I Want to Be a VTuber

“Is this really Min-seo’s?”

Gil Soo-jin, the head of the Lee family, widened her eyes at the report card her daughter brought home.

Her daughter had never ranked within the top three grades before.

However, today’s report card consisted entirely of second grades, except for one.

This happened in just two months.

“Y-yeah.”

The daughter, speaking hesitantly, looked quite exhausted.

But that didn’t matter at all.

This report card meant everything to Gil Soo-jin.

Until now, her second child was just cute, with a future that seemed dim.

But now, she had brought home what Gil Soo-jin had always wished for.

Just look at this report card.

Lee Yoo-joo is the real deal.

While her own skills contributed, it was clear she must have her brother’s portfolio backing her up.

“If it goes like this, maybe she can get into Baekyeon Medical School…”

Min-seo had virtually given up, but at this rate, both her children had enough potential.

“Our Min-seo really worked hard, while…”

Gil Soo-jin’s eyes narrowed as they shifted to her quiet son, Min-hyuk.

Min-hyuk’s grades utterly surpassed Min-seo’s.

Most were first grades, with just a few second grades.

There was only one third grade in a subject that wasn’t that important.

“Just as expected, my son.”

“….”

However, the important point was that Min-seo had shown a tremendous improvement, while Min-hyuk had remained stagnant.

Though he was ahead this time, there was no guarantee it would stay that way in the next mock exam.

In fact, it was more likely Min-seo, who was always sticking close to Yoo-joo, could surpass Min-hyuk.

Considering the dramatic leap in grades in just two months, it was certainly possible.

“Please don’t disappoint me, and next time when Min-seo meets Yoo-joo, make sure to join too.”

“Mother.”

“Son. I’m only saying this for your sake.”

Gil Soo-jin said as if it was her habit.

It’s all for you.

Of course, Min-hyuk knew. It was surely for his benefit.

But there was a sprinkle of her selfish desires mixed in there too.

Min-hyuk dreamed of being a doctor as well.

But.

“Understood.”

Min-hyuk could only respond like that for now.

No matter what he said, Gil Soo-jin wouldn’t listen.

Thus, Min-hyuk had no choice but to accompany Min-seo whenever she met Yoo-joo.

“Oh, really? Do you want to be close to me?”

Yoo-joo said with a bright smile.

For reference, Min-hyuk had never said such a thing.

He simply happened to be close by whenever Min-seo met her.

But it seemed like Yoo-joo immediately grasped his intentions.

Well, if the person you were cursing suddenly appeared, it was obvious.

“If you don’t want…”

“I don’t dislike it. It’s just funny.”

After saying that, Yoo-joo quietly stared at Min-hyuk.

That gaze was the unique look Yoo-joo had when gazing down at others.

It had been several months since they entered high school.

In that time, Yoo-joo had already captured the hearts of the school teachers.

After all, she was ranked top in the entire school.

Among the students of the renowned Baekyeon High School, she stood as the undeniable first.

It seemed her mock exam results were good, and her mid-terms were a given.

“Huh? Yoo-joo? Don’t you really dislike being with your brother?”

“Not really, I don’t care.”

Rather, it was Min-seo who looked flustered.

Yoo-joo just continued to gaze quietly at Min-hyuk.

Feeling that gaze.

Min-hyuk—no, Kim Hyun-seok, who played Min-hyuk, felt something strange.

That gaze seemed to have changed somehow.

Before, it had just been an overpowering intimidating feeling, but now it conveyed a slightly vulnerable sensation.

Like the quills of a porcupine raised in defense.

Yet, she was just hiding it.

Somehow, the feeling had completely transformed.

Why?

At that moment, a question swirled around in his mind.

“Cut! Hyun-seok, it’s time for your next line!”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

By now, he’d flubbed so many takes it felt almost numb.

He even related to Min-seo’s feelings a bit.

It’s rather calming when you aren’t under any expectations.
Of course, it’s not that I don’t feel sorry.

I felt bad for the actors who had their energy drained with each NG cut.

However, lately, I’ve realized something while constantly being criticized on the internet.

After all, being anxious only brings negative effects.

Instead, I need to calmly and objectively view myself.

So.

After finishing the scene adequately,

When the filming was over, hyunseok approached seoyeon.

“…Your acting feels different, doesn’t it?”

Hyunseok asked a question to Seoyeon, who he usually didn’t talk to much.

Seoyeon widened her eyes at those words.

She was taken aback, wondering if he would actually ask her something.

No, or was she surprised because he noticed her acting had changed?

It was a somewhat ambiguous response.

“I made some changes. Can you feel the difference?”

“W-were you?”

The actress playing Minseo, Park Sejin, seemed completely unaware.

No, not completely unaware.

She felt something was different but thought it was just a condition issue.

“It felt like Lee Yoo-joo appeared delicate.”

How should I put it?

It felt like the tone had changed.

From what I’ve observed, Seoyeon’s acting is emotional.

In other words, she conveys emotions clearly and expresses feelings easily.

Thus, it particularly resonates strongly.

The emotions she embeds in her acting have changed.

