Fan Cafe
The debut song's recording was finally complete.
Starting with me and Maho, then Roa, Anna, Haru, and Mile—everyone went to the studio in turn and finished recording. With the part assignments and mixing handled afterward, the song came together in just over a week.
The music video was still in production, scheduled to be released alongside the song, but that was all on the company to handle, so I didn't worry about it.
The title of the song was "Heaven-tier."
They tried to match the concept somewhat, but honestly, the lyrics weren't much different from a standard girl group song.
Maybe you could call it a slightly pure and delicate concept?
Either way, the song itself was really good.
The six members' distinct vocal colors blended harmoniously, boosting the quality—at least, that was the general opinion. To be fair, though, I couldn't claim my evaluation was all that objective.
Still, even if it flopped, at least people would say the song sounded good enough to listen to.
As I mulled it over alone, I decided to get a third party's opinion.
And the person I chose was Hyejung.
Since she listened to a lot of music as a hobby and was a social type, she'd at least be able to tell if it was good or not.
"So, you want me to listen to your song?"
"Yeah, give me an objective evaluation."
At that word, objective, Hyejung gave me an ambiguous look.
"Would it really be objective if I'm the one doing it?"
"It's not like I can just show it to a stranger. That'd break the confidentiality clause."
"Well, technically me listening is kind of a breach too."
"Not if you keep your mouth shut."
"Fine, I'll listen."
"Here, put on the earbuds. I'll keep watch."
"What is this, a shady deal? Go grab the drinks when they're ready."
Grumbling, Hyejung took the wireless earbuds I handed her. I watched her listening intently until the pager buzzed, and I went to pick up our drinks.
By the time I set them down on the table, she was still listening with her eyes closed, deep in concentration.
Seeing that, I started to feel nervous. What if she said it was bad? It wasn't like I could change it now.
Maybe I shouldn't have asked? No… better to rip off the bandage early.
Heart pounding, I waited as she finished the song.
Finally, Hyejung opened her eyes, nodded, and said with a note of awe:
"This is really good."
"For real?"
At her words, the worries weighing me down melted away. Even if it was just flattery, it was reassuring.
"Yeah. And… wait, is this part actually you?"
She handed me one of the earbuds.
"Which part?"
"About thirty seconds in."
Ah, that section. I'd struggled there; the composer had been so picky. Still, the result turned out well, so I couldn't complain.
"That's me."
"No way, that's cheating."
"What? Why?"
"You weren't that good at karaoke. And your voice sounds different."
I guess she was surprised at how different I sounded from my casual speaking voice or karaoke attempts.
Tsk, tsk… civilians. They don't know how varied a person's voice can be.
"You think people only have one voice?"
"Don't they?"
"Nope."
"What, is this a voice impression or something?"
"No, this is what it means to use your voice."
"Wait, that's possible even while singing?"
"The composer said I've got a wide range of tones I can pull out."
"…Huh."
Watching Hyejung's baffled expression at my versatility, I chuckled. I hadn't realized I had so many talents either.
Had these skills existed even back when I was male Kim Soo-hyun?
If I'd known, maybe I would've slacked off on studying and spent more time cultivating hobbies like female Kim Soo-hyun had.
"Anyway, the song's good. How should I put it? The parts were divided well, and everyone's voices are distinct."
"Right? It makes it fun to listen to."
"And this high note here—who is that? Honestly better than a lot of pro singers."
"Where?"
"Here."
I wondered if it was my part and felt a flicker of hope, but no—it wasn't me. I still wasn't confident with the high notes.
"That's Roa."
"Roa?"
"Yeah, she's a year older than me. She's really good."
Roa probably had the easiest time with the debut song.
She was already strong at singing, and this song played perfectly to her strengths.
Haru, Mile, and I had a rougher time recording, while Anna, Maho, and Roa finished pretty quickly.
No surprise—after only a few weeks of vocal lessons, there was no way I could match people who had been singing for years.
"Still, I think your part's my favorite. Even if your voice is so varied it's confusing."
"Right? I nearly died squeezing that out."
"But now you know you can do it, right? Your composer must be skilled."
"Yeah. You'd recognize some of his hit songs."
"Really? Like what?"
"Well…"
We chatted on like that, and after hearing Hyejung's feedback, I felt relieved as we parted ways.
[Miro – "Talent that Sticks Out Like a Needle in a Sack"]
Back home, I rested a bit before starting my stream.
Heyo
Long time no see, "Needle in a Sack"
Miha!
What's that mean?
