Release
When the Celestial Project members' self-planned cover relay was announced, the online community instantly caught fire.
[If you're hyped for the Celestial Project relay, upvote lol]
These girls call themselves virtual idols but only put out one lazy track before? Annoying freeloaders. Guess they're finally putting out some cover songs.
Nah, it'll just be like Miro's cover—head bobbing on a static background~
But it was good, right?
Yeah, because it was Miro.
Still listening to hers even now.
They only debuted less than a year ago.
Still, dropping just one track is kinda lame lol.
Looking forward to Anna's, tbh.
Anna's like a musical water rocket. Raw skill-wise, Roa's better.
Shut the hell up lol.
Ugh, Tom, give credit where it's due.
[Who's first in the relay?]
(Mile's YouTube channel)
Hmm… lol. Guess they're starting off kinda weak.
Ugh, Mile again? lol.
What's wrong with Mile, dumbass?
She's just… clown-core.
Mile's pretty good actually.
At best, average level though.
Take that back..!
[Meanwhile, the one not participating…]
(Miro's default profile pic)
Everyone else is releasing covers, but she's not.
Just some loser at home watching anime.
Never says she's busy.
Streams six days a week.
Basically…
She's out of her damn mind, Miro!
Miro's not in the relay?
Yeah, looks like just five of them.
Is she being excluded?
As if Miro would ever get excluded. She's the one excluding the others lol.
Probably just didn't feel like it.
Can you just not feel like it when it's a group?
It's Miro, idiot.
Ohh.
Ohh, my ass lol.
Doesn't Miro hardly stream? Six times a week tho;;
But her streams are shorter. Roa only streams three times a week but does more hours.
Two hours? Lazy as hell.
Nah, Miro's "compressed streams."
Compressed (1 hour of guitar playing).
Flip you off.
The relay talk kept going for a while, but right then, Miro went live, and all eyes turned to her stream.
[Miro stream ON lol]
Of course she's mooching off the relay hype, lmao.
Everyone else went live too, why single her out?
Because she's not even participating. If she's salty, she should release a cover herself lol.
She streamed at this exact time yesterday too, dumbass.
[Miro: I was the first cover, actually.]
(Miro showing her cover video on TheSix's official channel)
So she's flapping her mouth about being the first—what do we think?
Of course lol.
But she was the first, though.
Fact: None of these covers will match Miro's anyway.
That's "quality"? Just her avatar's head nodding?
Close your eyes, she sounds like a real singer~
Miro as singer-tier? Nah.
Name a better cover then.
Being good at covers doesn't make you a singer. Write your own damn songs.
[If you think you're better than Miro, upvote lol]
(Miro's YouTube homepage)
(OP's YouTube homepage)
Finally, my first win?
Which one's hers and which one's yours?
Top's Miro, bottom's mine.
Lol both look pathetic.
Do you even live in Korea, bro?
Miro's probably a virgin lmao.
With that voice, how could she not be pretty?
If she were hot, she wouldn't be holed up watching anime. She'd be clubbing.
Nah, she's at least average.
Believe whatever you want, champ.
Miroham's growing on me lol.
Finally feels relatable, yeah.
[Isn't this a scandal?]
(Miro opening Mile's channel)
Why isn't she subscribed? lol.
Wow, seriously? That's a scandal.
Just checked—this chick isn't even subbed to her own channel.
?
Miro's a pro at dodging scandals. The moment she saw the fire, she sprinted to explain herself lol.
She really knows exactly where the line is, never crosses it. Scary almost.
Meanwhile, that search history lol.
What was in it? She scrolled too fast.
Upload the cap.
[Got Miro's search history, upvote for the effort]
(Miro's search history screenshot)
Worked my ass off for this, so give me some love lol.
You actually capped this?
Begging for upvotes gets downvotes.
This bitch trashed anime nonstop, but why's she searching "best scenes"?
Martial Arts Spin best scenes tho, can't resist.
She probably watched boomer anime only, then saw modern highlights and her dentures rattled lol.
And so, while community users kept live-commenting Miro's stream, the premiere of Mile's cover finally arrived. Soon after, reactions started pouring in.
["God-tier"]
(Mile's default profile pic)
Just the G.O.A.T.
Respect…
Straight fire.
[Who's the leader of Celestial Project??]
(Mile's default profile pic)
Open your damn eyes, idiot.
Current Miro-fan here, but I admit it…
Current Tom-fan here, but I admit it…
Current Mahoski here, but I admit it…
Mahoski, gtfo lol.
The hell did you just say?
Current Mayfly here, but I admit it…
You too, shut up. Who cares what some no-name fandom admits lol.
Stop stirring shit, dumbass.
[So we're getting five more like this??]
Hyped af lol.
Four more.
Aren't there six members?
Nah, just five for this.
Honestly, nothing can top this. Perfect fit.
How much money went into that MV? It was insane.
Heard TheSix funded it.
Figures. Looked like they burned cash like water.
