The first thing I did after returning home was sit on my bed and sift through my memories.
And the more I did, the stranger it felt.
How should I put it…
It didn't feel like just memories coming back.
It was as if the female Kim Suhyeon and the original male Kim Suhyeon were mixed together.
Of course, right now I was closer to the male Kim Suhyeon.
If the female Kim Suhyeon were black and the original male Kim Suhyeon were white, then my current state would probably be a light gray.
Or maybe it was simply the influence of the hormones in the female Kim Suhyeon's body.
Anyway, after properly going through her memories, it seemed that the female Kim Suhyeon had been surprisingly serious about becoming a VTuber.
It may have started impulsively, but she'd researched things in detail and built up a decent amount of basic knowledge—like she was preparing in earnest.
Though the fact that she'd dropped over a million won on equipment and an avatar in an instant was shocking, no matter how you looked at it.
Especially the virtual avatar—why is it so expensive?
She spent more money on the avatar than on the microphone and camera.
The computer itself was already high-spec because it had originally been used for design work, so there was nothing to upgrade.
Well, if I streamed a high-spec game, it'd probably lag a bit, but for now, the audition came first.
[Mr. Miro, we are once again informing you of the schedule for the first public audition…]
I reread the text message that had just arrived.
The audition was scheduled for this evening, part of a project run by an entertainment company that had several major streamers involved. The project was called Celestial Idol.
It consisted of four stages:
A public first audition A second interview A personal broadcast A final self-PR based on previous activities
For the first audition, which would check basic introductions and singing ability, I logged into VRChat on my PC and applied the avatar the female Kim Suhyeon had prepared.
It was my first time doing this, but thanks to her having practiced in advance, I was able to apply it smoothly.
As I looked at my avatar using the mirror function, a complicated feeling welled up inside me.
Miro—my 2D avatar—was a female character with long pink hair and green eyes, with small horns on her head. A little demon-cow concept.
"Ah—ah! Hm!"
Rather than a calm type, she felt more like a playful older sister or someone around my age, so I raised my voice slightly.
I turned on the recording program and checked my voice piece by piece.
"Hello~"
[Hello~]
"Hello! I'm Miro!"
[Hello! I'm Miro!]
"Damn… this is insane."
Listening to my recorded voice in real time, it definitely matched the face.
I adjusted the tension up and down little by little, working to remove any sense of mismatch.
"More importantly… the song."
The female Kim Suhyeon had chosen two songs.
One was a Korean idol song, and the other was a J-pop song.
As the male Kim Suhyeon, the former was a familiar song I'd heard plenty of times, while the latter was something I'd never heard before…
"A—ah—ah—"
But as the female Kim Suhyun, it was the opposite: the Korean song felt a bit awkward, while the J-pop song's lyrics were completely memorized.
After singing both once and listening to the recordings, I became certain.
"The first round is basically free."
I was nowhere near professional singer level, but combining the male Kim Suhyun's karaoke-honed skills with the female Kim Suhyun's clear voice produced something that sounded like a solid cover.
"Come to think of it, I really bought a two-for-one deal."
I was twenty-one years old, but the total years lived came out to forty-two.
My social experience was only half-baked—limited to school life—but I'd lived two entirely different lives.
A hybrid.
Thinking that way, my confidence started rising rapidly.
The other competitors were probably just inexperienced newcomers who weren't even thirty yet.
Step aside.
The legendary genius Kim Suhyeon who captures men's hearts is coming through!
At this rate, wouldn't I get marked as an overwhelmingly strong candidate right from the start?
Too much expectation could be dangerous, though~
While leaning back in my chair and grinning to myself, the first audition finally began.
I boldly entered the broadcast where the audition was being held, turned on VRChat, and went into the waiting room to wait for my turn.
"So this is the waiting room?"
This VRChat-based audition even had a proper waiting room. Inside, avatars with all sorts of hair colors were chatting away in lively voices.
Honestly, a space where dozens of high-tension, high-pitched female voices were all talking at once was pretty dizzying.
"What? You're participating too?"
"Wow! We're actually meeting here??"
"Nice to meet you all~"
"Huh?! You know me?"
This space—filled with laughter and greetings, a social hub of women bonding with each other—was still a bit overwhelming for me.
I looked around, then headed toward a corner with as few people as possible.
After parking my character there, I watched the broadcast where the audition was taking place.
The first participant finished their self-introduction and went in, and the second participant's profile appeared on screen.
That avatar's pretty.
Well, it wasn't like anyone here had an ugly avatar… but even at a glance, you could tell money had been spent on it.
