Short and Bold
'Let's start with the basics first, step by step!'
The very first thing the vocal teacher said after hearing my singing was that I should rebuild everything from the basics.
'Was my singing that bad?'
'Ah, you might misunderstand. Your voice is naturally beautiful, so it's pleasant to listen to. But you lack fundamentals so much that it feels unstable.'
'…I see.'
Honestly, I felt a little deflated.
Didn't the director compliment me, saying I was good?
But when I mentioned that, the vocal teacher gave a bitter smile and shook her head slightly.
'That person always starts with compliments, no matter what.'
'Oh…'
That day, my confidence collapsed.
From then until now, I focused only on vocalization and just one single song.
And today, it was time to reap the results of that effort.
"It's finally today, huh?"
The vocal teacher looked at me warming up my voice in the recording booth and grinned.
A woman in her early thirties, she was the kind of person full of energy.
"Yes, I'll try to record it properly today."
"Good. I'm looking forward to it, since you've been working so hard!"
"Hahaha… looking forward to it, though…"
She probably thought I was just recording the song I practiced so hard on to keep as a personal collection.
I wasn't ashamed of being a VTuber, but if I told her, she'd keep asking what my channel name was—so I never mentioned it.
A friend watching my stream? …That would be horrifying.
Other than Hyejung, who knew I was entering the audition, none of my acquaintances knew that I was the VTuber Miro.
Even Hyejung didn't seem to watch my streams.
"Then, let's start recording."
"Yes! I'll relax and do my best."
I felt a bit nervous, but I focused on the melody coming through the headset.
Of course, the song I chose was a Japanese one.
The kind that people "in the know" knew—its music video had about 20 million views.
With its bubbly melody, I sang in a bright and lively voice.
The lyrics conveyed the feelings of a girl who wanted to be loved just as she was, without a mask.
There were many reasons I picked this song, but the biggest was that it was one that "female Kim Soo-hyun" used to love.
"---!"
For weeks, I sang this song endlessly.
I was still lacking in many areas, but at least for this one song—without requiring much vocal technique—I was confident I could perform at a professional level.
On top of that, I had the undeniable advantage of my voice itself.
Even with just the bare minimum of training and practice, the sound that came out was already different.
"--!! -!"
For about four minutes, I sang with all my effort, recalling every bit of theory my vocal teacher had drilled into my head.
"Okay, good!"
When I finished, the teacher gave me a big thumbs-up from outside the booth.
But then…
"How was it?"
"Let's do it once more!"
"Huh?"
"When you sing the first line, try lifting the ending note a bit more."
"Oh… okay."
Maybe I had underestimated how tough recording could be.
"I think that's enough now."
By the time we wrapped up, the sun was already high in the sky.
I had spent nearly four hours—since morning, all the way past lunchtime—on just this one song.
"Good."
"Really?"
"Perfect. Honestly."
"That's a relief…"
To be honest, I was exhausted.
"Please wait here a moment. I'll send it to you right away."
"Thank you."
I received the audio file of my recording.
Now, I just had to go home, film a video of my virtual model singing, and overlay the audio.
Feeling a bit lighter, I sank into the sofa, and the vocal teacher handed me an ion drink.
"You worked hard."
"Haha…"
"So, where are you going to upload it?"
"Huh?"
"Is it for submission? Or YouTube?"
"Uh…"
How did she know?
Did I give it away somehow? I hesitated, and she chuckled.
"You're thinking, 'How did she know?' right?"
"Yes… how did you?"
"It's obvious. I've taught more students than I can count."
"Ah… I see."
Embarrassed at being found out, I gave a sheepish smile.
"I can honestly say it was one of the best covers I've ever heard."
"…Really?"
"Yes. That's how good it was. Ha… I guess your voice really is unfairly good."
"Hahaha… thank you."
"Anyway, you still have more to work on, so don't quit lessons, okay? Teaching you is the highlight of my days lately."
"Yes, I still have a lot to learn."
"Oh my, how can you say things so nicely? Well then, take care. I'll get going."
"Yes, take care."
After she left, I looked around the empty recording studio and stood up, feeling good.
On the way home, I stopped by a convenience store to treat myself to a snack or drink in celebration.
"Welcome~"
"Oh, hello."
