Former SM trainees draw attention for their visuals after being spotted with aespa

Former SM female trainees are garnering attention for their visuals.

On an online forum, netizens reacted to a photograph showing aespa members posing with two female acquaintances after their concert, 'SYNK: aeXIS LINE.' According to netizens, the two friends with guest passes are former SM Entertainment trainees.

Netizens remarked that the two, though technically non-celebrities now, look "extremely pretty" even while standing next to aespa members. Some commented that "it makes sense they are pretty since they were obviously SM trainees," adding that their visuals could even surpass some of the top female idols active today.

They were especially drawn to the light brown-haired former trainee, who netizens described as "having the iconic SM deer-like face."

A screenshot shared on the forum revealed a text conversation between the former trainee and Winter, to whom she had also sent the group photo. The ex-trainee wrote: "I wanted to send you this photo, unnie, since your smiling appearance came out so pretty and cute~" To this, Winter replied: "LOLLLL. And you still look so innocent...~", which was the uploader responded with: "I'm so embarrassed... but happy.."

Meanwhile, other netizens pointed out that the image came from one of the former trainees’ personal Instagram, where she also posted a photo of gifts from Winter, along with a message: "Thank you for coming to support us~ Let's have a meal when we have time~"

Reactions include:

"Wow, that former SM trainee is as pretty as aespa"

"Why didn’t they debut the brown-haired girl? Such a shame… she has the classic SM deer-like beautyㅜㅠ"

"Judging by the texts with Winter, I guess that brown-haired girl was originally the ‘pure image’ member."

"What is this? Honestly the brown-haired girl beats them all."

"Not really ‘as much as’ aespa though??"

"SM’s female trainees used to be divided into pure vs. girl crush roles, but when the debut concept was set as the latter, she probably got dropped… Winter and Ningning were also in the pure group, but Ningning was part of Rookies and Winter consistently ranked top 1–2 monthly evaluations, so they made the cut."

"If the debut concept had ended up being ‘pure,’ I feel like it would’ve been her, Winter, Ningning, Kim Chaehyun, Goeun, and Lami who debuted together."

"Stuff like this shows life is really all about timing… who could’ve known the order of debut between pure and girl crush concepts would flip like that."

"If she had been in aespa, she, Karina, and Winter would’ve been called the Bermuda Triangleㅋㅋㅋ She has that pure yet atmospheric vibe that would’ve attracted a lot of female fans."

"Karina even said it herself—at first they thought they were going to debut with a Girls’ Generation-like concept, but after Giselle joined, the style and concept were set. Karina and Winter were always guaranteed to debut no matter what the lineup was."

"It was originally planned to be a large group like Girls’ Generation. Karina, Winter, Ningning, Goeun, Hina, actress Park Jungyeon, Kep1er’s Chaehyun, Girl Planet’s Ahn Jungmin, plus two unrevealed trainees… maybe even more. Seeing how some of them are still connected now, it looks like they were really preparing to debut together back then."

"After Red Velvet, it was almost going to be another large group, but the pure-concept trainees ended up left outㅠㅠ Even aespa proved with ‘Life’s Too Short’ that they suit a pure vibe so well. Makes me wonder what was going on in Lee Soo Man’s head at the time;; also with SM's White Fox debut cancellation… I really miss the days when SM would properly push a pure concept group."

"It's like Sera and the kids."

"If she had debuted, she would’ve been like Irene, carrying 50% of the group’s popularity."

"She would’ve been the undeniable visual center, like Jang Wonyoung."

"The brown-haired girl is prettier than aespa? Not exaggerating, just objectively feels that way. The only thing is I’m not sure her look matches aespa’s team color. Standing there, she makes the group vibe look really different."

"She’s way prettier."

"Wow, doesn’t the brown-haired girl want to debut? She’s stunning."

"With that kind of face, even if she were tone-deaf, they could’ve debuted her. Can’t believe they let her goㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ"

"If she had been in aespa, she, Karina, and Winter would’ve been called the Bermuda Triangleㅋㅋㅋ Pure but with presence, she would’ve drawn tons of female fans."

"Wow, I checked her Instagram and she’s seriously gorgeous. She should try acting even now."

"Why is it always said that SM’s former trainees are pretty? You don’t hear that about other companies."

"Crazy… living as a normal person with that face."

"Probably didn’t make it because of her height and concept. Ningning is the shortest in aespa, and even standing next to her she looked noticeably smaller."

"But wow, they all have such sharp features, really striking visuals."

"The brown-haired girl is truly beautiful, but I feel like her look suits Life’s Too Short more than aespa’s main concept."

"Even if she debuted now, she’d get attention just for visuals."

"Her height seems really short, so not Jang Wonyoung-level. But her face is so pretty, she looks the best among them."

"She’s simply the prettiest."

"No, seriously, she’s the most beautiful… I get why she didn’t debut in aespa, but to have trained and then just live as a regular person feels unbelievable for someone that pretty."

"The girl in the white skirt is the one who got cut from the debut lineup? Wow, idols really aren’t all about looksㅋㅋ She’s overwhelmingly the prettiest in that picture, amazing… I wonder what she’s doing now."

"The truly beautiful ones often don’t debut…"

"Not joking, I thought the girls standing next to the brown-haired one were just her non-celebrity friends."

What are your thoughts?

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