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[So, a new avatar is being made?]

“Ah, yes, the manager is already working on it! Guess I called for nothing.”

[Heh.]

I’m having a long-overdue phone call with Anna.

Is this my first time having a one-on-one conversation like this?

Anyway, I was conveying to Anna the conversation I had with the manager last time.

[Why didn’t you just tell us? Why make us anxious?]

“Well, isn’t it a surprise? It would have been nice to receive a gift without any prior notice.”

[Ah, I see. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.]

Thanks to her probing questions, I felt more at ease, but did I just lose the joy of receiving an unexpected gift later on?

That’s a bit disappointing.

[Still, I’m excited. We’re going to be amazing, right?]

“What do you mean by ‘amazing’? Your choice of words, though.”

[Why! Is Miro even allowed to say that?!]

Right.

Speaking of which, Anna is quite different from my first impression of her.

These days, how should I put it… No, if I think any further, that would be an insult to Anna, so I should stop.

[Why are you so quiet? What are you thinking about?]

“You’re quite perceptive… Let’s get off the line now.”

[What? What were you really thinking…?]

Click.

I hung up just like that.

As much as I wanted to continue the conversation, I had a schedule to attend to.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and entered the building right in front of me.

I climbed down the stairs, and before me stood a surprisingly tidy door for a basement.

I opened the unlocked door, and inside, I saw a bunch of people huddled together.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“It’s been a while.”

I greeted Kang-hyeok, who was welcoming guests at the lobby entrance, and glanced inside.

Whoa—there are so many people.

But it makes sense.

Today is the day Hyeon-su’s album is completed.

All the relevant parties could be seen gathered in Hyeon-su’s workshop.

The people I caught a glimpse of beyond Kang-hyeok included those mid-aged individuals I had seen at the previous company dinner, along with some faces that would probably appear on TV at least once.

In other words, it’s a slightly intimidating gathering.

So, I quietly moved to the corner, away from the center of the lobby.

Well, if I just sit quietly for a while…

Then,

I locked eyes with Hyeon-su, who was mingling among the crowd.

“Oh, sis! You made it?”

Oh no.

With Hyeon-su, the host, saying that, everyone around him naturally turned to look at me.

“Ahaha, hello there.”

Since I’m probably the youngest one here after Hyeon-su, I started by greeting everyone.

“Hey, we met last time, right?”

As I exchanged greetings, a middle-aged man near Hyeon-su recognized me and greeted me warmly.

He was someone I had seen at the previous gathering, a singer our Mrs. Jang is familiar with.

“Yes, it’s great to see you again.”

“Uhaha, I hear you’re featuring again this time? I can’t wait to hear it~”

As the oldest person around spoke comfortably, the others seemed intrigued by me too, their eyes lighting up.

“Oh, excuse me. Please continue your conversation.”

So I pretended a hurry phone call and snuck further into the corner.

Phew, that was close to being exhausting.

But there was someone else already hiding in this corner.

“Oh?”

“Hey.”

It was Lee Hyun-jun.

He was standing there alone inappropriately, and our eyes met perfectly.

“What are you doing here?”

He’s not someone who would shy away from celebrities, right?

In fact, he is the celebrity.

Hyun-jun chuckled at my question.

“Everyone here are seniors.”

“Aha.”

It must be a bit uncomfortable.

If I thought about a senior VTuber who debuted twenty years ago…

…yeah, that’d be extremely uncomfortable.

Just imagining it gives me goosebumps.

“Are you uncomfortable too, Soo-hyun?”

“Because they are all celebrities.”

How could an ordinary person like me possibly fit in there?

Hyun-jun’s expression became strange at my comment.

“Why?”

“…Nothing. Are you doing well at work these days?”

“Oh, work?”

He must be talking about the VTuber scene.

Things are going well; I recently had a newcomer join us, after all.

“It’s going well. A junior just joined.”

“Oh, a junior.”

Hyun-jun was impressed by the news of a newcomer. Since he’s an idol, he probably understands the feelings of juniors pretty well.

“How’s it like having a junior?”

“It’s great.”

It’s also proof that The Six is growing, so I can’t complain there.

Not to mention, I quite like it.

“Hmm… I wonder how long that feeling will last.”

“What do you mean by that?”

When I asked about Hyun-jun’s cryptic words, he put on an annoyed expression.

“You know, once you start competing with juniors, your feelings might change.”

“Aha.”

Well… even if the juniors look cute, they’re still people who share the same pie.

But that’s for idols; VTubers are a bit different.

There’s a lot of overlap in our viewer base.

And…

“Can there even be a competition?”

Is a junior actually going to challenge me?

That’s absurd.

Even if I do a few live broadcasts that don’t quite hit the mark, that doesn’t mean I’m slacking off.

My real-time broadcast concrete is getting stronger, and my YouTube subscribers keep increasing steadily.

Unless the junior is a monstrous talent, it’s going to be tough for them to compete with me.

“Wow.”

Hyun-jun seemed to catch a glimpse of my confidence and gave a faint exclamation.

“That confidence is nice.”

“I know.”

Miro is a character brimming with confidence, after all.

As for the essence of my existence, I’m not all that different.

“Hmm, but don’t forget our bet?”

“The bet?”

“Yes, it seems today is a fitting day for it.”

“Ah.”

Now that I think about it, we had made a bet among the people participating in this album regarding whose featuring would be better.

I had nearly forgotten about it, but I’m confident.

The recording turned out well at that time.

