Chapter 261
Chapter 261
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 261
Chapter Title: The 1st-Gen and 2nd-Gen Members Gather for Dinner!
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Ugh, in the end, I ended up sitting on Ji-won's lap for a good long while.
And to top it off, the President walked in at the worst possible moment.
I was so embarrassed, my face must've turned beet red.
Plus, Ji-won was way more forward than I'd expected, somehow.
At first, she just put me on her lap and stayed still.
But after a bit, she started timidly asking things like, "Da-jeong, could I maybe hug you just once?" or "C-Could I touch your cheek, just once?" and all sorts of little requests.
They weren't hard to grant, so I went along with all of them...
But it felt kinda weird, like I'd turned into a huggy plush doll or something.
Still, Ji-won looked so happy about it that I figured that was enough. Yeah.
"Kids, order whatever you want."
"Yay! President's the coolest!"
"Is that okay? This place looks super pricey..."
"You think I can't treat you to this? Don't worry, just order."
Anyway, after that, once all the members had gathered, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch.
It was a pretty fancy-looking spot that specialized in beef.
The President must come here often, 'cause they spotted her right away and showed us to a private room, so we could eat without worrying about prying eyes.
"Da-jeong, need a drink?"
"Y-Yeah... I'll have cider, then."
"Cider? Got it."
In the meantime, Ra-hee unnie, sitting next to me, kept looking after me every so often.
She'd ask if I wanted anything else.
And whenever some grilled meat was ready, she'd put it on my plate before her own.
"Lu-Lucrezia sunbae and Lulu sunbae look just like real sisters."
"Well, Da-jeong's just too cute. Anyway, we're outside, so call me Ra-hee unnie casually."
"Call me by name too! Honorifics are fine casual!"
"Ah, yeah. Sorry."
"No need to apologize."
"Hehe, right. That makes sense!"
Ha-yul watched the scene with a look of wonder and chimed in.
Ra-hee unnie and I nodded, correcting the way she addressed us.
Excluding me, the 1st-gen and 2nd-gen members hadn't really met much before.
So it made sense that calling each other "unnie" or by name still felt a bit awkward.
But using our stage names in public would be even riskier.
T-Truth be told, I wanted to hear "unnie" too...
But what if it made Ha-yul uncomfortable?
Better to hold off for now.
Once we get closer, she'll call me unnie on her own!
Anyway, we quickly started chatting like sisters, and soon conversations were flowing lively between the 1st-gen and 2nd-gen members.
Among them, the most eye-catching one was...
"Whoa, Chae-yoon sunbae is Platinum? FPS is total hell for me; I'm such a noob."
"Heh, I've got a bit of talent for FPS. Want me to carry you sometime?"
"For real?! Then let's collab on Hyper War later!"
"Sounds good."
It was a chat between Chae-yoon unnie and Da-yoon, the high-energy reps from 1st-gen and 2nd-gen.
Come to think of it, their names are similar, and so are their personalities. Even their ages match.
Though up close, there are big differences.
For example...
"Why's my shoulder so stiff lately?"
"Ra-hee unnie, isn't it 'cause your chest got bigger? Want me to massage it?"
"Pfft! Cough! Cough!"
"Unnie...! You okay? Here's a tissue."
Yeah, stuff like that.
Chae-yoon unnie's what you'd call strong with sexy jokes—y'know, mildly naughty talk.
But Da-yoon seems totally immune-free to that stuff, from what I've seen.
How to put it... Chae-yoon unnie feels like a high-energy college sunbae or big sis.
Da-yoon feels a bit younger and more bubbly, like a lively junior or little sister.
Even though Da-yoon's technically older than me. It's just the vibe. Yeah.
"Ji-won said she's the same age as me, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Whoa, I finally have a same-age friend. So happy. Wanna swap contacts later?"
"I-I'd love that."
"Sniff, I want a same-age friend too..."
Meanwhile, Ra-hee unnie seemed inwardly thrilled to have a same-age groupmate.
She welcomed Ji-won with a rare bright smile.
On the other hand, Ji-ah unnie, still without a same-age friend, just sighed alone and nursed her beer glass.
I-It's okay, unnie!
Ha-yul's the maknae too, so no same-age friends there either!
Now you two can team up as the new eldest maknaes!
Of course, among Pista fans and some members, there's talk that I'm still the maknae even with Ha-yul here!
But that's just baseless slander!
