85 - Upki Girl

< So I Have to Protect It > ― Real-time Rising Searches 1. LoL Championship 2. Dokdo Shrimp 3. Overwatch World Cup ... 14. Yona 15. Goo Oh-hwan FUF First Win 16. Top Trendy Song 17. Bohemian Junk Food Web Drama ... ―――――――――― "Oh wow. Yona is number 14 in the rankings." "Really?!" The kids reacted with various exclamations of joy and sent their congratulations my way. Fourteenth place. At first glance, it might seem insignificant, but it signifies that we are currently the 14th most talked-about topic in South Korea. After ten days of no notable buzz following the release of Yona's solo album, this was like a welcome rain after a drought. Even Yona, who is usually a bit reserved in expressing emotions, couldn't hide her delight. This was the first time her name appeared for a positive reason since her fall incident during the Eye Contact era, which left her with an ankle injury. But that wasn’t all. Following the broadcast of Top Trendy Song, Yona's track, which hadn't even breached the top 100 before, entered the music charts for the first time at 93rd and climbed to 85th. The power of public broadcasting was far greater than we had anticipated. After the episode of Top Trendy Song, there was an unexpected surge of comments and top likes on the music streaming sites. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, almost to the point of flattery. ―ottet: Am I the only one who thinks she’s got potential? She's good at dancing and singing, I thought she was already a famous idol. I'm 32 and never cared about idols before, but here I am logging in to leave a comment. ―Ryugal Legends: It’s been a while since a good female solo artist came out. ―auop: Wasn't she originally from Eye Contact? Her potential is finally being realized as a solo artist. ―Worm Dot Walk: Yona, who’s so pretty, let's only walk the flower road ㅠㅠ ―Roadcat: She’s re-wearing the outfits from her debut appearance. If the company pushes her more, she’ll definitely soar. In just two days, Yona's personal fan club membership doubled. Among the comments, there were also speculations about Yona debuting with a team soon, information likely leaked by her die-hard fans. Naturally, this acted as viral marketing, raising the anticipation for the UpK-Girl debut. Four days after the Top Trendy Song recording, we had a festival performance at a university in Pocheon. The stage featured a rap collaboration by Hongyi and backup dancing by members 1, 2, and 5. The university festival audience responded with enthusiasm. Thanks to the buzz from Top Trendy Song, noticeably more people recognized Yona, and some students even sang along to "Open." Including cover songs, we performed a total of three songs, and due to an encore request, we sang an additional track. Usually, at university festivals, there’s a risk of injury, so artists leave the stage immediately after their performance. However, Yona couldn’t just walk away, and she ended up taking photos and signing autographs for students who followed her to the parking lot. Gakkataku, the lawyer, once said that Yona's true charm shone through in fan signing events. Yona, who understands the value of her fans more than anyone else, treated each fan like a precious chick, showcasing the pinnacle of fan service. On stage, she exuded professional charisma, but off stage, she displayed a gentle femininity—no wonder any man would become enchanted. Even if No-Drew's buzz had somewhat diminished, many still wanted to take photos with Seowon and Eunbitt. Eunbitt, who openly acknowledged herself as addicted to attention, didn't have much to worry about. She even asked for people’s phones to take selfies or made silly faces to showcase her charming appeal. The issue was with Seowon. Until now, she only encountered distant admirers who recognized her from afar or gossiped about her in passing. This was her first close interaction with fans, making her expressions and reactions stiff. Seowon was embarrassed by the attention, but to a stranger, her demeanor could seem cold. I decided to help her work on it a bit. "Seowon, if you smile a little when taking pictures, you’d look even prettier." "What? Say that again?" Startled. "I-I'm saying it’d be nice if you smile a bit when taking pictures..." "No, the part after that." "The part where I said you’d be prettier...?" "Ah, I love when the manager says that. Say it again. Am I pretty? How pretty?" "You sounded like a creep there... You know it’s not easy for a girl to come off as creepy." "Whatever. Quick. Or else I’ll end up fighting with the fans." "Okay. Our Seowon, you’re already pretty, but if you smile a bit more, you’d look even prettier." "No, I don't want to smile. I have my unique charm, so why do I need to smile to look pretty?" What kind of contradictory character was she, like something out of a Kim Sung-mo comic? Despite what she said, I noticed her making an effort to smile in the photos afterward. As for Hongyi and Aliya, naturally, their recognition couldn’t match the three who appeared on the broadcast. Fortunately, Aliya lost interest early and retreated to the car, which was a relief in several ways. Hongyi, however, seemed left out without receiving much attention. I knew Hongyi