Recording

Checking which of the members had their streams on, I counted three: Yuna, Yubin, and Yerin.

"I'll pass on Shiru — she's guaranteed to be a hardcore otaku."

Yuna was a given.

"Right then, let's go pester Hanbyeol?"

Whoa. I almost said Yubin.

Was I really supposed to be calling them by their handles like this? Sure, their identities were technically out there, but me saying it out loud was a different matter entirely. I had to be careful.

Hmm, asking about anime right in the middle of a drama conversation? Now that was perfect timing.

"Hm… not even 'hardcore otaku,' just plain old 'otaku,' huh."

Looks like I'd picked my target well.

Wow. The most textbook normie-friendly anime lineup imaginable.

"Ah! Everyone! Right now! Go tickle her!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Pfft."

This was fun.

Tap-tap-tap-tap.

The clatter of my keyboard had apparently leaked through Hanbyeol's own microphone, because her viewers were getting curious.

That was how we did things in my chat.

"Like I said earlier — a genuine hardcore otaku, when you call them fake, goes, 'Ah! I'm doing a wonderful job cosplaying as a normie!' That's simply how it works."

"And in that spirit, we can safely conclude that Hanbyeol — who just got so gloriously tilted — is, in fact, a fake."

I figured I should wrap things up around here.

"If you're curious, please head over to Hanbyeol's stream."

Perfect timing, honestly.

Determined not to disrupt her broadcast any further, I closed out of Yubin's stream.

"All right, then!"

They'd grown used to my patterns by now — the viewers latched onto me immediately.

"Thank you for the hundred thousand won. I had fun today too."

"No stream tomorrow. Everyone, take care."

After ending the broadcast, I turned my thoughts to tomorrow's schedule.

First — the reason for tomorrow's day off was a very important one.

Our song was finally coming out.

Which meant tomorrow I had to go to the company and record.

Ring-ring. Ring-ring.

Oh, the manager?

Hm… so it really had been a close call, huh?

Good thing I'd come to my senses mid-stream.

My first million-won donation had very nearly become my last.

"Hello there."

"…Yeonwoo-ssi, why do you insist on wearing only those clothes?"

My current outfit was, of course, the black hoodie and track pants that had long since become my beloved security blanket.

Why did I wear it? Because it was comfortable. Because digging out anything else was too much effort.

But admitting that felt a little undignified, so I reached for a different answer.

"If I wore anything else, I'd feel far too sorry for everyone around me."

At best, crowds of people would sink into quiet despair at the sight of me. At worst — what if some driver got their eyes stuck on me and plowed into oncoming traffic? One had to think of public safety.

Therefore, this excuse was not, strictly speaking, a lie. Mm-hm.

"…Right."

Following the manager into the recording studio, I found a middle-aged man with a magnificent beard who looked every bit the composer.

"Hello."

"Oh? Um… weren't we told a VTuber would be coming…?"

Ah. Surprised by my actual face?

The composer asked his question with careful delicacy, and I answered just as carefully.

"Yes, I am a VTuber…?"

"What?! Why?!"

His eyes went wide with shock. It was genuinely entertaining to watch.

"Because it's fun."

I finally understood the hidden-power protagonists in all those novels these days.

The That face?! A VTuber?! reaction — no matter how many times I saw it, it never got old.

Truthfully, harvesting reactions like that might be one of the great hidden perks of the VTuber profession.

"Sh-shall we… get the recording started?"

"Yes."

I stepped into the fully soundproofed booth and stood in front of the microphone.

"Then, let's warm up your voice first."

"Of course."

He pressed out single notes on the piano, and I followed them up, then down.

"Wow… you ascend beautifully, and you descend ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beautifully too?"

"Thank you."

"Then! Let's get into it for real!"

"Yes, sir!"

He must have liked my voice, because I could feel the composer uncle's energy climbing with every take.

"Ah, that last one was lovely, but… a touch softer."

"Like this~?"

"Yes! Wonderful!"

Detail after detail of exacting direction kept pouring out.

"Give that syllable a little roll!"

"Yes."

It took a full three hours of recording before we were finally finished.

"Haaah…"

"Are you all right?"

"Mm… I could do more, but I've reached the state where I don't want to."

"Ah… I know exactly that feeling."

Yes. That description was precisely it. Exhausted, technically capable of continuing, and yet utterly unwilling.

"Um… Yeonwoo-ssi."

"Yes, Composer-nim?"

"Would you do a featuring for me?"

"No."

A featuring for what, exactly.

"I'm… sorry?"

"Not for now."

Not now, anyway. I already stuck out plenty as it was — taking a solo feature on top of that?

That would be a fast-pass ticket to splitting the fandom right down the middle of the group.

"Th-then! What if it's not as Rose?!"

"I'm sorry? What are you saying — I am Rose."

What on earth was he talking about?

"No! I mean — not VTuber Rose, but in real life—"

Ah. Had I stared too long?

My gaze must have registered as a threat.

"It's quite all right. Please, go on."

"Um… to put it simply, if you created a sub-character and sang under that…"

"…You'd go that far?"

Turning on the occasional stream was already a bother some days, and now he wanted me to add more work?

The rest of the workload? There wasn't any. Covers and the like wouldn't be on the table until after the first single. The YouTube channel was run by the company.

All I had to worry about was streaming.

…Even if lately, all I'd been checking was the fan cafe.

"Besides, I'd have to get the company's approval anyway, wouldn't I?"

Would they even sign off on that, for a VTuber?

"I'll handle every single annoying part myself! So — haven't you any desire to sing it?!"

"Hm… do you have a particular reason you want me to sing it?"

Still, I supposed I could hear him out.

"You see, I poured an enormous amount of work into this piece… a single featuring would make it complete, but it's not the trend these days, so I've been turned down again and again. But! Your voice — I just know it would suit this song perfectly!"

I see…. So that was it.

"I'll give the song a listen, and if I like it, I'll consider it."

And so I listened to the composer's song.

Hm… hearing it now, it really wasn't the trend of the present.

It was the trend of the future….

And not just any future trend — a famous masterpiece, at that….