New viewers, just keep quiet and watch.
The moment I went live, viewers poured in.
Thanks to piggybacking off big-name collabs arranged by the company, my streams had gained a solid audience even though I hadn't been streaming long.
Of course, some of it was just temporary hype, but once the debut song dropped and got promotion, I figured the numbers would hold—or even grow.
"Hi everyone, nice to see you."
What's today's stream?
When's the song coming out?
When are you playing ranked LoL?
Did you level up?
"I haven't decided today's content yet… Ah, but I did grind my levels a lot. Played with some of the members."
Leveling in LoL was fast with an XP boost.
At this rate, I'd probably be ready for placement matches by next week.
[Thank you, [username], for the ₩1,000 donation!]
What rank do you think you'll place?
"Thanks for the thousand won! Placements? It's my first, so I'm guessing it'll be pretty high."
At least Platinum should be easy, given my actual skill.
Come to think of it, I hadn't played much on my main account lately since I'd been focusing on my streaming account. Honestly, it was less stressful just playing normals with the members than solo-queue grinding anyway.
I'm betting Silver-Gold.
Judging from her normals, she seems pretty good.
From her last games, she looked like a Gold 2.
"You're underestimating me. I'm better than that."
Wanna bet?
"Aren't you the one underestimating me?"
"A bet? What's on the line?"
[CraftsmanMiro donated ₩10,000!]
If you don't make it, horror game stream. If you hit Plat, ₩100,000.
As I mulled over the idea of a bet, one of my long-time viewers—Chairman, who I hadn't seen in a while—threw down the gauntlet.
"Chairman, thank you for the ten thousand won! Horror game if I fail? Okay, sure. No problem."
I wasn't immune to scary things, but I accepted the bet without hesitation. Not only did I have zero intention of losing, but backing out here would be disgraceful for a streamer.
Niceee
Bet locked in lol
5-minute waiting squad ON
We'll be watching~
The chat stirred at the mention of a horror game penalty.
Was it really that exciting to watch me play horror games?
"What, you gonna stream-snipe? Fine, go ahead. Just don't embarrass yourselves."
I meant it. Who was I, after all? Someone in the top 3% of players. I was confident I could carry placement games with ease.
???: Go ahead and snipe~
You said it
No backing out now lol
"Anyway, let's talk about it again once I reach placement level. More importantly—our song recording is finally done."
For real?
When's it dropping?
Already heard it on Anna's stream yesterday
You think we're gonna hype up some trash original song just because it's yours? LOL
(This message has been deleted.)
I hissed through my teeth. "Yeah, you—get out."
And I banned them on the spot.
"In my stream, badmouthing our debut song gets you banned."
Too many people had put in effort—company staff, my fellow members—for me to tolerate baseless slander.
Sure, my chat could get rowdy, but this was one line I wouldn't let them cross.
Gasp
Whoa
Yikes
(opens notepad)
"Yeah, write it in your notepad. Just don't write it in my chat. If you want to know when the release is, why not check The Six's official fan café?"
Ugh, no thanks
That place is full of boring old prudes
Yeah, it's dead
"Prudes? Or maybe you're the degenerates?"
🖕
(opens notepad)
I'm dropping you as my oshi
Just check for us and announce it on stream
"You want me to check and announce it? Fine, if my manager updates me, I'll tell you."
Good
Sounds fair
She's even got a manager now, she's made it lol
That much, I could oblige. There was no point in power-struggling with my viewers—we relied on each other, after all.
[StationeryEraserThiefMiro donated ₩1,000!]
By the way, you know your fan café board is completely empty, right? LOL
"What? What are you talking about?"
LOLLLLLL
No seriously, it's dead
Not a single post
I went once, the board was a ghost town
I got banned there too
Doubtful, I checked the fan café myself.
It hadn't been long since it was created, but membership was growing steadily, and activity looked fine overall.
Sure enough, the members' boards for Anna, Mile, Maho, Haru, and Roa all had posts popping up every few minutes—lively for an early-stage fan café.
But my own board? Completely barren.
The only new posts were troll bait written just because I'd mentioned it on stream.
"…What's going on here?"
We all got banned lol
They don't allow swearing
Super boring
You don't even post there yourself, you bitch
"What, do you guys chat in the café the same way you do here?"
How else are we supposed to chat?
We just treat it like any other forum
Why should we follow rules?
Just change the rules for your board
Faced with their brazen responses, I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"…Yeah, this is a problem."
At this rate, my stream community was going to end up like an isolated island.