“I just thought a bit from Yoo-joo’s perspective.”

Seoyeon didn’t really empathize with Lee Yoo-joo.

Hence, her acting is somewhat lacking in deep emotional performance.

Originally, she was an honor student, but it was hard to clearly understand the reasons for ignoring others.

But now, she understands a bit.

Lee Yoo-joo is, surprisingly, quite similar to her.

“And I realized that Lee Yoo-joo is just an ungrown child.”

To Seoyeon’s muttering, Hyunseok appeared somewhat puzzled.

Interestingly, Seoyeon’s atmosphere also felt a bit subdued.

‘Could it be because of the ratings?’

The ratings for Sky Garden were quite high, around 10 percent.

With that level, it’s well within the limits of being a hit among the recently aired dramas.

However, since there’s Grand Game airing on Mondays and Tuesdays, all the focus is drawn there.

Even if it finishes with decent ratings, in the end, all the attention will go to Grand Game.

No matter how well the second place performs, people remember the first place.

Unless there’s a major turning point, this ranking won’t change.

So from Seoyeon’s perspective as the protagonist, it’s naturally disappointing.

Even though the performance was good, she’s not receiving any attention due to the number one spot above.

“Oh, um, this week is episodes 7 and 8, right?”

Sensing Seoyeon’s strange mood, Park Sejin brightly spoke to lift the atmosphere.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“W-wait, it’s already that time? Soon we’ll hit episode 10… I hope it gets some strong reactions since episode 10 has pretty intense scenes.”

Episode 10 was going to be a turning point for both the drama and Lee Yoo-joo.

And for Minhyeok and Minseo as well.

But I heard Grand Game is also going to make a bold move in episode 10.

‘Honestly, it seems difficult.’

‘It’s really awful.’

Hyunseok and Sejin thought that, even if they didn’t say it.

But still, it didn’t matter.

The two were quite satisfied with the performance of Sky Garden.

So they could just let it be, even if they were compared to Seoyeon and criticized online.

Well, Park Sejin wasn’t criticized too much.

Since the role of Minseo doesn’t have a particularly serious vibe, it didn’t stand out much.

“Oh, by the way, the semifinals of Masked Singer is this week, right? This weekend?”

With a small voice, Sejin whispered to Seoyeon.

Seoyeon was taken aback.

How did Sejin know about that?

“The PD had a meeting and accidentally mentioned it. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret.”

Even PD Lee Min-hwa can make mistakes.

It seems that in the course of talking with Park Sejin about the promotion of Sky Garden, it slipped out.

For reference, Hyunseok had no idea what the two were talking about.
So it seemed that Hyunseok had no clue what the two were chatting about.

“Cheer for you!”

At her words, Seo-yeon smiled ambiguously.

Masked Singer was just as much of a headache for Seo-yeon anyway.

*

“Uh, huh? Can you remake a cartoon song? I mean, cartoon songs are a bit childish…”

Cha Na-hee looked at Seo-yeon with a bewildered expression.

Well, she could do it.

But why a cartoon song of all things?

“They say it’s the song that made my mom and dad meet for the first time.”

“Oh, that’s why it felt nostalgic.”

Cha Na-hee quickly added.

Phew, she almost made a big mistake.

Still, the thought crossed her mind, is it really a cartoon song?

‘Surprisingly not bad?’

No, putting that aside…

“This was a cartoon song?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that.”

Hearing it at karaoke or in various places, she just assumed it was an old song.

Cha Na-hee hadn’t really seen much of anything related to cartoons anyway.

So maybe that’s why the stories she heard from the ‘wizard’ felt like tales from another world, piquing her interest even more.

“But, usually, there are copyright issues with this kind of stuff.”

“I got permission for that.”

Talk about initiative!!

Wait, did she just come here all set on doing this?

That incredible initiative was something to admire.

‘But…’

Cha Na-hee subtly glanced at Seo-yeon.

She seemed a bit down today.

What could be the reason? Even as she wondered, it didn’t seem like the right time to ask.

Maybe she just had something on her mind?

“Are you planning to use this before the semifinals? But wasn’t that supposed to be for Yeo-hee sunbae’s song?”

“No,… if we go up, that is.”

In the king competition?

Does she think she can win in the semifinals?

“That’s not it. I just can’t prepare on such short notice like last time.”

“True.”

If she wins again from here, that would create a whole new issue.

Seo-yeon didn’t have a song ready either.

So preparing for the semifinal song while also gearing up for the king competition song was quite the tall order.

“…Is that even possible?”

“Of course! But it is going to be a bit tight on time. Thinking of the king competition, we have about 12 days, right?”

“Yes.”

If she wins the semifinal, that’s around how much time they’d have left.

If they already had the copyright, it might just barely be possible.

‘But of course, Da-young’s busy too.’

Though she’s often referred to as ‘the wizard,’ her real name is Han Da-young.

She had also been quite busy with broadcast preparations lately.

Only Cha Na-hee, who hadn’t had many shoots for Sky Garden recently, had a bit of leeway in her schedule.

“I’ll give it a shot.”

