Now That I Have Become a Woman, I Am a Vtuber - Chapter 128

“Ah, unnie, you’ll have to head back on your own today.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have somewhere to be.”

After dance lessons, I parted ways with Mahou and got on a different subway line.

Strike while the iron’s hot, they say. Since I was already out, I decided to head to Hyunsoo’s studio to record my song.
The sooner I finish the track, the sooner the music video production can start.

Even though I had a guide vocal, the manager told me that without the finalized track, planning could only go so far.
I needed to deliver the song for the music video to take proper shape.

Taking the subway, I arrived at Hyunsoo’s studio building.
I headed to the basement and opened the studio door, only to find someone unexpected sitting on the lobby sofa.

“Huh.”
I had assumed I’d find either a band member or Hyunsoo, but instead, someone entirely different was there.

“Oh, we meet again.”
Sitting there was none other than idol Lee Hyunjun.

Why is he here?

“Uh… what brings you here?”
Caught off guard, I asked him, and he gestured to the side.

“My arrogant middle school junior called me over.”

Following his gesture, I saw Hyunsoo coming out, holding a small bottle of juice.
No band members today, just Hyunsoo. That’s unusual.

“You’re here early?”

Hyunsoo handed me the drink he was holding.

“Ah, thanks.”
“Hey! Wasn’t that mine?”
“I’ll grab you another one. Sit tight.”

Ignoring Hyunjun’s indignant stare at my drink, I sat down on the sofa across from him.
Did they change the sofa? It feels softer than last time.

“…”
“…”

Sitting side by side like this felt a bit awkward.
When was Hyunsoo coming back?

I’m not great at enduring awkward silences.

“Um…”
Just as I was thinking that, Hyunjun spoke up first, seemingly unable to bear the silence either.

“Yes?”
“So, what brings you here?”
“Oh, I came to record.”
“Record?”
“Yes.”

At the mention of recording, Hyunjun furrowed his brow slightly.

“Wait… aren’t you the artist?”
“Ah.”

Right, Hyunjun still thought of me that way. I’d forgotten.

“Well, I do draw.”
“Oh, I thought so. I remember that.”
“Yeah, I even drew for you last time.”

Another silence fell.
From Hyunjun’s perspective, this must have been baffling.

After all, I’m the artist who ended up having my Bluebird account bombarded because of him.
Now I’m suddenly at Hyunsoo’s studio to record? It’s no wonder he looked bewildered.

“That’s right. Suhyun noona came to use the studio for recording,” Hyunsoo chimed in, putting Hyunjun’s drink in front of him before sitting on another sofa.

“Really? She’s doing a feature too?”

A feature too? So Hyunjun was doing one as well?

“Are you doing a feature, Hyunjun?”
“Of course! Hyunsoo himself picked me.”
“Oh… I didn’t expect that.”

To be honest, I don’t really follow Beastz’s music.
Maybe I’ve heard one of their songs before without realizing it, but I wouldn’t recognize it.

Seeing my doubt, Hyunjun puffed up his chest proudly.

“Even so, my fans call me a ‘tone monster.’”
“I don’t know about your tone, but your fans sure acted like monsters.”

Jokingly bringing up the Bluebird incident, I saw Hyunjun’s confident smile falter.

“That was… truly my fault. I’m sorry.”
“I got some premium beef out of it, so it’s fine. Consider it noise marketing.”

Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal to me.
It wasn’t my primary source of income, and all I had to do was take a short break.

“Should I send you more beef?”
“Premium beef is always welcome, so I won’t say no.”
“Well, I…”

Hyunjun seemed flustered by my response, and just as I was about to say more, Hyunsoo interjected.

“Noona, you’re really making him uncomfortable.”
“Free beef is worth one person’s discomfort.”

Realizing I was joking, Hyunjun looked at me with a mix of exasperation and disbelief.

“You’ve got a real talent for making people uncomfortable with your jokes.”
“Me?”
“You don’t remember?”

Did I? Oh…

“Oh, that time?”

Right, I’d run into him at the dance studio once.
I’d completely forgotten about that.

“You really forgot? Do you know how awkward that made me feel?”
“Ah, sorry about that.”

Admitting that I was being cheeky back then, I apologized.

“Now that you’re apologizing right away, I feel like the petty one here.”

Hyunjun looked genuinely flustered by my immediate apology.
What am I supposed to do with that?

“Then go ahead and be petty. Sob, I can’t believe you’re bringing up something so old to criticize me. Is this how idols behave? I’m posting about this on the forums.”
“You’ve lost it….”

Hyunjun backed away slightly, startled.

“Have you two met before?” Hyunsoo asked, curious about our interaction.

