Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Wonderland Complete
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I got a message from Hyun-su while I was fiddling with the new guitar that had just arrived.
To do it properly, I needed to tune it, so I was watching a NerTube video and adjusting it when my phone buzzed.
(Hyun-su): Sending you the completed Wonderland track.
I'd heard it would be done within a week, but it was sooner than expected, so I was surprised as I downloaded the file he'd sent.
Just receiving the audio file, which was about four minutes and thirty seconds long, made me a bit tense.
I only knew the lyrics and melody—nothing else.
With a mix of slight tension and a lot of anticipation, I hit play on the song.
It kicked off upbeat right from the start.
Hyun-su's vocals announced the beginning alongside an exciting drum beat.
The song flowed on with fast-tempo instrumentation.
Expressing confidence and passion for the future, the energy kept building, creating an atmosphere that naturally hyped up the listener.
The pounding rhythm and piercing vocals delighted the ears, racing toward the highlight.
But just as the mood peaked right before the climax—
The tension started to drop, and then—bam—the music cut off.
A piano melody came in, replacing the high-toned male vocals that had built up the hype with a low-toned female voice.
Low but incredibly clear, it recited the anxieties and flaws hidden within the bold claims of confidence that had ramped up the energy so far, confessing that this Wonderland was just a fantasy.
However.
Dung- dung- dung-
Even in the woman's low-energy delivery, the band's instruments revived one by one.
Pulled along by the band, the woman's voice climbed step by step, skyrocketing the tension in an instant.
But as the intense band sound swelled, the female vocals faded away, and Hyun-su's confident voice returned once more.
Belting out the highlight that had been interrupted, Wonderland drew to a close.
"Whoa..."
After it finished, what escaped my lips was pure admiration.
Even setting aside the meaning packed into it, the song itself was incredible.
And hearing my part in the middle gave me a strange feeling, even as the singer.
"No way they don't know this is me?"
That cryptic feedback from Hyun-su had elevated the final product to an insane level.
After all, I'm the one who can handle such a wide vocal range.
It felt like he'd grabbed that ability by the hair and dragged it out to the very end.
That's why it had a completely different vibe from any song I'd sung before.
As I marveled and reached to play it again, my phone buzzed with a new message.
(Hyun-su): What do you think of the song? It's really good, right?
A message brimming with confidence in his own work—doesn't sending that to someone make you nervous?
But Hyun-su seemed utterly convinced it was great and followed up.
(Hyun-su): The other songs are good too, but Wonderland turned out amazing. I'm tempted to make it the title track.
(Hyun-su): The mood shift was the hardest part. Thanks to you, Suhyun noona, it came out just like I imagined.
Seeing his confident messages, I replied.
(Me): So full of yourself?
(Hyun-su): You don't like the song?
(Me): No, it's seriously good. I'll listen to it a lot.
Honestly, I had no idea if it'd be a mainstream hit.
But the song was great, and if Hyun-su was satisfied, wasn't that enough?
And so, the production of the meaningful Wonderland came to an end.
***
That evening, as usual, I went live.
[Guitar King Miro]
-hi hi
-Guitar?
-You can play guitar too?
-What CAN'T you do??
-How long's the stream today?
With the other members not streaming, viewers piled in faster than usual, and I turned on my mic.
"Ah, can everyone hear me?"
-y
-yy
-Hearing ya
-Gonna play guitar today?
"Yeah, I figured I'd just strum the guitar to kill time today."
-Now she's straight-up admitting it lol
-We her time fillers?
-This is controversial;
-Heading to the wiki to add it
The chat stirred at my joking remark, so I jumped in to quash it.
"You all know I'm kidding, right? Eung~"
-lololololol
-Reading from the textbook?
-So half-assed lol
[Artisan Miro-nim, thank you for the 10,000 won donation!]
Do a proper aegyo and it's 50k.
"Aing~"
[Artisan Miro-nim, thank you for the 50,000 won donation!]
She did it right away ffs
"50k well spent."
-gulp lololol
-Did it instantly;
-I'd do 50k too lol
"Anyway, guitar time today."
[Anonymous-nim, thank you for the 1,000 won donation!]
Can't you play guitar too? What HAVEN'T you tried??
"Thanks for the 1k. Guitar riff as donation reaction."
Diring-
I plucked a little riff for the reaction.
It was an entry-level cheap model, but the sound came out nice.
-o..
-Anything else?
