ALL NOVEL Chapter 31
I received a message from Hyeon-su just as I was tinkering with my newly delivered guitar.
I had to tune it properly, so while watching a YouTube video about tuning, my phone rang.
(Hyeon-su): I’ll send you the final version of Wonderland.
I had heard it would be completed within a week, but it was earlier than I expected, so I was surprised and accepted the file Hyeon-su sent.
Receiving an audio file that was nearly 4 minutes and 30 seconds long made me a bit tense. I only knew a little about the lyrics and melody; after that, I didn’t know anything.
With a mix of nervousness and anticipation, I hit play on the song.
Right from the start, the song burst forth with a lively vibe.
With exciting drum beats, Hyeon-su’s vocals signaled the beginning. The song continued with a fast-paced rhythm.
Expressing confidence and passion about the future, the tension gradually rose, creating an exhilarating atmosphere that any listener would vibe with.
The cheerful melodies and soaring vocals delighted the ears as we raced toward the song’s highlight.
But just as the tension peaked right before the climax, it suddenly dipped and the music abruptly cut off.
With the sound of piano accompanying it, the previously soaring male high vocals faded away, replaced by low female vocals.
Though soft, the clear voice whispered anxieties and weaknesses hidden within her bold statements, confessing that this song is Wonderland—an illusion.
However.
Dooong— dooong— dooong—
Amidst her low tension, the band gradually revived one by one.
The female vocalist, as if being pulled by the band, steadily climbed back up, raising the tension in an instant.
Yet, as the intense sound of the band swelled, her voice began to fade again, and Hyeon-su’s confident voice resurrected.
Just like that, the highlight was back, sung vigorously once more, and Wonderland came to an end.
“Oh…”
What I uttered after listening to the entire song was sheer admiration.
Well, even excluding any deeper meaning, the song itself was incredibly good.
And my part that appeared midway left me with a strange feeling as the listener.
“Does this not sound like me?”
Hyeon-su’s cryptic feedback had fabricated an astonishing outcome.
After all, I can handle a variety of vocal ranges. It felt as if he’d gripped that talent by the scruff and pulled it out to the very end.
Perhaps that’s why it came out with a completely different atmosphere than the songs I had sung before.
As I was replaying the song in admiration, hoping to listen to it once more, my phone buzzed with a new message.
(Hyeon-su): How’s the song? It’s really good, right?
A message brimming with confidence about his song; wouldn’t most people feel tense after sending it?
Yet, confidently, Hyeon-su followed up with another message.
(Hyeon-su): Other songs are good too, but Wonderland turned out really well. I might even make this the title track.
(Hyeon-su): Honestly, the shift in mood was the most challenging part. Thanks to Soo-hyun, I think it came out just the way I envisioned.
Seeing Hyeon-su’s confident message, I replied.
(Me): You’re quite confident, huh?
(Hyeon-su): Is the song not good?
(Me): No, it’s really good; I’ll listen to it often.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if this song would achieve mainstream success.
Still, the song was good, and if Hyeon-su was pleased, wasn’t that what mattered?
Thus, the production of Wonderland, which had been quite meaningful, came to an end.
***
That evening, as always, I turned on the broadcast.
[Guitar King Miro]
-Hello hello
-Do you play the guitar?
-What can’t you do??
-How long are you streaming today?
Since the other members weren’t online, I noticed the viewer count rising faster than usual and switched on my mic.
“Ah, can you all hear me?”
-Yeah
-Yeah
-Can hear it
-Are you playing guitar today?
“Ah yes, I’m planning to pass the time by playing guitar today.”
-Now they’re just openly admitting to killing time
-Are we the quota?
-This is controversial;
-I’ll go update the wiki
A casual remark stirred the chat, prompting me to take control right away.
“You all know I’m just joking, right? Hehe.”
-LOL
-Did you read a Korean textbook?
-Really doing it half-heartedly
[Craftsman Miro, thank you for the 10,000 won donation!]
If you do your cute act properly, it’s 50,000 won.
“Ahh~”
[Craftsman Miro, thank you for the 50,000 won donation!]
That was immediate, what the hell
“Thanks for the 50,000 won.”
-Gulp, hahaha
-That was immediate;
-If it’s 50,000 won, I’ll do it too haha
“Anyway, I’ll be playing guitar today.”
[Anonymous, thank you for the 1,000 won donation!]
You can play guitar? What haven’t you done?
“Thank you for the 1,000 won. I’ll play guitar as a reaction to the donation.”
Ding ding—
I plucked the strings for a reaction.
It was a low-cost model I bought as an entry-level guitar, but it still sounded decent.
-Oh..
-Anything else?
“Anything else? Ah, I just bought this today and don’t know anything else.”
-???
-What’s the stream title?
-You call yourself the Guitar King?
“Ah, just a moment.”
I quickly changed the stream title in response to the viewers’ backlash.
[Guitar King Miro (Pending)]
“Is that good?”
