Chapter 5: Song Selection
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5: Song Selection
Why didn't I think of that?
When it comes to identifying someone, there's hardly any information easier or more convenient than a birthday. I felt like such an idiot for only writing down a list of her favorite things.
Or maybe not. Come to think of it, it would have been pretty weird to go ask the girl I rejected for her birthday.
Still, I thought it didn't matter how I got there as long as I found the answer. But thinking about what that answer was just made me feel gloomy.
“Haaah...”
Honestly, the moment I heard her singing on Voicecord, I was about ninety percent sure. It was a voice I heard every single day. There was no way I wouldn't recognize it.
I tried to cling to the ten percent chance that she wasn't Luka, but her answer—October 25th—left me no room for doubt.
[My birthday? It's October 25th! Everyone, mark it on your calendars as Luka's birthday! Got it?]
After hearing that, I'd actually saved it in my phone's calendar. I never imagined it would be useful like this.
Now that I knew Luka was Doah, everything she'd said started to click into place like pieces of a puzzle.
Why she'd brought up an article about the [Metaverse], which didn't seem to fit her image at all.
Why she'd turned down a birthday party with classmates she seemed pretty close to.
She was probably busy preparing for her audition today, too.
Luka sometimes played pranks on her viewers with a delinquent persona, but anyone who'd been a fan for a little while knew the truth.
That Luka was dead serious about this audition and was preparing incredibly hard for it.
Last week, she'd even taken a short break from streaming because she'd practiced singing until her voice was hoarse. When she came back for her next stream, her strained voice had broken everyone's hearts.
My mind was completely filled with thoughts of Doah when a vibration buzzed, and I picked up my phone.
[Luka is live~ Catch-up talk~]
Usually, just seeing this notification would make me grin from ear to ear...
I didn't check my reflection, but I was sure I had a pretty sour look on my face.
[Luhai~ Luhai everyone~]
As soon as I joined the stream, a cheerful greeting rang out, in a tone so bright it was hard to believe it came from Doah.
She can greet people so energetically and brightly like that. So why does she just give a slight nod at school?
[It fee~ls~ like it's been a while since I last streamed. It's only been two days, though.]
Before Luka could even finish saying it felt like a while, the chat was already scrolling up like crazy.
[Where have you been? Where have you been? Where have you been? Where have you been? Where have you been?]
[Did you want to see me die? Did you want to see me die? Did you want to see me die? Did you want to see me die? Did you want to see me die?]
[Luhailuhailuhailuhailuhailuhailuhai]
At first, I wondered why they spammed the chat like that, but now I was one of the viewers who did it by habit.
[So today, I'll chat with you all for a bit, and then I have a major announcement about the audition.]
A major announcement? What could be so major?
It seemed many viewers were thinking the same thing, as the chat filled with question marks at the words "major announcement."
[Luka-nim. Don't tell me...]
[Gasp]
[No... but still, that's a bit...]
Seeing the Pink Army fawning over her without even knowing what it was, Luka's avatar frowned.
[Everyone. I haven't said a single word yet, you know?]
Having learned that responding to every little thing would bring the stream to a halt, Luka continued the conversation at her own pace.
[So, for dinner tonight, I'm having cold kimchi noodles. I'm gonna go get it now and eat a little while I stream, okay?]
-Tap tap tap
Though nothing changed on screen, the sound of footsteps seemed to grow more distant. The footsteps grew closer again, soon followed by the sounds of a mukbang ASMR.
-Slurrrp
[Man, I don't know why noodles are so good lately. I think I've had them four times this week.]
As the sound of her eating filled the stream again, the chat was flooded with [cuteee].
I kept picturing Doah, imagining her sitting alone at her desk, eating noodles.
Is this what they call the 'red pill'?
But somehow, thinking [Doah = Luka] made that image seem genuinely cute. Usually, people say seeing the real person turns you off...
[Everyone, for cold kimchi noodles, the kimchi has to be delicious. Agree?]
[agree agree]
[agree]
[The kimchi is basically more than half the flavor, yeah]
[cuteee]
The chat scrolled by so fast that Luka only picked out and responded to the questions or comments that caught her eye.
[The food. Did I make it myself? Since I live alone, I started cooking for myself a bit.]