"Something else? Ah, I just got it today, so I can't do anything fancy."
???
-What's the title?
-Guitar King tho
"Ah, hold on."
At the backlash, I changed the title.
[Guitar King Miro (Scheduled)]
"Better?"
-Better? BS lololol
-Scheduled my ass
[Anonymous-nim, thank you for the 1,000 won donation!]
Fact) Gonna play LoL for a week like a placement queue then abandon it
-lolololol
-Fr fr when's LoL placement?
-Dumbass just need 10 more levels
-Level up quick
"Ah, I.. just don't feel like gaming."
Honestly, these days drawing was more fun and time flew by faster than games.
Come to think of it, maybe it's time to post on Bluebird again...
I'd turned off notifications for a while, so I had no idea what my account status was.
-fml not about time, no 'feeling'??
-Sigh.. prepped a smurf for you
"You guys prefer me strumming guitar and chatting over nonstop LoL, right?"
Right now they're nagging for LoL, but plenty would hate it if I actually did.
VTuber streams aren't really about hardcore gaming anyway.
-You just pluck randomly lol
-Practice the guitar first
"Ah, that's what I'm doing now."
I pulled up basic guitar chords on screen.
"Okay, first lesson today, so most of you don't have guitars? Bring 'em next time."
???
-No teacher? Isn't this a study group?
"Fine, study group it is. Practice guitar with me, folks. Mastering an instrument makes girls swoon."
-Fr fr?
-Learning instruments starting today
-Brought my guitar, teacher
I wouldn't know, but probably?
Seduction with sound is a long-standing tradition in the animal kingdom since reptiles.
[Anonymous-nim, thank you for the 1,000 won donation.]
Ex-drums major, why no gf?
"Hmm.. Think of instrument skills as a plus. Probably cancels out some minus elsewhere?"
-Translation) Fix your face
-Acting like you're helping nah
-I know the minus lol
"Ahem, don't badmouth him just 'cause you can't play instruments yourselves."
-You started it
-Miro stirred it up?
-This girl's evil
"Okay, let's look at the chords and try strumming?"
When public opinion turns against me, best to redirect attention.
As the chat stirred again, I shifted focus to the chords.
"Wow, this is seriously hard..."
-It's always daunting at first
-No clue what I'm looking at;
-Just play LoL?
-Stick to world cup go go
Viewers started suggesting other stuff barely after starting.
"Guys, beginnings are always tough. If you give up and switch already, who'll play guitar later?"
-At least not you;;
-Gonna abandon it anyway?
"I'm serious this time? I'll master a song in a month, promise."
-What if you fail?
-Who'd believe that;
Guess abandoning LoL tanked my credibility a bit.
Most were joking, but some seemed dead serious.
Feeling the need to rebuild trust, I made a pledge.
"Fail to nail a song in a month, and I'll do a 24-hour stream."
-Nice lol
-Great Oath Miro
-Icon of Trust
-Point here if seeking faith
As planned, the chat exploded in approval.
I nodded slightly at the sight.
This buys me a week of pure guitar streams with no complaints.
As for the song..
Something easy should do.
With that, the stream ended with guitar practice.
And right as it wrapped—
Zing-
Just as I was about to wash up and sleep, a call from the Manager.
"Hello?"
[Miro-nim, great stream today.]
"Ah, thanks. What's up?"
Seemed like he waited till it ended to call.. What for?
[Just this: Heavenly Realm Project's second single album production has been greenlit.]
"Huh?"
[Hasn't some time passed since the first track? New viewers have settled in, and everyone's streaming style and personality are established, so we've decided to make the next one tailored to that.]
"Uh.. yeah, that's great?"
Sudden, but awesome news.
The first single was basically just vocals over a finished track, right?
With real personality infused, it'll be even better.
[Plus, we're starting full recruitment for Heavenly Realm Project 2nd Gen.]
"2nd Gen?"
Always hearing about 1st Gen, figured 2nd was coming.
[Yes, this time private auditions instead of public. We'll gather candidates first, and official debut probably after the second single drops.]
Gonna announce 2nd Gen when the new single draws eyes, huh.
[No rush anyway, so keep streaming as usual. Full schedule notice tomorrow.]
"Got it. Looking forward to it."
[Yup, good night.]
And so the late-night call with the Manager ended.
"2nd Gen, huh..."
Looks like The Six plans to grow this VTuber scene bigger than I thought.