I Was Trying To Debut My Baby, But I Ended Up Debuting Instead

Chapter 24

“See, even unnie says we don’t look alike. I have a puppy face, and this unnie has a cat face. How do we resemble each other?”

“What do you mean, puppy face?”

“I definitely have a puppy face. Unnie has cat-like eyes. I don’t.”

“If that’s the case, your eyes look like a void office worker’s, not a puppy’s.”

“What, what did you say?”

“From what I see, you don’t have a puppy face either. Isn’t Yeonwoo the one with a puppy face?”

Lee Joo-ha supported Han Youngwon’s statement.

“Yeonwoo looks like a rabbit, though.”

Hyesung said in a solemn tone. Previously, Na Yeonwoo’s animal moe had been divided between the puppy faction and the rabbit faction, and Hyesung belonged firmly to the rabbit faction.

“Yeonwoo does look a bit like a rabbit. But you’re definitely not a puppy.”

“No, why does unnie have to…”

As the disagreement continued, Hyesung began to pout, and Na Yeonwoo opened her mouth.

“Hyesung unnie looks like a seal.”

“A seal?”

“Like a harp seal… Doesn’t she look like Bummy?”

Bummy was the character of ‘Room-Corner Seals,’ the mascot of the messaging app Nuts. It was a small white-furred seal with a slightly arrogant personality.

It was also Na Yeonwoo’s favorite character and was popularly known as just the Nuts Seal among the public.

“Bummy?”

“Room-Corner Seals.”

“Oh, you mean that cheeky seal emoticon.”

Han Youngwon widened her eyes, recalling Bummy with the “What now?” speech bubble. The cute, smirk-worthy seal seemed to match Hyesung’s demeanor.

“Yeonwoo is right. Since seals look similar to puppies, I must have a puppy face.”

“No, your eyes slant upwards. That’s why people say you resemble me.”

“I agree with Han Youngwon unnie.”

“Hyesung unnie does look like a seal…”

The debate about what kind of face Yoon Hyesung had showed no sign of ending, and even the other trainees watching joined in, throwing in their opinions.

“She looks like a raccoon to me.”

“Not a raccoon, but maybe a wildcat. Though she seems more like an arctic fox.”

“Isn’t she a red panda?”

“She kind of gives off a velociraptor vibe.”

“Judging by her look during the class evaluation, she’s a dark dragon.”

“Hold on, who just said velociraptor…?”

Knock, knock, knock.

Amidst the chaos, a knock sounded to calm the situation.

“Hey guys, the production meeting starts in 10 minutes, so get ready.”

“Yes!”

* * *

The press conference, attended only by media personnel, ended smoothly, and they moved to Sangam-dong. This time, they would appear in front of fans for the first time in front of the broadcast station.

Hyesung looked out the glass window from the MvN Media Center lobby.

She saw people crowded around the entrance and the fence.

‘I thought no one would be interested, but quite a few people came.’

At the end of the red carpet, lined with fences on both sides, a low stage and a photo wall plastered with the program’s logo were prepared.

‘It looks like it’ll blow away if the wind blows.’

While feeling the effects of budget cuts, instructions from the staff came.

“Guys, let’s go. Hold the slogans so they’re visible.”

In the previous seasons, there were random gifts given to fans, but this time, to save money, only mini-sized paper slogans with signatures and messages were provided.

Holding about 20 slogans, Hyesung nervously walked out the entrance.

As the trainees appeared, the waiting fans cheered.

‘I was always on that side, but now that my position has changed, it feels strange.’

Hyesung lowered her eyes slightly and glanced around.

She noticed the cameras pressing their shutters in front of the photo line.

‘Aside from the reporters, there aren’t many telephoto lenses.’

Except for the reporters, there were few people with telephoto lenses, and most had phone cameras. Most of them seemed to be people casually checking out the newcomers, rather than serious fans.

‘With low buzz, there’s hardly any serious photographers. We need someone to leave high-quality photos. Not of me, but of Yeonwoo.’