[And as I cooked more, I felt like my skills were improving? Ah. But I don't think I've ever cooked for anyone else.]
[My cooking isn't good enough to invite anyone over. It's just good enough to get by? Mmm~ That was good! I'll be right back after I clean up the bowl!]
The sound of her scurrying away was heard again, and only then did Luka declare she would make her major announcement.
[Ahem... ahem! Alright. I will now make the major announcement!]
[Actually, it's not that major, it's just that I have something to ask all of you...]
As Luka seemed to be dragging it out, the chat was flooded with angry Pink Army emotes, and she finally got to the point.
[I thought it would be best if you all listened to my songs for the third round of auditions and helped me choose!]
The people who looked ready to riot if she didn't hurry up instantly switched to cheering enthusiastically when she said she would sing the songs for them.
[I've prepared two, so listen carefully to the end and don't forget to vote~ Okay. Here's number one!]
The first song had the feel of a cheerful anime theme song.
[I'll gather my courage and tell you how I feel~]
[Though sometimes it's hard and I get tired~]
[Know that I'm always watching over you!]
Hmmm... It's not bad.
It felt... safe.
It was a song by an active idol group, and I thought it suited Luka's voice well. But if I had to point out a flaw, it was that it lacked personality.
The truth was, there were already a few candidates in the audition who were objectively better singers than Luka, so competing on vocal skill alone would be difficult. That's why I was hoping for a song that would better showcase Luka's unique vocal color...
[Okay, the second song. Here I go! Ahem... ahem!]
The instrumental started, and this time, the song had a completely different vibe from the last one—a 180-degree turn.
A calm, ballad-style song.
This one definitely seemed much more suitable for showing off the inherent charm of her voice.
The high notes gradually built up.
I was thinking this must be the chorus...
[Will that spring we spent together ever come back again?]
[The warm sunlight. That dazzling smile.]
[They still let me breathe, even now.]
The lyrics were heart-wrenching and her voice was full of emotion, but a bitter smile formed on my lips.
...So it was this song.
The one she was practicing a few days ago on Voicecord, the one she'd played by "mistake."
Actually, it wasn't really a mistake. Doah was probably just humming along to the song.
As the fact that Doah was Luka was hammered home once more, it felt like a huge nail was being driven into my own chest.
I suddenly remembered the day I rejected Doah.
She'd said she couldn't stream that day because something really difficult had happened...
It was a moment of immense shame, remembering how I'd left a comment asking, "Which bastard did this to you?"
[Whew~ That's all for song number two~ Which one did you all like more? I'm opening the poll for exactly three minutes starting now, so please vote quickly~]
As Luka opened the poll window, viewers expressed their opinions at incredible speed.
Two bars rose, reflecting the poll results in real-time.
[Ooh... it's pretty close. And it's only been a minute?]
Indeed, the red bar for song 1 and the blue bar for song 2 were rising at nearly the same rate.
[Last 30 seconds!]
The viewers who had already voted were going at each other's throats.
[Seriously, how can you pick 2? For an audition, it's obviously 1.]
[If you're just going by vocal color, 2 is a landslide victory.]
[Shut up and vote 22222222222]
[But isn't 1 better because the mood is brighter?]
[Ding! The poll is closed! Now, let's see the results!]
The sound of Luka's mouse clicking was heard, and the exact numbers appeared.
[Ummm... seeing this makes me even more conflicted?]
[47 : 53]
It was truly a tight race. A result that would leave a large number of people disappointed, no matter which side she chose.
Everyone was watching to see what decision Luka would make.
One viewer donated a whopping 100,000 won to express their opinion.
[Wow~ Happysquid-nim!!! A whole 100,000 won~ You really liked number 1~ I guess that means I should go with number 1 after all~]
A red blush appeared on the cheeks of Luka's avatar as she gave a foxy smile.
[I-If you say it with this much conviction... it might be a little hard to refuse...]
Hah. Luka-tan. No. Kim Doah. If you're going to be like that, then I have no choice...
No matter how much you like donations, number 1 is not the answer!
It's not!
I loaded up the money I'd earned from my damn part-time job and hammered on my keyboard.
[Luka-tan! Do number 2! I said do number 2!!!]
That day, whether she intended it or not, Luka was showered with money.