NOVEL WEB Chapter 9
Finally, the Day of Determination has dawned….
“It’s still dark….”
There was still quite a while before sunrise.
Mid-December.
Though it would be another five hours before the sun rises, Hayoon’s day had started in the dead of night, well before dawn, after coming home from school the previous night and falling asleep early.
“Haaam…”
Coming out into the darkened living room, Hayoon checked the atmosphere of the bedroom on the opposite side of the living room as she passed through.
Judging by the slightly opened door, her parents were sound asleep. Moving on to the kitchen, Hayoon began preparing a meal with some clattering noises.
“Bread…”
Taking the bread that was conveniently lying around in the fridge and putting it in the toaster, she cracked two eggs into a pan that she had greased while the bread toasted.
She also took some peanut butter and bacon from the fridge. Once the fried egg started to take shape, she added the bacon beside it to cook together.
-Ping!
While the bread popped up, she flipped it once more and also flipped the bacon and fried egg for further cooking…
-Ping!
When the bread popped up again, she took it out, generously spread peanut butter on it.
After finishing with the peanut butter, the heat was turned off and the fried egg and bacon were placed between the bread slices to put together the sandwich.
“Hmm, it’s a stable taste.”
Hayoon nodded with satisfaction at the flavor of the toasted sandwich she had created.
For people like Hayoon whose income is not consistent, finding a tasty snack option with almost negligible cost is not a choice but a necessity.
“To be honest, I didn’t include bacon when I lived alone, so this might be considered a special treat.”
Crunch.
Crunch.
As Hayoon shoved the last few bites of the toast into her mouth, she wiped her hands and got up from her seat, rinsing the plate used as a toast holder under the water and placing it in the sink.
This way, she had managed to somewhat quell her hunger, but…
“It’s two o’clock right now…”
Eating something again at this point would be unwise.
Experts know the rule: your stomach should be full just before the event.
Hayoon headed to the bathroom, waited for the water to warm up, and then started showering earnestly.
After showering, she checked the time again…
“Two-thirty.”
In order to prevent her skin from flaking in the bone-chilling, dry winter morning, she thoroughly applied lotion. To create the iconic mint green eyes of the HK-M4, she also wore colored contact lenses.
Now, returning to her room to dry her hair…
“Almost three o’clock.”
It was time for serious makeup.
She had looked up videos on cosplay makeup channels, so she should probably be able to do it, right?
Of course, Hayoon wasn’t entirely sure…
-Okay! Hello everyone. Lots of you are wondering how to apply makeup for cosplay…
With the video playing beside her, Hayoon meticulously followed the instructions and finished her makeup.
Actually, considering that Hayoon’s beauty after becoming a woman was already quite impressive, one might wonder if makeup was even necessary…
“Still, if you’re going to do it, it’s best to do it right.”
Hayoon was not the type to tolerate anything done half-heartedly.
Since she would be cosplaying at the expo anyway, she decided to apply makeup just like she did for conventions.
“Now for the finishing touches…”
Placing the red tear-shaped tattoo sticker under her eyes, she placed the dried-up hair into a net…
She put on a wig that exuded a sky-like hue and pinned two distinct deep-blue cross pins onto it for emphasis.
That concludes the hair arrangement.
“Everything’s done. The cap and clothes can be handled once I get to the venue…”
A sly smirk tugged at the corners of Hayoon’s mouth as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Honestly speaking, one of the key regrets that male otaku often have is not being able to become their favorite character themselves.
Taking pictures with female cosplayers is a way to vicariously satisfy that desire.
Now, Hayoon herself could become her favorite character.
That said, HK-M4 wasn’t her absolute favorite character, meaning this wouldn’t be her last cosplay.
At some point, without the burden of the status window, she wanted to attend an event and cosplay as her favorite character.
The experience of completely transforming into her favorite character.
It was a unique experience possible only because Hayoon was a woman.
“Why make a normal person a woman if I now earn more money and can be an extravagant otaku because of it?”
-…
Hayoon unnecessarily scolded the status window and went back to the kitchen, where she made herself another toast to fill her stomach.
“Is it going to be even harder…?”
Back in her male form, she could easily pack two servings of rice and soup before heading out, but now, as a woman, eating three toasts felt challenging.
Already, her stomach was signaling that it couldn’t handle any more.
“Well, there’s no helping it.”
Sighing, Hayoon turned off the kitchen lights and returned to her room.
“Hot pack, wallet, portable battery, thermos, chocolate pie, blanket, and the tablet…”
She’d gathered nearly all the essentials. After also securing the shopping bag containing cosplay props, she headed toward the entrance and put on her shoes.
She’d booked a taxi for four, and it seemed like heading out now would be perfectly timed…
– Creak.
The main bedroom door opened with a sound, and Hayoon, startled, slowly turned her head to look behind her.
And through the dimly lit living room emerged none other than…
“Where are you going, Hayoon?”