didn’t care about such things, but from my perspective, it felt a bit sad. Then, two neatly dressed young men in dandy coats approached Hongyi. "Excuse me, sorry, could you take a picture with us?" "Oh, yes, sure. Here." "No, with you." "Me? With me?" Hongyi thought they wanted her to take pictures of them and the other members. Her face turned red, and her eyes widened. Yes, indeed. She had lost enough weight for her eyes to appear rounder when surprised. This was the first spark of public interest in Hongyi. I observed the scene from a few steps away, recording the interaction on video with keen interest. A boy with hair styled like quotation marks handed his phone to a friend and stood next to Hongyi. Startled, Hongyi shrank back a little. "Let's take a picture. One, two, three." ―Click "One more." ―Click "Thank you. I really enjoyed your rap." "Oh, uh, thank you for taking the picture." No, Hongyi. You can stand tall with confidence now. He's a fan who’s been captivated by your performance and looks. With boldness, the boy took his phone back from his friend and extended it to Hongyi. Very confidently. "Could you save your contact info for me?" "What...?" "I'm not usually the type to approach someone so easily, but I was really taken with you..." What nonsense. Regardless of whether she’s debuted or not, it’s inappropriate to ask someone who has performed on stage for personal contact information. Displeased with their presumptuous attitude towards our Hongyi, I quickly went over to intervene. "Hey, that's not appropriate." "Oh, sorry." Recognizing me as the manager, the boys quickly apologized and backed off. Hongyi stood there nervous, as if she had committed a wrongdoing, her eyes blinking wide and her eyebrows twitching with a nervous tic. "Oh wow, Hongyi. You’ve got guys asking for your number!" "No, that’s not it... They just said they liked my rap..." "Really, was it the rap? I’ll bet you’ll have the most military fans once you debut." "Couldn't be..." "Just wait and see." Currently weighing 61 kg. I hate to sound boastful, but my little one has a god-given physique—in the best sense. As her weight dropped, her natural bone structure started to emerge, and the standout feature was the amphora-shaped hips and long legs. Even though she had some bulk, her sturdy lower body gave her an incredibly voluptuous Western-style figure. I often described Hongyi as "wholesomely sexy." Of course, due to the rapid weight loss, she experienced sagging skin, leading us to resort to some medical procedures, and while at it, we subtly tuned her facial features as well. She turned into the true baby-faced glamour that Eunbitt had always dreamed of. She was bound to create a new sensation when performing for military troops. The day she does a Maxim photoshoot, there won't be an empty stall in the bathrooms. She’s going out with a bang. Goodbye, Lukaku. Welcome, Hong the Bagel. *** Moon PD kept his promise from UpK-Girl's debut stage on Top Trendy Song to feature us in two songs. Though it wasn’t back-to-back as requested, he slotted UpK-Girl into the "Back to the Trend" segment. This segment had junior artists performing songs that topped the charts in previous years. UpK-Girl was set to remake and perform "Satellite," a hit by the four-member girl group Neptune, who were in their fourth year since debut. Neptune—a group distinguished by the rare beauty possessed by all its members. With just 15 days left before the UpK-Girl album release and showcase, the kids’ fervor and expectations had peaked like Silmido agents preparing for a mission. The look in their eyes during practice seemed to say: Just get us to debut! We’ll devour Red Shadow, VNF, and whoever else! However, as things were progressing smoothly, a persistent risk lurking in the back kept making me uneasy, until it finally manifested. Aliya’s deeply seated trauma surfaced. "It seems to be a phobia of cameras." Aliya had trembled at the sight of the large broadcast EFP camera mounted on a tripod on the Top Trendy Song stage. The consultation revealed that it was panic disorder stemming from a camera-related trauma. To treat it effectively, understanding the cause of the symptoms would be necessary, but Aliya herself wasn’t aware of it, complicating matters. So, we decided to explore Aliya’s past through hypnosis counseling. "Hey. Don’t tell the others it’s anything serious..." While waiting in the lounge with Cassie, Aliya said in a subdued voice. "The debut isn’t far off, and I don’t want to cause trouble. I’ll somehow overcome this. Understand?" "Sure, I won't say anything." "But what if, just what if, I don't heal? What if I can't go on stage because of Aliya?" "If it’s not cured, we’ll just postpone it. There's no need to stress. If the great Aliya can't do it, who would argue?" "I hate it. My least favorite thing is causing harm to others, and I hate inconveniencing the girls even more." "It's not harming; it's being a burden." "Shut up. Anyway." "Aliya, please come into the counseling room. Guardians, please wait here." At the nurse’s call, Aliya stood up from her seat. The giant baby somehow looked particularly small today. "Hey. I'm off. Pray for Aliya." "People might think you're going for