The people with expensive equipment were already photographing the known trainees.

As Hyesung walked the red carpet, she scanned the camera lenses beyond the fence.

“Yeonwoo, come here.”

Hyesung gently pulled Na Yeonwoo, who was walking awkwardly behind her.

“Look over there.”

Hyesung pointed precisely to a spot.

In the front row of the fence, slightly pushed aside, a woman with a tired expression was alternately checking her viewfinder and the trainees waving in another direction.

‘She seems disheartened from being pushed out in the crowd. She probably already decided who to shoot, but if someone looks at her camera, she might change her mind.’

“Yeonwoo, look at that camera…”

Just then, someone shouted from the fence as Hyesung and Na Yeonwoo paused.

“Yeonwoo-ahhhh!!!”

Startled, Na Yeonwoo turned her head toward the sound.

“Why are you so pretty?! It’s crazy!!!”

Embarrassed, Na Yeonwoo covered her mouth with her hand and bowed slightly toward the source of the shout.

“Do you see the camera behind the person who shouted? The white lens. Look there and smile. Don’t cover your face even if you’re shy. Hold up the slogan too.”

Hyesung whispered into Na Yeonwoo’s ear. Na Yeonwoo, though momentarily confused, moved towards the person calling her name.

As Na Yeonwoo approached the fence, admiring voices began to echo like a chorus.

‘Seeing Yeonwoo’s face up close at that distance, it’s over.’

As Hyesung had instructed, Yeonwoo’s slogans were quickly distributed. Hyesung, who hadn’t handed out a single slogan, held her remaining slogans like a burden and scanned for the next target.

“Unnie! Someone is asking if they can have yours too?”

“What? Who?”

Na Yeonwoo turned her head instead of answering.

The woman with the white telephoto lens, who Hyesung had pointed out earlier, was now cheering with a brightened voice.

“Hyesung-ah! Look over here too!”

The long telephoto lens was aimed at Hyesung.

* * *

Kim Gwang-in @michingirl

Sangam Holiday Review

Saw the video released yesterday, got hooked on Namgoong Seol, and went to see them in person.

But damn, those crazy people pushed me hard, and I was losing it.

In that chaos, some angelic goddess looked right at my camera.

She wasn’t even on my list, but she was always next to Yeonwoo?

Thanks to her, I got good shots of Yeonwoo too. When I zoomed in to check the name, I almost fainted.

The slogan said it was Yoon Hyesung.

Isn’t she the one who stirred up so much controversy in the trailer…

Honestly, I didn’t recognize her. Her styling seemed different, but she looked amazing with Hyesung.

Yeonwoo looked so holy that all the women around were gasping.

She was so beautiful I thought I was in heaven.

Hyesung seemed nervous and didn’t smile much, but that added to her sad beauty.

They looked great together, like a beautiful older sister and a cute younger sibling.

I was going to focus on Namgoong Seol and Gil Ahyeon, but I think I’ll include these two as well.

Especially since Hyesung is older, isn’t that amazing? She took care of Yeonwoo and told her to look at my camera.

I’m exhausted but I’ll edit the photos and go to bed.

As the photos taken at the production meeting were released one by one, Hyesung’s fan share quietly began to rise.

-The edited photos look so different from the article photos; some people look like completely different people.

└The article photos must be weird;

-Who’s the girl with the full bangs and short hair? She didn’t look like this in the trailer videos.

└She’s the one in the last ending shot, Yoon Hyesung.

-Wow, she’s a legend. That photo is so well taken.

-Who’s the girl next to Na Yeonwoo in the Han Youngwon photo?

└They say it’s Yoon Hyesung.

-Huh? The black short-haired girl is Yoon Hyesung? She looks different.

-That girl needs to keep her short hair with bangs forever.

