Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Fan Cafe Fiasco
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The recording for the debut song was finally complete.
Starting with me and Maho, then Roa, Anna, Haru, and Mile in that order, everyone headed to the studio and finished their recordings. With part assignments and mixing on top of that, the track came together surprisingly fast—just over a week.
The music video was still in production, and they said it'd be released alongside the song once it was done. The company was handling all that, so I didn't worry about it.
The song's title was Heavenly Realm.
It fit the concept pretty well, but the lyrics were basically just standard girl group fare.
A bit fresh and innocent vibe, I guess?
The song was seriously good.
The diverse tones from all six members blended together perfectly, boosting the quality... or so the evaluations went, but honestly, it wasn't exactly objective.
Still, even if it flopped, it was good enough to listen to on repeat, right?
I mulled that over by myself for a bit, then decided to get a third-party opinion.
The person I picked was Hyejeong.
She listened to a ton of music as a hobby and was pretty social, so she'd know if it was good or not.
"So, you want me to listen to the song?"
"Yeah, give me an objective review."
At the words "objective review," Hyejeong made a vague face.
"You think it'll be objective just 'cause I say so?"
"I can't exactly play it for a total stranger—that'd violate the NDA."
"I'm not exactly exempt from that either."
"Just keep your mouth shut, and it'll be fine."
"Fine, whatever. I'll listen."
"Here, put on these earbuds. I'll keep watch so no one bugs us."
"You're hilarious. What, am I buying drugs? Get me a drink when it comes up."
Grumbling like that, Hyejeong put on the wireless earbuds I handed her. I watched her listen, and when the buzzer went off, I grabbed the drinks.
Even as I set the drinks down, seeing Hyejeong with her eyes closed, seriously soaking in the song, started making me nervous. What if she thought it sucked? Too late to change it now.
Maybe I shouldn't have asked her at all? Nah, better to take the hit upfront.
Heart pounding, I waited a few minutes as she listened intently.
When the song ended and she opened her eyes, Hyejeong nodded in admiration.
"This is really good."
"R-Really?"
Her words melted the anxiety piled up in my chest. Even if it was just empty flattery, it still brought relief.
"Yeah. And... is this you?"
She said, handing me one of the earbuds.
"Where?"
"Starts here, about 30 seconds in."
Oh, this part was a pain to record. The composer was so picky... But it turned out great, so no complaints.
"Yeah, that's me."
"No way, are you scamming me?"
"What? Why?"
"This wasn't your level on NerTube. And your voice sounds totally different."
Guess she was shocked because it was so different from my usual talking voice or karaoke stuff.
Tsk tsk... Civilians have no idea how versatile a voice can be.
"You think people only have one voice?"
"Don't they?"
"Nope."
"What? Voice acting?"
"This is just using your voice properly."
"Does that even make sense? You can do it while singing too?"
"I can pull off a pretty wide range of sounds."
"Wow..."
I smirked at Hyejeong's stunned expression over my multifaceted talents. I didn't even know I had this much talent myself.
Did I have all these skills back when I was a guy?
If I'd known, I would've slacked on studying and picked up a bunch of hobbies like girl-me Kim Suhyun.
"Anyway, the song's great. How do I put it? The parts are distributed perfectly—everyone's voices are so distinct."
"Right? It's got that listening appeal."
"And whose high note is this? Better than most pros."
"Where?"
"Here."
I hoped it was mine, but no dice. High notes still weren't my strong suit.
"Roa's."
"Roa?"
"Yeah, she's a year older than me, but she kills it vocally."
Roa probably handled this debut track the most effortlessly.
She was already great, and this song played right to her strengths.
I heard me, Haru, and Mile struggled a bit with recording, while Anna, Maho, and Roa wrapped up quick.
No surprise—a few weeks at vocal academy couldn't match years of practice.
"But I think your part's the best. Voice is versatile, even if it throws you off sometimes."
"Right? I nearly died squeezing that out."
"But now you know it's possible. Composer's got skills."