major surgery. Just take it easy and have a good nap." "Cassie, thank you for being with me despite my nasty temper." "It’ll be fine. Don't worry and just go." Aliya's hypnotherapy session took about 40 minutes. Cassie and I headed into the director's office upon being summoned as guardians. We were told Aliya was resting in the recovery room. "She shed quite a bit of tears. She seems exhausted." The consultation results indicated that Aliya's camera phobia likely originated during her early childhood, before age five. The female director relayed to us exactly what Aliya had said. "It seems she was trapped in an abandoned building with her mother. They were confined by white men who recorded them, and the camera they used was likely one of those large broadcast cameras," the director explained. Cassie asked, "How will the treatment proceed?" "This is an unconscious trauma that the patient herself isn't fully aware of. Through hypnosis, we'll have to implant positive suggestions to help her awaken to it." The plan was to identify images or objects that have a beneficial effect on Aliya's mental state and substitute them for the camera through another hypnosis session. Although I hoped to also address her aversion to men, Aliya adamantly refused, so we focused solely on the camera phobia. "Now, just relax comfortably like before. You did a great job the first time, so it should be even easier now." Hypnotherapy can vary greatly between individuals; sometimes it works immediately, while other times, even multiple sessions may not yield results. The director noted that since Aliya was actively cooperating, there was a good chance of eliciting a positive response. Cassie and I were allowed to observe the second hypnosis session with Aliya's consent. The director’s soothing and low voice seemed to comfort Aliya as she drifted into a trance. "Aliya, is there a nickname that you particularly like?" "Princess... Princess." "Alright, Princess. In front of you, there is a beautiful plate of your favorite food. Would you prefer to use chopsticks or a fork to eat?" "Fork..." "Great, then take a bite with your fork." "Okay..." "How does it taste?" "So sweet..." "Oh, it's sweet. Is it perhaps a cake?" "Yes... Tiramisu cake..." "Alright, now take a piece and offer it to the person you like the most, who’s sitting right beside you. Open wide." "Ah~" "Do they enjoy it?" "Of course. It’s from me..." "Is it a man or a woman?" "Fool, Aliya hates men..." "I see, it’s a woman. Is it the person who’s here with us now?" "Yes, it’s Cassie. I like her the most. I feel bad sometimes, so I give her a lot of money instead. I can't live without Cathy... Even if I can live without cash, I can't without Cathy..." Cassie listened with a soft smile on her face. "Alright then, why don’t you write down something else you like besides the tiramisu and Cassie? One letter at a time." "S-e-o-w-o-n, E-u-n-b-i-t, Y-o-n-a. Y-e-o-n-h-o-n-g is the truth." A warm smile spread across Aliya's face as she lay with her eyes closed, like sunlight in spring. Indeed, Aliya is most beautiful when she's at peace. The director caught Aliya's cryptic saying adeptly; after all, the names she mentioned were all attending patients here. "Once more, clearly." "Seowon is light, and Yeonhong is the truth to me." "Once more." "Seowon is light, and Yeonhong is the truth to me." "Now, let's imagine the camera that scares you." Aliya’s expression twisted as soon as the words were spoken, and the director continued immediately. "It’s okay because Cassie is with you, and there’s sweet tiramisu, plus Eunbit, Seowon, Yona, and Yeonhong too." "Mmm... Mmm..." "Is the camera still scary?" "Because Aliya is scared, her sisters are scared too... Then Aliya gets even more scared... Mom gets scared, and Cassie gets scared too..." Aliya's voice began to tremble with emotion. As she groaned painfully, I winced in empathy, feeling her discomfort. Sensing it was no longer productive, the director began the process to end the hypnosis. “On the count of three, you will wake up as the lights around you turn on. One, tw—" "Bbyong Manager..." Oh, what a surprise. Why me? The director paused the count and asked, “Excuse me? Who?” "Bbyong Manager. When Bbyong Manager is with us, everyone feels better..." "I see. So Bbyong Manager brings comfort to everyone? What a wonderful person, huh?" "Yeah... Such a mess, but a kind person... That's why I feel sorry. Always taking care of the sisters, no personal life, just pitiful... Wants to get married, but probably can't. Poor and old, which woman would want to marry him? So I have to protect him..." ...Stop. I already feel hurt enough inside, Aliya. This truth felt like a knockout punch from Tyson himself, leaving me speechless. I couldn’t help myself and blurted out, forgetting she was under hypnosis. "Hey, you’re the one who bosses me around the most with your personal chair, you...!" Aliya opened her eyes wide, smoothing her frown. Looking drowsily at Cassie and the director, her eyes finally landed on me. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, she spread her arms wide and spoke in a short voice. "Bbyong. Hug Aliya. I’ve been so scared all this time." < So I Have to Protect It > End