Chapter 60
The Paris fashion show, where countless stars boasted of their own light.
Here, the biggest stars were none other than the venerable luxury brands.
Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Prada, and so on.
World-famous fashion brands that even ordinary people would recognize, leveraging their stature.
It was a place where they gave truly famous and remarkable models wings to show off their brilliance.
Yet despite the presence of so many massive stars,
there was one star that shone the brightest.
I can proudly say this with confidence.
Pose-
I was the brightest one today.
Beneath the runway stage,
I looked down at the industry insiders staring blankly up at me.
Even now, while posing, white vapor kept streaming out,
and the icy chill cooled my head.
‘Phew.’
It naturally helped rein in my excitement.
Even I couldn't help getting excited at those admiring expressions on the faces of fashion industry insiders.
I'm used to ordinary people's admiration,
but industry insiders usually sit back with their arms crossed and judge the industry, don't they?
The experience of having all of them look up at this place in admiration
was something highly addictive for a model.
Swish-
But regardless of that addictive feeling, I turned my body sharply.
I was in the middle of a runway show, after all.
I'd posed for a moment, but now the next model had to come out.
I don't know who it'll be, but I feel a little sorry for them.
Still, isn't that just how the industry works?
Hoping today's experience would become nourishment for the future,
I proceeded back down the passageway, arrogantly showing them my back.
Though I was a little embarrassed that the dress left my back completely bare,
what did that matter when the clothes were beautiful?
In that sense, I could even put up with the dress being a little see-through.
I'd worn underwear in the first place, anyway.
Besides, what kind of model is afraid of showing skin?
What's important is how much attention you draw while wearing the clothes.
That's a model's professionalism.
And today, I could say I'd been a true professional.
Personally, this might have been the high point of my career.
I'd walked many runways up to now, but there had never been a day like today.
Anyway.
“....”
“....”
When I returned, I could feel a great many eyes on me.
I hadn't noticed earlier because I'd been focused on myself, but there were quite a lot of models around the waiting room too.
The looks everyone sent me were incredibly varied.
Respect, admiration, envy, jealousy, and so on.
Looks I knew all too well.
So without letting it show,
I waved at the only person looking at me with pride.
“Roselia!”
“Good.”
Roselia gave me a thumbs-up without saying much.
That was probably Roselia's ultimate expression of approval.
“Take some pictures of me.”
“Is that okay?”
“I got permission.”
Now that the runway was over,
I took a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.
Andel readily gave me permission.
I planned to post them on Instagram.
“Stand here… yeah.”
So.
After taking a few pictures without worrying about anyone else's gaze,
“Where's the changing room?”
“You're taking it off right away?”
“Yes.”
I immediately threw off the outfit that had been driving me crazy and changed.
Regardless of how pretty it was, it was unbelievably uncomfortable to wear.
I probably wouldn't ever wear it again, even if the chance came up—which it probably won't.
Anyway, my runway for today was over.
All that remained were the interview and party; once I got through those two schedules, I could go home.
I really hated that I still had plans left.
Still, interviews and parties were merely supplementary duties for a model.
Might as well kill time.
Then I could go home to my beloved home.
*
However.
Contrary to my hopes, killing time proved nearly impossible.
“Ahyeon!”
“Ahyeon!”
“Ahyeon!”
First of all, the interview was a hurdle.
Had I ever had this many reporters swarming around me?
It wasn't as if there had never been this many, but today they were more intense.
There were even a lot of Korean reporters.
Seeing a familiar logo on one of the microphones, I gestured toward that reporter.
“Let the reporter over there ask a question first.”
“Oh, ah, yes!”
The Korean reporter looked moved that I'd singled them out, then hurriedly threw out a question.
“As Andel's only Korean model, you even handled the highlight and put on a wonderful show. How do you feel?”
“I'm glad Andel thinks highly of me, and I'm happy I seem to have lived up to their expectations.”
Still,
it was fortunate that Ahyeon was publicly known as a taciturn model.
“The dress you wore this time was extremely unusual. What was it like wearing it…?”
“I felt like a princess.”
Even when I answered briefly, the reporters didn't seem to mind much.
They'd all come to the fashion show to interview me and waited for me to appear.
They probably knew my personality well enough.
“Model Selina said in an interview that you two are friends. Are you close?”
“She's the friend I get along with best among the ones I've met in Paris.”
Anyway, after answering all sorts of questions from the reporters,
“I should be going now.”
