To be honest, I was a little arrogant.
No—more accurately, I underestimated the virtual industry.
I thought that any normal person wouldn't even consider broadcasting using a 2D cutout.
But I was wrong.
There were people who showed up with cheap avatars and then sang with the skill of professional singers. Others casually belted out difficult musical numbers like it was nothing.
On top of that, I had no idea there were so many people in the world with such great voices.
I was confident in my looks and voice—as "female Kim Suhyun."
But in the end, my appearance couldn't even be shown, could it?
Trying to overpower others with just my raw voice wasn't going to be easy. The other contestants were no joke.
Sure, I passed the first round, but I still felt a sense of crisis.
"…What if this doesn't work out?"
Thinking about it, even if "female Kim Suhyun" knew a fair amount, that knowledge came purely from being a viewer. And at my core, wasn't I still "male Kim Suhyun," someone who knew almost nothing about this side of things?
No matter how I looked at it, continuing like this didn't seem viable.
I felt the need to create something more—something uniquely mine.
At least I knew the basics: a slightly mischievous, playful older-sister type character. That part aligned with female Kim Suhyun's intentions, but…
It still felt lacking.
The audition I had entered might be for VTubers, but at its heart, it was an idol audition.
Since my singing ability lagged behind the others, I needed to make up for it elsewhere.
Something like… individuality?
I needed something that would catch viewers' eyes—something that would stand out when we were all together.
"Hm… what would work?"
Female Kim Suhyun had gone in with a vague "it'll work out somehow" mindset, never expecting the overall level of the contestants to be this high, so there was nothing prepared.
"Whatever it is, it has to appeal to men."
The main audience for VTubers was, obviously, male.
And not just any men—otaku guys who'd sit in their rooms, grinning at a 2D character on a monitor and willingly open their wallets.
It had to work for them.
After thinking for a bit, a few ideas came to mind.
First, I needed to give them a sense of familiarity—something relatable.
That part was easy. Female Kim Su-hyun was an otaku through and through; I just had to show it properly.
But if I leaned too hard into the concept, it could backfire and turn people off…
"Ha… this is a pain in the ass."
VTubing really wasn't easy.
I leaned back heavily in my chair and put a cigarette between my lips.
"…I shouldn't smoke in here."
I stood up and headed outside.
Sometimes I absentmindedly wanted to smoke inside my room, but I knew better.
Once you start smoking indoors in a studio apartment, there's no going back.
Your clothes and every corner of the room get soaked in the smell, and once that limit is crossed, cigarette butts start piling up endlessly…
I'd seen too many friends' apartments turn into that kind of hell. So today again, I praised myself for my patience, walked a little past my one-room apartment, and crouched down in an alley, lighting my cigarette.
Back when I was a guy, I couldn't keep my balance in this position and would topple over—but in a woman's body, there was no better posture for smoking.
As I sat there, savoring the nicotine filling my lungs, a shadow fell in front of me.
"…?"
I heard movement and turned my head to see a man approaching awkwardly.
"Uh, excuse me… I live in this villa here."
He raised his hand, pointing to the building next to the alley where I was smoking. I immediately stubbed out my cigarette and stood up.
"Oh, did the smoke drift inside? I'm really sorry."
I hadn't thought much of it, but maybe the smoke had gotten in. With female Kim Su-hyun's memories of being a non-smoker, I knew exactly how irritating that could be, so I apologized right away.
But the man waved his hands frantically.
"Oh—no! I'm a smoker too, so it's fine!"
"Then… what is it?"
At that moment—whether it was female Kim Su-hyun's memory or not—I felt a sense of familiarity from him.
Not his face, but his behavior.
The restless fingers, the sideways glances, the phone clutched in one hand.
As male Kim Su-hyun, I didn't immediately understand what he was doing, but female Kim Su-hyun's accumulated data had already produced a prediction—and his next action matched it perfectly.
"Well, um… since this is kind of fate, I was wondering if I could get your number…"
"Ah, sorry. I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I should go."
I panicked and quickly left the scene.
'What the hell…'
I never imagined a guy would ask me for my number.
Sure, it happened fairly often in female Kim Su-hyun's memories, but experiencing it firsthand made me feel seriously uncomfortable.
"So… where am I supposed to smoke now?"
Should I just switch to an e-cigarette and smoke indoors?
But then again, the feel of a regular cigarette…
Hmm… I don't know.
