NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
The Celestial Realm Project had progressed to its third phase.
Consequently, audition participants were gradually turning on their personal broadcasts, while the streamers affiliated with the project company, The Six, were producing content to watch the audition participants.
[Wow, the interviewer is here?]
“Hey, you guys, don’t make it obvious!”
– Hahaha
– Not a chance
– Taester call on
– Endure Taesan’s weight
In the midst of this, Taesan, a respectable mid-level streamer from The Six, wanted to watch the audition participants, but was struggling due to the viewers.
“Just sit still; everyone’s having trouble broadcasting because of you guys.”
He usually wanted to see how the participants were broadcasting, but the dozen viewers rushing in to spam chat led to participants becoming flustered or approaching Taesan to ask what to do, disrupting the flow of the broadcast.
Eventually, Taesan stepped out of one participant’s room and looked into the broadcasts of other audition participants.
“Please, do not disturb me this time. I want to see a natural stream from the participants.”
– Oh sure, haha
– Did everyone hear that?
– Burburbur
Sighing heavily, after issuing a warning that went unheard by the viewers, Taesan scrolled back up and caught sight of a broadcast title.
[Nangjungjichu (囊中之錐) Miro]
“Nangjungjichu?”
Having scrolled down to examine participants with fewer viewers, the stream by Miro, who had 50 viewers, stood out among those averaging 20 to 30 viewers.
“Isn’t this the one? That otaku.”
– Yep, exactly, haha
– Quite a few viewers, huh?
– I went in earlier; it was pretty good
– Just her voice alone is captivating
Taesan thought back to the impression Miro had made during the audition and joined her stream.
The screen featured a standard Ideal Type World Cup event that streamers often do.
[What should we do this time?]
‘Her voice is certainly nice.’
While individual voices differ in personality, by Taesan’s standards, Miro had a top-tier singing voice among the participants.
[What? The chat’s going a bit fast.]
As soon as Taesan entered, the viewers who followed him flooded the chat.
“Seriously, you guys!”
Taesan tried to scold them, but the viewers paid no mind and continued bombarding Miro’s chat.
Taesan anxiously watched Miro’s stream.
Then, Miro’s avatar frowned as she spoke.
[Taesan? Who’s that? Anyway, I’ll do this now.]
– LOL
– Taesan getting disrespected, haha
– She doesn’t know him while streaming on Dwitch? She’s out, haha
– Just a loser, haha
Though the participant didn’t recognize him as the second interviewer, Taesan inwardly sighed in relief.
***
I was contemplating with the famous J-Pop Ideal Type World Cup waiting screen in front of me.
“Should we do the 64 Competitors?”
One song takes about 3 minutes, and with 64 matches, that adds up to 190 minutes, roughly.
– No no no
– Let’s go 128
– Taesan’s here; aren’t you gonna greet him?
– We have enough time, so let’s do 256
– Shut it, you Taesan fans
Glancing at the chat, requests for 128 or 256 competitors popped up occasionally.
‘Isn’t that a bit long?’
128 competitors mean 128 songs… that doesn’t make sense, does it?
“I’d like to listen to all the songs before deciding, but doesn’t 128 seem too many?”
Since it’s popular J-Pop, there shouldn’t be any songs I don’t recognize from memory. However, knowing the lyrics and melody differs from hearing them for the first time.
I thought about gauging what songs the viewers liked while also getting familiar with the music, but 128 was excessive.
– But if we do 64, there are too many songs missing
– Yep, let’s do 128
– Taesan’s ignoring him, lol
As I read the chat, I couldn’t help but frown.
‘Who is Taesan? Why is he causing such a ruckus?’
The viewers had rushed in earlier and even followed the chat, but there were still sporadic comments that disrupted the chat flow.
If the viewers were earnest participants, I’d welcome them with open arms, but I wasn’t so sure…
Even though there were 100 viewers now, double the earlier amount, the broadcast had been running smoothly with 50 viewers.
“Wait a moment.”
Ultimately, after finding it unavoidable, I asked for permission and opened a window on the monitor that wouldn’t be streamed to search for Taesan.
‘Ah, he’s that interviewer from before.’
He was a streamer associated with the company hosting the audition, the Celestial Realm Project, and the one who had humorously gone along with my ad-lib at the time.
‘But what’s it to me?’
I was grateful then, but now it was clearly a hindrance to my broadcast.
While an increase in followers was good, I wasn’t in a rush.
In the end, I made a bold decision.
“Taesan, I see you’re watching, right?”
As soon as I said that, the chat erupted, and a message verified by the streamer badge popped up.
