Chapter 57: Sitcom

Seo Choco.

Not just among us, but even among the fans, she had already become famous just by that name.

In fact, since she had once again proven the cold(?) sibling affection in the last video message, reactions were heated across various online communities.

“- I want to meet Seo Choco ss i so badly lololololololololol. Just hearing the name automatically turns into the Laugh‑Suppress Challenge.”

“└ But is her real name really Seo Choco…?”

“└ How can someone’s name be Seo… Choco?”

“└ lololololololololol”

“└ She’s just a normal person, so please don’t make fun of her;;”

“└ But… still… but… however… I literally can’t not tease her, can I?”

“└ I’m sorry, Choco‑nim ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

“└ Her name is the same as my dog at home, so I feel a weird sense of closeness.”

“└ Maybe she’s a poodle?”

“└ Wow… you too?”

“└ lololololololololol poodle lolol. I get the joke and it just makes me so mad it’s too funny.”

“- Probably because of the video message, but I rediscovered an older video that the algorithm picked again—no matter how much I watch, Ha Junseo “The Trulugh” is seriously so funny.”

“└ ‘Whose head did that joke come from? If you say that on camera, you’ll get criticized for being unfunny.’”

“└ ‘Our parents did it.’”

“└ ‘The parents must be trendy?’”

“└ lololololololololol ah”

“└ That wavering pupil was really… lolololololol”

“└ Thinking about how our Junseo with that kind personality must have had his heart sink—lol so cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

“- I want to live in the Choco‑Haim household, every single day would feel like a sitcom.”

“└ Right? For real.”

“└ Just from the video message, you already know this place is sitcom material lolol.”

“└ All the other families are full of affection… love… my son… that kind of vibe, but the Choco‑Haim household is lolol the script‑reading Laugh‑Suppress Challenge lolol.”

“└ Their video message had absolutely zero percent emotion or sincerity….”

Does Seo Choco‑ssi know that she has become such a celebrity?

Her younger sibling, Seo Haim, didn’t seem to know.

“Oh, why did I call… that was scary.”

Seo Haim scratched his head in an embarrassed expression.

So even that bright older sister could feel fear toward someone.

Cha Seongbin sat down next to Seo Haim, eyes sparkling.

“If it’s okay, I’d like to say hello too.”

“That would be fine… Ah!”

Seo Haim prepared to answer the call and urgently warned.

“There’s just one thing I need to say: if you laugh or tease when you say my sister’s name, things will get really bad.”

“Ah, of course.”

It made sense—after all, it was a name she must have been teased for a lot during school years, so sensitivity was understandable.

Besides, not to be narrow‑minded, but in this day and age!

A person’s name could really be ‘Choco.’

If you think deeply, it’s not such a strange name after all.

Right?

“Seongbin‑ssi, you say hello first.”

“Oh, yes. Sure.”

Click—

Seo Haim switched to speakerphone.

And then.

“Hello, Seo Cho…co ss i?”

Cough.

At Seongbin’s one careful word, I bit my lower lip tightly.

I had heard the name so much that I had gotten used to it, but Seongbin’s overly cautious way of saying it triggered my laugh button.

Why on earth! Why call someone’s name so awkwardly!

Can’t you just say it normally?

—……

You mustn’t laugh.

You mustn’t laugh…

Repeating it to myself to quell stray thoughts, at that moment,

A reluctant voice came through the handset.

—Yes?

Oh?

Seongbin rolled his eyes slowly.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

As if asking that with her gaze. Seo Haim shrugged hos shoulders nonchalantly.

What is this?

Because the name is so unusual, maybe she doesn’t like being called that directly?

Or did she already change her name?

I too floated a question mark in my mind and turned to look at Seongbin.

In an even more cautious voice than before, Seongbin spoke again.

“Seo Choco‑ssi….”

—Yeess?

“Your name is… Seo Choco‑ssi, isn’t it?”

A suffocating silence followed…

After a long moment,

—I’m Seo Cho‑young.

Huh?

Seo… Cho… young?

What?

Seongbin and I simultaneously looked toward Seo Haim.

How did this happen…?

“…….”

Hey.

“That… that’s the name I call her when teasing her….”

“Not her real name…?”

“Oh no, it isn’t. It’s just a nickname used at home, more or less like that.”

That wasn’t a nickname—it sounded like teasing?

Seo Haim waved his hands, his face flushed red.

Right at that moment.

A cold voice sounded over the handset.

—Hey.

That was a chilling statement.

—I kept hearing ‘Choco‑Choco’ around everywhere… turns out you were the culprit?

You made the entire nation think that Seo Haim’s sister was Seo Choco!

People thought Seo Haim’s sister was Seo Choco‑ssi.

Honestly… I would deserve to be punched right now.

Seongbin panicked and quickly explained.

“Yes, Seo Haim‑ssi was the one spreading the false fact. We only just found out.”

“That’s not false. Her prenatal name really was Choco, I swear.”

“That was a prenatal name, not her real name.”

—Hey, Seo Haim.

From Seo Choco‑ssi—no, Seo Cho‑young‑ssi—one word conveyed deep anger.

