle and grinned.
“I’m going to pour for all of you and then drink straight from the bottle.”