Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 255
Chapter Title: Having a Heart-to-Heart with Ji-ah Unnie!
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Phew, I ate way too much.
We've already hit four different bakeries.
At this point, I've had enough flour to last me for a good while.
"Pfft."
As I patted my full belly, Ji-ah unnie's laughter rang out from across the table.
I suddenly realized how defenseless I'd been and quickly straightened up, but the smile etched on unnie's lips showed no signs of fading.
"Da-jeongie always seems so blessed when she eats. It makes me happy just watching."
"Huh? M-Me...?"
"Yeah. It's like, eating with you makes me feel joyful. You're the type that makes people want to stuff you full."
Chi, is that a compliment? It has to be a compliment, right?
It kinda sounds like she's saying I eat like a total pig, though.
Unnie has no reason to tease me, so it must be praise. Yeah.
"And yet you don't gain any weight—it's honestly miraculous. Da-jeongie, what's your weight these days, anyway?"
"Th-Thirty... six? Something like that, I think."
I hadn't weighed myself recently, so it was a bit fuzzy.
But basing it on the last time I'd checked at the company, unnie's eyes widened in surprise when I answered.
"Huh? Didn't you say 38kg last time?"
"Yeah, it felt like it'd gone down a bit. But honestly, my height shrank too..."
"Your height shrank?"
"Y-Yeah. It's about 151cm now."
To be precise, it's 150.6cm.
B-But rounding up makes it 151cm, so that's fine!
I figured that was an acceptable margin and answered, but unnie looked at me with concern.
"Why's that? You're not having health issues or anything, right?"
Unless you're in old age, people don't just suddenly lose height out of nowhere.
She must have been worried about that.
I'd been surprised at first too, when my height started shrinking little by little.
But I didn't feel any worse health-wise.
Our company does annual health checkups, after all.
Even at my one-year anniversary checkup, everything came back perfectly healthy.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Super healthy, actually? I just started taking supplements recently too."
"Mm, I always thought you should've started sooner... but at least you're taking them now. That's something."
Unnie looked like she had a lot to say but held back.
She pondered for a moment, then flashed a mischievous smile.
"Then shouldn't we update your profile to 151cm? We can't deceive the fans."
"Uuu... I-It's fine! It's based on debut measurements, so no problem!"
"Our maknae is a little liar?"
"Unnie!"
"Puhuhu, just kidding. Sorry."
Uuu, there are things you joke about and things you don't!
Height is such a sensitive topic!
Sure, Ji-ah unnie is tall—next to Ra-hee unnie—so she probably doesn't get it!
With her model proportions over 170cm, she might not understand how short people feel!
"Still, losing weight despite eating so much? You're practically a research subject."
"R-Right? Ra-hee unnie actually said something similar."
"Huh? Ra-hee did?"
I nodded while sipping the last dregs of my chocolate latte, watching unnie's puzzled expression.
"Yeah, she was my first neighbor, so we ate together a lot... She saw me eating and said, 'Da-jeongie eats like that, but why does she seem even skinnier? It's kinda unfair.'"
"I get why she'd feel that way. I think the same. Do you have any idea how hard unnie works dieting?"
"Huh? You diet too, unnie? You don't look like you need to at all..."
I blinked in disbelief at the unexpected news.
And understandably so—whenever we girls got together for chit-chat,
we'd all agree that Ji-ah unnie had the figure we envied most, nine times out of ten.
Of course, Yuna picked Ra-hee unnie for... other reasons.
Yeah, that was a very special case.
I figured it was because Ra-hee unnie's certain assets were overwhelmingly impressive.
Anyway, as our girl talk dragged on, we ran out of topics.
Naturally, the conversation shifted to work.
Not heavy stuff, though—just about the second-gen girls whose teasers dropped recently.
"Oh yeah, the second-gen kids are debuting soon, right?"
"Yes. The President said no later than three weeks from now."
"I peeked at their avatars last time, and their concepts were fun. Who's got you most excited, Da-jeongie?"
Excited? Well, they're all exciting in their own ways.
But purely from a broadcasting perspective...
"Personally, me? Da-yoon. She seems super energetic, like she'll adapt to streaming right away."
