Chapter 85: The Year-End Awards Ceremony (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: The Year-End Awards Ceremony (1)
“Yes, please manufacture everything exactly as per the designs I sent. Please pay extra close attention to the details.”
I watched Jang Ji-hye place the order over the phone, stifling a giggle that was threatening to burst out.
‘You’re the one who’s going to end up wearing all of those anyway.’
I had given her permission to order them, but I never said I would be the one wearing them.
‘I’d hate to miss out on the Rookie of the Year Award, but there’s no way I’m wearing an evening dress.’
I had looked up actresses' evening dresses online, and they were a mess—plunging necklines, open backs, skin showing everywhere. It was total chaos.
No matter how much I tried to mind-control myself into thinking I was just ‘acting the role of the actress Lee Yu-jin,’ it was simply too much.
I logged into my fan cafe for the first time in a while to check the reactions.
└ Our Baby Elf has the Rookie Award in the bag. Do you think she could aim for the Grand Prize too?
└ It’s almost unheard of for someone to win the Grand Prize in their debut year...
└ Such a shame, such a shame.
└ I wish the Goddess Elf would come back and drop some more selfies...
└ Let’s not get greedy. I’m just grateful she even appeared on U Puzzle.
└ (I’m going to live with my mom and dad forever.jpg) You can live off this one piece of content for the rest of your life. For real.
Ahem. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt toward my fans, who were infinitely helping me mine Envidium.
Looking at the stock chart, which was still on an upward trend today, that guilt only grew.
‘Right. It’s thanks to the fans that I’m living the good life like this.’
I scrolled through my gallery app and selected a few decent selfies. They were shots I’d taken while on board the Clipper.
“Yu-jin, what are you doing?”
“Oh, just going to post some selfies on the fan cafe.”
“Oh my god, our Yu-jin has changed so much! I’m so moved.”
“Are you actually crying? You’re driving me crazy.”
It was embarrassing to see Jang Ji-hye’s eyes welling up, so I quickly picked out the photos.
“Wait, are you going to post the ones you took at Osan Base?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“It’s not that it’s not allowed, but wouldn’t the fans like it more if you posted something you just took right now?”
“Really? I guess so.”
“It makes for a better picture if you add the old photos at the end, like a little bonus.”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
I checked my current outfit.
[Top Gun]
It was a new T-shirt I’d ordered online to celebrate landing the role of a Navy pilot. I’d hit the buy button like I was possessed just because it had ‘Top Gun’ on it.
“Ah, but I’m really bad at taking selfies.”
“It’s fine. The subject is so good that even a low-effort shot will look great. Just take a bunch, and I’ll pick the best ones for you.”
Click. Click. Click. Click...
“Huff, puff... I really gave it my all. Which one’s the best?”
“This was your best? Are you sure?”
“Is it bad? Then again...”
“No, I’m just lamenting my current situation where I don’t even know where to start because they all look so pretty despite how obviously low-effort they are. They’re pretty, they’re pretty. You could honestly post any of them.”
“Pick them for me anyway.”
“Then this one, and this one, and this one...”
In the end, Jang Ji-hye picked almost all of them, excluding only the ones with nearly identical angles.
I presented the selfies to the fan cafe along with a polite, 5,700-character greeting.
[Title: Hello, this is actress Lee Yu.]
(A massive dump of selfies taken just now.jpg)
(A 5,700-character greeting packed with feelings of eternal gratitude)
As soon as I posted it, the comment notifications started ringing like crazy. Since the phone wouldn't stop vibrating, I temporarily turned off the fan cafe notifications.
‘If the notifications keep piling up, I might miss a truly important one. Like a circuit breaker alert...’
“Aren’t you going to read the comments?”
“Nope.”
“Then I’ll go organize my makeup tools.”
“Yeah, good job. You’re working hard today too.”
“It’s what I want to do, so it’s fine.”
