Meeting
The first single Heavenly Realm, released by The Six's "Heavenly Realm Project" first-gen trainees, lit up the community from the moment it dropped.
[Heavenly Realm <— honestly, if it sounds good, upvote ㅋㅋ]
I thought it would sound like some cringy anime OP, but it's better than expected, so upvote ㅋㅋ
stop overreacting
just another cookie-cutter K-pop song imo
[Honestly, wasn't this track all about Roa?]
(clip of Roa's highlight part)
She blew most girl group main vocals out of the water.
or maybe those main vocals just suck?
lol clueless take, Anna carried—what's this about Roa ㅋㅋ
wasn't it just her taking the high notes? (legit doesn't know)
classic Roa-fanboy cope ㅋㅋ
[Honestly, if Miro's parts were good, upvote ㅋㅋ]
(Miro's opening part)
(Miro's ending part)
Starting the song and closing it off perfectly—if you thought that was great, upvote ㅋㅋㅋ
tbh, it was nice
but didn't Anna, Maho, and Roa handle the hard parts?
↳ bruh you're just a high-note junkie, emotion is the real challenge
↳ emotion? lol what a weeb take
ngl, tone-wise she's #1
Right after release, impressions flooded in. Soon after, live updates started circulating about what happened after the song ended.
[Is Miro an idiot?]
(clip of Miro closing her eyes to listen during the premiere)
(clip of her rewatching the MV afterward)
While the other members were crying and sharing their feelings, Miro didn't even watch the MV—she was just listening, and now she's watching it after the fact.
lmao
even Roa teared up, and she's just fine?
[Is Miro a psychopath?]
(clip of Miro finishing the MV and reacting to the others)
Miro: They cried? Really? ㅋㅋ
Miro: Roa-unnie cried? Oh, she teared up? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Miro: Wow, everyone's so sensitive. Good for them.
Is she really the youngest? She laughed when they cried, now she's just walking around watching them.
no way she's really 21
↳ Miro's 21?
↳ yeah, said so during auditions
↳ 21 lol so young
after hearing tired old women all the time, hearing a 21-year-old laugh like that makes my day
↳ facts lol
↳ "virgin laugh" wtf ㅋㅋ
her wandering around watching is hilarious ㅋㅋ
[Production studio for this MV]
(studio logo)
It's literally the biggest animation studio in Korea.
No wonder it looked so good. How much did they even spend?
still just some cringe anime studio, right? ㅋㅋ
↳ they collab with Japan often and make legit anime
but the MV was kinda weeb-y
↳ it's a VTuber MV, of course it's supposed to look weeb-y lol
And so, first the debate was whether the song was good, then who sang better, then even the MV studio became the hot topic—the community was on fire three times over.
Meanwhile, on the Heavenly Realm fan café, the focus was on streaming.
[Everyone, keep looping the song~]
[Proof of streaming with 3 accounts]
Unlike community users who watched the premiere once and ran straight to post, fan café users were constantly posting streaming proof.
But since the first-gen Heavenly Realm Project was essentially just a group of rookie streamers, the fandom wasn't that big. Regrettably, they didn't make it onto the major music charts.
Instead, the MV uploaded to YouTube entered the trending rankings, and views skyrocketed.
Three days had passed since the debut song was released.
The response was successful, and the MV's views continued to rise rapidly.
Although it didn't chart on music platforms, my manager said it was inevitable—our main audience cared more about YouTube MVs than streaming sites.
The most tangible change after releasing the song was when I started my streams.
The number of viewers had clearly jumped.
Most of them had probably come across the song out of curiosity and then drifted into my stream. But with my already chaotic chat, the influx of newcomers only turned it into a total mess.
The other members' chats blended in more smoothly, but mine—which should've been easier for new people to join—was now a battleground, with old viewers and newcomers constantly clashing.
Apparently, my manager's been stressing about it. But I set that aside for now.
I had something else to do today.
"Is this the place?"
A café in downtown Seoul.
Today, I came not as Miro, but as Kim Soo-hyun, to handle business.
Since I'd arrived a little early, I scanned the café for a seat.
That's when a student caught my eye.
On a weekday afternoon, a uniformed high schooler sitting there naturally drew attention.
Bleached blonde hair, slim build, strikingly handsome.
I couldn't help but wonder idly what kind of school life a guy like that had.
After ordering my drink and sitting down, I checked my phone—and saw I'd already gotten a message from Slim Gold.
Slim Gold (Hyun-soo): I arrived early, so I'm inside the café.
Early? So he was already here?
The moment I read the text, I stood and looked around.
The café wasn't crowded—it was still early afternoon. According to my coach, I should be looking for someone slim, handsome, and blonde…
As soon as I pictured it, my gaze naturally returned to the student I'd noticed earlier.
…No doubt about it.
Just to be sure, I sent a reply and looked his way. He checked his phone right then.
That sealed it—I approached him.
"…?"
As I came up suddenly, he looked at me with a questioning expression.
"Excuse me."
"Ah, yes? What is it?"
