Why Is This Song Playing Here?
Why is this song playing here?
The VTuber Music Project. A program that had launched years ago, riding the same wave as the explosion of virtual entertainment. Co-hosted by the major video platform Newtube and Artificial Forest, it gathered dozens — then hundreds — of aspiring VTubers and advanced them by public vote.
In simple terms, it was a show where your ranking hinged on how hard you could charm the viewers and burn yourself into their skulls.
Back in Season 1, when the trend was only just catching fire, there had been a mere fifty contestants. Now, three seasons in, the field had swollen to nearly five hundred. Of those, only the hundred who survived the first screening earned a shot at the second preliminaries.
Season 2 had nearly killed the whole program. Vote-rigging allegations sent it reeling to the brink of cancellation — and then, after a government-certified verdict of no wrongdoing, it came crawling back like a cockroach.
I was wedged into a corner of the waiting room, listening through the broadcast as the host announced the start of the show. Even then, it was hard to ignore the handful of avatars who kept picking aura-fights under the guise of making friends.
"Wow... your avatar is gorgeous. How much did it cost to commission?"
A short avatar had come over to talk to me. She'd been working the room... so it was my turn now?
I tried to ignore her and look away. But she was either too excited or completely oblivious, because she just kept talking.
"This is my first time in the project. I asked around, and some people are here for their second try, even their third? So how many times have you entered, unnie?"
"Un...nie?"
My avatar did look mature, that much was true. But was there some smoking-gun evidence that I was an older sister?
"You're not? The aura pouring off your avatar just doesn't look like a kid's age at all... Ah! If I'm wrong, I'm sorry!"
I didn't particularly need an apology. I gave her a once-over and sorted my thoughts.
I hadn't been watching her from the very beginning, but I had been keeping an eye on her. She only approached the avatars that looked especially expensive, so she stood out. Her voice sounded young, but the way she charged ahead building social connections was almost admirable.
"You don't know anyone here, do you?"
"No. This is my first time too."
"Ah... same here! Let's both do our best!"
She grabbed my hand and pumped it up and down.
"Oh, how old are you? I'm a fresh, green fifteen-year-old middle schooler!"
"I'm a high schooler this year..."
"Wow! So you really are unnie! I'm so jealous, though. An avatar this expensive at your age... is your family rich?"
Her eyes sparkled, amazed that a student would have such an obviously pricey avatar.
"No, that's not it. Someone I know gave it to me as a gift."
"Something that looks this expensive... I knew it."
She nodded to herself and drifted off into some strange fantasy.
This wasn't going to work. Better to shut it down than let her go around saying weird things.
"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of introducing you to the person who made this for me."
I refused firmly. I'd been the one who first suggested she pursue this path, but Unnie Bo-ram had shut that idea down cold.
"Ah.... I see."
The energy drained from her voice. Then she gave a vague little nod, and I watched her go strike up a friendly conversation with someone else.
Looking at how she operates, she'd make a perfect salesperson someday.
That personality — getting along with anyone — was exactly the kind of talent you needed in the field. Of course, she'd have to hide that instantly cooling expression and those money-hungry thoughts when she was in front of people. But that wasn't my problem.
Still, the mindset of already planning to succeed as a VTuber and make money... that much, I could respect. I'd heard youth unemployment was on the rise these days. The fact that she was trying this hard was admirable.
This time, allow us to introduce the judges!
At the host's line, I turned my attention from the waiting room to the broadcast.
There were four judges this time, most of them famous names from what people called the big corps of Newtube and Artificial Forest. Even I, who'd kept internet streaming at arm's length, knew their faces.
Four of them, though?
Through Season 2, the panel had been three judges. Had they added a special one this time? I looked around the waiting room. Voices of confusion, much like my own, rose from every direction.
I can hear the commotion all the way over here, so without further delay — our final judge, Luna!
Hello. I'm Luna, a VTuber. It's an honor to serve as a judge this time.
The VTuber Luna. She was the Season 1 winner of the project, a celebrity with eight hundred thousand Newtube followers. Her name recognition lagged a bit behind the other three judges, but as a project judge, she was the perfect fit.
"We'll have you move in number order!"
The second preliminaries had finally begun. Watching avatars call out numbers in sequence, I recalled the text I'd gotten today.
My number is definitely.... 73.
Not a great number. I frowned slightly at the awkward seventy-three. No matter how short the songs were, listening to a hundred of them in one day would wear anyone down. Even with breaks in between, there was a hard limit to how much a person could take in a single day.
I had two options. One: sing so brilliantly that every ear and every eye in the room snapped open.
The other....
"Thank you!"
They were already past the halfway mark, and Luna, seated in the center of the judges' panel, couldn't hold back a yawn.
The longer the program dragged on, the thicker the troll comments grew, and even Luna was reaching the point where she couldn't stamp them out one by one. Still, she did her best — praising every contestant who had given it their all, pointing out what needed work, and delivering a proper evaluation.
"Hmm... to my ear, the accents on the notes were lacking. That's why the song came out a little dull. If you just fix that part, it'll be much better."
Praise and harsh reviews rolled on without end, and Luna's shoulders sank lower and lower. She wanted to wrap this up already, but more than twenty contestants were still waiting.
Then one comment caught her eye.
"Upvote..."
Luna agreed before she could stop herself.
The viewers were writhing with boredom too. Was it actually time to just end this?
No. This isn't free labor — I'm getting paid for this. Let's hold out as long as we can.
Luna squeezed her eyes shut and prayed the next contestant would be someone who could jolt them all awake.
That was when it happened.
"Next, contestant number 73! Please come up on stage and introduce yourself!"
At the host's cue, the next contestant was already climbing onto the stage.
She didn't bow. She stood there with her chin held stiffly high, and Luna found herself at a loss for words.
From the rest of the judges' panel, though, came a quiet snort and a scoff of laughter.
"You already settled on an RP? Why?"
The male judge holding the mic asked it in a voice thick with mockery. The tone said it all — who do you think you are, deciding on a roleplay already? Kuro took the microphone without flinching.
"I entered this competition as a VTuber. Isn't it only natural for a VTuber to have a roleplay of their own?"
Laughter burst from another judge. Luna barely managed to swallow her own.
"That's right. This is the VTuber Music Project, not some rookie training program."
"Interesting, isn't it? Luna?"
The mic was suddenly shoved her way, and Luna startled. Had they caught her smirking just now? She fretted over it.
"I think so too. Even if a lot of VTubers don't stick to their RP these days, I don't think there's anything wrong with having one."
She could feel the man's face turning red enough to show through his avatar.
"If you've already decided on an RP all by yourself, why even come here? You could've just streamed and sung on your own!"
Luna scrambled to clean up the chat, but the Artificial Forest streamer Dongsuk showed no sign of stopping.
"Does this place look easy to you? Right now? I've seen enough. You're elimina—"
"Alright! Shall we hear contestant number 73, Kuro, sing?"
The host's cut landed just in time. Dongsuk's voice vanished, and the song began to pour out.
"Wait... this song..."
Luna wasn't the only one thrown. Everyone here — the viewers included — was stunned.
Why is this song playing here?