Only then did I strongly sympathize with the comment I read yesterday.

Their household is definitely a sitcom.

I hadn’t seen her face in person, but the fact that Seo Cho‑young‑ssi was grinding her teeth from afar was enough to convey through her voice.

Her line, uttered like she gritted her teeth, echoed softly.

—I’ll beat you up real bad when you come home to your parents’ house.

Wow.

“Eek, scary.”

Seo Haim looked pallid and hastily hung up the call.

4 AM in the practice room.

After the false rumor about Ms. Seo Choco’s name was exposed, the teammates, pumped up from it, practiced cheerfully and then returned to the dorm.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t go back to the dorm.

I was reworking the entire formation so that Kang Si‑woo, who became center for the final part, would be more visible—I was modifying all the movement paths.

The struggle of a performance leader.

“Ugh…”

I crawled to where the speaker was, my body exhausted.

The mere distance of about two meters felt as vast as the Pacific Ocean.

I felt like I was gonna die, seriously.

Tied to you

I couldn’t break this chain

Prepare a very sharp blade

I’ll struggle until I escape from you

Tied to you

I couldn’t break this chain….

Click—

Only after turning off the speaker did the practice room become quiet.

“……”

When we received the song “Cheoeum” (First), I thought the style didn’t suit me, but the song itself was very well chosen….

That was after listening a few times.

Now I was gradually getting bored of it.

I had listened to the same section on repeat several times.

“Tied to you, I can’t break this chain~.”

It was choreography where you swing your right arm widely and beat your body hard.

In the first verse, Kang Si‑woo tore off a rope she was bound with for strong impact, but the second verse needed to flow directly into Cha Seongbin’s rap part.

Originally, Seongbin would pop out from behind with a jump next, but….

Was there choreography that could really deliver impact in this section?

Me, self‑styled sexy Do Seohan.

I had given up on being sexy, but I still had to make this look sexy for the sake of performance.

While I was lost in deep thought,

“Oh!”

A killer choreography idea came to mind.

“Thigh sweep….”

The power of classic moves is strong.

This would definitely work, I told myself.

If Cha Seongbin swept his thigh once with that sly face, and the other members backed it with powerful choreography….

Hmm. The formation looks pretty and the composition is good.

I thought this was going to work.

Of course I had to get the person’s permission first.

I hastily took out my phone and opened Seongbin’s chat.

At this hour he might be sleeping….

But he left the practice room about an hour ago, so maybe he was still awake.

Hyung

Hey, you know

Ding—

└ Hmm?

The reply came immediately.

Indeed this hyung must be supremely nocturnal.

Tap tap.

With one hand I typed quickly.

Could you sweep your thigh once?

I didn’t actually need a reply. I knew Seongbin wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

Rankings were sure to skyrocket soon, so she’d do anything, of course.

Sure enough.

Loud notification alarms rang one after another.

Ding—

Ding—

└ Why are you asking me something like this~

└ Just leave it to me hehe I can do anything

└ After all, you’re our youngest performance leader hehe

Ah.

I didn’t like that tone.

And Seongbin took it further.

└ If I’m told to crawl, I’ll crawl, leader‑nim~

Tap tap.

His chat slyness exceeded the threshold on the text, so I quickly replied.

Then shall we add that to the choreography too?

└ ?

└ Seriously?

└ That’s a bit;;

This person got flustered.

wasn’t I?

└ I’m scared ><

I’m the most scared of this hyung.

I clicked my tongue shortly and shoved the phone into my pocket.

I always feel this….

Compared to Jin Sehyun, he seems more of a keijun‑aessum (existing idol) — so why on earth is he called a mental jellyfish?

By now I felt such a gap from what I knew.

Anyway, I need to clock out too.

Stretching, I took the practice room security key in my hand.

“If we want to match choreography from tomorrow morning…. the schedule is going to be intense.”

Even with three hours of sleep I thought I could survive tomorrow.

“Hoo… let’s go and sleep soon.”

Bang—

I locked the empty practice room door and followed the stairs, feeling the dawn air.

I hadn’t slept enough for two days, so I was half asleep, but my feet instinctively led me to the dorm.

They said I could find the way even with my eyes closed.

Instinctively I arrived at the dorm’s first‑floor entrance.

Without much thought I was about to enter the dorm, when

I saw a black silhouette a short distance away.

“At this hour, someone isn’t sleeping.”

It was understandable a trainee was awake from practicing until 4 AM, but

I found it odd that a black sedan was parked beside her.

Hmm?

“Who is that?”

Since the production team would be controlling access, an outsider couldn’t easily come here.

Yet, behind a building column stood a middle‑aged man I hadn’t seen before.

He was dressed in high‑end luxury clothes from head to toe that must have cost a fortune.

With curious eyes I stepped closer.

That was exactly the moment.

“I want to debut.”

That single line softly echoed through the silent dawn air.

“…!”

I stopped dead still when I checked the face of the black silhouette standing opposite that middle‑aged man.

Who is that?

Wait.

“So I truly can’t give up, no matter what.”

In the darkness, it was Kang Si‑woo standing there.

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