Episode 12: The Culprit Was Dad
After 24 years of living with a younger sister, I’ve concluded that I don’t agree with the notion that women are neater than men.
My sister’s and my rooms are equally chaotic ecosystems with similar levels of disorganization.
Of course, it’s case-by-case, but friends with younger or older sisters have said similar things:
“They only clean up when they’re going out. At home, they’re freaking filthy.”
Even our parents agreed.
They said that aside from my male-specific body odor, I’m actually better at household chores.
I at least do what I’m told, while my sister doesn’t even pretend to try.
At home, I’m in charge of sorting recyclables and taking out the food waste.
Putting that expertise to use, I decided to tackle the source of the garbage smell in Free Sense’s dorm while the members got ready.
“Where’s the food waste bag?”
Seung-ah, drying her hair in the room, turned off the hairdryer and rushed out in a panic.
“Just leave it! I’ll do it.”
I responded casually, making my case.
“Nah, if you leave this any longer, it’s gonna spawn lifeforms. Food waste needs to be cleared right away, or you’ll get bugs. Don’t you smell that rotting corpse stench in your dorm?”
“What, really? It’s only been a day…”
“A day? No way. This has been sitting for at least 48 hours, easy.”
“It smells that bad?”
“It hit me the second I walked in.”
“Really? How did we not notice?”
“Maybe your olfactory cells are pickled in the stench.”
“Pfft! No way, it’s not that bad! We usually clean it up right away.”
“Your ‘usually’ and my ‘usually’ seem to mean different things.”
Seung-ah’s face flushed with embarrassment as she hurriedly approached the sink.
I blocked her with my back, put on rubber gloves, and started on the dishes.
“I’ll handle it, so you don’t have to see this mess first thing in the morning. The sink drain needs cleaning too.”
“I just need to dry my hair, so I’ll finish quick and help.”
Your hair won’t even be dry before I’m done with my expert skills.
As I scrubbed the dishes with dish soap and a sponge, Ah-hyun, the first to finish getting ready, appeared behind me with a voice like she’d just witnessed something scandalous.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
She tapped my shoulder and gestured for me to step aside.
“Take off the gloves.”
“Why?”
“Men shouldn’t be in the kitchen. Give it to me.”
“Didn’t expect such an outdated comment from you.”
“Come on, hurry up.”
Ah-hyun, frowning with determination as if she wouldn’t negotiate, forcibly peeled off my gloves.
“I said I’ll do it.”
“You’re in the way, so go sit over there.”
Kicked out of the battlefield, I sat at the dining table, watching her work.
She seemed confident, and honestly, she was impressive.
Her dishwashing movements and efficiency were clearly not those of a novice.
“You all ready?”
“Yup.”
“You must’ve done a lot of dishes. That’s no amateur skill.”
“Doesn’t everyone do this? Oh, wait, no. Seung-ah unnie and Jin-ah are terrible at chores. You’d think they grew up in a palace—they didn’t even know how to use a washing machine at first.”
“Really? So you usually do everything?”
“We split tasks, but it’s so frustrating I end up doing most of it. I got lazy the past few days, though, and it turned into this mess. You said it smelled?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t I notice?”
“Maybe you’re all immune to this harsh ecosystem.”
“Ugh, annoying. I shouldn’t let it get this bad.”
This was unexpected.
I thought Seung-ah would be the domestic one and Ah-hyun the sheltered flower, but it was the complete opposite.
Jin-ah? I didn’t even have expectations for her.
Ah-hyun boldly scooped up the food scraps from the sink drain and neatly packed them into a bag.
Watching Ah-hyun handle the chores, I tossed out a question I’d been mulling over since yesterday.
“Don’t you guys do events often?”
“It’s not like we can just decide to do them. The company has to arrange it.”
“Have you ever done stuff like university festivals or local events?”
“We did a bunch right after debut. Not at big universities, though.”
The reason for my question?
It’s because of the future video I got yesterday.
It was a compilation of “absurd girl group events,” and it included a glimpse of Free Sense’s future.
The video specified what kind of event it was, but this time, I’m not so sure.
Unlike the hospital visit, which clearly predicted a “heartwarming” and “buzzworthy” outcome, this video’s intent was ambiguous—was it helpful for Free Sense, or just a laughable moment?
For one, the event itself was utterly ridiculous.
I have no idea how it got booked or what the company was thinking when they accepted it, but even for a struggling girl group, it was not the kind of venue they should be performing at.
Soon, Seung-ah and Jin-ah finished getting ready and joined us in the kitchen.
I asked all three of them,
“What’s the most absurd event you’ve ever done?”
Seung-ah let out a small groan before answering.
“It wasn’t exactly absurd, but there was a funny one. I think it was a company year-end party or something, and the CEO requested we add his favorite trot song to our setlist.”
“Oh, I remember that! It was before Jin-ah joined, right?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
Seung-ah was already chuckling as she recounted the story.
“So we even choreographed a routine for it.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But then the CEO got up on stage while we were performing it.”
“Was he drunk?”
“No, there wasn’t any alcohol. He was sitting super seriously in the front row, then suddenly hopped up.”
