Debut (1)
I was now blankly staring into the air, gripping a box cutter in my right hand.
"……."
There was no trash visible in the room.
All I could see was the top-tier computer my mentor and the kids had put together for me.
"Mmm……."
One month until my debut stream.
I'd had a whole month left, yet somehow the calendar in front of me now read that today was the day.
I'd expected to be incredibly nervous, but instead I just felt dazed.
Maybe it was because I'd been too excited to sleep since last night.
"Ugh… dizzy."
After staying up all night, my legs gave out the moment I tried to stand, and I collapsed right there.
The time on my phone read 9 a.m.
"Haaah… Maybe I should have some coffee."
Still sprawled on the floor, I crawled sluggishly toward the coffee.
I didn't particularly like coffee.
Whenever I drank it, my heart would race too hard, leaving my chest aching for no reason.
I'd only had a few sips once when some older guys at a construction site offered it to me, and the memory of my heart pounding painfully all day flashed through my mind.
So I only ever made instant coffee when I absolutely needed to stay awake, and took small sips.
—Slurp.
"Ubebebeep…!!"
I'd sucked too hard and burned my tongue.
"Ugh… tongue's all numb……."
Sniffling, I poured the rest of the coffee down the sink.
"Haa……."
With my heart now thumping from the coffee, I opened the community site.
"Ugh… I already feel attacked the second I open it."
The more my expectations grew, the harder my heart began to pound.
I begged it to stop, but it paid no attention and kept racing on its own.
"Ughhh… stop."
Even as I said that, I clicked on community posts in search of that sweet hit of attention dopamine.
└ Snake Emperor isn't a pervert
└ Gah!
└ Snake Emperor isn't a pervert, you bastard
└ Why are you cursing ㅠ
└ Sorry
└ (Eat dirt lol)
└ Same
└ Yeah, excited
— Hurry up, I wish it was already evening
— Who's Ma-mang?
└ Who's that
└ The person who made her avatar
— What's RP?
└ Wasn't she a menhera?
└ That's not RP though……
└ ㅇㄱㅈㅉㅇㅇ?
└ ㅈㅉㅇㅇ
Everyone was heating up the community talking about me.
Watching it all, I trembled uncontrollably while trying my best to endure the flood of attention.
"…It feels good…! But it hurts so much…!"
My chest ached terribly.
The dopamine overload was making my whole body shake.
I couldn't understand why people were reacting positively to someone like me.
After all, a person like me didn't deserve that kind of attention.
"Haa… calm down."
After letting out a long sigh, I slapped my cheeks a couple of times.
Then, to double-check everything, I summoned the VR avatar.
"…If I do it like this."
The avatar popped up on screen and began mirroring my movements.
"Ooh……."
It was amazing.
I'd already confirmed it yesterday while on the phone with my mentor, but it still felt incredible.
When I smiled, the character smiled too.
When I made a gloomy expression, the character did the same.
"Whoa……."
Amazed by the incredibly smooth motion, I let out a gasp—and the character gasped along with me.
I'd asked for it to look like me, but the result was far prettier, and a smile naturally crept onto my face.
"…She's an absolute beauty."
My heart ached again.
It was because I felt like I'd received something far beyond my station.
"Haaah… It's okay, Suhyun."
From now on, I just had to become someone who deserved it.
Looking over the debut PPT Jiwoo had made and sent me, I practiced my greeting until evening.
I couldn't afford to stumble even during the greeting—it would look too pathetic.
Newcomers were supposed to be sharp and quick.
If you wanted to make a good impression, being quick on your feet could carry you halfway even if your skills weren't perfect.
Streaming would probably be similar.
"R-RP isn't a thing here, right?"
The thought suddenly occurred to me, but since my mentor had said it didn't matter, I decided to let it go.
'…Unnie has something even more amazing, so… um…….'
'Huh?'
'It's nothing! Good luck with your first stream… I'm pulling an all-nighter for three days so I'm going to sleep now…….'
With my mentor's voice echoing in my head, I set an alarm for the stream start time and began meditating.
