Meeting
"Your debut song's coming out today?"
"Yeah, they said they'll send it over sometime this afternoon."
The day after our successful joint stream, I went out early in the morning with Hyejung.
We hadn't been able to meet because of how busy things had been, so I carved out some time like this.
"What do you think? Are you excited?"
"A little? Still, since it's by a famous composer and the company seems to have spent some money, I guess so."
"Wow~ What if it ends up being used as one of my assignments for class?"
Hyejung's a dance major. Honestly, she spends more time hanging out than practicing, but she says she's still keeping her grades up.
"That'd be nice."
If the song became famous enough to be used for a university assignment, that would only be a good thing.
That was the thought I had when I answered, but Hyejung gave me a strange look.
"What? Why that face?"
"It's just… you're really serious about this, huh?"
"Now you realize? I'm even going to vocal lessons, you know."
"No, I mean you've got something different now. Like urgency? Or passion? Before, you were kind of laid-back."
Laid-back? Me?
Thinking back, she wasn't wrong.
After all, I always thought that even if I failed once or twice, I could just take another path.
But now…
"Well, I do have my fellow members, right? It's not like I'm the only one who'd crash and burn."
I had kind, considerate colleagues.
Not a single one of them ever mentioned on stream that my profile picture was anime-style, even though it wasn't something worth hiding.
It was obvious they were keeping quiet so the community wouldn't latch onto it and stir up pointless rumors.
"True, but you always had a sense of responsibility even before this."
"Nothing else?"
"I guess… your drawing skills?"
"Oh!"
"What?"
Speaking of drawing reminded me—I had meant to practice after the stream yesterday but forgot.
"You have pen and paper, right?"
"Yeah, I brought some for class later. Why?"
"Hand it over. I want to test something."
Strike while the iron is hot. I had to check my current skill right away.
"Why, what for?"
"Just hold still."
"What, are you going to draw me? You never used to draw people before."
Did female Kim Soo-hyun do that? Thinking back, she definitely avoided drawing others.
"Well, because people kept pestering. Even if I drew for them, a few days later the sketch would be crumpled on the classroom floor."
"Ahh…"
"Anyway, hold still. Let's see if I've gotten rusty."
Female Kim Soo-hyun's specialty was illustration.
So I started drawing Hyejung's face, stylizing it into a character.
She'd had a distinct drawing style, so I needed to compare against her old works and see how much it had deteriorated.
I glanced once at Hyejung's face, then lightly sketched the outline in the notebook.
Even without an underdrawing, the lines flowed easily. That in itself was a bit surprising. I drew a line, looked at her again, and drew another.
The flowing lines formed planes, and depth gradually appeared.
"Oh… so your skill hasn't faded."
Hyejung just admired my drawing, but I was honestly shocked.
The skill was nearly identical to female Kim Soo-hyun's from my memories.
Even with male Kim Soo-hyun's 21 years laid overtop, her art hadn't changed.
The body remembered the strokes, and the mind recalled the rules.
In fact, since male Kim Soo-hyun had only ever doodled stick figures, it might have helped me avoid confusion.
After about ten minutes, Hyejung's face and upper body were sketched onto the page.
A cute 2D-style character.
"Oh… cute."
That's what Hyejung said, but I found it fun.
The process of drawing itself.
I finally understood why female Kim Soo-hyun had gotten so absorbed in it.
How could it not be fun, when the things in your head appear directly under your hand?
"Can I show this to the others at school?"
"Do what you want."
As she tucked the notebook into her bag, I couldn't help but grin, joy bubbling up inside me.
"What's with that creepy smile?"
"What should I do?"
"What?"
"With a pretty face, a nice voice, singing skills, gaming skills, and now even drawing skills—how are other VTubers supposed to survive?"
"…I want to say something to that, but… you've got too many strong points."
"Doesn't that make me the perfect optimized talent?"
The image popped into my head immediately.
Streaming while drawing, chatting with viewers, and raking in donations—what an easy mode.
Rotating endlessly between LoL, art, and ideal-type tournaments?
Isn't that the holy trinity?
"But have you actually improved at singing? I always thought you were good."
"That's just because you've got untrained ears and got bewitched by my natural voice."
"Wanna die?"
"Finish your coffee, then let's hit a karaoke booth. I'll prove it."
"Hah, you know I never back down from a challenge."
So we went to a coin karaoke booth.
"Holy shit."
At my improved skill, Hyejung could only let out a pure exclamation.
After parting ways with Hyejung and returning home, I opened the email that had just arrived.
