Chapter 5: Special Debut

After deciding to make my debut stream special,
I sank into deep thought.

“How can I make it satisfyingly unique?”

Muttering to myself, I started searching keywords.
Singing contests, cosplay events, YouTube, busking…

What would be the flashiest, most memorable way to debut?

“If possible, I want a debut that highlights my beauty…”

‘Cosplay and singing seem the most appealing.’

If I did cosplay while singing… with this appearance, I’d definitely go viral.
It’d blow up on social media, and I’d be hailed as a goddess.

And if people online called for me to debut, that’d be special enough.

Or, if luck was on my side, maybe I’d get caught in a news interview.
Or appear on a variety show with audience participation, get noticed, and debut that way.

With a few ideas in mind, I settled on a rough plan.
If I had several options…

“Why not try them all?”

Join a variety show, then do cosplay and enter a singing contest.
With that thought, I started looking for variety show filming locations first.

*

By sheer luck,
a variety show I loved, Challenge! Dream King!, was filming an audience-participation episode.

Dream King was a show where contestants raced through obstacle courses in a timed challenge.
This time, for its 18th anniversary special, it was themed “Audience vs. Dream King.”

Perfect timing, I thought, and immediately applied.
I sent in my ID photo and a video of me working out in my home gym, emphasizing how eager I was to participate.

And, naturally, unless the producer was blind, they wouldn’t pass up a ratings magnet like me.
So, I was proudly selected as part of the audience team for Saturday’s shoot.

I headed to Kyunghwa University in Seoul, where the filming was set to take place on one of their campus grounds.

*

“Here it is.”

Muttering, I pulled my cap low and crossed the university gate.

Students started whispering as they noticed me.

“Wow, is that a celebrity?”

“Must be. They’re filming Dream King today, right?”

“No way, we’re seeing a real celebrity… That aura is unreal.”

“Should we ask for an autograph?”

“But who is she? She looks like a star, but… I feel like I’d have seen someone that gorgeous in a drama or music show.”

“Same… I can’t place her…”

“No way we wouldn’t know a celebrity with that vibe…”

Everyone assumed I was a guest celebrity for the Dream King shoot.
But it was the opposite—I was on the audience team, not the celebrity side.

No point clarifying; it’d be a hassle, and they’d find out naturally if they watched.
So, I quickened my pace, following the directions to the filming site.

[Challenge! Dream King!]

“Here we are.”

I glanced at the banner at the entrance, then slowly walked in.
Inside, staff members were bustling around, setting up obstacles.

They looked too busy to approach, so I stood there awkwardly.

“Hey! Are you one of today’s guests? Where’s your manager…”

After a while, a female staff member spotted me, rushed over, and asked excitedly.
She, too, mistook me for a celebrity.

Understandable, but I set the record straight.
“No manager. I’m not a guest… I’m on the audience team.”

“Audience team? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, hold on. What’s your name?”

“Lee Winter.”

She grabbed her walkie-talkie, confirmed my info, and checked if a Lee Winter was on the audience team.
When she got confirmation, she looked at me with an awkward expression.

“You’re… really on the audience team.”

“Yup.”

“Wow, even with the mask and cap, you’ve got this… celebrity vibe! I totally thought you were one!”

“Thank you.”

“Come this way, I’ll take you to the audience waiting room. Oh, you can take off your mask and cap there if you want. You’ll need to remove them during filming, just so you know.”

“Of course. Thanks.”

Following her lead, I was guided into a building designated as the audience waiting room.
Chairs were lined up, and a few other audience members were already there—some on their phones, others chatting with family.

“Hey, everyone! We’ve got another participant! She’ll be on your team today, so let’s give her a warm welcome!”

“Hello, I’m Lee Winter.”

Figuring it was polite, I took off my cap and mask to bow and greet them.
Now it was their turn to respond…

“…Huh?”

The female staff member leading me, who hadn’t seen my face yet, tilted her head curiously.
But the other audience members, who got a clear look…

They froze, eyes wide, like they’d seen something shocking.

A family with a young daughter, a handsome guy listening to music through headphones—all of them stared at me, stunned, with the same expression.

“W-What… What’s going on!?”

“No idea.”

“Hold on, are you all okay? Should I call the PD…?”

The female staff, thinking something was wrong, turned to look at me directly.
And in that moment, she too froze, unable to finish her sentence.

I felt like a basilisk turning people to stone.
After about ten seconds, they snapped out of it, shaking and blinking rapidly before speaking.

“H-Hello! I’m Jung Seunghwan! 181 cm tall, 77 kg, attending Seoul National University, 24 years old!!!”

“Haha, wow, are you a celebrity? I got a bit flustered seeing such a beautiful young lady!”

“Oh my, so gorgeous… prettier than actresses on TV. Are you an idol?”

“Unnie, you’re so pretty! Way prettier than anyone on YouTube or TV!”

“Kyaaa! I knew you were pretty, but this much!? Why aren’t you a celebrity!? You’d be a massive hit just by showing up!!”

The guy suddenly stood at attention, rattling off his height, weight, university, and age like it was a military report.
The middle-aged couple from the family smiled warmly, looking at me with admiration, while their young daughter gazed at me with awe.

And the female staff? She was now right in my face, eyes sparkling, asking why I wasn’t a celebrity, if I was wearing makeup, and declaring that today’s ratings were guaranteed to soar.
She was a whirlwind.

I gave a slightly exasperated look and tried to calm her down.

“Hey… please calm down.”

“Calm down!? No broadcaster could stay calm seeing this face! Seriously! Your beauty is a treasure that’d be a loss to humanity if it wasn’t on TV!!! Have you ever thought about becoming a variety star or celebrity? I can recommend agencies!!”

“I’ll… think about it later.”

At this rate, I’d end up a celebrity instead of a streamer, so I brushed her off and sent her away.
She had work to do as a staff member, after all.

“I’ll grab the PD later, so stay put! We’ll make sure you get plenty of screen time! The PD will lose it when he sees you!!”

“Okay… sure…”

Exhausted, I finally sent her off, sighed deeply, and sank into a chair to wait.