More importantly, I felt like I'd just realized something.
Female Kim Su-hyun is the kind of person who can be squatting in front of someone else's house, smoking a cigarette, and still have a man ask for her number.
Yeah.
To put it bluntly, when you look like this, men develop interest no matter what you're doing—whether you're smoking in front of someone's house or anything else.
Why had I, back when I was a man, forgotten such an obvious fact?
And a voice is a second face. Behavior is a third.
That meant that just by being my true self, I was someone men would naturally feel attracted to.
Well, more precisely, if I slowly let slip bits and pieces of what female Kim Su-hyun had experienced, the viewers would naturally start imagining what my real self looked like—and anticipating more.
And even if they figured it out?
Even better.
I had no intention of deliberately getting exposed, but with a face like this, wouldn't it be what people call the "blue pill"?
Carrying the confidence I'd regained, I returned to my studio apartment.
The second interview was happening later that evening.
Originally, I'd planned to create a solid "concept," but I scrapped that idea.
A hastily constructed mask always cracks and breaks sooner or later.
I would answer the questions honestly—exactly as I was.
Or rather, based on female Kim Suhyun's memories.
That was the plan.
It really was.
But…
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my lips together.
Then the interviewer's question echoed through the speakers in front of me.
[Do you have an anime or manga you'd consider your all-time favorite?]
Female Kim Suhyun's answer—based on current trends and record-breaking popularity—would be Demon Slayer.
But…
Still…
'Isn't that kind of lacking in roots?'
Honestly, Rurouni Kenshin or Bleach rank higher as sword-fighting manga, don't they?
In terms of overall quality, there are several works I personally consider superior.
From female Kim Suhyun's perspective—someone who only watches these trend-driven, shallow modern anime—Demon Slayer would naturally be a masterpiece. According to her memories, she even cried while watching it.
But…
From male Kim Su-hyun's memories—those old days of renting manga at the comic shop with the neighborhood guys…
No matter how I thought about it, there was only one correct answer here.
I brought my mouth closer to the microphone and spoke the life-defining work that lived in my head.
"…Slam Dunk."
Female Kim Su-hyun, stay out of this.
You uncultured swine.
"Oh, right—there was a recent movie adaptation. Did it leave a strong impression on you?"
Taesan, a mid-tier veteran streamer and one of the interviewers for this "Celestial Project," nodded as he listened to Miro's answer.
'Slam Dunk is legit.'
Now in his thirties, he clearly remembered passing around Slam Dunk volumes with his friends during his school days, so Miro's answer resonated with him. On top of that, the recent movie had brought the series back into the spotlight.
"No, I didn't watch the movie. I only read the manga."
Not only that—she wasn't talking about it because of the film, but purely from the manga? The sheer depth of "old-school credibility" made Taesan nod again instinctively, and the chat exploded.
– Damn lol
– That's some real OG taste
– Is Slam Dunk boomer-tier?
– Smells like dentures lol
– Slam Dunk is valid
– The movie was actually good though
– Hm… is it really that good?
"Ooh… you're the first contestant to name Slam Dunk as their life-defining work. Is there a reason for that?"
After smoothly brushing past the chat's reactions, Taesan asked a prepared follow-up question—
But Miro's reaction was a little strange.
"…Haven't you seen Slam Dunk, interviewer?"
"Pardon? No, I have. I've seen it."
"Then why are you asking for the reason?"
'…Is this contestant trash-tier or what?'
For a moment, Taesan was caught off guard. But he was a seasoned mid-tier streamer—someone with plenty of experience under his belt.
He quickly put on a smile and fired back.
"I just rank Dragon Ball higher, that's all. What about you—do you know your manga?"
In a normal audition, this kind of back-and-forth banter between interviewer and applicant would be unthinkable. But this wasn't a formal audition—it was a somewhat improvised, livestreamed event.
And though it was called an interview, it was really more of a casual Q&A session. Things had been getting dull, and Taesan figured this could add some entertainment value.
"Well, among the people here, I'd say I'm basically the most well-read."
"Hm… you sound confident."
"Yes. I know my manga."
As Miro said that, her avatar remained as expressionless as ever—but behind the screen, Kim Su-hyun was smiling.
It had been impulsive, sure, but wasn't this actually a pretty solid character?
Kim Suhyun genuinely thought so—and was honestly just glad that the streamer in front of her had played along so well.