"If you're that confident, well… I guess we can't not verify it, can we?"
Taesan said that as he examined the participant standing before him, Miro. At a glance, this could easily have turned into what people call a brain-dead overreach moment.
But thanks to Miro's pleasant voice, clear pronunciation, and the way she spoke smoothly without hesitation, the viewers' reactions were fairly positive.
"You know, a lot of our viewers are experts in this field too."
fr lol Ever heard of the 10,000-hour rule, kid? At best you're mid-to-late 20s, what do you know? I've been reading manga for 30 years All the manga boomers coming out right on cue Is reading a lot of manga really something to brag about? Picking Slam Dunk first is an instant pass tbh What do you mean Slam Dunk? Only dentures-loving fossils worship that lol
After skimming through the chat, Taesan shoved aside the prepared question sheet and started asking off the cuff.
"If you had to pick your top three manga of all time?"
"Hmm… that's a hard one. I'd say Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball, and Bleach."
Kyaa lol Bleach?? lmao First two are valid but Bleach is kinda… Did you not see the new Bleach arc? Ugh, manga boomers please… Fullmetal Alchemist is better, isn't it?
"Oh? Is there a common reason you chose those three?"
"They made my heart race."
Kyaa hahaha Romantic answer, instant pass She knows what she's talking about, fr Modern anime doesn't have that kind of feeling anymore
"Hm… 'made your heart race.' But those are all pretty old series, aren't they? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I'm an 18-year-old high school girl."
"What? You're a student?"
"Oh—no. I don't go to school."
"But on your application, you wrote that you're 21?"
"..."
LMAOOOO Someone protect her lol High school girl (doesn't attend school) Didn't even change her tone while lying, damn But seriously, how does a 21-year-old even know all those manga?
"Well, anyway, that's impressive. Those aren't exactly manga most high school girls today would know, yet you confidently called them masterpieces."
"What kind of manga did the other applicants mention?"
"Hmm, Inuyasha or Haikyuu. Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen came up a lot too."
Totally girl picks lol Yeah, women do watch those a lot
"Ah… I see."
'Ah, I see'? Does that mean you didn't really like those answers?"
At Taesan's teasing question, Miro let out a low chuckle.
When she didn't bother explaining herself, Taesan immediately seized the opening and pressed on.
"Wow, you really didn't like them, huh? Isn't picking a 'masterpiece' a matter of personal taste?"
"Eh?? No, it's not like that. I was just… jealous."
"Jealous? Of what?"
"You probably still have a lot of manga you haven't read yet, right? I'd love to go to a manga café together someday."
At 21—effectively the youngest among the first-round passers—her bold response made Taesan laugh helplessly.
'She's going to do well.'
From Taesan's perspective, someone with plenty of broadcasting experience, the thicker a broadcaster's skin was, the better.
And in that regard, this VTuber named Miro…
He had a feeling she'd do just fine.
Her voice is good, isn't it? She speaks clearly and makes sense.
That was the only reason.
Bold, a good voice, articulate.
If she got lucky, she might blow up.
Thinking that, Taesan wrapped up Miro's interview and called in the next participant.
"Phew…"
After finishing the second interview, the very first thing I did was step outside and light up a cigarette.
Standing in a random alley again, letting nicotine circulate through my lungs, the interview naturally came back to me.
"Did I overdo it?"
Compared to the other applicants, I didn't really have any standout traits or quirks. It felt like I'd done the best I could—but maybe I'd been a bit too forward.
"Well, what's done is done."
I'm not the type to dwell on the past. If you can't change it, what's the point of thinking about it? Better to just do better next time.
I stubbed out the cigarette, went back home, and sat down at my computer desk.
Some time had passed since the second interview, so I went to a community forum to see how the reactions were.
[Miro ← probably the best one, tbh]
Today's interviews were boring as hell, but at least there were a few decent moments, right?
lol yeah right, do you think she actually read those manga? She probably just named famous ones She can't sing
ㄴ She's at least above average. Aren't people here just dragging her down?
ㄴ It's an idol audition—being above average should be the bare minimum, don't you think?
ㄴ This dude really thinks they're picking idols; aren't they just recruiting VTubers?
ㄴ You don't know they're bringing in a famous composer and releasing music? She's basically an idol-lite
"Hmm… I read everything."
The comment saying I hadn't actually read the manga and just named classics was annoying, but it's not like I could recite every plot in detail, right? Still, what really got under my skin was the comment saying I couldn't sing.
"Fuck… it's not like I'm bad."
I'd never been told I was bad at singing anywhere before. This guy's just hating.
[Miro probably isn't that young]
Why would girls these days watch Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball, or Bleach? lol
Honestly, I'd guess late 20s to 30.
Didn't she say she was 21?