"Yeah, you'll recognize it when you hear his hits."
"What hits?"
"Well..."
After getting Hyejeong's take on the debut song, we chatted about this and that, and I parted ways feeling much lighter.
****
[Prodigy Miro]
Back home, I chilled for a bit, then fired up a stream.
-Hi
-Prodigy has ascended
-Miha
-What's Prodigy mean?
-Newbies, shut it Daknunsam
I watched the viewers pour in as soon as I went live.
Thanks to collabing with big corporate streamers and sucking up their audiences like juice boxes, we had a solid crowd even right after starting.
Sure, most would dip once the hype faded, but with the debut song drop and promo, we could hold steady or grow.
"Hi, nice to see you."
-What today?
-When's the song?
-LoL ranked when?
-Come climb?
"Wasn't set on what to do today... Oh, leveled up a ton. Played with the other members."
LoL level shot up fast with the XP boost.
At this rate, placement matches next week?
[Anonymous donated 1,000 won! Thanks!]
Where you placing?
"Thanks for the 1,000. Placement? First time, so hopefully pretty high?"
Plat at least, with my real skills.
Come to think of it, I'd been grinding the stream account and skipping solo queue on main. Casual games with members were less stressful anyway.
-Predict real silver lol
-Looked decent in normals
-Skill seemed Gold 2 last time
"You're underrating me. Not that low."
-Bet?
-You're the one sucking?
"Bet? On what?"
[Artisan Miro donated 10,000 won! Thanks!]
Lose and horror game. Plat=100k
As I pondered the bet, the Chairman—long time no see—tossed in a topic.
"Thanks for the 10k, Jangin-nim! Uh—horror game? Sure, fine by me."
Not big on scares, but I took the bet. Confident I'd win, and backing out would be streamer fail.
-Nice
-Accepted lol
-5-min wait squad ON
-Waiting~
Chat buzzed at the horror game stake.
They that into horror streams?
"You cowards? Do your worst~ Don't cry if you embarrass yourselves."
Dead serious. Who am I? Top 3% skill. I'd carry placements easy.
-???: Do your worst~
-You said it
-Duel lol
"Anyway, placement talk when I hit level. Oh, right—song recording's done."
-Fr?
-When drop?
-Heard it on Anna's stream yesterday lol
-Song some crap original? Think we'll suck it up? Lol
-(Deleted message)
"Tsk... Out."
Banned the line-crosser instantly.
"Dissing the debut song in my stream? Ban."
Company folks, members—all poured heart into this. Blind hate gets the boot.
Even if my chat's rowdy, this rule stands.
-Gasp
-Guh
-Huh
-(Notepad open)
"Right, Notepad it outside my stream. No clue on release—check The Six's Fan Cafe?"
-Kinda...
-Full of stuck-up prudes, boring
-Yup
"Stuck-up? Maybe you're the delinquents?"
-Fuck you
-(Notepad open)
-Dropping oshi
-Just check and announce on stream
"I'll announce if Manager tells me."
-Good
-Yup let's go
-Has manager, made it lol
Could share that much, so forgave the cheeky chat.
No interest in chat wars. Mutual support.
[Stationery Thief Miro donated 1,000 won! Thanks!]
But no fans of yours in that cafe lol
"What? What's that mean?"
-Lmaoooo
-Lmaoooooo
-Fr none
-Went in, dead board, left
-Got banned
Checked the cafe on chat's say-so.
Newly made, but decent members, running smooth...
Verified each member's board like they said.
Anna, Mile, Maho, Haru, Roa.
Posts regenerating every few minutes. Lively for a new Fan Cafe. But mine? Desert.
Latest posts? Just aggro bait from my stream mentioning the cafe.
"Why's this?"
-Got banned all over lol
-No swearing
-Super boring lol
-You don't post either dummy lol
"No way—you act like in my chat there?"
-How else?
-Just community style
-Why follow rules?
-Loosen yours
Head in hands at the bold chat.
"Ah... This is a problem."
My stream was turning into an isolated island.