Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 33

Encouraging the community would be a fitting way to put it. Or, to be more precise, it would be more accurate to say I was encouraging the creators who were busy writing that kind of fanfiction.

 

‘It doesn’t seem like it’ll cause any major problems….’

 

Even without that specific reason, I needed to prove that Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha were two halves of a whole—that we were inseparable. The timing was perfect.

 

More than ever, this was the time when taking pictures together, filming content together, and doing other friendly activities mattered. Simply giving those creators something to get excited about while showing that Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha had a strong, solid relationship would be worthwhile.

 

Hoping that the seeds I sowed today would eventually bear fruit, I knocked on Joo Wooyoung’s door with a determined spirit.

 

“Hyung?”

 

Joo Wooyoung appeared right on cue. He was fully dressed up, likely in preparation for his own live broadcast.

 

Was it the influence of his holy power? Or was it just because his skin was naturally good and his lips were always hydrated? I couldn’t tell if he was wearing makeup or if he had even touched his face at all, but after checking his eyebrows and the area around his eyes, I nodded.

 

‘You’ve prepared thoroughly, haven’t you?’

 

I continued speaking with a smile, doing my best to act as close and friendly as possible.

 

“Sorry. I hope I’m not bothering you while you’re busy?”

 

“No, not at all. Actually, our class was doing the same thing….”

 

“Oh. So the <Nobility> class has the follower mission too?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? We have to follow each other right away! Hyung, you aren’t the type to follow no one or keep your follow count at exactly zero to look cool, are you?”

 

“No, not really… Is that actually a thing?”

 

“I don’t know much about it either, but I heard that’s a ‘vibe’ some people go for. Some professionals manage their follow list very strictly. Anyway, you’ll follow me back, right?”

 

“Huh? Oh… of course.”

 

“Then I’ll do it right now.”

 

It felt strange and surprising to be talking so casually with Joo Wooyoung like this. It even made me feel a sense of pride, as if we had actually become quite close. There was no awkwardness in our conversation.

 

I hadn’t quite reached the level of being a ‘fixed party member’ for Joo Wooyoung yet, but the sense of being ‘comrades’ had grown stronger. It felt like I had become a reliable mercenary he’d call whenever there was a spot in the party, or a semi-regular companion.

 

After nodding satisfactorily, the dramatic mutual follow was completed. It was such a trivial thing, yet it made me feel just as accomplished as our casual conversation. Furthermore, Joo Wooyoung’s very first follow was Lee Unha. The fact that he hadn’t fully adapted to this world yet worked in my favor.

 

“I guess the mission is the same for all three classes. Still, no one’s getting eliminated from the <Nobility> class, right?”

 

“No eliminations, but it looks like people can get demoted. Of course, there are benefits if you take first place….”

 

“They haven’t announced what the benefits are yet, right?”

 

“No. But Unha.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Wasn’t this supposed to be just a simple SNS live? Why did the camera crew… come along?”

 

‘This guy really knows nothing except how to dance and sing.’

 

I leaned in and whispered to him.

 

“They’re obviously here to film us. There are no stages for this mission. Since we’re just managing personal SNS, there’s nothing to use for the broadcast. They have to film meetings like this to get enough footage for the episode, don’t they?”

 

“Aha.”

 

“There was a notice to consult with the writers before doing anything, remember?”

 

“So that’s why.”

 

“Yes. Whether it gets aired or not is up to the PD… but the more source material they have, the better. They’re probably just gathering material.”

 

There were likely cameras rolling elsewhere as well. The show was operating on a system where the filming crew would join in if they thought a situation was broadcast-worthy; otherwise, trainees were left to their own devices after a brief consultation.

 

Honestly, the whole operation felt incredibly slapdash. Some trainees, under the pressure of being eliminated if they didn’t gain enough followers, were uploading dozens of pieces of content a day. There were also people who simply posted photos, but the trainees who worried about getting screen time were practically possessed by the spirits of TV writers, desperately trying to come up with content that would convince the staff to choose them.

 

‘Well, everyone will probably get at least one chance.’

 

In fact, I’d heard that some of the other trainees were filming outside under the staff’s direction, which showed they were trying all sorts of different approaches behind the scenes. At the very least, they wanted to avoid creating the appearance of favoritism—though the reality was quite different.

 

‘I can’t tell if I should be happy about this or not.’

 

“There are a lot of staff members here.”

 

“Yeah. I was surprised too….”

 

As Joo Wooyoung had said, he and Lee Unha were clearly among the beneficiaries of this system. You could tell just by how many staff members had shown up to film something so trivial. It wasn’t just a few writers; even the Main PD was there. There were multiple cameras as well.

 

It was an excessive use of manpower for a simple live broadcast by two trainees. It was proof that Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha were currently carrying Idol Classism, which was gratifying, but it also sparked a bit of anxiety. After all, great power came with great responsibility.

 

“Um….”