[Just a joat-tier bitch]
(Miro's cover on TheSix's channel)
"Biggest overhype in history" ← Upvote if you agree lol
Close your eyes and Miro still sounds better.
Miro's cover vid was crazy lol (head bobbing).
Miro's era is over.
Fact: Miro never had an era.
[Why'd this bitch Miro spoil it?]
(Clip of Miro right before the premiere)
"If you wanna see tricks, go to a circus."
Didn't she basically spoil Mile's track right before it dropped??
Nah, you gotta watch from the beginning of the stream. Low-key a build-up.
She swears she didn't know.
She looked the most shocked herself lol.
[Miro bowing after the MV]
(Miro's avatar, hands raised in surrender after the MV)
This bitch has been acting way too cute lately lol.
She really didn't know?
Yeah. Mile even confirmed on stream that none of the members knew.
This girl, I swear…
Wait, can she really pull off those illustrations?
Nah, Miro drew them and stuck them in.
She drew them?
Yup. She sketched them up real quick.
Holy shit lol.
That was drawn?? Looked like actual 3D modeling.
The cover relay that started with Mile wrapped up with Anna. Some, like Mile, got great responses. Others… not so much, with their covers being compared unfavorably to the rest. It was a mixed bag, but still—no doubt they all grew from the experience.
Everyone's subscriber counts ticked upward at least a little.
And if you asked me whether I regretted not joining? I'd shake my head. I'd spent that time on meaningful things too.
One of those things:
The Wonderland album cover work was finished.
It wrapped up much faster than expected, and I couldn't help but admire the female Kim Soo-hyun's talent for drawing.
Singing, I always struggled to keep up with Hyun-soo's feedback. But with art? Those bizarre requests of his, I could take in and translate instantly.
Maybe this was where her true gift lay.
Compared to doing other things, this felt ten times easier.
Was this the sense of a genius?
Part of me wondered: if I'd developed this talent back when I was still a guy, how different would things have been?
If it's the same soul, then surely the potential was there back then too.
I mean, sure, academics count as a "talent" too, but all those nights spent cramming… they feel meaningless now.
Anyway, time passed as I juggled these different things, and before I knew it, it was truly midsummer.
When I'd first auditioned as a girl, it had been spring. Already a season gone. Time really flies.
And come to think of it, the lease on my current apartment was almost up.
It had been contracted under my parents' names, so of course there'd be no renewal. I'd really have to move out.
"What's got you so deep in thought?"
As I walked, lost in my own head, Hye-jung beside me spoke up.
"My lease is almost up."
"Oh, really? What are you gonna do?"
"Still deciding… maybe move back home?"
Honestly, what should I do? Just return to my parents' place?
I had called them a few times recently.
Got chewed out over dropping out, then apologized.
They'd raged at first, but now seemed resigned.
I still hadn't told them about streaming—they only knew I was working part-time.
"What about your streaming?"
"I'll just do it from my room at home."
How much was a soundproof booth again?
Here, the walls had decent insulation—fine as long as I didn't shout. But back home, I'd probably have to put up sound absorbers at least.
"Going home doesn't sound too bad. Your mom cooks great, doesn't she?"
"Really? But streaming while juggling house chores sounds annoying."
Housework was obvious, but damn tiring. Laundry, cleaning, dishes, cooking for myself. Back home, Mom would handle all that—and I'd save money.
Sure, I'd chip in a little for living costs, but compared to renting solo, it'd be way cheaper.
"But then I won't see you as often, huh? Your place is far."
"Yeah, true."
"I'm fine with it, but what about you? You don't have any other friends here. Better to meet people sometimes than just hole up alone."
She had a point. Hye-jung was basically the only one I met in person.
Back in high school, I'd had plenty of friends… but once I entered college, I shut myself in and contacts dwindled.
Since I'd "become" her, I'd barely kept in touch at all.
She was right—people need people. But it's not like I could commute all the time. Even within Seoul, the subway ride would take a while.
As I pondered, one person came to mind: someone I knew who lived near my parents' place.
"I'll be fine. I've got someone nearby."
"Really? Who?"
"Uh… let's just call them a work colleague."
Right—same interests, barely any age gap, same gender, and we'd gotten pretty close.
Since I thought of her, maybe I should reach out?
"Well, I'm heading off."
At the fork in the road, Hye-jung split toward her home. Alone on the way back, I pulled out my phone to message Maho.
But—
bzzzz
My phone rang first.
Could it be Maho? No—it was someone else.
Caller ID: Kang Ah-young.
We'd been texting off and on about guitar lately. I picked up, and her signature high-energy voice burst through.
[Soo-hyun-ah!]
"Yes, unnie."
[It's out today!]
"What is?"
I asked, but I already knew what she meant.
What other news would Ah-young be so excited to share?
[Hyun-soo's album drops at 9 tonight! Don't forget to listen!]
The album Fantasy, with Wonderland as a track and cover art drawn by me.
An album with real meaning for me—finally, it was being released to the world.