Thinking about it, it must seem strange to him.
From his perspective, we wouldn’t have any reason to interact. And we didn’t, really.

“His agency was renovating, so they rented an outside facility for practice. We just happened to cross paths.”

Hearing this, Hyunsoo looked at me, surprised.

“Noona, you’re taking dance lessons?”
Was it that shocking?
To be fair, a few months ago, I would’ve laughed at the idea myself.

“The company’s making me. I just came from a lesson, actually.”

I pointed to the bag I’d set down beside the sofa.

“Showered and changed. It was grueling.”

I was fine now, but I’d probably be a wreck from muscle pain tomorrow.

“Company? You mean your agency?”

Hearing “company,” Hyunjun joined the conversation.

“So, are you an idol trainee?”
“No.”
“Then… a singer?”
“Nope. And it’s not even the same kind of company.”
“…What exactly do you do?”

Thinking about it, my life must seem pretty odd from the outside.

Taking dance lessons but not training to be an idol.
A professional artist, known on Bluebird, yet coming to Hyunsoo’s studio to record vocals.

What am I, really?

“I’m a streamer.”

Specifically, a VTuber who dances, sings, plays games, and draws.

“A streamer?”

Hyunjun looked confused, his understanding of streaming likely limited.
Before he could misunderstand further, I quickly pulled out my phone.

Hyunsoo’s friend, so it should be fine to show him. Besides, we’d be recording today anyway.

“I’m a VTuber, actually.”
“Huh?”

I searched for my channel and showed him.
Hyunjun’s face froze.

“A VTuber? Really?”
“Do you know about VTubers?”
“I mean… yeah. But you’re a VTuber?”

He does? That’s surprising. He didn’t seem like he’d know anything about this world.

Seeing my reaction, Hyunjun gave a bitter smile.

“Back when I was in Japan, I briefly lost my #1 spot to a VTuber.”
“You lost the top spot? To a VTuber?”

Wasn’t he part of a million-album-selling idol group? How does that even happen?

“Yeah… it was a bit of a shock.”

He wasn’t kidding.

“Who was it?”
“Oh, you don’t know? They’re pretty famous.”

Hyunjun searched for a name and showed me.

“Izakaya Sake? Ah.”

I knew them. They were Japan’s top VTuber.
What was their subscriber count again? 3.2 million? Something insane like that.

“Yeah, it was during a slump, but losing even briefly left a mark. Especially since I had a decent fanbase in Japan back then.”

“Hmm.”
“Haha.”

Still, aren’t K-pop idols supposed to dominate in Japan?
To lose, even momentarily… Izakaya Sake must be even more impressive than I thought.

“Anyway, I didn’t expect you to be a VTuber.”
“It’s my calling.”
“Then… are the others VTubers too?”

His question made me pause.
Oh, crap. Did I just out the Celestial Red project?

“Uh… please keep that a secret.”
“Sure… yeah.”

Not that I think Hyunjun would go around blabbing.
He’s a big-name idol; what would he gain from that?

“Still, are you doing the feature under your VTuber persona? That’s interesting.”

Maybe because he lost to a VTuber once, Hyunjun seemed to regard them more highly than I expected.
But I wasn’t here for a feature today.

“Ah, no, actually.”
“Huh? Then what are you here for?”

Hyunsoo, silent until now, finally spoke up.

“Noona’s here to record a song I gave her. I’m the one doing the feature.”
“What? Why didn’t you give the song to me!”

Hyunjun looked back and forth between us in shock.

“It fits her perfectly. You’ll understand when you hear it.”
“Then… she’s releasing it?”
“Yeah, as her original song.”
“Well…”

After a moment of thought, Hyunjun spoke again.

“This might sound meddlesome, but why not release it under your real name?”
“What?”
“I don’t mean to belittle VTubers, but they’re pretty niche in Korea. If you release it as yourself, with Hyunsoo’s name attached, it’ll blow up instantly.”

He had a point, in a way.
And it was surprisingly considerate of him to say.

Still…

“It’s fine.”

How could I pass up the chance to release Miro’s first original song?
The Celestial project is going to be huge.

Look at the investment already going into it.
If it grows steadily, with second- and third-generation members, it could eventually become a major force in Korea’s streaming scene.

As the first Celestial member to release an original song, I needed to set the bar high.

“Besides, I’ll rise as a VTuber, won’t I?”
“Well, that’d be great.”
“Then listen for yourself. Let’s see if a ‘niche’ VTuber can take flight.”

Standing up, I signaled that it was time to record.

Hyunsoo, understanding my intent, put down his drink and stood up as well. Hyunjun followed suit.

“Let’s get to it.”
“To the recording booth, then.”

And so, the recording for Miro’s first original song, “Tranquil Lake,” began.