[People suspecting a stand-in for the Supernova Project trainee]

(Hyesung’s ending shot capture)

(Scene of her lifting her head from the trailer capture)

Before styling change

(Stiff expression article photo)

(Photo of Hyesung making eye contact with Kim Gwang-in’s camera)

(Several edited photos by Kim Gwang-in)

After styling change

Individual trainee Yoon Hyesung (formerly D&F)

Receiving responses that her black short hair with bangs should be kept permanently

-Wow, it suits her so well…

-From a basic character to a look tailored for a fashionista

-The photo where she’s making eye contact with the camera looks like a movie still, the vibe is amazing

-She really looks great, should’ve come out like this earlier

-Her features really pop, ah now I want to cut my hair short too lol

-How did she change to something that suits her so perfectly without an agency? lol

Posts about Hyesung’s changed styling were spreading across various communities.

Unlike before, most of the reactions were positive.

Immediately entering the dorm and handing in her phone, Hyesung didn’t see the reversed evaluations she received.

If she had seen those reactions, she would have exclaimed, “Disgusting appearance supremacy, ugh,” and jumped up. However, knowing nothing, Hyesung only wondered about the status notification that had appeared before her eyes.

[More than 1,000 people are paying attention to you. Your stardom has increased by ☆! Current stardom: ★☆]

‘Why did my stardom rise when I didn’t do anything today? Did they stir up something while locking us in the dorm?’

But this time, it wasn’t surveillance but attention. Maybe it was positive attention.

[Correct! You received favorable attention for the first time! Special reward received!]

[Special Reward Item: Heart Scouter (Rare)]

[Description: Make a V sign vertically and hold it up to your eyes! You can see the other person’s affection level!]

‘…Another useless thing popped up.’

“This isn’t a dating show, and I didn’t fall into a dating sim game.” Hyesung muttered as she accepted the item and closed the window.

‘I need to sneak out early tomorrow morning without them noticing.’

With the second dormitory session starting, Hyesung was assigned to a room with three other ace-level trainees.

‘She’s oblivious, so I don’t have to worry about her.’

Hyesung rolled her eyes. One trainee was diligently rummaging through her suitcase on the floor.

“Huh? I definitely put it in here, but why isn’t it there?”

“Ami unnie, what’s wrong?”

“The swelling patch. I brought it to put on my legs.”

“Ah… If I had it, I would lend it to you, but I don’t have it either.”

The one rummaging through the suitcase was Kaneshiro Ami, and the one who approached to ask was Kang Haein. Both were easy-going, so they had no complaints about sharing a room.

Especially since Kaneshiro Ami, nicknamed Kim Ami, had perfectly adapted to Korean culture, she had become quite close to Hyesung, who found it difficult to deal with foreign trainees.

“Youngwon unnie probably has it. I’ll go borrow it.”

“Really? Thanks!”

As Hyesung got up from the bed to go to the next room, there was a rustling sound from the top bunk as someone nervously pulled the blanket over themselves.

‘She’s the problem.’

Kim Yoonji, who had previously tarnished Hyesung’s image out of greed for screen time.

“Unnies, it’s almost lights out, so shouldn’t we get ready to sleep? I’m tired and want to sleep early.”

Kim Yoonji spoke without showing her face, still lying down.

“Ah, sorry, we’ll be quiet. Go ahead and sleep.”

Ami quickly closed her suitcase, feeling guilty about the noise.

“Yoonji, should I turn off the light?”

Kang Haein asked, hand on the light switch.

“Why turn it off so early? Ami hasn’t finished organizing her stuff. Let’s turn it off when it’s lights-out time. That’s okay, right, Yoonji?”

Hyesung gently placed her hand on Haein’s and shook her head slightly. There was no response from Kim Yoonji.

“I’ll just go to the next room for a bit.”

Understanding that Yoonji was still young and couldn’t hide her feelings, Hyesung sighed slightly as she headed to the next room.

Knock, knock.

“Youngwon unnie. It’s Hyesung.”

“Unnie!”

As soon as Hyesung spoke at the door, it opened immediately.

And what greeted her was not Han Youngwon but Na Yeonwoo, who smiled brightly and squinted her eyes.