The Mint Carpet
Cheongdam-dong, where the Le-el Style Awards were being held. A mint-colored carpet—bright enough to lift anyone's mood just by looking at it—spread out in cheerful waves beneath the lights.
On the photo wall, the words 'Le-el Style Awards' glittered in an elegant typeface. Up-tempo music spilled out from the speakers, setting the tone for the evening.
"Please don't push—!"
"Ah, you stepped on my foot!"
Even before the event began, the murmuring never stopped. Beyond the tightly cordoned barriers, fans wielding telephoto cameras climbed their step ladders, waiting for someone—anyone—to appear.
"Wow, there are so many people…."
Someone's murmur drew nods of agreement all around. The mere news that idols, models, and actors would all gather in one place had drawn a crowd thick enough to paralyze traffic.
The reporters in the front row hoisted their massive cameras and checked their lenses. The towering floodlights blazed overhead.
What is Yeo-reum wearing today!
Wi Jae-hwi of Daily Media pressed her lips together, heart fluttering. Ever since she'd heard that Han Yeo-reum would be attending, imagining her outfit had become her daily small pleasure. Stanning a rookie actress who was so tragically starved of content was exhausting work.
Whatever she wears, Dokgo Gyeol will have done her right. I'm sure of it.
Now that she knew Yeo-reum's salon was Go Gyeol, she could breathe a little easier. Even if the coordination and styling were only so-so, a few killer shots would carry half the article on their own.
No word from the sponsors yet… yeah. Wouldn't have come, would it….
Yeo-reum had probably heard from a few up-and-coming brands on social media, but no dress house whose name alone carried weight would have reached out to her first. The entertainment industry was a cold, unsentimental world where everything was measured in recognition and influence.
So what! She'd look cute in anything anyway!
Still, Reporter Wi was simply happy. This was Yeo-reum's very first red carpet.
"Oh—! Here she comes!"
A black van pulled to a stop before the mint carpet. The moment actor Ji Hae-beom, the MC of the Le-el Style Awards, stepped out of the car, screams erupted.
"JI HAE-BEOM!!!! IT'S JI HAE-BEOM!!!"
"Just one look over here, please!!!"
Click-click-click-click-click—!
A dizzying barrage of shutters rang out. Ji Hae-beom took his time posing at the photo wall, and then Eun Baek-hap, his co-MC, made her entrance in turn. With two top stars arriving back to back, the atmosphere at the venue turned scorching hot in an instant.
Top stars really are on another level.
Reporter Wi thought as she shot with every ounce of concentration she had. The eye contact, the poses, even their attitudes—everything was so effortless it bordered on awe-inspiring.
"Ji Hae-beom definitely changes the whole class of this place."
"Right? The two of them walking in together at the very start—it makes the whole ceremony feel prestigious."
The reporters chatted during the lull. After two actors whose names guaranteed page views passed by, the fever of the cameras cooled a little.
Can't blame them, really.
Le-el Style Awards. It was a ceremony hosted by the fashion magazine Le-el—far removed from events like the Baengnyong Film Awards or the three major networks' Entertainment Awards that whipped up public curiosity.
Everyone will just shoot a few shots and head out, thinking that's enough.
The on-site articles went up in real time. For the celebrities attending the Le-el Style Awards, article view counts were nothing short of a report card. Who scored first grade and who scored ninth was decided by the merciless verdict of the public.
More guests filed in, and when a black Carnival van came to a stop, a staff member called out.
"Ju Jun-seo is entering now—!"
At last, the person Reporter Wi had been waiting for had arrived. Under the blazing lights, the car door opened, and from the very moment Ju Jun-seo extended his hand to escort his partner, Reporter Wi hammered the shutter.
Click-click-click-click—!!!
There wasn't a single reporter at this venue who didn't know Pachehi. It was the arrival of the two rookies who might pull in as many clicks as Ji Hae-beom and Eun Baek-hap at the Le-el Style Awards.
"OHHHH~~~!!!"
Even before the two of them reached the photo wall, cheers burst from the gathered fans and reporters alike.
What do I do, this is insane, what is Yeo-reum wearing?? And Ju Jun-seo???
Reporter Wi wailed inwardly as she pressed the shutter. Every second that Yeo-reum filled her frame was a moment of pure emotion.
"Wow… you can really tell he's a former model."
"No kidding. That outfit turnaround was unreal."
The eyes of reporters who saw thousands of celebrities a year were sharper than anyone's. Yet here were the entertainment desk journalists—notoriously quick to spot a flop—looking unusually satisfied. Even at a glance, anyone could tell who the Best Dresser of the night was going to be.
"GORGEOUS~~~!!!"
Someone shouted from far off. Yeo-reum, who had been grinning so hard her round cheeks bunched up the entire walk to the photo wall, unable to contain her excitement, called back.
"THANK YOU~~~!!!"
That one simple exchange warmed the whole crowd. Laughter burst out here and there.
"Yeo-reum, give us a hand wave~ Do the hand wave~"
"Over here, please!"
And through every single shot, Yeo-reum laughed for real.
It wasn't the practiced half-smile anyone could fake. She looked so overjoyed she didn't know what to do with herself, and even the grizzled entertainment reporters found their faces softening. And a warm gaze earns a warm headline in return.
(Side profile of the reporters laughing right along with her.jpg)
Reporter Wi was monitoring the buzz even in the middle of all this. The reaction to Yeo-reum's outfit today was spreading fast and running hot.
Obviously Yeo-reum's taking Best Dresser.
Yeo-reum had layered a crisp shirt beneath a clean black dress, preserving a formal silhouette. Into an ensemble that risked reading as overly plain, she'd added a vintage-style ribbon brooch for the perfect point of interest.
Given the mood right now, she and Ju Jun-seo might walk away with the Couple Best Dresser title too. Bundle them together in an article and it writes itself….
Ju Jun-seo, standing beside Yeo-reum, had an untamed, effortless swagger, and each of them made the other shine brighter for it. A win-win strategy.
Reporter Wi dashed off a quick article on Yeo-reum's outfit—then felt something nag at her. Yeo-reum's dress looked… familiar somehow.
Huh? But something's off.
She tilted her head for a moment. It was there, at the edge of her grasp, just out of reach. She was going back over Yeo-reum's photos when—
"Actress Do Gyeo-ul is entering now—!!!"
A huge van rolled to a stop, and to a colossal roar of cheers, Do Gyeo-ul revealed herself. The moment Reporter Wi saw her in a pale cream dress that suited the mint carpet perfectly, sparks went off in her brain.
That's Do Gyeo-ul's dress!!!
Reporter Wi fired off a short article straight from the venue.