[Hello~]
Nice voice, too. They'd probably pass the first round without much trouble.
To be honest, I was watching with a fairly relaxed mindset.
After all, wasn't I an ultra-top-tier cute girl with a voice good enough to make men melt?
I couldn't show my real face behind an avatar, but with my voice and twenty-one years of living as a man, I was confident in this kind of thing.
But by the time I'd watched about half of the first audition…
I let out a deep sigh and absentmindedly fiddled with the lighter on my desk.
"…Fuck. This won't do."
In the end, driven by anxiety, I pulled out a cigarette and put it in my mouth.
"With skills like that, they should just be a singer!"
Looks like I seriously underestimated the VTuber scene.
"Wow, she's really good at singing."
fr tho lol she's insanely good hmm… maybe? stop overreacting ugh, you old men when are they playing LoL? when are they playing LoL? when are they playing LoL? isn't she a singer? singer's a stretch… nah, that's singer level seriously good though
Riding the recent virtual-streaming boom, The Celestial Project—run by The Six, a fairly well-known domestic entertainment company—was underway.
Rush and Ahn Jihong, both major corporate-backed streamers affiliated with The Six, were now leaning back arrogantly in their chairs, evaluating the contestant singing on the screen.
"But her self-introduction was a bit bland."
doesn't seem very fun tbh as long as she sings well and looks good fr lol still better than most so far, no? no weird concept, not bad overall
After receiving mixed criticism, the contestant stepped down, and the audition continued—but no one particularly impressive appeared.
hmm… how long are they gonna judge this? seriously no personality (potato emote) this project's doomed lol ugh you guys, is this what you were hyped for? just play LoL
The viewers grew increasingly irritated in chat at the parade of unremarkable contestants, and Jihong—who had agreed to judge the auditions for a modest fee—was also enduring a painful stretch of time.
Why am I even watching this?
He'd enjoyed anime like One Piece, Naruto, and Dragon Ball, but people dancing and acting cute while wearing 2D avatars still rubbed him the wrong way.
At least singing could be enjoyable, but even that was often ruined by performances so bad they made him frown.
Man, I just want to go play LoL.
He desperately wanted to turn off VRChat and queue up for a game, but since he was being paid as a judge, he endured it while occasionally appeasing the viewers.
Then, as the audition reached its mid-to-late stage, one participant stepped forward.
"Hello~ I'm contestant number 43, Miro."
Contestant 43, Miro, greeted them brightly—wearing a pink-haired avatar with small horns, clearly one that had some serious money put into it.
"Oh…"
oh? nice voice wakyapahugnong lol passed. why did the chat suddenly get so thirsty? Ugh, damn weebs;;
"Alright, shall we listen to the song first?"
While everyone was admiring how clearly better her voice was compared to the other contestants, Cheolwon—who was seated next to him as both a judge and the MC—continued the proceedings.
"Ah, the song I'll be performing is…"
The two songs sung by contestant number 43, Miro, were fairly good.
Her pleasant, clear tone and the way she pushed properly when the song demanded it were definitely a step above the average person, but…
Hmm… kinda borderline, right? That voice is definitely insane, yeah… Is it just voice-carrying power? lol Is it really that good? Wasn't the earlier one better? But what's that second song, some hardcore weeb track? It is a weeb song, but it's good though
In the end, her singing was still at the level of a regular person who sings well at karaoke, so there was an undeniable sense of ambiguity.
"Wow, you're really good."
"With a voice like that, it's very pleasant to listen to."
"Exactly. Have you ever learned singing formally?"
The judges continued offering polite praise while cautiously entering scores on their boards.
Her voice was undeniably good—but what the company ultimately wanted was solid vocal technique.
Since this was a project and they planned to bring in professionals to produce actual tracks, vocal potential took priority.
"I've never learned singing before!"
"Hm… I see. Then would you be willing to learn?"
Since her voice was good, they asked whether she had the intention to train. Miro nodded and said that if given the chance, she'd like to.
The judges continued asking questions, checking off various criteria.
Well… she's decent.
Ahn Jihong also asked reasonably balanced questions while scoring her.
The singing itself was borderline, but it was never unpleasant to listen to. She had a good voice, and judging by how she spoke, she was articulate and composed.
How should he put it?
More of a streamer-type talent than an idol.
With that, Miro finished her self-introduction, received a solid passing score, and stepped down from the audition stage.
The judges continued evaluating the remaining contestants, and the audition eventually came to an end.
Three days later, Kim Suhyun—who had been anxiously waiting for the results, pacing back and forth—received the notice that she had passed the first round, and erupted in cheers.