Na-hee still wanted to help Seo-yeon as much as she could.

After all, wasn’t this the king competition of Masked Singer?

If she could arrange a song that could achieve some results, she’d definitely learn something as well.

Her name would be attached to the arrangement too.

This was no useless endeavor at all.

“Should I let Nova Entertainment know a bit?”

“No, it’s easier to work on this solo.”

Na-hee said so.

And from that day onward, she got into her work, staying up late.

The music equipment was actually better at Ho-yeon’s side than at Nova Entertainment.

They had recklessly poured money into properly cultivating an idol—funny enough, that didn’t really work out.

As a result, they were left with a bunch of failed idols and overpriced equipment like toxic inventory.

“…I’m a little tired though.”

Glancing at the time, it was already past midnight.

But even though she wanted to sleep, the deadline was tight.

After all, she was handling what would typically be a team project all by herself.

‘A livelier vibe would be nice.’

The original song had a slightly emotional feel to it.

Seo-yeon was known for singing those kinds of songs well.

Yeo-hee’s song for the semifinals was also of that nature.

But having the same vibe all the way to the finals was a bit…

I mean, wasn’t it a competition?

If she just ran with the same feeling she had before, the audience would just end up getting used to it.

Creators need to appeal their creations to the public.

And the reason a creation gets highly rated is usually because it resonates with the audience.
It’s a living mess.

Seo-yeon’s biggest weapon.

However, sometimes a little strangeness is needed.

You can’t just rely on empathy and keep repeating the same vibe in songs.

Cha Na-hee was currently looking for a way to appropriately blend that in.

Staying late at the company on a dark night.

“…Is she still not gone?”

Rabin clicked her tongue while glancing at the studio lights that were still on.

“Aren’t you still here too?”

And her right-hand woman So-eun chimed in with a teasing remark.

“No, this is my home. And besides…”

Rabin didn’t stick around just to work.

Going home and jamming alone was no fun, so she figured she’d hang out with So-eun.

And it was a mood!

Let’s hit the karaoke! She thought as she made her way to the studio.

It was, after all, a pretty sweet place to sing for free.

In fact, Rabin had sneakily brought in a karaoke machine, so it was perfect for chilling out.

But then, Rabin nearly freaked out, enough to shake off her tipsy vibe.

No way Na-hee’s still working at this hour!

“What a tough cookie…”

“That’s why she’ll succeed.”

“Hey, do you want to get hit?”

Rabin grumbled about not being able to sing and turned away.

“Hey, let’s go outside.”

She called out to So-eun, but So-eun didn’t follow.

“Ah, why~.”

“Unnie.”

“No, isn’t Na-hee acting like this just another day? Just leave her be…”

“I heard that’s something Joo Seo-yeon asked her to do.”

That gorilla-like girl?

What does that even matter? Just leave her alone.

Lost in thought, as she tried to turn around, her feet seemed glued to the floor.

What a nuisance of a girl.

But seeing her like that made it hard to ignore.

As they say, even hate is still affection!

“Darn it, am I tipsy or what?”

Rabin scratched her head and muttered.

“Let’s send her home and get back to having fun. This feels awkward.”

“But, do we really have anything we can help with?”

“How should I know?”

Rabin headed toward where Cha Na-hee was.

Just trying to convince herself it was the alcohol.

*

“Ugh, I shouldn’t have participated in Masked Singer.”

Yeo-hee was sulking with her chin resting on the throne only the king could occupy, feeling nauseous.

The pose was truly regal!

Plus, the mask she wore was the Ashen Crow, making it even cooler.

If you looked at her from a distance, she could easily be mistaken for a villain from a special effects movie.

But inside, it was a different story.

“Please, please let it end.”

Yeo-hee prayed desperately.

Two people were on stage.

One of them was a rabbit with red eyes.

The figure introduced itself as ‘Man-Lap Rabbit.’

Its voice was altered during the interview, but Yeo-hee knew immediately who it was.

After all, she had been a devoted viewer since The Moon That Hid the Sun.

In fact, they had even sung a song for the recent Sky Garden soundtrack, so she was familiar with their singing style.

Other people seemed oblivious, but Yeo-hee recognized it immediately.

That was Joo Seo-yeon singing!

She had often listened to her songs from afar, cheering for her, but never expected to run into her like this.

“She probably doesn’t know it’s me.”

Besides, the singing style was changed up reasonably well.

And the song was not one she usually performed.

As Yeo-hee was lost in thought, it suddenly hit her.

“Alright then, it’s time for Man-Lap Rabbit’s turn! The song is… ‘Wings of Wind and Bird’!!”

Hearing the title, Yeo-hee almost jumped up in surprise.

Understandably so, ‘Wings of Wind and Bird’ was her song!

“Wait, no way, does she know?”

Is it some kind of warning?

No, I haven’t done anything wrong yet.

I never thought I’d be this nervous at my age.

Yeo-hee remained frozen, like a rock, until Seo-yeon’s song came to an end.

Desperately hoping it would drop.

But maybe her intense wish was heard after all.

Seo-yeon overwhelmed her opponent and clinched victory in the semifinals!

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