The moment I took a deep breath to calm my mind and body—
—Thud!
I lost consciousness.
About five hours later.
—Beeeep!!!
"Ugh?!"
Something was blaring loudly. When I opened my eyes, there was a cut on my forehead.
"…Ow."
After hurriedly applying ointment and putting on a bandage, I checked the time.
"Hic… I must've fallen asleep……."
The loud noise had been the alarm I'd set right before meditating.
Startled, I rushed to my chair, turned on the debut PPT, activated the waiting screen my mentor had prepared, and started the stream.
"…Please come in lots……."
With both hands clasped together, I prayed for a big audience.
One by one, viewers began to trickle in.
Viewers: 43
"…!!"
Seeing more people than I'd expected, a smile naturally formed on my face.
At the same time, I started wondering why this many people would come to watch someone like me, and my body began to tremble.
Honestly, it was a little scary. What if I made a mistake and got insulted?
"Wh-what do I do… what do I do, ugh, God I'm sorry… I hope they only came to watch a little… just a little……."
— What's with her voice?
— Lmao
— Azin lololol
— Ah, it's been a month and she's already this cute from the start, what am I supposed to do;;
— fr
— whoa
— Were you guys the only ones watching this?
— I came because they said she was debuting… where did the old nickname go, there's just a total hottie sitting there;;
— lololol
— Cute.
"Hic…!"
I'd made a mistake right from the start.
The waiting screen was on and the mic was still live.
I quickly turned the mic off and checked the chat.
— What, a mistake?
— lolololol
— Solo talk GOAT
— Even her solo talk is cute
— She's shaking even while talking to herself lolol
— My heart hurts
— Turn the mic on pls
— Turn the mic on, let us hear your voice
— lololol Did she turn it off because she made a mistake?
— This background art style looks familiar
Thankfully, there were no bad reactions.
Everything was positive, so I let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew… Thank goodness they don't hate it."
Promising myself not to make any more mistakes, I turned the mic back on.
"Ah, hello, hellooo… I-I'm, I'm, I'm called Snake."
Because I was so nervous, I completely butchered the greeting I'd practiced dozens of times.
It was also the aftermath of taking a month off streaming.
— Why'd she reset back to the beginning lolol
— whoa… cute
— Azin girl is hot (deleted)
— What color panties are you wearing today?
— Hehehe panties! Show us your panties!
"P-panties?"
I didn't understand why they kept asking about that.
Since I couldn't answer every single question like that, I gave an awkward smile and brushed it off, saying I'd answer during the Q&A at the end.
"A-at the end, during the Q&A… thank youuu."
"Uuuugh… yesh I did……."
— lololololol
— If you bite your tongue this often, won't you get fired?;;
— lol
— Were you trying to hold it in? lol Your willpower is insane
— That must hurt like hell
— If you brush your teeth well you won't get canker sores
"I-I brush my teeth well… I've never had a canker sore……."
— whoa
— But when are you showing us the screen?
— Your face! Show us your face!
Suddenly everyone was asking when I'd show the screen.
Still dazed, I asked in a blank voice,
"I'm not showing it right now…?"
— You haven't turned it on
— You haven't turned it on…….
— lololololol
— Wait, you thought it was on this whole time and were talking to us? lolol
"S-sorry…! R-right now, I'll—"
Startled, I hurriedly moved the mouse and brought up the screen.
"Ah, hello…! My name is Snake… uwaah… this is embarrassing."
— Nice to meet you!
— Why are you embarrassed lolol
— Desire pouch whoa
— In real life she's a cutting board…….
— Why does even the virtual version have scars ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
— Is this modeled after herself?!
— Kya, ultimate beauty
— S-class beauty in the neighborhood
— Hehehe… panties! Show us your panties! (deleted)
While everyone was sharing their thoughts about my avatar, I was so embarrassed that I covered my face and peeked at the chat through the gaps between my fingers.
Thump, thump, thump
It was only then that I realized receiving attention really did feel good.
"Um… I'll move on to the PPT now… I'm too embarrassed."
With that, I officially began my debut stream.
Viewers: 121
vam.