 

“Ah. Are you ready?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You two can just think of it as hanging out together and do the livestream comfortably. We’ve already set up cameras in Trainee Joo Wooyoung’s room, so everything you two do will be recorded. Just make sure not to point your camera toward us when you’re filming.”

 

“Ah. Okay.”

 

“As we mentioned yesterday, we’ve stocked the fridge in Joo Wooyoung’s room with red ginseng. Please give it a brief mention. Keywords are: Korea Red Ginseng Corp, fatigue recovery, blood flow improvement, immunity boost, antioxidant, and memory improvement. You received the script yesterday, right? You don’t have to follow it word-for-word, but make sure to hit those keywords.”

 

‘We have to do PPL in the middle of this too?’

 

“Can I just turn it on then?”

 

“Yes. Please be as natural as possible.”

 

‘Like that’s even possible. No matter how used you get to cameras, this is basically close surveillance.You didn’t even bring a slate, you’re just shoving cameras in our faces.’

 

Since Joo Wooyoung also seemed a bit more nervous than usual, I opened my mouth first.

 

“Hyung, I’m turning on the live, okay?”

 

As I had learned from No. 45, I swiped right on the feed, tapped ‘Live,’ and hit ‘Start Live Video.’ My face appeared on the screen.

 

Since I had already announced it on my Stories and had a large follower count, the viewer numbers started climbing rapidly. The chat began to scroll by. Even though I had mentally prepared myself, I was still flustered and out of my element.

 

> [DARK.WIZARD] Unh!

> [bigtree=AG] Unha!

> [Geseul] Unh! Unh!

> [B_CHU] It’s really a livestream!!

> [GK.KIM] Oppa, I’ve been waiting all day T_T T_T

> [Hoiga] Congrats on 110k followers!!! Let’s keep going!!!

> [099_gigi] Unha! Noona really, really cherishes you! ♥♥♥♥♥ Let’s definitely debut!

> [DARK.WIZARD] What’s the follower count? Unha is still #1, right?

> [flowerFF] eng plz!!! unha! eng plz!!!

> [X.LIN] I was so excited I’ve been waiting since an hour ago, finally!!

> [0614aa] Unha ♥♥♥♥♥ I cherish you. I saw your post and knew there’d be a live today. I’ve been fluttering all day. I’m from Colombia…

> [forest_elf_89] oh My God!!!! I love you so much! oppa!

> [asdqwe505] Can you speak in English? If you’re okay with it, please…

> [angel_war] Unha!!! Unha!!!!

 

‘Why is the chat… English? I can’t speak English…’

 

It was fast. Foreign languages I couldn’t understand were flooding in. It was so fast I couldn’t read them all. I genuinely couldn’t understand how streamers managed to keep up with chats like this.

 

I expected a decent crowd, but the sheer volume of people was honestly overwhelming. Joo Wooyoung, who wasn’t even on camera yet, looked very flustered as well. Even the Hero who had defeated the Demon King in another world couldn’t hide his nerves when faced with this sudden phenomenon.

 

‘I-I should start the greeting first.’

 

“H—hello! I am 17-year-old Lee Unha, who has descended from the Idol Planet to become your vitamin!”

 

> [DARK.WIZARD] The mysterious Vitamin from the Idol Planetㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Did you really come from the Idol Planet? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

> [limi_Lm] Vitaminㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

> [900101_AKA_LIZARD] Idol Planetㅋㅋㅋ. I was wondering when he’d say that…

> [rj123456789] Yes, our Unha is indeed an alien from the Idol Planet… yes… Unha, do whatever you want. Our Unha is allowed to do anything.

> [44777aha] You can do anything you want, Unha… except the Vitamin thing.

> [heyma_nigaga] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

> [wow111] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

“First, I want to thank all my followers! My follower count grew more than I could have ever imagined, so I felt I really had to say hello to the fans. At this rate, I feel like I might… uh… take first place….”

 

> [yubin9543] Aren’t you already first?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

> [end_photo] You’re already first right nowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

> [flowerFF] eng plz! eng plz!

> [vj45jomp45] You are #1, Unha. The eternal #1 in my heart.

 

“I am currently in first place, but… you never know when it might flip, and it’s all—all thanks to the love from my fans…. Anyway, the main reason I’m doing this live today is to say thank you, but… it’s also because I thought of a good idea.”

 

> [wow111] ?

 

“An Idol Classism dorm tour! What is the <Nobility> class dorm like?”

 

> [DARK.WIZARD] Unha, watch the honorifics.

 

“What is it like…ly to be? I’ve been here once before, but I thought you all would be even more curious… Anyway, I thought it would be fun to do a livestream on this topic… so I brought a guest.”

 

I gave a small gesture. Joo Wooyoung stepped into the frame. Then, he bowed.

 

“Hello. I am Joo Wooyoung.”

 

I expected a good reaction, but….

 

‘Whoa.’

 

It felt like the chat window literally exploded.