"Are you…"
Saying "are you Slim Gold in real life?" felt too much like calling him by a nickname, so I hesitated.
Instead, I decided to just use his real name, the one my coach had told me.
"Are you Hyun-soo?"
"Hyun-soo? Yeah, that's me."
"Great. I'm the one you were supposed to meet today."
Once I confirmed it was him, I sat across from him.
And silently muttered to myself about my coach:
"Didn't she say she'd introduce me?"
Was she trying to set me up with a student?
Even though I was still young, introducing a high schooler to an adult made me revise my opinion of my coach.
Meanwhile, Slim Gold—Hyun-soo—took the initiative to speak.
"Ah, are you Soo-hyun?"
"That's right. Are you… still a student?"
"Yeah, I'm in my third year. But… how do you know my name?"
"My vocal coach told me. And besides, your KakaoTalk name is Hyun-soo, right?"
"Ah, true… Hmm. Have you listened to my songs?"
"Of course. I liked them."
They weren't exactly famous tracks, but Slim Gold's music really did suit my taste. Some of them were even on my YouTube playlist.
"Ah, thank you."
"So, have you listened to my songs?"
"Huh? Oh—I've heard your covers."
"Not those. I released something new recently."
"Wait, you released a song?"
"Technically not me, but Miro. Want to listen?"
Since I personally thought highly of my debut track Heavenly Realm, I proudly introduced it to Hyun-soo.
"Can I listen now?"
"Yes, take your time."
As soon as I gave the okay, Hyun-soo pulled a wireless headset out of his bag and put it on, immediately listening.
Watching him close his eyes as he listened, I sipped my drink. It struck me suddenly that he seemed more mature than I'd expected.
No way… right?
I was often told I seemed mature for my age, but even so—that thought felt like a stretch. I turned my attention to my phone and waited out the short four minutes. Then Hyun-soo opened his eyes.
"Well?"
"Hmm…"
Unexpectedly, his brows furrowed slightly.
"What? You didn't like it?"
Could it be? Was it a bad song in the ears of a genius?
Suppressing my own frown, I looked at him. He hesitated, then spoke.
"Ah, no, it was good… but don't you think it sounded too… generic?"
"Huh?"
"I mean… all the members' voices are unique and free-spirited, but the production felt way too commercial."
Too commercial? That wasn't entirely untrue… but it wasn't just generic, right? There were band elements too…
I thought about pointing that out, but then it hit me.
Hyun-soo was an artist who wrote, composed, and released his own singles. Meanwhile, I was just one member of a six-person group singing songs the company handed to us.
Put simply: musically, I was way behind him.
So I kept my mouth shut.
If words wouldn't do, then maybe looks would.
As Kim Soo-hyun, I was a beauty with a slightly sharp aura—enough that just glaring could pressure someone.
Perhaps he felt my gaze, the same one that had once made my ex-handler (and current manager) look away. Hyun-soo scratched the back of his neck and said defensively, his voice dropping:
"…Of course, I'm not saying commercial is bad. The song is good. But… don't you think there's a difference between a track crafted for a company's idol trainees—fit for dancing and uniform vocals—and a track where diverse singers with different techniques pour their individuality purely into their voices?"
"…Well… that does make sense."
Quieter though it was, his argument had convinced me.
Maybe not to every musician, but at least to someone like me, still new to the craft, it sounded reasonable.
"Right?"
Seeing me nod, he regained his usual confidence.
"Yes, exactly. By the way… do you know much about VTubers?"
That made me pause. I'd been told he didn't know anything about this field—yet he seemed familiar.
"No, I just looked it up a bit before coming here."
"Ahh… But you know I came today not as Miro, but as Kim Soo-hyun, right?"
"Yes. Because of contract issues, you'll be credited as Kim Soo-hyun, not Miro."
"That's right. So… what kind of song am I featuring in?"
That was what I was most curious about.
I'd been told it would be explained in a meeting, so I hadn't asked earlier. But now was the time.
If it turned out to be something sketchy, I was ready to walk away.
"Ah, the track Miro will feature in is this."
Contrary to my mild suspicion, Hyun-soo confidently pulled a thin notebook from his bag and handed it over.
"I use a notebook when planning my songs. Could you read the cover? That's the title."
The notebook was worn, edges frayed—obviously used often.
He'd clearly opened it countless times.
It wasn't even the title track, but he'd poured this much into it?
I glanced at the cover and read aloud:
"Wonderland?"
"Yes, that's right."
Hyun-soo nodded. I gave him a sideways glance, then opened the notebook.
It was thin, so it didn't take long to read from cover to cover.
When I finished, I closed it and looked at him again, sipping my drink.
With his bleached hair, slim frame, and school uniform, he might have looked like a handsome delinquent at first glance—but after reading this, I saw him differently.
I voiced my honest impression.
"Holy crap… are you a poet?"
"Pft!"
Hyun-soo, who had been sipping his drink, sputtered and sprayed it out at my blunt remark.
"Ah…"
And sitting across from him, I paid the price for my careless words—drenched in vanilla latte.