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After returning from the Demon Realm.

I was living the life I had declared.

A true unemployed bum.

A shut-in who stays holed up at home, not even thinking about going outside.

Even my routine early morning workout had been skipped due to a small incident that happened recently.

It was such a trivial and minor incident that it would be embarrassing to even bring it up again, so it’s better to erase it from memory as soon as possible.

Anyway, when I wake up, I wash up and eat breakfast.

After that, I watch YouTube while snacking.

Then I eat lunch right after.

If I run out of interesting YouTube videos, I watch Netflix while snacking.

After dinner, I play games.

When the game is over, I eat late-night snacks and wrap up the day by watching YouTube or Netflix.

The smartphone stand was truly a revolutionary product.

It’s been a week since I started living the life I had been yearning for since the Demon Realm.

“Gyeoul, you’ve gained weight.”

“Yeah, I’ve definitely put on some weight.”

“…?”

While happily eating breakfast, I got beaten up for no reason.

What kind of grudge do these women have against me to hit me like that?

Please tell me what I just heard isn’t true.

I opened my eyes wide and looked at Kang-woo, but… Kang-woo turned his head away, pretending not to see.

It was impressive how well he could endure injustice.

That guy only speaks up when he’s at a disadvantage, otherwise, he’s completely useless!

“Manager Baek Kang-woo, who’s avoiding my gaze. Have I gained weight?”

“No! Not at all! You’re just the same as before!”

He must not have expected to be called out, as he flinched and reflexively blurted out an answer.

But that wasn’t the answer I wanted.

It was time to use the feminine communication skills I’ve learned while living as a woman.

“So, you’re saying I was this fat before too?”

“What are you talking about? I was saying you didn’t gain any weight at all.”

“Fine, we’re done.”

“…I was wrong.”

“What did you do wrong?”

“…For saying you didn’t gain weight?”

“No? We’re done.”

I got slapped by Ha-yul and Eun-chae, and took out my anger on Kang-woo.

I used to not understand why women acted like this, but seeing Kang-woo squirm made it all make sense.

‘Why is this so fun?’

After burying Kang-woo in a pit, I started eating the rest of my meal with gusto.

Ha-yul and Eun-chae also picked up their chopsticks, laughing as if they had enjoyed the show.

“…Did you guys plan this? I feel like I’m the only one who got hit.”

“Of course not. Why would we plan something like this? Do we look that bored?”

“At least it’s clear that Gyeoul is bored.”

“…Yeah, I’m a bored house pig. Happy now?”

As if they couldn’t let me be the only one to suffer, they attacked me.

Now, they were grinning smugly after verbally beating up a girl who’s about to enter middle school.

What a pathetic sight.

Did they really have to attack a girl who’s lived half her life to feel satisfied?

After finishing the rest of the meal, we played a heated game of rock-paper-scissors.

I threw rock, and everyone else threw paper.

As expected, the pathetic Baek Kang-woo.

The man ignored the ancient truth of always throwing rock and went with paper.

In the end, I was left with the dishes.

After finishing the dishes, I was watching YouTube with a bag of snacks to fulfill my duty as a bum.

[010-xxxx-xxxx]

A call came from an unknown number.

Interrupting my sacred morning routine.

My finger was about to hit the reject button when I noticed a record of a text sent a few days ago.

It even looked vaguely familiar.

-Hello?

-Ah, Hero Jeong Gyeoul? This is Kang Joo-han.

-…Who?

-Uh… the one who had a rock thrown at my car…

-Ah! That person! Are you doing okay? I’m really sorry about that time.

I had already confirmed there were no issues, and I hadn’t caused any external injuries, but I still felt guilty and had to ask about Director Kang’s well-being.

‘…I might have threatened him, but I didn’t hurt him. I’m proud.’

Even though my mind thought that, my body didn’t seem to agree.

I held the smartphone with both hands, my back slightly hunched.

Anyone could tell this was a submissive phone call.

-So, what’s the occasion…?

-Ah, well… something came up sooner than expected.

After that, all I said was “Ah…” and “I see…”

An Awakened Ones survival audition program?