-That’s good? Are you kidding me haha
-Pending is nonsense
[Anonymous, thank you for the 1,000 won donation.]
Fact: Just like a League of Legends account, I’ll barely use it for a week and then abandon it.
-Hahaha
-Really, when are you doing ranked in League?
-Come on, just level up by 10 more
-Hurry up
“Ah, I just don’t have the heart to game right now.”
To be frank, these days I find drawing more enjoyable and it passes the time better.
Now that I think about it, I might be able to post something on Bluebird again soon…
Since I haven’t checked in a while with the notifications off, I have no clue about my account’s status.
-This isn’t about time, it’s about having no heart…
-Ha, I set up a sniping account.
“You all prefer to see me play guitar and chat like this rather than constantly play League, right?”
Right now, they’re urging me to play League, but if I actually did, a lot of people would dislike it.
From the beginning, hardly anyone in a VTuber stream genuinely wants to see games.
-Seriously just plucking around
-Practice your guitar too
“Ah, I’m practicing the guitar right now.”
So I displayed the basic guitar chords on the broadcast screen.
“Today’s the first lesson, so many of you probably didn’t bring your guitars, right? From the next lesson onwards, remember to bring yours.”
-???
-There’s no teacher, isn’t this just a study group?
“Then let’s make it a study group. You all practice guitar with me. Playing an instrument gets you girls’ interest.”
-Really?
-I’m learning an instrument starting today
-I brought my guitar, Teacher!
I’m not too sure, but it might be the case?
Attracting the opposite sex with sound has been a long-standing tradition of life forms since the days of reptiles.
[Anonymous, thank you for the 1,000 won donation.]
I major in drums, but why don’t I have a girlfriend?
“Hmm… I think being good at an instrument gives you bonus points. Maybe there’s a minus somewhere, and they cancel each other out?”
-Interpretation: Fix your face
-Acting like you’re considering it
-Only you know where the minus is? Haha
“Hey now, don’t bash that person just because you don’t play any instruments.”
-You were the first to incite, weren’t you?
-Was that instigation you, Miro?
-You’re a real troublemaker
“Alright, shall we take a look at the chords and try playing some guitar?”
When public opinion swings against me, the most effective strategy is to divert attention.
As the chat began to bubble again, I turned attention back to the guitar chords.
“Wow, this is really hard…”
-Originally, it’s daunting when you first start
-I don’t get what’s what!
-Let’s just play League, shall we?
-Let’s go for the World Cup as before!
Some viewers are already one by one suggesting to do something else less than how long it’s been since we started.
“You guys, the beginning is supposed to be difficult. If you give up and go off to do something else now, who’s going to play guitar later?”
-Definitely not you, huh;
-Aren’t you dropping it anyway?
“This time I’m genuinely going to try hard! I’ll definitely succeed with one song within a month.”
-Failure means what?
-Who’s believing that statement?
It seems my trustworthiness has somewhat diminished because I’ve abandoned League.
Of course, most of them are just teasing, but a few viewers look genuinely serious.
At this point, I felt the need to restore some trust, so I made a pledge.
“If I can’t succeed with a song within a month, I’ll do a 24-hour stream!”
-Kaw, haha
-Big shot Miro
-Icon of trust
-If someone looks for faith, point to this place
As I thought, the chat instantly perked up in enthusiasm.
I nodded slightly seeing that.
For the next week, I wouldn’t have anyone complaining no matter how much I played guitar on stream.
As for the song…
I could probably just pick an easy one to work on.
With that thought, I spent that day’s stream practicing guitar.
And just as the broadcast ended…
Ziiing—
Just as I was about to wash up and head to bed, I received a call from my manager.
“Hello?”
[Miro, you did a great job on today’s broadcast.]
“Oh, thank you. Is there something up?”
It seemed he purposefully waited until after the broadcast ended to call me… what could it be?
[Actually, the production of the second single album for the Celestial Realm Project has been decided.]
“Yeah?”
[Since some time has passed since our first song came out, we’ve established a decent viewer base and it seems everyone has their broadcasting style and character solidified. Therefore, we are going to create the next song accordingly.]
“Uh… that sounds great!”
Though sudden, it was genuinely good news.
The first single felt more like a finalized song with just our voices layering over it, didn’t it?
If each person’s individuality is properly embedded in the song, it’ll turn out even better.
[Moreover, we will officially begin the recruitment of the second generation for the Celestial Realm Project.]
“Second generation, you say?”
I always heard about first-generation this and that, so it seemed there really was a second generation planned all along.
[Yes, this time we will be conducting the auditions in private rather than publicly. We will gather and finalize the candidates, and the official debut will likely follow when the second single is released.]
It seems they plan to announce the second generation while the new single draws attention.
[There’s no rush, so you can just go about your streams as normal. I’ll provide an overall notice about the details tomorrow.]
“Understood. I’m looking forward to it.”
[Yes, please take care.]
With that, my late-night call with my manager ended.
“Second generation…”
It seems The Six has some intentions of expanding this VTuber wave more than I thought.