Chapter 6: Special Debut

As soon as I sat down, a little girl rushed over and clung to my leg.

“Unnie! Unnie!! Are you a celebrity?! Or a YouTuber? A streamer? A model? Where do you come from?!”

“Hey, sweetie, you can’t do that!”

“It’s okay.”
I waved off the mother trying to stop her daughter, then lifted the girl up, giving her an airplane ride.

“Wowww!!! No way!!!”

“Goodness, how are those arms so strong?!”

“Haha, what a remarkable young lady!”

The parents were shocked as I effortlessly lifted their daughter, and the handsome guy—Seunghwan, was it?—who’d been sneaking glances, looked stunned too.
I smiled and responded.

“That’s why I’m here for a show like this, right? I came with some confidence.”

“Fair point! Those obstacles aren’t easy!”

“Haha, you’re quite something! If I had a son, I’d want you as my daughter-in-law!”

“Unnie! Unnie! Tell me! It’s a lie, right?! You’re a YouTuber, aren’t you?!”

“Nope, I’m really just a regular person.”

I gave her another airplane ride to calm her down, chuckling.

“Uh… I-I’m a streamer!”

“Huh?”

“Wow! A streamer?! Really, oppa?!”

While we were chatting, the guy who’d been awkwardly silent—Seunghwan—suddenly blurted out that he was a streamer.
No one had even asked.
But seeing how stiffly he kept stealing glances at me, I could guess why.

He was probably frozen in front of a beautiful woman.
Fair enough, I thought, understanding his reaction.

Carefully setting the girl down, I watched as she dashed over to Seunghwan, tugging at his leg with questions.

“Oppa! Oppa! How many viewers do you have?! Do you do YouTube?! How many subscribers?”

“Uh, well… my viewer count isn’t that high… maybe 400 to 500? And I don’t really do YouTube yet…”

“Wow, still impressive! They say streaming’s a red ocean these days, but 400 to 500 means you’re out of the small-fry zone, right?!”

“How… how do you know all that?!”

Seunghwan, tension melting, looked baffled as he questioned her.
How did a 7- or 8-year-old know so much?

“Haha, well, our little one dreams of being an influencer!”

“She’s always studying up on streaming, YouTube, TikTok, you name it.”

“Ehem! Being a YouTuber is kids’ number one dream these days!”

Seunghwan couldn’t help but be amazed at her bold declaration.
Kids these days were precocious, but this precocious?

“That’s… impressive.”

“That’s why I’m on this show! If I show off my cute self on TV, I can start my YouTube channel with a bang, not as a nobody!”

“Uh… I wouldn’t know about that. Viewers and subscribers come for all sorts of reasons. If you’re fun or… uh, pretty, that helps…”

As he said “pretty,” he glanced at me again.
The sharp little girl caught it, let out an “Aha!” and rushed back to me.

“Unnie! Unnie!! So you’re not a YouTuber or streamer, right?!”

“Yup, that’s right.”

“Then! Then!! Pleeease! Just once! Could you appear on my debut stream?!”

“Huh?”

“If you’re on this show, it’ll blow up! Like the staff unnie said! I’m aiming for that too, but you? You’ll steal the show!!! People will be searching for you all over social media! If you show up on my YouTube channel then!!”

“Uh… really?”

I was taken aback by her words.
Her idea for a debut was eerily similar to what I’d been planning.

I was aiming to debut when people started looking for me on social media…
But thinking about it…

‘…This might actually be better.’

My eyes lit up as I reconsidered.
If I debuted right after the show, it might look like I was fishing for attention.
Which, to be fair, I kind of was.

But I didn’t want that calculated image.
I wanted a debut where it felt like the audience’s demand pulled me in—a breakout rookie forced into the spotlight.

That was the special debut I dreamed of.

If I didn’t debut right away but instead appeared on this kid’s stream first?
Like I was just doing her a favor?
If I showed off something amazing there, more people would want to see me.
And if I started streaming because of that demand…

It’d soften the “attention-seeking” vibe.
Using her YouTube as a filter would benefit us both—she’d get a huge boost for her debut, and I’d get mine.
A win-win.

“Please? Please? Please?”

“Sweetie, you can’t ask things like that!”

“Ahem, sorry, our little one’s a bit bold. Being a late child, we’ve spoiled her…”

“No, no, it’s fine. She’s adorable. Just once, right?”

I shook my head at the parents trying to rein her in, crouched down, and held out my pinky.
The girl beamed, hooked her pinky with mine, and sealed the promise.

And so, I agreed to be a special guest on her debut stream.

Her name was Kim Hyewon.
Her parents were Kim Seunghwan and Lee Younghee.

*

“Wow…”

“Whew…”

As more audience participants arrived, they’d see me, freeze, and gape.
Some seemed to want to talk but hesitated.
Thankfully, Hyewon, now comfortably perched on my lap, kept chattering away, so no one approached.

Less hassle for me.
I treated Hyewon extra kindly, and she giggled happily.

“You know about cosplay too?”

“Of course! It’s all over YouTube!! Anyway, unnie, you’re pretty like an angel, so you should dress like one! It’d be perfect!! I’ll be a princess!!”

“Alright, alright.”

So, cosplay was added to the mix.

“And unnie! Can you sing?”

“Hm? I think I’m pretty good.”

“Wow! Then sing at my debut stream! Teach me too!! I want to learn pretty dances and songs to grow my YouTube like an idol!”

“Got it? Haha, okay.”

She even roped me into singing.
Hyewon was so adorable, I couldn’t help but agree eagerly.

I’d need to boost education and singing talents and skills.
That might stretch my points thin…

‘I’ll have to find more useless talents to zero out.’

I planned to dig through the customization window again, determined to give Hyewon a head start.
Since she’d given me this great opportunity, I wanted to return the favor.
With level 10 education talent and skills, I could lay a solid foundation for her dreams.

While we chatted about her future YouTube plans, the rest of the audience participants arrived.
The female staff returned to guide us to the filming set.

“PD-nim!!! All the audience members are here!!!”

“Okay!! Hold on a sec!!”

“No, seriously, you have to see this one!!”

“Please… stop…”

As expected, the staff woman stuck to me like glue, shouting about how I had to be featured, telling cameramen and others to make sure I was filmed well.
Even as I begged her to stop, embarrassed, she was relentless.

The other staff, used to her enthusiasm, nodded, then did double-takes when they saw me.
Eventually, it led to the show’s PD himself being introduced to me.

“…Wow. In my line of work, I’ve seen countless celebrities, but someone as stunning as you, Winter-nim? A first. Why aren’t you a celebrity?”

“Thank you.”

“Want me to introduce you to an agency? Honestly, you don’t even need acting or singing skills—just being on screen would guarantee ratings. You’re a born star.”

“I’ll pass… I just love DreamKing and thought participating would be fun.”

“Hm… You’ll probably need it later. If you change your mind, call me. Here’s my card.”

The PD, clearly convinced I’d end up in the industry after this, handed me his card with a knowing look.
I took it, and we finally started preparing for the shoot.

While we waited, the celebrity guests’ cars began rolling in.

Challenge! DreamKing!—18th Anniversary: Audience vs. Celebrities was about to begin.