“You’re confident? But I think you didn’t get to hear what I recorded.”

I have heard the part Hyun-jun recorded, but he hasn’t heard mine.

He wasn’t there when I went to record mine.

“Oh, it seems you are overflowing with confidence! Well, the people here will be the judges.”

Hyun-jun pointed to the people gathered around.

True, the result will ultimately depend on those music industry seniors.

But at this point, a question arose in my mind.

“By the way, could you ask them? Since you’re the industry’s esteemed senior.”

“Haha.”

Did Hyun-jun come to the corner because he found the seniors overwhelming? I wonder if he would be able to request them to judge our bet.

However, Hyun-jun merely smiled at my question.

“I think they’ll be quite fond of this bet.”

“Oh.”

Well, if I were in their shoes during a bet involving the youngest line participating in the album, it would surely be fun to act as judges.

After all, they’re here to listen to the album’s songs today.

“Then let’s go right now.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, seeing as the conversations seem to be wrapping up.”

Wait, did he keep an eye on both me and the crowd while talking?

What kind of vision do idols have?

So, I followed Hyun-jun as he led the way to the center.

“Oh, you guys have come over?”

“What were you two talking about over there?”

As we reached the center, people seemed pleased to see us and started chatting.

Were they watching us?

“Did you guys see us?”

Hyun-jun voiced my thoughts, and a woman shrugged her shoulders.

“Both of you just catch attention naturally.”

“Right? You can’t not look.”

“Aha.”

Well… I would be drawn to the scene too.

Even though it was a corner, it wasn’t like there was a wall there.

“So, what’s going on?”

“Oh, that’s…”

In response to the question from a middle-aged man, Hyun-jun got to the point.

The content was that we made a bet, and we wanted the audience to judge whose album featuring was better.

“Oh… that sounds interesting!”

“Right?”

“But wait… a bet?”

Everyone nodded, seeming intrigued, but then they started exchanging odd glances between me and Hyun-jun.

No way?

“Wow, what youthful energy!”

“How fresh!”

“…That’s not it.”

Just as I expected.

It seems we were misunderstood regarding the bet.

Surely not, am I going to get pounded into the ground again?

I already have a past where I got crushed by the million-strong fandom of Beasts and had my precious Bluebird account ruined.

“Haha, are you taking it too seriously, Soo-hyun?”

“Wow, Hyun-jun’s been rejected!”

“Hyun-jun, this is all a learning experience~”

Ah, now I understand why Hyun-jun was hiding in the corner.

These folks are a bunch of jokesters.

They’re all too keen to tease the juniors.

I somewhat understand this feeling now that I have a junior too, but… I don’t want to be the one on the receiving end.

“Alright then, shall we finally listen to the album song we’ve been waiting for?”

“Since we’ve been requested, let’s hurry up and listen!”

And with that, we decided to listen to the song.

“Let’s start with the songs featuring our junior friends.”

We opted to listen to the songs that Hyun-jun and I were featuring on, rather than any others.

There are two tracks, so it shouldn’t be too overwhelming.

“Okay, I’ll play it now.”

With that, Hyeon-su’s new track from the album started flowing through the workshop, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Oh….”

As the song played, I couldn’t help but be amazed.

The songs that are set to be included in Hyeon-su’s album were definitely impressive.

It was the same song Hyun-jun tried to feature on before, but it sounded even better than last time.

Is it the power of mixing?

In any case, after finishing Hyun-jun’s featuring song, we immediately listened to mine next.

This song was also better than before.

Honestly, my probability of winning from both tracks feels like fifty-fifty.

But still, I can’t help but feel good about this.

Looking at everyone’s expressions, it seems promising.

“I think Hyun-jun’s… might be a bit better?”

“When considering the overall balance of the songs, that’s correct, but something about Soo-hyun’s is more captivating.”

The people were seriously discussing, each giving their feedback.

…Maybe it’s just because they’re working in the music field that they’re so earnest about it.

Earlier, I thought they might approach it half-jokingly.

“I’m going with Soo-hyun.”

“I’ll vote for Hyun-jun.”

And just like that, opinions started to split among the people.

But it seems the number of attendees is even?

It’s unclear how close the vote will be; they split down the middle.

The only remaining person is…

“Why am I last?”

As all eyes turned to Hyeon-su, he looked somewhat flustered.

The most important song’s master, Hyeon-su, was the only one left to decide.

“Hyeon-su, you make the final call.”

“Do it objectively.”

Hyun-jun and I chimed in, prompting Hyeon-su to nod and begin contemplating.

“Well… by my standards…”

In reality, Hyeon-su’s vote carries more weight than just a single vote, which makes the atmosphere between Hyun-jun and me a bit tense.

“Both were good, but….”

Hyeon-su glanced from Hyun-jun to me as he deliberated.

And it was right at that moment.

Swoosh.

As Hyeon-su was looking at me, he subtly made a gesture by touching his throat.

‘Make a good choice.’

Then, he silently mouthed to communicate his intent without letting anyone else see.

“Uhh….”

Seeing Hyeon-su nod slightly at my actions made me smile.

I’m not being petty here.

I’m just doing my utmost in this cold, competitive world.

If I’m going to win, I can’t just hold back, can I?

Good luck, Hyun-jun.

I’m just a commoner born into a world where idols don’t exist…

“I’m going with Hyun-jun.”

“Huh?”

“Hey, you can’t blackmail your sister! That’s going to backfire on you.”

…Shit.

 

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