Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The First Audition
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After returning home, the first thing I did was sit on the bed and sift through my memories.
And the more I sifted through them, the stranger it felt.
What was the best way to put it...
It wasn't just memories that had come flooding in—it was a feeling?
Like the female Kim Suhyun and the original male Kim Suhyun had blended together?
Of course, right now, it was closer to the male Kim Suhyun side.
If female Kim Suhyun was black and the original male Kim Suhyun was white, then my current state was a light gray.
Or maybe it was just the hormones in this female body affecting me.
Anyway, after properly reviewing the memories, it seemed the female Kim Suhyun had been pretty serious about becoming a VTuber.
It was impulsive, but she'd researched it in detail and built up a decent foundation of basic knowledge, so it felt like she'd prepared steadily.
Though dropping over a hundred million on equipment and an avatar in one go was shocking, to say the least.
Especially the virtual avatar—why was it so expensive?
I'd spent more on that avatar than on the mic and camera combined.
The computer's specs were already high-end for design work, so there was nothing to tweak there.
Well, in my opinion, streaming while running high-spec games might cause some lag, but the audition came first.
[Miro-nim, reminding you again of the schedule for the first public audition...]
I'd just been reviewing the text that had come in.
The time was this evening. It was a project hosted by an entertainment company where several big-name streamers gathered, called the "Heavenly Realm Idol" first public audition. It consisted of four stages: the first for basic introductions and singing skills, the second an interview, the third a personal stream, and the fourth a self-PR based on prior activities.
For the first audition, which checked basics like introductions and singing, I logged into VRChat on my PC and applied the avatar the female Kim Suhyun had acquired.
It was my first time, but thanks to her prior practice, I applied it smoothly.
Using the mirror function to look at my avatar gave me a complicated, subtle feeling.
Miro—my 2D avatar—was a female character with long pink straight hair and green eyes. She had little horns on her head, going for a little devil concept.
"A, ah! *Ahem!*"
She felt more like a playful older sister or same-age friend than someone calm and composed. So I raised my voice tone a bit.
I opened the recording program and reviewed my voice one by one.
"Hello~"
[Hello~]
"Hello! I'm Miro!"
[Hello! I'm Miro!]
"Whoa, that's insane."
Hearing my recorded voice in real-time, it definitely lived up to the face.
I gradually raised or lowered the energy, working to avoid any sense of disconnect.
"Still, the singing..."
The female Kim Suhyun had picked two songs.
One was a Korean idol song, and the other J-pop.
As the male Kim Suhyun, the former was somewhat familiar from casual listening, while the latter was completely unknown...
"Ah- ahh-"
As the female Kim Suhyun, the former felt a bit awkward, but the latter's lyrics were memorized down to the bone.
After singing both once and checking the recordings, I felt confident.
"The first round's a breeze."
Honestly, I wasn't singer-level by any means, but combining the male Kim Suhyun's karaoke-honed skills with the female's clear voice made it sound like a decent cover.
"Come to think of it, I got a double-life event bonus."
Twenty-one years old, but combined, that's forty-two years lived.
My social experience was limited to school life, but I was a hybrid who'd lived two entirely different lives.
Thinking that way suddenly filled me with confidence.
The other rivals were just fresh-out-of-school twenty-somethings, right?
Step aside.
The once-in-a-generation genius at capturing men's hearts, Kim Suhyun, is coming through!
What if I get pegged as an overwhelming pass from the start and the hype builds too much?
Too much expectation is a problem, though~
Leaning back in my chair with those thoughts, grinning to myself, the first audition start time finally arrived. Cockily, I entered the ongoing audition stream, waited for my turn while keeping VRChat open, and headed to the waiting room.
"Is this the waiting room?"
This VRChat audition even had a waiting room, filled with avatars of various hair colors chattering away in their own bubbly, energetic voices.
Dozens of high-energy women in one space—it was honestly a bit dizzying.
"What? You're participating too?"
"Wow! We meet here?!"
"Nice to meet you all~"
"Eek! You know me?"
The girls' hangout, full of laughter and greetings, was still a bit much for me.
I looked around and headed to the least crowded corner.