The pretty part-time worker greeted me brightly as I walked in.
Ignoring the mystery of why someone like her was working here, I confidently filled my basket with snacks and set it on the counter.
"Buying a lot today, huh?"
Since I came to this store regularly, we'd built a small rapport—just enough for light conversation.
"Yeah, I just finished something I was working on, so this is kind of a celebration."
"Ah, I see~ You'll need a bag, right?"
"Yes, please give me one."
The part-timer smiled with her eyes as she scanned my items.
"Your total is 32,100 won."
"Wow, that much?"
"Convenience store prices are expensive these days, right?"
"Yeah, that's true."
I hadn't picked out much, but it still came to over thirty thousand won.
With my wallet getting thinner again lately, I pulled out my card and handed it to her.
"Okay, payment complete."
As I was packing my things into the shopping bag, she pulled out a drink from under the counter and set it on top.
"What's that?"
"My gift to you."
"Huh? A gift, just like that?"
"Actually, today's my last day working here."
"Ah~ I see…"
"You're the only customer I ever had proper conversations with. So I prepared this. I'm glad you came today."
"Ah, really, thank you."
It wasn't anything expensive, but I gratefully accepted her thoughtfulness.
Once I finished bagging my groceries, I took out a snack I'd bought earlier and set it on the counter.
"Then this is my gift to you."
"Huh?"
"Actually, today's also my last day at this convenience store."
"What??"
"From now on I'll be shopping at the supermarket. So take it."
"Hahaha… what's that supposed to mean?"
She laughed in confusion but still picked up the snack I offered, and only then did I turn to leave.
"Uh, uh, I—never mind. Goodbye."
"Okay~ Don't feel pressured, just enjoy the snack. I hope everything you're working on goes well."
With that, I left the convenience store.
'…Was that kind of cool?'
The thought came unbidden—an instinctive one for any man.
Back home, I loaded up my avatar and sang. It was just a video of my avatar nodding along while singing, but since I'd invested good money into it, the avatar definitely looked appealing.
Then I synced the audio file I'd recorded at the studio earlier, and the result was a pretty satisfying video.
I did a little light editing with my amateur skills, added subtitles, and sent it off to the company email. Now I finally felt completely relieved.
I had done everything I could.
Now all that was left was to wait for the results.
Pssshhh—
I cracked open the cold can of beer I'd bought earlier and stored in the fridge, along with the snacks.
Since I was done, I could relax and watch the final streams of the other contestants.
On Twitch, almost everyone was streaming under the title "Final Day," except for two people.
Of course, one of them was me.
The other was…
"Roa, was it?"
I remembered seeing that contestant's avatar a few times—sky-blue hair, blue eyes, singing K-pop songs.
Strange. It's the final day, so why hasn't she started streaming yet? Maybe she'll be a bit late.
With that thought, I drank my beer and tuned in to the others' streams.
**
TheSix audition Round 4 videos from all participants had gone up.
As I expected, most contestants had submitted a self-introduction and highlight reel of their streams, so the video lengths ranged from around 10 minutes to as much as the mid-20s.
And among them—just one video.
A 3-minute, 45-second clip.
Because of its short length, it already had more views than the others, even though it was still early.
I clicked on it, and there appeared an avatar with pink hair and small horns, sitting alone in a cute little room.
Its green eyes sparkled as it bobbed along to a bouncy melody, and when it opened its mouth, a refreshing, crystal-clear voice poured out.
"Ha… this is so damn good."
Even I had to admit the singing was great. As I listened, I scrolled down to check the comments.
I love you, Miro!! Accept my love..! I love you, Miro!! Accept my love..! I love you, Miro!! Accept my love..! I love you, Miro!! Accept my love..!
Who is this?
Welcome home, honey, I made dinner. Welcome home, honey, I made dinner. Welcome home, honey, I made dinner. Welcome home, honey, I made dinner.
Why is the comment section like this?
King Miro..! King Miro..! King Miro..! King Miro..! King Miro..! King Miro..! King Miro..!
Damn, this is adorable… damn, this is adorable… damn, this is adorable… damn, this is adorable… damn, this is adorable…
Someone needs to clean up the comment section;
"Ahh… it'll be bad if I get too carried away."
Still, I couldn't help but smile with satisfaction at the flood of cheering comments.