Chapter 68: Scarlet debut commemorative photo shoot, Part 2

She recalled the painful memory of being caught by Yoon Suhee while streaming with her camera partially on.

It was a chilling nightmare even now.

But that wasn’t the important part.

The promise she made with Yoon Suhee afterward was what mattered.

“The first rule was no cam during streams.”

The photo book was a different matter.

Hayoon wasn’t a model for major magazines like Maxim or gravure publications. She was essentially a model for a small-batch, amateur magazine.

Unless someone maliciously distributed scanned copies, her face wouldn’t become widely recognized.

That’s probably why Yoon Suhee was okay with the photo book even though she forbade streaming with a camera.

If Hayoon used a camera during a stream, anyone could capture her image with a few clicks and spread her personal information.

On the other hand, with the photo book, someone would have to intentionally scan the physical copy, and then further distribute those scans for her personal information to be spread.

Even if someone took an interest, the chances of them contacting one of the few people with leaked scans were slim.

Low-exposure photo books have low demand and rarely attract resellers.

Especially if the photo book featured cosplay of an indie game character.

However, streaming lacked these limiting factors, hence the restriction on using a camera.

“The second rule was that the photo book wouldn’t be too revealing.”

This was an extension of the first condition.

It was a bit backward, considering the cosplay book shoot happened before she got caught streaming with the camera partially on, but…

Regardless, Yoon Suhee, being in the industry, didn’t naively believe there would be zero leaks.

Therefore, they had discussed the level of exposure in Hayoon’s photos, setting limits.

The most important thing was the photo book’s content.

If she kept it within reasonable bounds, persuading Yoon Suhee might not be too difficult.

“The streaming rule doesn’t really apply to the photo book shoot, so the key is controlling the level of exposure.”

Hayoon gulped and grabbed the doorknob of her mother’s room, her tablet containing the image files tucked under her arm.

She had compiled what she considered “appropriately revealing” outfits.

The question was whether Yoon Suhee would agree.

And negotiating this was Hayoon’s task for today.

“Mom?”

Hayoon opened the well-oiled door of her mother’s room, barely making a sound, and peeked inside, looking for Yoon Su-hee.

“What?”

As expected.

Yoon Suhee was sitting on the bed, reading a fashion magazine.

Although not as drastic as Hayoon remembered from the past, Studio Yoon’s clientele had dwindled.

Perhaps looking for new inspiration, Yoon Suhee had been reading fashion magazines lately.

“Uh…. I was wondering if you could take a look at this?”

“What’s this?”

“What else? Clothes.”

Hayoon gave her the tablet with an awkward smile, and Yoon Suhee began seriously evaluating the outfits.

“An oversized shirt with dolphin shorts…? It’s a strange combination, but it’s definitely eye-catching. A women’s suit can look very intellectual with just the addition of glasses…”

Yoon Suhee’s eyes lit up.

Right now, she wasn’t a mother, but the CEO of Studio Yoon and photographer Yoon Suhee.

Perhaps that’s why?

“You want to take photos in these?”

“Yes? Ah, ahaha….”

“It’s obvious…. When you come to me, it means you want something, and bringing clothes means you’re asking for permission to take photos in them, right?”

Despite preparing various bluffs, she was seen through immediately.

Hayoon had plenty of money and could buy clothes herself without needing Yoon Suhee.

Coming to her mother meant she wanted Yoon Suhee involved in this.

Her intentions were too obvious.

“Ahaha….”

Hayoon laughed awkwardly at the failure of Plan A.

Yoon Suhee looked at Hayoon with a sullen expression.

“Can you take photos of me one more time? Just one more time….”

“You….”

Yoon Suhee frowned at her daughter’s aegyo, which now seemed more charming than childish, as she snuggled into her chest.

It was a familiar scene, reminiscent of a few months ago.

This child, really…

Did she think Yoon Suhee was a photo-taking machine activated by aegyo?

Moreover, the outfits this time were subtly more revealing than last time.

She wanted to tell Hayoon to learn proper modeling that showcased the beauty of fashion itself, but…

What could she do?

“Pleaseeee….”

Her only daughter, whom she carried for ten months and gave birth to, was nuzzling against her chest and acting cute, just like when she was a baby.

Her daughter, usually busy with her own work, was now begging to work with her.

With this level of enthusiasm, refusing would be a chore.

No, before that…

“Sigh….”

She couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

It had been Yoon Suhee’s long-standing dream to have Hayoon model, and despite personally disliking cosplay modeling, she quite enjoyed the cosplay shoot with Hayoon.

“So, what’s the plan?”

In the end, it always went this way.

“Ah, that’s…!”

Looking at her daughter’s sparkling eyes as she explained, Yoon Suhee even felt glad she agreed.

This was Yoon Suhee’s complete defeat.

It was a battle she could never win.

“Ughhh….”

Hayoon groaned and hung her head.

 

***

 

“Haaaa….”

Hong Seo-hyun groaned similarly, burying her face in Hayoon’s back, where the lines of her bra were faintly visible.

The reason for their behavior was simple.

It was the first day of school.

It was only natural for them to feel despair.

“So, we have to go through this hell five more times to graduate?”

“My, my, aren’t you talkative today…?”

“Well, it’s awful….”

A day in August, right after Liberation Day.

The temperature was a scorching 30 degrees, and Hayoon was still a first-year student.

This meant she had to endure this five more times to graduate.

It was enough to make her head spin, so how could she not curse?

“Are you feeling unwell today? Is it that time of the month? Should I give you a massage?”

“Wait, hold on….”

As Hayoon groaned, Hong Seo-hyun, clinging to her back, slipped her hand inside Hayoon’s blouse.

Then, she angled her wrist slightly and started massaging Hayoon’s lower abdomen.

“Stop.”

“S-Stop….”

She was stopped.

This wasn’t the club room or even the school, but a bus stop.

What was she doing in a place where men could see them?

Hong Seo-hyun shut her mouth when Hayoon glared at her.

They waited for the bus for a while and then went to school together.

After that, well…

“Air conditioner, air conditioner, air conditioner.”

The club room.

It was still early before the morning assembly, and being in the classroom with other grades was uncomfortable.

So, they rushed straight to the club room and turned on the air conditioner.

“It’s so hot….”

There was no need to hold back between girls.

Hong Seo-hyun immediately went under the air conditioner and unbuttoned the top of her blouse.

Hayoon pulled up a chair and sat underneath.

“Isn’t it too hot? What’s with the weather….”

flap, flap

As she flapped her blouse back and forth, a strange sound echoed softly.

As the two girls were escaping the heat.

“…We’re having a photo book shoot soon, want to come?”

“Huh?”

Hayoon brought up the photo book.

“There will be differences between the virtual model and the cosplay, but it’s good to see how it looks, right?”

“Can you even tell?”

“Just look at it as if I have a 2D filter on. Well, if you don’t want to, it’s fine.”

Hayoon didn’t really need to make this offer, but…

‘It’s a bit embarrassing to pose in front of my mom alone…?’

It wasn’t anything else, but she felt awkward being alone with Yoon Suhee in the studio.

Normally, she would have called Choi Arin, but this wasn’t a shoot where Choi Arin could do anything.

She was trying to lure Hong Seo-hyun in with the excuse of observation.

“No, why wouldn’t I want to?”

“Really? You’ll come?”

“Should I…? Where should I go?”

Hong Seo-hyun, who seemed to be contemplating for a moment, gave a rather positive answer.

“Come to Hongdae this weekend. I’ll send you the detailed address via text.”

Good.

Now she wouldn’t be embarrassed about acting cute in front of her mom.