From now on, maknae duty's obviously Ha-yul's! Obviously!
"Whoa, but Ha-yul's pretty tall. About the same as Chae-yoon unnie—how tall are you?"
"M-Me? Um... 165 cm."
"For real? I'm 161 cm... How's the maknae 165? Total giant baby?"
"B-Baby's not the right word for my age..."
While I was inwardly cheering on the new eldest maknae duo...
The conversation drifting over from Yuna and Ha-yul started bugging me a little.
I knew Ha-yul was tall.
But hearing it like that made me feel oddly guilty.
N-Not that my height's short or anything! Yeah!
"165? Wait, how tall's Da-jeong again?"
"153 cm."
And right on cue, the President asked about my height.
I felt something poke at my chest, but I answered steadfastly anyway.
H-Height isn't everything!
Even if I'm a full 12 cm shorter than Ha-yul!
I'm still undeniably the unnie! Unnie!
"Pfft, maknae. No lying. Didn't you say you've shrunk to 150 lately?"
"N-Nooo! It's 150.6! Rounds to 151!"
I was in the middle of rationalizing when Chae-yoon unnie poked my sore spot.
My height shrinking was already such a worry!
And now trying to shave off 1 cm—no, precisely 0.6 cm!
"Pfft, who shrinks to 151?"
"Ugh... I-I'll grow again! Just watch!"
"Yeah, no way you'll grow. I can see you heading straight for the 140s?"
"Nyaaaaah!"
It was such blatant teasing, but I couldn't let it slide.
No matter what, 140s is too much!
I won't shrink that far, no way!
"Hmm, from what I see, even with Ha-yul here, Da-jeong's still on maknae duty."
"I agree."
"You guys are too mean!"
And as if pouring oil on the fire, the President and So-eun unnie declared me the eternal maknae based on height alone.
"H-Ha-yul, you think so too, right? I don't seem like maknae, right? I'm a reliable sunbae, yeah?!"
"Huh? M-Me...?"
"Yeah! Answer for me, Ha-yul!"
"W-Well..."
In the end, I passed the deciding vote to the actual maknae, Ha-yul.
She rolled her eyes in bewilderment before cautiously speaking up late.
"I-I do think I'm the maknae, but..."
"But?"
"St-Still, Lulu... no, Da-jeong sunbae is so cute... she kinda feels like a little sister."
"Little sister...?!"
"Kuhehe, little sister! Even the maknae treats me like one!"
It was phrased gently, but basically a killing blow, and I stared wide-eyed like I'd been betrayed.
Meanwhile, Chae-yoon unnie cackled beside me, clearly delighted.
The others just nodded like they got it.
"Ah...! B-But of course I see you as a reliable sunbae too! J-Just, your usual behavior is so cute... it makes me wanna hug you and stuff..."
"Ugh..."
Ha-yul hurriedly added an explanation, but it couldn't heal my wounded heart.
In the end, little sister vibes. Too harsh.
I'm plenty mature too, y'know!
"Excuse me. Here's your dessert."
"Oh? Da-jeong's favorite pudding's out."
"Eh? Pudding...?!"
I was about to throw a full tantrum, but Ji-ah unnie's voice made my head snap around instantly.
Gasp, real pudding?
Pudding for dessert at a beef place!
Fancy spots really are different!
And it's handmade, handmade!
"Da-jeong, unnie's full, so you can have mine too if you want?"
"R-Really?"
"Yeah, here."
"Waaah, thank you...!"
Even Ra-hee unnie, famous in our group for her bird-like appetite, had no room for dessert.
She pushed her share of pudding right in front of me.
Thanks to that, I got to devour two servings of delicious pudding, and happiness made me smile automatically.
"Da-jeong, is the pudding yummy?"
"Hehe, super yummy!"
I polished off both bowls in no time, and when the President asked with a pleased look, I answered excitedly.
Huh? Wait, weren't we in the middle of something important just now? What was it?
Eh, if I forgot already, it couldn't have been that big a deal.
Pudding's way yummier anyway. Wonder if I could beg for one more bowl? Nah, probably not.
"Ji-won, mind sending me those pics you took earlier later? Couldn't get any from the side."
"Of course, Ra-hee...! Sending right now."
"Ra-hee’s fine. No need for formalities between same-agers."
Looks like Ra-hee unnie and Ji-won hit it off quick too.
Their chat topics must mesh well.
Yeah, yeah. That's great.