I pondered for a moment how I could ‘pickpocket’ some money into Jang Ji-hye’s bank account. I needed to find out her account number...
‘Fan reactions, huh... Should I take a quick peek?’
I usually didn't look at those because it was embarrassing, but I suddenly felt a slight impulse to look.
I took my phone into the bathroom and checked the reactions to the post I’d just uploaded.
‘How are there already 3,000 comments?’
Good lord, there are so many salary thieves—wait, I’ve lost my mind. How could I harbor such irreverent thoughts about my precious fans?
└ Lee Yu is so pretty!!!!! T_T
└ The reason I live today... the reason I can live tomorrow...
└ Where are the selfies? All I see is pure light.
└ Noona, I love you. I want to tell you to visit more often, but I don’t want to pressure you, so if you just drop by whenever you think of us, I’ll be so, so happy. Thank you, be happy today!
Heat rushed to my face from the embarrassment, but my finger wouldn't stop scrolling. Beyond the embarrassment, a surge of gratitude welled up within me.
‘These precious people who are working hard today so that I can one day be listed as a major Envidium shareholder on the US stock market...’
Of course, that was an exaggeration. It would be impossible in this lifetime to buy 5% of Envidium stock just by earning acting fees.
Feeling good, I took a few more selfies and posted them again, and the reaction was just as good this time.
‘Man, to think they’d get this excited over something like this.’
*
A mountain of ‘evening dresses for Jang Ji-hye’—which would be manufactured but never worn—arrived.
“Jang Ji-hye, I’m no fashion designer, but even I know it’s weird that this many outfits are already finished.”
“I thought it was weird too, so I asked. Apparently, they started making them as soon as I sent the designs...”
“Wait, even before we picked them?”
“The designer was so excited at the thought of you wearing their clothes that they just started making them on their own. That’s why they arrived so fast.”
“What were they going to do if you hadn’t asked for all of them?”
“I don’t think they were in a state of mind to worry about that. They probably would’ve figured something out. Anyway, you’re going to take a look, right?”
“Well, sure.”
There were several dress forms in the dressing room.
While Jang Ji-hye struggled to put the dresses on the mannequins, I killed time messing around on my phone.
“First round of outfits done. Yu-jin, take a look.”
“Let’s see... Huh? Why is the design like this?”
“Is it weird?”
“No, no. It’s just completely different from the evening dresses I’ve seen. Usually, they have plunging necklines and open backs, but these aren’t like that at all.”
The sleeves were long, and the backs weren't open at all. Even the front was designed to wrap all the way up to the collarbone.
Only the hands and neck were barely visible.
“Yu-jin, Yu-jin... You’re a minor. How could I put you in such revealing clothes? I’d get torn to shreds for being a stylist who’s lost her mind.”
“The evening dresses I had in mind weren't like this at all.”
“Those are for adult actresses. These are for protecting our Baby Elf. Of course they’re different.”
The fabric was also dense, with a noticeable opacity that wouldn't show even a hint of skin.
“Why? Are you tempted?”
“No way. I’m just fascinated that evening dresses like this even exist.”
“They cover you up completely, but they’re still pretty, right? The designer said they put a lot of thought into the design after hearing my request.”
“Yeah. I can tell they’re well-made even though the design is simple.”
“If you ever want to try one on, just say the word. Night or dawn, I don’t mind.”
“Nope.”
After that, Jang Ji-hye continued to change the outfits on the mannequins and showed them all to me.
They were modest designs, the polar opposite of the preconceptions I’d had about evening dresses.
Still, the fact that they were feminine clothes at the peak of elegance didn't change...
‘But isn’t this basically just a blouse that goes down to the ankles?’
In a way, it felt better than slim-fit skinny jeans that openly showed the line of my legs.
There were so many ordered outfits that it took about an hour just to see them all.
Seeing Jang Ji-hye repeatedly dressing and undressing the mannequins by herself made me feel bad.