“That’s not something a CEO would typically do…”
“Right? We were totally shocked.”
Apparently, once the CEO started dancing, the executives followed suit, awkwardly joining in for an impromptu dance party.
One middle-aged executive even attempted a moonwalk, only to fall flat on his back in a classic slapstick moment. The Free Sense members were laughing so hard they could barely sing, wrapping up the story.
Hearing Seung-ah tell it, it was mildly amusing, but if I’d been there, it would’ve been golden buzzer-level hilarious. Edited into a YouTube video, it could’ve gone viral.
But the event I saw in the future video wasn’t on that level.
It was less funny and more… pitiful, almost heartbreaking.
Recalling the members’ faces, giving their all at such a low-quality event, still tugs at my heart.
A company like VIP Entertainment could easily book events if they wanted to.
They could even bundle Free Sense with GraceOne.
But the reason they don’t book events for Free Sense is likely financial.
For a group like them, event fees are probably rock-bottom, and it’s not cost-effective to mobilize for that.
Say Free Sense, a three-member group, gets paid 1 million won for an event.
Split 50-50 with the company, the company takes 500,000 won. After subtracting salon costs, outfit rentals, and labor, the profit is laughably small compared to the effort.
Plus, the window for boosting group recognition through events has long passed, so it’s not even worth the trouble.
There was a time when GraceOne’s university festival booking fee became a hot topic among fans. Rumor had it they earned around 50 million won for a 20-minute performance.
That was months ago, so they’re probably charging even more now.
Anyway, I don’t know when or how the event from the future video will get booked, but based on the background and the audience’s outfits, it seemed like late spring or early summer.
Which means it’s not far off.
“But why ask about events? Did the company book us one?”
Seung-ah’s deer-like eyes sparkled with hope.
“No, I was just curious.”
“Ugh, don’t get my hopes up.”
“You guys don’t know how much you get paid for events, right?”
“We don’t know anything about that stuff.”
“Got it…”
This is tricky.
Even if that event from the future video gets booked, I can’t push for it with the same confidence as the hospital visit since I don’t know what outcome it’ll bring.
The hospital visit sparked some buzz and landed an interview, but this event could make them look desperate or ridiculous…
Considering Team Leader Jeon Min-yong opposed the hospital visit, he’s not always right, so my judgment and opinion matter here.
The girls’ situation is so tricky.
Well, I’ll deal with the future when it comes.
“Everyone ready?”
“Yup.”
“Let’s go.”
The interview with New Media News took place at a café in front of their office.
Team Leader Jeon had given the reporter some guidelines beforehand.
Since they approached us first, not the other way around, he warned they might slip in provocative questions.
First, no questions comparing us to GraceOne.
Second, focus on forward-looking questions, not their rocky past.
To keep the members’ interview natural, Jeon and I waited at another table.
While the members were interviewed, I asked him about events.
As I expected, the reason was the lack of a hit song and the low profit margin compared to event fees.
Recalling the setlist Free Sense performed in the future video, I asked,
“Can they change the setlist to match the event vibe?”
“Sure, if the organizers request a specific song, we might do it, but that feels too low-rent. Maybe for trainees or amateur performance teams, but these girls have released albums.”
“Oh… yeah, that makes sense.”
Jeon glanced at me, giving a knowing smile.
“You’ve gotten pretty attached to them, huh?”
“Uh…”
“It’s always like that with your first artists. You can’t help but care. I was the same.”
“Who was your first artist?”
“I started with actors.”
“Are they still active?”
“No.”
“Oh…”
“Would’ve been nice if they made it… Things ended badly.”
His expression turned skeptical and a bit sad, so I didn’t pry further.
The interview wrapped up in a great atmosphere.
Afterward, we took photos with the café terrace as the backdrop and called it a day.
“How was the vibe?”
“Man, the members were so fun to talk to. It felt less like an interview and more like chatting with cute younger sisters.”
“Please write it up nicely.”
“Of course. Reporter Park Ji-hoon was very insistent about that too.”
“We’re just grateful for the kind attention.”
“With such good hearts, they’re bound to do well. I’ve been in the entertainment beat for seven years, so I’ve got an eye for this. Free Sense is the late-bloomer type.”
Jeon, who usually kept a poker face, couldn’t hide a bittersweet smile.
With their contract termination looming, it must sting.
We all just hoped the reporter’s instincts were right.
***
A few days later, the source of that absurd event from the future video was revealed.
“Creation No. 1.”
“Yes, Creator?”
“Your group’s called Free Sense, right?”
“Yup. Why?”
“So, there’s this high school alumni event back in my hometown. Could they come perform a song?”
“Huh?”
“I mentioned you’re their manager to the alumni president, and he asked if they could perform.”
“…Dad, you’re the culprit.”
“Huh? Culprit for what? Did I commit a crime?”
“No, no.”
It was my dad.
The organizer of that event was my dad!
“I’ll check with the company.”
“Good. They’ll match the performance fee as best they can, so see if you can make it happen. They’re gonna hire a singer anyway, so might as well keep it in the family.”