My debut song.
"Man, I'm actually nervous."
This song could decide my fate from here on out.
Since the company had invested heavily, I doubted it would be bad… but who could say for sure?
Even famous singers' new releases flop sometimes, so how much riskier would it be for us?
With that anxiety heavy in my chest, I pressed play.
The faint sound of instruments rang out, followed by the guide vocalist's voice.
And after about four short minutes, the song ended.
I quietly mulled it over.
"…This is better than I thought."
Since it was for VTubers, I'd assumed it would be more like Japanese band music, but it leaned closer to K-pop.
Of course, it still kept a slight Japanese band vibe.
I don't have expert musical knowledge, but I've listened to plenty of songs. Imagining our members singing it…
At the very least, no one would call it trash.
Bzzz—Bzzz—
The group chat must be buzzing with the same kind of reactions right now.
While I was thinking that, a call came in.
I figured it was Hyejung, but another name popped up.
[Mahohyun]
Mahohyun, nicknamed Maho, one of my fellow members.
It was the first time she'd called me directly…
I answered absentmindedly, and an excited voice came through.
[Soo-hyun! Did you listen to the song yet!?]
"Ah, yes, I did."
[Huh?]
"What?"
[Doesn't your voice sound a bit different?]
"Oh, right, yeah."
Thinking back, whenever I spoke with the members, it was always in front of the mic, so of course I naturally slipped into "broadcast mode."
On a normal call, it was bound to sound different.
My old manager, who'd become my current one, was probably used to cases like this, so he never brought it up.
[But I like this voice too…! So calm and mature!]
"What, you don't like my stream voice?"
[No, no! That one's brighter, more energetic. But Soo-hyun, your voice is seriously amazing…]
"Your voice is nice too, unnie."
[Gasp…]
"What's wrong?"
[Do I even deserve to be called unnie by a voice like yours?]
"Ahaha… you're overreacting."
But really, compared to the average person, Maho's voice was also top-tier.
That's why she passed the audition.
[Anyway! The song's really good, isn't it??]
"Yeah, it's great."
[So, where do you live, Soo-hyun?]
"…Excuse me?"
[I heard from the manager that if we want, we can meet the composer in person during recording. That studio has great equipment, and we'd get immediate feedback…]
"Oh, you mean you want to go together?"
[Yep! I asked in the group chat, and the others said they'd go separately later.]
Hmm… maybe for the other members, meeting in real life this soon feels burdensome.
Meanwhile, Maho probably didn't want to go alone, so she even called me directly to ask.
We'd gotten pretty close in a short time, chatting about nerdy stuff and all.
"Sure. When do you want to meet?"
No harm in meeting.
[Really!? No backing out, okay?]
"Yeah, no problem. I'd feel awkward going alone too, so just call me when it's time."
[Then tomorrow! How about lunch tomorrow?]
"Fine by me. Where should we meet?"
[Hmm… let's meet at the station closest to the studio.]
"Got it. I'll be there."
[Yay, thanks!]
And so, I set up a meeting with Maho.
The next day, I left home early for our appointment.
The weather was getting hotter, so today's outfit was an oversized T-shirt, shorts that weren't too short, and a cap pulled low.
Basking in the rare morning sun, I sat on the subway, which was less crowded now that rush hour had passed. For several tens of minutes, I listened to the debut song on my wireless earbuds, memorizing lyrics and pitch, until I arrived at the station we'd agreed on.
I got off, stepped out of the subway, and headed to a café near the station to wait.
Bzzz—
Just before the set time, a call came from Maho.
"Hello?"
[Hey, Soo-hyun, I'm here. Where are you?]
"I'm in the café right out front. I'll come out."
[Huh? No, no, I'll come in! Stay there.]
"Alright, then I'll just wait inside."
[Ahaha! Perfect!]
After hanging up, I sipped my drink. Soon after, a woman entered.
Her black hair, long enough to reach her waist, had a natural wave that curled at the ends. A cap hid most of her face, but her pale skin was visible.
And… she was tall.
With a height nearly matching the men around her, she glanced about, tilted her head, and pulled out her phone.
I chuckled at the sight, stood up, and walked toward her.
Even though I was tall for a woman, she still seemed at least five centimeters taller than me. I looked up at her and waved.
"Unnie Ho-hyun, right?"
From beneath the cap, her eyes widened in surprise. I smiled knowingly.
So that's one down—there are four more reactions like this waiting for me.
Totally worth changing my profile picture.