GOAT Season

Wayo is a VTuber, but she has one thing that sets her apart from other VTubers.

She never sings on stream.

Not even a single cover song.

Of course, it's not because she can't sing.

Quite the opposite.

She even trained vocals under Han Seonghwa, so she's pretty good, actually.

Looking back now, I still don't get why a modeling teacher taught vocals... but Han Seonghwa is a jack-of-all-trades entertainer, so whatever.

Anyway, back in middle and high school when she occasionally appeared on TV, she even sang as a talent segment on variety shows a few times.

That's exactly why she doesn't sing on stream now.

Her voice is a bit of an issue too, sure.

Back then, compared to now, it was definitely more youthful.

'Hello! I'm Kim Ahyeon!'

Honestly, she was nervous about being on TV, so her tone was a bit higher.

Probably no one could match it to her now anyway.

But singing is different.

Even the slightest chance of getting caught means she avoids it.

Anyway, why am I bringing this up now...?

After the big server ended, there's a final concert as a celebration.

Viewers are hounding her to get on stage after seeing other VTubers perform.

Even Hae and Yeongukno jumped on stage with their crews, making it even worse.

"Eung eung."

But if she gave in to whining, she wouldn't be Wayo.

And from the start.

"Are VTubers supposed to be singers?"

"Hah? VTubers are originally game streamers at heart."

Modern VTubers do a ton of singing.

Albums and concerts too.

But VTuber roots are all-rounder game streams like Wayo.

Well, these days VTuber peaks come from singing, so viewers are half right.

Don't people with unique voices become VTubers?

Unique voices lead to unique tones, so viewers want it even more.

Modern VTubers sing well anyway.

I looked up at a VTuber belting it out on stage.

Who was that again? Practical music major, I heard, and damn she kills it.

"She's good."

The ending notes are a tad iffy though?

I learned from a hack vocal teacher, sure.

But she got props from real singers on TV.

From that perspective, I spot the slips, but as social VTuber Wayo, she doesn't say it out loud.

It's a fun vibe anyway.

"Nice atmosphere."

Anyway, while enjoying the songs like that.

"Hey~ Wayong teacher."

A guy came up to me in the corner of the audience seats.

Wearing a Hawaiian shirt, a bit on the older side.

Yeah, none other than Gang Cheolton, who became this server's kingpin.

"Long time no see."

And my one and only connection from this server.

"How come I never spotted you?"

"You were looking for me?"

"Went a few times but you weren't there?"

"Ah, busy hunting other spots."

"Thought we'd meet at least once before server end."

"Busy hunting gada lang eo."

"Oh yeah? Did ya catch it in the end?"

I grinned and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"That..."

I laid out the huge paper from inventory on the floor, revealing a massive ink blot.

The seal stamped right after catching the gada lang eo.

"You did it after all."

"Yup."

"Seat next to ya free?"

"Nope."

Gang Cheolton glanced down at the paper, smirked, and plopped into the seat beside.

For reference, as a lone wolf VTuber, no one was around me.

Hae or Yeongukno have their crews; I got no other ties.

Basically treating the world like outcasts, fair to say.

"Where's your crew? Why solo?"

More importantly, Gang Cheolton should've had company, unlike me.

He's the boss of Iron Gang, the server's biggest org.

"Boss sits out times like this."

He pointed at the stage where the concert was ongoing.

Up front in premium seats, a cluster huddled together.

Hmm, Iron Gang folks.

First time seeing them. Would've had to visit the city.

"And don't I deserve friends too?"

"Friends?"

"What, no?"

Hmm, my bar for friends is high.

At least a month of stream watching, right?

But we shot a mad movie together, so worth acknowledging.

"Yeah, sure."

"Ah, age gap too big for 'friends'?"

"A bit?"

Viewers were confused by my answer.

Ah, they don't know my age.

For ref, roughly 10 years apart.

Checked wiki later; yeah, he's got some years.

"Sings well."

"Yeah, she does."

Anyway, we chatted briefly and watched the concert together.

As expected from a streamer-packed server, tons of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠VTubers.

Anyone who could sing was performing.

Full-on VTuber festival.

"Oh right, never swapped contacts with Wayong teacher?"

While watching the stage, Gang Cheolton pulled out a cig in-game and asked.

"Does it matter now?"

"Yeah... server's over, huh?"

Lol, funny we talked friends but no contacts.

Too late now; server's done.

"Yeah."

"Man, 3 weeks flew; doesn't feel real."

"I popped in sporadically."

I wanted to avoid breaks during server too, but what can ya do?

Stuff with pre-stamped contracts piled up.

Had to skip some.

Could've pushed for more streams, but main job suffers? End of story.

"Server's over; what's next for you, teacher?"

"Me? Hmm..."

I pretended to think.

Pretended, yeah.

Cuz... I already decided.

"...Rell?"

...Ahem.

Starting to crave it bad.

Nearly a month off? Bound to itch.

Fishing's great, but I miss the intense canyon fights.

"Oh Rell? What's your tier?"

Viewers hated it, but Gang Cheolton was interested.

Makes sense; game streamer, probably plays Rell a lot.

"Eh, around Diamond."

"Damn, good stuff, teacher."

"Rank together sometime?"

"Your tier?"

"Me? Silver."

Silver?

Nah, that's a bit...

"Tiers don't match."

"No smurf?"

"Got one but..."

"Use that."

Sorry to say it, Gang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cheolton, but...

"That's my Master climber account."

"What?"

"Solo queue's tricky."

Silver duo? Nah.

Paused it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠briefly, but no need to grind MMR on smurf?

That baby's destined for Master someday.

No, not someday—

"Smurf to Master when..."

"Soon."

"Huh?"

Soon.

Big server's done.

Now, canyon's dead.