And not only that, but I’m not even a participant—I’m a judge.

The lineup of people scheduled to sit on the judging panel was absolutely insane.

Transcendent-level Hero, S-Class Hero, S-Class Hero, S-Class Awakened One.

But this.

‘This is just Gyeoul’s Demon Realm Expedition Team…’

Jeong Ha-yul, Park Seol-hwa, Kim Yu-shin, Lee Ha-yoon.

The Demon Realm Expedition Team members, minus Lin Hazel.

It bothered me that Jang Gil-yong was filling in for Lin Hazel’s absence, but I had no choice but to listen quietly.

They say you should live a good life.

Was it because I abandoned my duties as a hero and lived as a bum?

Or was it the sin of holding a hand to the neck of an innocent citizen?

I had boldly declared my retirement from the entertainment industry to PD Choi, but now it looks like I’m making a comeback.

What a sad thing.

I feel truly pitiful.

***

Things progressed smoothly.

With the combined efforts of Choi Yong-seok’s team and HC Entertainment, planning a large-scale program like this wasn’t difficult.

The daily meetings added detail to the program.

And every day, the chances of the program’s success grew.

“The most important thing is casting. If we don’t get S-Class Heroes, it’s better to just drop this program.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s already done.”

The head writer of PD Choi’s team emphasized the importance of casting multiple times.

Hearing that, Director Kang recalled the recent phone call with Gyeoul and chuckled.

-Ah…

-I see…

-That’s amazing…

A flimsy conversation with a listless voice.

-Hero Jeong Gyeoul, I’m calling to ask if you’d be willing to be a judge.

-I’ll do it…

Gyeoul decided to honor her promise and agreed to Director Kang’s request.

Such boldness, not even asking questions.

She didn’t even ask how many episodes it would be or how much the appearance fee was.

All the negotiation plans I had prepared became scrap paper, but Director Kang couldn’t have been happier.

After Gyeoul’s casting was confirmed, things became even simpler.

All they had to do was hand over the proposal, and people kept accepting without question.

S-Class Heroes who wouldn’t even consider any conditions were immediately saying yes just at the mention of Gyeoul’s name.

Even the employees who handed over the proposals on Director Kang’s orders were left dumbfounded.

Before long, rumors spread that all the S-Class Heroes in the country were gathering for one variety show.

Articles starting with “According to sources” began to appear.

The HC Entertainment PR team had planted the stories.

The distribution was set with Netflix.

They even managed to secure massive investments, enough to handle all overseas schedules with private jets.

The Awakened Ones survival audition program [The Birth of a Hero].

The recruitment notice for participants spread worldwide, called “Yeongtan” by netizens.

The reaction to pulling in S-Class Heroes was expected to be huge, but it exceeded PD Choi and Director Kang’s expectations.

[The Birth of a Hero. Igniting the K-Wave.]

[The Birth of a Hero, a Korean variety show, is one of the most anticipated shows on Netflix.]

[S-Class Heroes selected as judges for Netflix’s ‘The Birth of a Hero’.]

[The Birth of a Hero: The birth of a super-strong real variety show for discovering Awakened Ones.]

Now, even without the HC PR team moving, articles were pouring out like rain.

Major global media outlets like The New York Times (NYT), CNN, BBC, The Guardian, and Financial Times weren’t staying quiet either.

[The birth of a hero. fire to the K-wave.]

[The Birth of a Hero is one of the most anticipated Korean variety shows on Setflix]

[S class heroes were selected as judges for Setflix’s “The Birth of Heroes”]

[<The birth of a hero> The birth of a super-strong real variety show]

A fever comparable to the World Cup or the Olympics was rising worldwide.

So many Awakened Ones applied that it made you wonder if there were this many all along.

Among them were so-called “attention-seekers” who weren’t Awakened Ones but wanted to stir up trouble.

Even villains hiding their identities tried to blend in as ordinary Awakened Ones.

Exactly one month later.

<The Birth of a Hero>, or “Yeongtan” for short, began its first round of auditions.

The judges were paired up into three teams.

After finishing the domestic auditions, they were scheduled to spread out to various locations overseas.

 

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