Yusoohee, still groggy and barely able to open her eyes, shuffled towards her.
“Yes, I’m going out to play.”
“This early?”
“It’s not early… It’s because it’s winter and the sun rises late. Yes, the sun’s late because…”
“Is that so…”
In response, Hayoon reflexively lied and reassured Yusoohee.
She hadn’t mentioned anything about going to AGC.
It would be impossible to get approval to go out at this early hour, so she was trying to slip out with carefully chosen words.
“Still…”
Yusoohee, rubbing her eyes repeatedly, blinked sleepily at Hayoon’s hair and eyes alternately.
“Did Hayoon dye her hair? Why are your eyes green? Something seems off…”
“No, that can’t be. Aren’t you tired? You woke up too early…”
“Not too early, you said it wasn’t earlier just now…”
“…”
Oh no.
Is she fully awake now?
With each passing moment, the awkwardness on Hayoon’s face deepened.
Then, suddenly…
“I’m sleepy… Mom’s going back to bed…”
“Ah, yes! Sleep well!”
“Yes, play safe and come back without getting hurt…”
Before fully waking up, Yusoohee turned around and walked back to the bedroom, gradually disappearing. Hayoon immediately opened the door and went outside.
The tension seemed stifling.
“Pheww…”
Hayoon finally exhaled once the elevator reached the first floor.
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to leave.”
Despite the initial unease, she had successfully managed to get out. Goal achieved.
Time to head to AGC.
#
The journey to KINTEX, the venue for the annual AGC, didn’t take long.
With the early morning roads still clear, Hayoon’s taxi zipped through smoothly, allowing her to reach Ilsan KINTEX by about 4:40, after leaving at around 4:00.
It felt like an instant journey from Seoul to Ilsan.
“Ah, thank you, driver.”
“Ah, take care, student.”
“Yes.”
After getting out of the taxi, Hayoon headed towards the KINTEX building, where lights were already lit up in various places.
“Things here haven’t changed, from then till now.”
As she approached KINTEX, she could see hundreds of fellow enthusiasts lined up and squatting near the exhibition entrance.
Some were inside sleeping bags.
Others were on mats.
Some were seated on folding chairs.
All of them were warriors who had arrived in Ilsan hours earlier, some even from the previous afternoon, determined not to miss the limited goods and front row seats at AGC stages.
And the gazes of these warriors…
“Wow, did you see that?”
“What?”
“There’s someone cosplaying as HK-M4. She’s so gorgeous.”
“Yeah? That person?”
“Yup.”
“Isn’t it just a wig?”
“Still, she’s very pretty, right?”
“Damn… wow…”
were naturally drawn to Hayoon.
Of course, this was logical.
At the crack of dawn—or even those from the ‘all-nighters’ who arrived the previous afternoon—time was abundant. Boredom ran high, along with extreme fatigue, so it was natural that attention would be drawn to a beautiful figure like Hayoon, who was now a stunning young woman due to the power of the status window, casually scanning the area to find the end of the lineup.
Furthermore, when a man crossed paths in such a waiting line, people rarely spared even a glance at him regardless of his appearance.
But when a woman passed by, and particularly if she was pretty and dressed in cosplay, a flood of longing gazes would follow.
Hayoon…
‘Admire me more…!’
could feel a surge of omnipotence as she absorbed each gaze cast her way.
Ordinarily, when waiting in line for an event and someone approached from the opposite side, what crossed minds?
Typically, if the person was a man, he would simply be seen as another individual who happened to pass by.
But if it were a woman? A beautiful one? One in cosplay? Expectation and admiration would definitely arise.
“Excuse me, may I take a quick photo?”
“Huh?”
“Do you cosplay as HK-M4? Your quality is so impressive…”
“But I only have the wig on…”
“Ah, but…”
Here people would come running, eyes burning, asking for a photo.
Given the nature of such events, it was well within reason.
However…
“I’ve not even joined the queue. We could take the picture when you see me inside the venue.”
“Ah, yes…”
If one were to accommodate everyone once or twice, there would be no end, making an already tiring and boring all-night wait even more exhausting.
Firstly, Hayoon made her rejection clear, checked the end of the line, and then went to find a spot, laying down her folded mat snugly enough to fit only her bottom—a perfect size.
“Man, this cosplay thing is not for nothing…”
Recalling how she just captured so much attention, even eliciting a photo request earlier, Hayoon couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.
“Cosplayers use cosplay to boost their self-esteem—it’s not just any saying, huh.”
Just wearing a wig, Hayoon had already received compliments on her “impressive quality.”
What might happen if she put on the entire cosplay set she stored in her shopping bag?
Would she be overwhelmed with countless photo requests?
“Looking forward to it….”
This year’s AGC seemed to promise more enjoyable elements than usual, and Hayoon found it hard to suppress her smile.
[!– Slider main container –]