-(Taesan): Yes, I truly apologize. We wanted to take a look at the participants, but our viewers have caused some trouble.
“No, no, you don’t need to apologize.”
Saying that, I quickly clicked on Taesan’s ID.
“I’ll let you go later.”
After saying that, I immediately banned Taesan.
It’s important to root out the problems right away.
The disruptive people in the chat were probably fans of Taesan anyway.
Without him, they’d likely leave quickly.
I banned Taesan and shifted my attention back to the chat.
“Now, shall we listen to the first song of the World Cup?”
The chat would surely be on fire without me looking, so I ignored it and clicked on the song video.
“I’ll focus on the song for a moment.”
And then I concentrated on the music. Normally, I’d prefer to listen with my eyes closed, but since I wasn’t very familiar with Japanese, I watched the video to read the subtitles while listening to the song.
‘This is nice.’
In the video, a female singer stepped forward with a guitar, playing along with the band and singing.
The lyrics reminiscing about an ex-boyfriend after a long relationship struck a chord with me, and the highlight parts were quite enjoyable. The performance was excellent, and above all, the female singer’s conveyance of the lyrics was remarkable.
– Wow, haha
– This is it
– Just… goat…
– Dots to the end, yep
After listening to the entire song, I looked at the chat, which seemed to have calmed down as everyone shared their thoughts about the song.
“This song is famous, right?”
Recalling the information about a song I had tried not to think about while listening, I evaluated it.
“Overall, both the song and the performance are exceptional, and the emotion of letting go and missing a long-term boyfriend was conveyed beautifully, so I’d rate it a 3 out of 5.”
– ???
– Why a 3?
– At least a 4, right?
– Isn’t the full score 5?
“Right, the full score is 5. The reason for the deduction is that I can’t relate to the lyrics.”
– ?? Why not?
– Haven’t you ever broken up?
– Haven’t you ever been in a long-term relationship?
“I’ve never been in a relationship, so I can’t relate to breakup songs. Plus, while the song is good, I’m not really a fan of ballads.”
This was one of the few commonalities between me, Kim Soo-hyun (Male), and Kim Soo-hyun (Female).
Ballads… to be honest, aren’t they mainly for karaoke? I oddly don’t find myself entranced by these kinds of songs.
Then, I heard the notification sound, and a donation message arrived.
[Thank you, 1,000 won, ‘ㅇㅇ’!]
Do you have a boyfriend right now?
“Do I have a boyfriend? I’m an idol, so it wouldn’t be right to have one.”
This is simply my personal opinion.
An idol should become a star for their fans.
For an idol to have a boyfriend?
Well, I won’t discourage an idol from having one during their youth, but at the very least, they shouldn’t let it show to their fans.
Well, honestly, I don’t feel any strong sense of duty toward being an idol, and what I’m doing now is closer to a quasi-idol activity, but it’s true that I don’t have a boyfriend, nor do I think I will in the near future.
And…
‘Aren’t they going crazy for this kind of thing?’
To be fair, I can’t say I didn’t have a bit of motive.
“Ah? Subscriptions all of a sudden? Thank you!”
See?
Merely because I lack romantic experience, 5 out of 50 viewers decided to subscribe.
I expressed my gratitude while reading each nickname and secretly laughed.
‘How much do 5 subscriptions add up to?’
Well, it should be more than minimum wage when the calculations come in, right?
I pretended to be nonchalant as I played the next song and listened.
This song was performed by a male singer.
The mild-mannered-looking male singer strolled down the streets while singing a love song in a music video that vibrantly showcased the unique residential atmosphere of Japan, with his excellent voice and distinctive melody delivering a captivating listening experience.
– Wow, haha
– This is a bit strong too
– Great, yep
– Really good
This track also received positive feedback. Well, naturally, all the songs in this World Cup are famous, so the otaku viewers watching virtual YouTubers couldn’t possibly be unaware of these songs.
[Song critic Miro, thank you for 1,000 won.]
Miro, how would you rate this song?
I pondered for a moment, savoring the song.
“Well, this distinctive melody is right up my alley, and the MV atmosphere is splendid.”
Having never traveled abroad in my life, the MV featuring a stroll through Japanese streets it really touched my romantic sensibility.
“My personal rating is a 4 out of 5.”
I stated this and then opted for the male singer’s song.
– Why the 1-point deduction?
“Why the deduction? I’m not that fond of love songs, so that’s why.”
I shrugged as I said this.
Then, while I was listening to the next round’s song, I noticed an increase in euro subscribers and couldn’t help but smile.
‘Well, I didn’t lie.’
This was my true feeling, so it’s all good.