ㄴ You can write whatever you want on an application. She might've lied about her age Classics transcend eras
ㄴ Era or not, ask the girls around you if they've watched those. Except for the Slam Dunk movie crowd, they probably only know the names
ㄴ Ask if you even have girls around you first, dumbass Her voice sounds early-to-mid 20s though She said she's 18, hmm… lol
"Ha…"
I couldn't let this slide.
I quickly posted a comment using a throwaway nickname.
(Me): It's the world that's wrong for not watching classics like these, you dumbasses. Stop obsessing over age.
After that, I ignored every notification that came in.
I'm a man who doesn't look back on the past… no, I guess I'm a woman now.
When I closed the browser, my desktop came into view.
The default wallpaper, cluttered with scattered programs and saved files.
Most of them were design-related—traces of a life that had nothing to do with who I am now.
"Deleting them feels kind of wrong…"
Those were files "female Kim Suhyun" had spent up to a week at a time drawing and refining. I couldn't bring myself to delete them, so I made a folder and dumped everything in there.
"That's cleaner."
With all the design files tucked away, only games and messaging apps were left. One game in particular caught my eye.
"…LoL?"
It was a game I used to play occasionally at PC cafés in high school and college. Seeing it here felt oddly new.
Come to think of it, female Kim Suhyun used to play this a lot…
If I remembered correctly, her rank was Diamond 4—pretty high.
"Maybe I'll play a game."
In my memories, she would always get furious whenever she played this game. But was there really any reason to get that heated over a game?
Back when I played five-man queues with friends at PC cafés, even losing had been kind of fun. So I queued up casually.
I picked ADC—female Kim Suhyun's main role from her memories—and started the match.
And exactly four hours later—
I hurled the mouse I was holding.
"Ahh, you useless fucking tool!"
Why would you play like that? No, more importantly—why is everyone's mental so damn weak?
The moment something goes wrong, it's "15, surrender," "I'm done," "I'm running it down mid."
Someone even straight-up rage quit.
Isn't this Diamond? These are supposedly top-2% players—so why are they throwing this hard?
I played well.
I wasn't originally Diamond-tier, but surprisingly enough, maybe I had some talent—I at least pulled my weight the entire game.
And yet my record was: loss, loss, win, win, loss, loss, win, loss.
Four hours later, my LP was exactly where it started.
"Ha… my time."
I'd gotten sucked into the game and mindlessly played until dawn. I was supposed to go to school tomorrow to submit my withdrawal form…
I shut the game off, feeling deep in my bones why people call this a disease of a game.
"I need to control myself from now on."
Now that I had time, I should focus more on self-improvement.
Top priority: vocal training.
Sure, it was still a bit early to worry about, but didn't they say they'd release a track if you passed the fourth audition? I couldn't afford to get tripped up then, so I started looking up vocal academies nearby.
Luckily, there was a vocal studio in downtown—just a 10-minute bus ride from my studio apartment—with pretty good reviews. I booked a consultation for tomorrow.
Morning: go to school and submit the withdrawal papers.
Afternoon: consultation at the vocal academy.
After that…
"What should I do?"
Time passes easily enough just lying around on my phone, but since I'd already be out, I wanted to do something worthwhile.
While brushing my teeth and loosely planning to maybe hit a manga café nearby, my phone buzzed.
[Hyejeong]
Seeing the name—which I'd grown used to by now—I immediately answered. Hyejeong spoke cheerfully.
[You're still up? What are you doing?]
"Brushing my teeth. About to sleep."
[Oh? Do you have time tomorrow?]
"I can leave my evening free. Why?"
[We're getting drinks with the high school gang for the first time in a while. Want to come? You didn't say anything in the group chat, so I figured I'd ask.]
"Group chat?"
Oh—right.
That group chat that always had "+300" unread messages, the one female Kim Suhyun had muted?
"Well… I'll come. Where is it?"
[If you'd rather stay home, you don't have to—wait, really? You're coming?]
Her reaction felt new every time.
Just how much of a shut-in had female Kim Suhyun been for people to react like this whenever she said she'd go out?
[What's going on? Kim Suhyun saying she's coming out for drinks?]
"Is it really that shocking? I've got some errands tomorrow anyway, so I'm just stopping by."
[Still, you never came before. That's good though—people will be happy if you show up.]
"Yeah, tell them the legendary Pokémon is coming, so dress up nicely."
[Are you insane? Since when is not showing up something to brag about?]
"Rarity has always been an advantage, in any era."
[You crazy bitch…]
Click.
The call ended, and I finished brushing my teeth.
Come to think of it, this would be my first drinking party in female Kim Suhyun's body.
What should I wear?
A skirt… yeah, maybe not yet. Pants, then.
"Tch, no idea."
I'd just think about it in the morning.
Female Kim Suhyun had a great figure anyway—she'd look good in anything.
With tomorrow's schedule set, I fell asleep.