Chapter 62
Chapter 62
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Appearing on a Popular Variety Show
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Appearing on a popular variety show.
It carried far more weight than I had imagined.
TV wasn't yet a relic of the old era.
It meant my face could appear anytime in someone's living room or a family's den.
Not because they wanted to see me—just from a few clicks of the remote.
Earlier, the Manager had sent over a link to a video.
[That Viral Performance! Slim Gold's Legendary Live (Feat. Acquaintance) !! Hits 500K Views!!]
The video was an edited clip of that impromptu performance I did with Hyunsu in the studio back then.
It had racked up a million views.
Even for a clip from the broadcast station itself, this number was absurdly high in such a short time.
It must be the combo of Hyunsu's rising star power and word-of-mouth.
-Who's that woman? Her voice is insane
-Sis has that killer gap moe lol
-Wow, seriously nuts
The comments occasionally mentioned me.
No, quite a lot, actually.
Maybe because they included not just the singing but our chat beforehand?
There were some reactions to my Miro-style banter throwing people off, but mostly positive.
-Casually spouting nonsense like it's nothing, the gap is killerㅜㅠㅜㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Anyone got this woman's Insta?
The praise felt different from what I'd get on communities—kinda uplifting.
Is this what they call insider picks?
These comments proved I had the chops to be the one-pick bridging the underground and mainstream as Miro.
That aside, my feelings were mixed.
I was used to Miro riding the internet waves up and down, but as Kim Suhyun, it felt off somehow.
And it seemed even more buzzworthy than Miro.
Hmm, can't have that.
Right on cue, the Manager had texted about the viral NerTube clip earlier, along with some news.
The music video was finally done.
Considering we'd wrapped recording not long after I got back home, it was pretty late.
Still, they said the quality turned out great, so that was some consolation?
If they'd blown the deadline and skimped on quality, The Six's legal team wouldn't have let it slide.
Autumn was almost here, but we could still pass it off as late summer.
The group chat was blowing up—everyone must've gotten the news too.
Anyway, time to get ready and head out.
Last night, Composer Kang Woo-hyun had called me in to record the new song.
After the move, we'd been chipping away at recordings bit by bit.
Sure, each session came with feedback that felt like verbal abuse, but I was getting the hang of it.
I stepped into the living room, where Mrs. Jang was watching TV.
"Oh, my celebrity daughter. No stream last night?"
"Nope."
I hadn't streamed yesterday. I'd played Civilization until morning that day... and just took it easy to reset my schedule.
"Good, you need your rest. Your singing was on point~"
"Heading out."
"Where to?"
"Work."
"You have work?"
"Mom doesn't need to know."
I bolted before she could tease me more.
Boksil, who'd been cooped up all weekend and was now bouncing around the yard like crazy on a weekday, clung to me relentlessly, but I shook her off and headed out.
I hopped on the subway to the composer's studio.
The place felt familiar now.
I'd been in and out for the Heavenly Realm Project album and new song work.
I strode in confidently and punched in the door lock code.
He used to greet me at the door, but now he was too lazy and just gave me the password.
Inside, there was Composer Kang Woo-hyun at the table.
And sitting across from him was a young, tall guy... who was he? Singer? Actor? Idol?
With a top composer like him, probably someone famous.
Problem was, I didn't watch TV, so I was clueless about celebs.
I'd probably score higher on a Japanese manga character name quiz than Korean celeb ones.
I approached to say hi, and both guys turned to me.
"Hello."
"You're here. Suhyun."
"Yeah, I am. Who's that guy...?"
The man stood to greet me as I arrived.
Standing, I could see he was tall.
Like 6'3"? Taller than Maho.
"Nice to meet you. I'm actor Moon Chang-sik."
Celeb confirmed. But why an actor?
"Oh, right. Kim Suhyun."
As we shook, a question mark popped up on the actor's face.
Ah, I just said my name plain.
But I couldn't exactly go, "Hi, I'm Kim Suhyun, 1st Gen Heavenly Realm Project VTuber Miro~"?
So I just stared back until the composer stepped in.
"This is a friend I work with."
"Oh! So you're a singer? Or trainee?"
Was I a singer?
Kim Suhyun hadn't released anything proper yet.
Not a trainee either...
"Uh, no. Just a regular person."
Plain and simple—a civilian. Without Miro, that's all I had.
Unemployed or house-sitter wouldn't fly.
"I see...?"
The actor's face turned weird at "regular person."
What, like you can do something about it.
Actors control their expressions, right?
Was this natural or performative?
Whatever, not my problem.
"Ahem, Suhyun."
The composer glanced between us and broached it casually.
"Sudden, I know, but mind if he watches us work?"
"Huh?"
"Thing is, he came to me for help with a role."
"A role?"
Watching us work? As he explained, Moon Chang-sik jumped in.
"I'm shooting a movie soon... Ah, you can't tell anyone, okay?"
"Yeah, won't say a word."
Not interested anyway.
Haven't seen a Korean movie in ages.
"My role's a young genius composer. So I figured I'd learn from the best composer I know."
Ah, that explained it.
But was it okay for him to hear the new song?
Must be, since they called me in.
"Sure. But go easy on me today as a trade-off."
"Hmm, alright."
Sweet. Could I wrap up an hour early?
Feeling optimistic, I headed to the recording booth.
I dumped my bag and jacket on the sofa and stepped in.
This place felt cozy now.
"Let's dive right in."
"No warm-up?"
I scoffed at the composer's question.
"Warmed up on the way. Not my first rodeo."
Instead of answering, the familiar new song melody played.
I'd practiced at home too.
No way it'd be a one-sided beatdown like last time.
"Ah- Ah!"
With that resolve, I poured my all into every lyric.
How's that? Pretty solid, right?
Even mid-take, I thought it was good.
But...
Cut.
It stopped around the one-minute mark.
"Nice vibe? But you rode the flow too hard in the middle. It drags where it should snap."
"Got it. Can't nail it first try. Let's go again, quick."
"Good. Cue."
I kept going after that.
Cut.
"That stretch just now..."
"Ah, just woke up, maybe? One more."
Cut.
"More fluid pronunciation..."
"Yeah, tongue's stiff. Gimme water, right back."
Cut.
"High notes giving you trouble?"
"Nah, just self-conscious with him watching."
"Pardon?"
"No, nothing... again."
We went till lunchtime, finally breaking for food.
"Whew, thought you said go easy today."
I slumped on the sofa. What for lunch?
"Haha, the more we grind, the better it sounds. How could I stop?"
He dropped that killer line with his usual dry laugh.
Should the head of a household say stuff like that?
"That last comment's straight controversy bait."
He shrugged at my deadpan stare.
"Hard to believe, but I've never had a scandal."
"Plagiarism rumors don't count?"
"That's a given for guys like me."
Existed, then. Yeah, everything's drama fodder these days.
"Anyway, what're we eating?"
"Anything for me. Actor, any cravings?"
I asked Moon Chang-sik, who'd been spacing out. He blinked, snapped to, and grinned.
"Sounds good."
"Huh?"
"This composer-singer dynamic? Tougher and lighter than I thought."
I'd asked about food, not...
"Like this all the time?"
"Dunno what 'like this' means, but yeah, par for the course."
"Perfect... this is gold."
What? He zoned out into his own world.
I glanced at the composer, who seemed used to it and handed me his phone.
"Order whatever on the delivery app."
Actor must've hit inspiration mode.
Sigh, guess I'm picking lunch.