“Our Sebi. Don’t get intimidated, greet them well. Got it?”
“But the unnis should go together…”
“Being the youngest is better than not being invited at all.”
Stage name Sebi, real name An Joo Hee, replied loudly despite the concern from her unnis.
“Don’t worry, unnis! I’ll do great!”
Sebi is currently an idol active in the entertainment industry. She debuted two years ago as the youngest member of the five-member girl group ‘Midkiss.’
It wasn’t a group that everyone would recognize by name; it was the kind of group that people who slightly like idols would say, “Oh, them?”
In terms of tier, they might be between tier 3 and 4. They received a spotlight during their debut but afterward, their music scores and recognition were quite low.
Like most idols, Midkiss had dreamed of the top spot before their debut.
They imagined new songs would fly off the shelves, dominating streaming sites, and their concerts would sell out in a heartbeat.
But ideals and reality are different. The reality they faced was cold. Compared to their hopeful trainee days, simply debuting now felt even more daunting.
Unlike the debut period where they received attention as newcomers, there wasn’t much to show for it now.
Sebi and the members were scared. What if they disappeared into mediocrity? What if they ended their entertainment career just like that? It was too sad that all their golden teenage and early twenties were yielding nothing in return.
Fortunately, Sebi and the members hadn’t given up yet. The unnis were working part-time during their breaks while continuing to practice, and they were also appearing in web dramas and communicating with fans through their Vtube channel, working hard in various ways.
Sebi’s appearance on the variety show ‘Midnight Talk’ was for the same reason. Although it was just a one-time guest spot and not a regular gig, still, it was something.
She was determined to achieve meaningful results on this show.
“I’m going to blow everyone away. The panelists, other guests, and even the staff… everyone…”
If she could do that, her segments wouldn’t get edited out and she’d have plenty of airtime, and naturally, people would think, “Who’s that? Oh, it’s an idol.”
If she holds on until the end, someday an opportunity will come. How many cases have there been in the entertainment industry like Midkiss, who had little recognition but shot to fame in an instant?
Once a bit-part actor, suddenly a breakout star, or an idol whose fancams took off—anything can happen in showbiz where the world can flip overnight.
But opportunities don’t just fall into your lap. All those cases come from the continuous efforts of those involved.
It’s said that good luck brings opportunities, but seizing them takes skill. That’s why Sebi, despite her young age, stays focused and works hard, swayed by various temptations.
“Sebi, you go ahead. I’ll catch up with the staff a bit.”
“Okay, oppa.”
Upon arriving at the filming location, Sebi’s manager escorted her to the waiting room door before stepping away to meet the PD and other staff.
I heard he has a good relationship with the PD. The program Sebi is cast in was secured after a good bit of schmoozing, or so I’ve heard. Her manager is certainly doing his utmost within his limits.
“I need to work hard too…!”
Sebi took a deep breath in front of the waiting room door, preparing herself, thinking of Midkiss’s group greeting before opening the door.
“Um….”
But contrary to her preparation, she couldn’t say a word.
Inside the waiting room was a woman she had never seen before. With strikingly bright white hair, almost resembling the ocean, and eyes as blue as the sea.
She was sitting in a corner of the waiting room and turned her gaze toward Sebi, likely reacting to the sound of the door opening. Blinking her large eyes.
“A guest, perhaps? Who is she?”
The truth is, Sebi hadn’t been introduced to the other guests by the PD at all. She only knew that there would be four guests in total, including herself.
Perhaps it was more entertaining for the program’s concept to keep it under wraps, which led Sebi to wonder who would be appearing alongside her since the day before.
Kayak hadn’t received much information on the cast either, so it wasn’t an unfair treatment.
Sebi quickly scanned the woman before her. But the face was absent from her mental database. So, at least she wasn’t an idol.
She might be an actress or possibly a model. The aura was something else, suggesting she could very well be an actress.
“I feel like you’re an actor.”
‘There’s no way I’d forget a face like that after seeing it just once…’
If I’d seen this face even once in any production, it would definitely leave a memorable impression.
Sebi thought that they could either be a rookie who had never appeared in a work or an actor whose every project flopped. She wasn’t completely clueless about that area, but she didn’t know it very deeply either.