"Ah, Da-yoon? Yeah, she does overflow with energy. Higher tension than even Yuna or Chae-yoonie?"
"Hehe, exactly."
Da-yoon really does have sky-high energy.
Sure, Yuna and Chae-yoon unnie are energetic too... but how to put it.
They're high-energy about 200 days out of 365, while Da-yoon feels like 365 straight.
And her voice carries so much too.
I've never met anyone with lungs like that.
Even Chae-yoon unnie started off a bit reserved at first, but not her.
She just radiates super extrovert vibes.
"Seeing the second-gen girls reminded me of before our debut. They look so worried and tense..."
"Were you nervous before debuting too, unnie?"
"Of course. I'm the worrying type. Even at the interview, I bit my tongue and flubbed lines... total mess."
Gasp, I'd never heard that before.
Ji-ah unnie biting her tongue at an interview? Unimaginable.
I always pictured her in a sharp suit, sitting perfectly poised, answering flawlessly.
"And on debut day, I hadn't slept a wink. Pretty much like that for a whole month."
"That bad...?"
"Yeah. Every night before bed, I'd get scared. What do I do tomorrow? What should I show to make people like me? Is this even the right path?"
I see...
Truly an unexpected side of her.
To me—no, to all of us—Ji-ah unnie was always our reliable big sis.
"That's why I'm grateful to you, Da-jeongie. Truth is, I've made it this far thanks to you."
"Huh? M-Me...?"
I was sticking out my tongue in surprise when unnie's sudden gratitude caught me off guard.
D-Did I even do anything for her back then?
I don't think I was any help at all.
"Remember? When we first met at the interview room."
"Yeah, I remember."
How could I forget?
It was the moment I met my fave in real life.
"You said it then. 'If it's Ji-ah that I like so much, you can definitely do it.' Puhuhu, I thought you were confessing or something."
"Uuuu, forget it, please...! I-I was just out of it and blurted it out..."
Thinking back still makes my face burn.
Telling a total stranger I like them—what was I thinking?
Ji-ah unnie's 'What is this kid doing?' face is still vivid.
Though she probably didn't actually think that.
"But that gave me so much strength. Back when I was prepping to be a singer, whenever I struggled, Mom would always say if it was too hard, I could try another path. Of course, she meant it out of worry."
"Right? Watching your daughter suffer must be heartbreaking."
Maybe because I met Yuna's mom recently.
I totally got that feeling and nodded instinctively.
"Honestly, more than that, I wanted to hear 'You can do it.' And right then, someone who said exactly that appeared before me. Funny coincidence."
"I-I see..."
The timing really lined up perfectly by chance.
For me, it's just an embarrassing black history I want to erase.
But for unnie back then, it affirmed her chosen path.
"Even right after debut, when things were toughest, I'd repeat your words to myself to hang on. 'I can do it.' So I always wanted to thank you for that. Sorry it took so long."
"Ehehe, no need. If it helped you, unnie, I'm thrilled."
The casual words I'd tossed out became the driving force for my fave to get here.
Could there be anything happier for a fan?
A bigger high than that delicious bread earlier—my smile bloomed naturally.
"So, when are you gonna take responsibility for unnie?"
"Huh? R-Responsibility...?"
I was grinning like an idiot, slurping the empty chocolate latte.
For a second, I thought Ra-hee unnie was across from me—Ji-ah unnie gazed at me with such a tender smile.
R-Responsibility? What does that mean?
Did I do something wrong?
"Yeah. You confessed to unnie so coolly like that... You're not gonna pretend it didn't happen, right? Unnie's been waiting since that day."
"Unnie!"
"Puhuhu...!"
Realizing too late it was all bait to tease me, I yelled in protest.
But unnie just burst into giggles.
Uuu, so mean...!
I'd already been teased like this at Yuna's house recently—how tough was that!
At this rate, Ra-hee unnie and Chae-yoon unnie will propose marriage next!
"For the wedding, Da-jeongie can be the bride. Right?"
"I'm not doing it!"
In the end, the warm atmosphere vanished without a trace.
We left the cafe with me grumbling at unnie's teasing.