Just as it was getting late and I was about to make my exit,
“Th-then, one last question!”
A Korean reporter raised their microphone high.
“Yes, ask your last question.”
Good, I'll answer that person's question and bolt.
The interview was almost over, so I waited for the question, feeling relieved.
“What will you do first when you return to Korea? You've become quite the talk of the town this time.”
They asked what I'd do after returning home, something I hadn't expected at all.
Hmm? After returning home?
Well, wasn't the answer obvious?
“My hobbies.”
I'll wrap this up quickly, go home, and stream.
*
…or so I thought.
The after-party I went to after the interview.
“I enjoyed your show.”
“On the runway this time….”
“It couldn't have been easy to pull off an outfit like that.”
Seriously.
An absurd number of people came up to talk to me, on a whole different level from before.
I'd wanted to tuck myself away in some corner, but what was this?
Was I really the star of the show today?
Well, I was pretty convinced of it myself, so why wouldn't everyone else be?
More importantly, this party was for people connected with Andel.
So most of the people here were bound to be friendly toward Andel.
And since I'd made such an impact representing Andel,
it was only natural that they were showing me goodwill right now.
Well, to be honest, Andel had done practically everything: planning that outfit, sourcing the materials, and making it.
A model's job is to slip into clothes like that and show off in them.
Besides, that outfit would've been hard for anyone but me to pull off, right?
Or not. Whatever.
“Are you planning to stay in Paris any longer?”
“Unfortunately, I'm returning home right away.”
Anyway, separate from all the attention pouring down on me, my mind was entirely on returning home.
I was sick of Paris now.
I didn't want to eat any more bread, and I missed home.
Honestly, I missed Mom.
I wanted to lie comfortably in the living room at home and eat fruit Mom had cut for me.
“If you ever come to Paris again, perhaps you could stop by our store….”
“Would you consider coming to Italy? We're having a party….”
Perhaps they had no idea how I felt.
The men crowding around me each made sure to hand me a business card before leaving.
I received so many that I eventually had to entrust them to Roselia because I had nowhere left to put them.
People really do need to make an impression.
Just one big runway moment, and look how many shout-outs are pouring in.
There was a Korean reporter too, so there should be some articles in Korea, right?
…That was a little embarrassing. People I knew would all see them, too, wouldn't they?
Models could be excused since it was their field, but thinking of my parents and their coworkers seeing it was a little embarrassing.
Ah, come to think of it, there should be a few people from our Ahyeon fan club in Paris too.
But I hadn't had a chance to meet them.
They were all with different brands.
As I'd mentioned earlier, Andel was unfortunately a brand with no Korean models besides me, so there was no one from my home country.
They spoke Korean well, so why was I the only Korean model?
Had they really learned it because of me?
Still, now that they'd learned Korean, maybe they'd start having more Korean models too?
I knew plenty of Korean models, after all.
Thinking I'd at least make an introduction if Andel asked, I enjoyed this party full of foreigners for now.
Roselia was French too, so it really was a sea of foreigners.
Anyway.
The next day, after having every last bit of energy drained at the party,
“You're leaving already? Why?”
“I'm tired now.”
Despite Selina's subtle suggestion that I stay longer, I packed my bags immediately.
It was over now, so I had to go home.
I'd been waiting for today for so long.
Actually, Selina wasn't the only one who'd made offers yesterday.
‘You're returning home right away? There's a very special party this week….’
‘I'd love to have tea with you sometime. If you could perhaps make time….’
Among them were special parties and intimate tea dates.
They had that subtle, cinematic atmosphere you'd expect to see only in a movie.
Baby Ahyeon doesn't know anything about things like that. Nope, no idea.
'I have an important engagement in Korea, you see.'
Like a complete one-person army,
I rejected every one of those offers and boarded a plane today.
Nope, don't know~ I'm just going home~
"You're going to rest right away, right?"
"Yes. You get plenty of rest too, Roselia."
And so, after arriving in Korea,
“Guess who came back from hell~”
I took exactly one day off, then turned on my stream right away.
It had been so hard not being able to play games all that time.
A lot of time had passed, so there must've been plenty of things to catch up on too, right?
I'd planned to review them one by one and get back to streaming….
-?
-What's this?
-Who are you?
-Streamer Wayo.
...but.
“…Guess who came back~?”
-Who..?
-Why is this person in my follows?
-Who are you?
Oh, dear.
Maybe because I'd been gone for so long,
my viewers had all come down with collective early-onset dementia.