Sebi wrapped up all these thoughts in just about a minute. Regardless of whether the other person was an actor or a model, her task was simple.
“Hello! I’m Sebi, the sub-vocalist of Midkiss!”
She bowed and greeted politely. This was the most frequent action she had done since entering the entertainment industry, and it was something her older sisters had advised her about.
Gossip spread quickly: who greeted well and who didn’t – it could turn into a group being labeled as rude in an instant.
Since she didn’t know the other person’s face, she raised her voice as if greeting a senior. Sebi thought it was a flawless greeting.
Meanwhile, Kayak, who had missed the timing to greet, could only roll her eyes while staring at the soft-haired idol’s head.
“Y-yes, Midkiss… Sebi, nice to meet you. I’m, um, Kayak from KayakTube…”
*
While waiting in the waiting room, reading the script, she unexpectedly received a 90-degree bow.
As a result, she was so flustered that she could only come up with the unfunny greeting of introducing herself as Kayak from KayakTube.
“So, you’re on Twishi…? And you run a VTube channel too?”
“Yes, that’s right. If you look here, there’s my channel.”
“So many subscribers! That’s awesome!”
Through their brief conversation, they cleared up the misunderstanding.
It turned out she mistook her for a senior in the entertainment industry. Since she hadn’t even properly built up her years and was from a lesser-known idol group, putting in effort with greetings was the norm.
“I subscribed! I’ll tell my older sisters to subscribe when we’re back at the dorm!”
She was a sociable kid, just 18 years old, was it? Sebi took the lead in their conversation with the freshness unique to that age group.
“Hello, I’m someone who acts in a theater troupe-.”
Just as those who arrived were introducing themselves and she was about to introduce herself, a woman identifying herself as an actress jumped in.
“Did you happen to go to Bosingak on New Year’s?”
“Yes, to hear the bell ringing….”
“That’s right! I saw you on the news! The Bosingak Camilla girl!”
“What’s the Bosingak Camilla girl?”
After that, it became another explanation time. Even though I, the person involved, didn’t have to step in, someone recognized me and showed the news video, and those who had watched it praised me, saying I was pretty and spoke well.
It was time for another explanation. Even though I was the main subject, someone recognized me and showed the news clip where viewers praised how pretty and articulate I was.
After that, Sebi asked what Camilla was, and this time a man from the theater continued to explain.
“There’s a game called Abyss, and there’s a character named Camilla in it who looks so much like you that we call you the Bell Pavilion Camilla.”
“I’m really enjoying the broadcast; I’m a fan. You’re even prettier in person.”
“Oh, yes. Thank you.”
The actress referred to me as the Bell Pavilion Camilla, while the guy said he recognized me thanks to pro gamer Lee Jun Hyuk’s remarks.
Both incidents significantly contributed to boosting my broadcast’s stature. Still, I was completely taken aback that I would encounter someone who recognized me in a setting like this.
“Sis, you were totally someone special. I didn’t even recognize you.”
Sebi looked at me with admiration, which was just a bonus. Honestly, isn’t your reaction a bit more normal?
It was a bit overwhelming having Sebi look at me as if I were some kind of celebrity just because these lucky folks recognized me.
Regardless, I resolved to support Sebi as much as I could when the program started.
Before the crowd gathered, I briefly heard her story, and it was pretty sad. It felt like seeing the bare face of an unpopular idol?
It wasn’t just sympathy; she was genuinely nice. I admired her persistence despite a tough environment, plus I liked how friendly she was when she first greeted me.
Most importantly, our reasons for appearing on the show were entirely different.
I was merely doing a broadcast to appear on public TV, while for Sebi, every single broadcast was a valuable opportunity. You could say it was a difference in desperation.
I wasn’t the kind of person who would shamelessly take valuable screen time from an important idol in one of these shows, so I decided to focus on supporting her.
When the shoot started, I just needed to concentrate on listening to Sebi and reacting enthusiastically. Just as I thought that, the producer came in, and filming began immediately.
*
“Hey, Kayak, what are you doing over there?”
“You don’t look like it, but you’re surprisingly clumsy?”
“Hahaha! Sis, you’re so funny!”
Uh-oh, isn’t this going completely differently from what I planned?
The realization hit me late.
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