Once in the corner, I parked my character and watched the ongoing audition stream.
The first participant finished their intro and entered, and the second's profile appeared.
'The avatar's pretty.'
Well, who here would have an ugly avatar... But this one screamed money spent at a glance.
[Hello~]
Good voice too—probably passing the first round easily?
Honestly, I was watching with a relaxed mindset.
After all, wasn't I an ultra-top-tier beauty with a voice that melted men's hearts?
No face reveal with the avatar, but with this voice and twenty-one years as a guy, I was overflowing with confidence in this area.
Around halfway through the first round with that self-assurance...
I let out an involuntary deep sigh and fiddled with the lighter on my desk.
"...Fuck... This won't do."
And in the end, from the anxiety, I pulled out a cigarette and put it in my mouth.
"With that skill, go be a singer!"
Looks like I'd underestimated the VTuber scene.
***
"Wow, she sings really well."
- Fr real lololol
- She's insanely good
- Hmm... is she though?
- No big deal
- Ugh, you simps!
- When LoL? LoL when? LoL when? LoL when? LoL when?
- Isn't she singer material?
- Singer... eh
- Singer level for sure
- Damn good yeah
Riding the recent VTuber craze, the Heavenly Realm Project run by The Six, a decently known domestic entertainment company.
And The Six's big streamers, Rush and An Ji-hong, lounged back in their chairs, evaluating the participant singing on the screen.
"But the self-intro was kinda bland."
- No fun ㅇㅇ
- Good singing and pretty is enough
- Fr lol
- Still, decent compared to others?
- No weird concepts, not bad?
The harshly critiqued participant stepped down, and turns passed, but no standouts appeared.
- Hmm..
- How long we watching this?
- Zero personality fr
- (Potato chips)
- Project's doomed ㅇㅇ
- Ugh simps! Laughing at this?
- LoL go go
Viewers vented in chat at the parade of bland participants, and An Ji-hong, roped into judging for a fee, endured the pain.
'Why am I watching this crap?'
He enjoyed One Piece, Naruto, Dragon Ball, but 2D avatars dancing and doing cutesy acts? Kinda repulsive.
The singing was at least enjoyable, but mediocre skills kept killing the vibe midway.
'Ugh, wanna play LoL.'
He desperately wanted to quit VRChat and play LoL, but having taken the money as a judge, he placated viewers and gritted through.
Around mid-to-late audition, one participant stepped up.
"Hello~ Participant number 43, Miro."
Number 43, Miro, greeted brightly with a pink-haired avatar topped with little horns—clearly high-end.
"Oh.."
- Oh?
- Nice voice ㅇㅇ
- Wakyapahek lol
- Pass.
- Why's the chat suddenly so otaku-heavy?
- Ugh otaku bastards;;
"Shall we hear the song first?"
Impressed by the clearly superior voice among participants, his colleague Chul-won, handling hosting and judging, continued.
"Um, the songs I'll sing are..."
The two songs by participant 43, Miro, were decent. Pleasant clear voice with solid power when belting—above average, but...
- Hmm.. iffy?
- Voice is nuts tho ㅇㅇ..
- Voice carry... or nah? lol
- Just that level?
- Previous one was better no?
– But second song what otaku trash?
- Otaku song but good
The singing was karaoke-regular level—decent but ambiguous.
"Wow, you're good."
"Definitely enjoyable with that voice."
"Right? Have you trained?"
Judges gave polite praise while cautiously scoring. Voice was great, but the company wanted vocal talent primarily.
Since it was a project, they'd bring pros for tracks, prioritizing that aptitude.
"No singing lessons!"
"Hmm... Would you be open to learning?"
Still, good voice, so they asked about training interest. Miro nodded, saying yes if possible, and judges fired more questions, checking boxes.
'Not bad.'
An Ji-hong tossed casual questions, scoring moderately. Singing iffy but pleasant, great voice, articulate speaker.
What was it? More streamer than idol talent?
After the smooth self-intro and pass-worthy score, Miro left the stage.
They continued judging till the end, and the audition wrapped. Three days later, anxiously pacing Kim Suhyun received the first-round pass notice and cheered.