“Want some help?”
“An actress shouldn't do things like this. It’d be a disaster if you accidentally scratched a fingernail.”
‘Hmm, maybe the Rookie Award... No, no. Let’s not think like that.’
Still, weren't those actually better than skinny jeans and a blouse? You couldn't even see the leg lines...
*
I thought my mom would bring up the year-end awards ceremony, but she didn't say a word. Eventually, I couldn't take the curiosity and asked her myself.
“Mom, why aren't you asking about the MBS Year-End Awards Ceremony?”
“Huh? Weren't you obviously not going?”
I had a momentary brain freeze at her reaction, which implied that not going was the default.
“I figured you wouldn't go because you’d never wear an evening dress in a million years.”
“I thought you’d tell me not to give up on the Rookie Award.”
“Isn't Yoon Se-rang going to accept it on your behalf anyway? That’s what I heard.”
“Excuse me?”
Dumbfounded, I looked at Jang Ji-hye, whose eyes were just as wide as mine.
“Ma’am... is that allowed?”
“At awards ceremonies, if an actor can’t make it for some reason, a fellow actor accepts it for them and gives the speech instead.”
“...”
“...”
“But honey, you have to come up with a good excuse. So you don't get caught later, make sure you don't go anywhere that day—just stay home, don't log into games, and be careful with the internet. I’m sure Curator Han Ji-woo will come up with a good excuse for you, though.”
“...Why does everyone assume I won’t be going to the awards ceremony? Mom, I thought for sure you’d be pleading with me to go.”
Mom paused her fruit-peeling for a moment and laughed silently.
“Mom already reached enlightenment after seeing my daughter in skinny jeans and a blouse. I have no more lingering regrets or greed.”
“Mom...”
“You even wore high heels, didn't you? If I get any greedier than that, I’ll be punished by the heavens.”
I could feel it. The Peter Pan inside me was unleashing the Black Dragon of Fury.
“So you had zero expectations for me.”
“It’s not that I didn't have expectations; I told you, I’ve reached nirvana. I was so happy during the skinny jeans incident.”
“That is having no expectations. And here I was, coming up with all sorts of scenarios to convince you without being an unfilial daughter if you pleaded with me in tears to go to the ceremony.”
“I don't recall ever forcing my daughter to do this or that, though?”
The contrarian Peter Pan inside me whispered.
I’ve been properly provoked.
“Mom, I might not receive the Rookie Award, but I’m not the kind of person who lets someone else accept it for me.”
“It’s fine. MBS will just deliver it to the house then.”
“Hey, Jang Ji-hye.”
“Y-yes?”
“Get ready. From this moment on, we begin arming ourselves for a military operation.”
“Military operation? Arming ourselves?”
“If I’m going to claim the spoils of war known as the Rookie Award, I need to be properly armed. We start the equipment review now.”
As if she understood what I meant, Jang Ji-hye clapped her hands in delight.
“Yu-jin, Yu-jin... so you’re going to the ceremony?”
“Yeah. The Peter Pan inside me is whispering to go smash everything that day and bring back the spoils.”
I thought Mom would be happy since I’d gone this far. But...
“Honey, Mom is really okay, so you don't have to push yourself. Don't do it, okay?”
“I’m not okay, so I’m going to go there, crush it for everyone to see, and return proudly with the Rookie Award.”
I worked hard changing through the outfits in front of Mom to show her.
Mom was happy. Clearly, on the surface.
But it was less than a tenth of the happiness she’d shown when she saw the skinny jeans + blouse + high heels combo.
I felt like I had somehow lost.
And I cannot stand losing. If I could, I wouldn't have earned the title of Challenger of Challengers.
“Jang Ji-hye, can we order new outfits?”
“We can! Of course we can!”
As if I couldn't handle a role like ‘Actress Lee Yu-jin attending an awards ceremony to accept the Rookie Award.’
No way. Do you have any idea what my market value is?