Chapter 27: Heavenly Voice (1)

“Are you really okay with this?”

I slightly parted my lips.

Kim Ha-yoon’s offer was bigger than I expected.

At least for someone who dreamed of becoming a streamer, this was a huge opportunity.

It wasn’t something you could get just because you were good at streaming. Without connections, it was nearly impossible to secure something like this unless you were with a major company.

Now that I had settled on debuting as a VTuber, this was a chance I absolutely had to take.

“Is it too much pressure? If it seems hard, you can say no. It’s totally fine.”

Kim Ha-yoon smiled gently.

“It does involve meeting a lot of people, so it can definitely feel overwhelming.”

“No. Th-thank you. If you’re inviting me, I’m honestly just grateful.”

There was no reason to say no. In fact, I felt like I should be bowing in thanks.

A golden ticket.

Not as a metaphor—it truly was the perfect phrase for it.

“But… why would you offer something so valuable to me?”

It was something any streamer would kill to receive.

Even for the giver, this was a benefit usually reserved for vetted, trusted connections.

And yet, she was offering it to someone who hadn’t even started streaming.

It didn’t feel right to just accept it with a simple thanks.

“It’s not just out of kindness. I think offering it to you is the best decision I can make right now.”

Ha-yoon smiled playfully.

“You’re getting this because you’re capable of handling it. That’s all there is to it.”

She was giving it because I could handle it.

It might’ve sounded calculated at first,

But hidden within those words was a subtle reassurance: don’t feel burdened.

Kim Ha-yoon always had a way of giving without making the other person feel pressured.

When she put it like that, it really did take the weight off.

“But I get to eat a little more chicken, right?”

Ha-yoon glanced over at the spicy chicken.

“Of course. Eat as much as you want. I’ve only got chicken to offer anyway…”

I’d brought it out so we could share in the first place.

And honestly, I wasn’t that hungry.

Since becoming a woman, I wasn’t sure if it counted as a perk or a drawback.

My appetite had shrunk. I felt like I could live off a single piece of chicken for two days if I had to.

Smaller body, smaller portions—it made sense.

If there was one upside, it was that my food expenses had dropped significantly.

Once Ha-yoon finished the last of the chicken breast,

She paused briefly before picking up a neck bone instead of the remaining wings.

She really was a good person.

“By the way.”

After our casual chicken lunch, Ha-yoon gave me a teasing look.

“When we first met, I thought you were a guy.”

It was an understandable mistake.

Usually, gamers were assumed to be male. Female gamers were considered less skilled.

That assumption still held true, even in this new world.

Every first-string pro gamer was male.

Occasionally, a female trainee would pop up, but none had ever made an official debut.

So when a high-level player suddenly appeared, people naturally assumed it was a man.

“But I never imagined you’d be such a cute girl. It really eased my nerves.”

That part was genuinely important.

As a female streamer, being linked with male streamers could be uncomfortable on a lot of levels.

But if the person involved was also a woman, fans didn’t care no matter how close you got.

In fact, they’d probably cheer harder, screaming to save the polar bears from global warming.

“Oh, and this is part of what I mentioned earlier too.”

Ha-yoon brought her hands together slightly, as if in a polite request.

“Would you be okay doing a collab today too? Hearing your voice, I think it’d go great.”

---

[📢 Today’s Broadcast Schedule Change Notice 📢]

Delings, did you have lunch? Today’s singing stream was originally scheduled for 8 PM, right?

But… with a special guest joining us, we’ve bumped it up by an hour! (with Silverhair ♡)

We’re going live at 7 PM~

See you soon for some fun!

---

The notice posted on Raidel’s official fan café.

Her stream had originally been planned for 8 PM, but she’d moved it up an hour.

Of course, shifting the stream time by an hour wasn’t a big deal in itself.

What really mattered was the collab with Silverhair.

If it had been a gaming stream, people might have understood, considering Silverhair’s skill.

But today’s content wasn’t about games.

[Wait, it’s a singing stream today and they’re collabing?]

[So we’re gonna hear Silverhair’s sweet voice? Hnghhh…]

– Just imagining his voice is making my junk act weird ㅠㅠ

– Bro… you good?

– Blocked, thanks

[Would’ve laughed if it was just a game stream, but a singing stream with a dude?]

[Isn’t this gonna blow up? Aren’t the DelPark fans gonna go wild?]

– Yeah, it’s definitely gonna blow up when it starts

– If his voice sounds goofy, it might be funny though?

– Nah, it’d be worse if he sounds actually good. That’d make things weird.

[Raidel’s doing another collab?]

[Is it that Silverhair guy again? What’s up with those two? Lol Don’t tell me…]

–  LOL

– Honestly, it’s starting to seem a little sus

– Feels kinda sudden, not gonna lie

[What’s even wrong with a collab though?]

[Don’t all streamers do collabs anyway? (serious question)]

– True, but the sudden schedule change is what’s weird

– Like, what, she had to move it earlier so they could go on a date after?

[If she’d always been doing collabs, I’d get it]

[But she barely ever collabs with guys, and now suddenly this? It’s kinda jarring]

– For real

– What if Silverhair’s actually an alpha male? Whoa…

[Raidel-sang, another collab huh~]

[If this keeps up, my horn’s gonna snap off]

The streaming community was ablaze with discussion about the collab.

It was partly due to Raidel’s usual style.

Streamers typically fell into two categories:

Those who formed crews and focused on collabs.

And those who preferred solo streaming.

Raidel was the latter. She usually streamed alone.

She’d done collabs before, sure, but they were typically initiated by the other party.

Raidel herself rarely invited others.

But after meeting Silverhair, she’d been the one suggesting collabs.

No matter how chill Raidel seemed, she was still a female streamer—one with a captivating appearance.

Naturally, fans couldn’t help but catch feelings.

So when Raidel gifted a VR machine, took the initiative, and pushed for collabs—

Some fans were bound to get rubbed the wrong way.

And in situations like this, the trolls always came crawling out.

Nothing stirred the pot like rumors of a female streamer having a boyfriend.

[Why the f*ck are people losing their minds over this lol]

[She found someone that cracked at gaming—who wouldn’t want to collab? If I were a streamer, I’d fight to set that up too. Thanks to him, her Chain Roller stream became legendary. Why’s everyone acting pressed?]

– For real, she just wanted to ride the momentum and people are losing it

– Can y’all just watch the stream for what it is?

– I get it for game streams, but a singing stream too?

There were definitely detractors, but the majority leaned toward support.

After all, it wasn’t like they’d collabed dozens of times.

And considering how much Silverhair had helped grow her stream, it made sense that Raidel would reach out first.

Only two collabs and people were already freaking out—that was overkill.

Still, the singing stream raised some eyebrows.

It was like smoke curling up from a forest.

If you doused it now, nothing would come of it.

But let it fester, and you never knew how big it might get.

7 PM.

Regardless of what was burning on the message boards, Raidel’s stream went live.

“Hey hey Del~ Wow, so many people here today! Thanks for coming~”

The viewer count was climbing faster than usual.

Normally, singing streams got a slight bump—like radio listeners tuning in.

But that only worked if the streamer could sing.

And Raidel… couldn’t. Not by a long shot.

So her singing streams didn’t usually draw big numbers.

But tonight, the view count was rising way faster than expected.

Even factoring in the collab with Silverhair, the numbers were oddly high.

Still, Raidel carried on with her usual cheerful tone.

[Are you really doing a singing stream today?]

[I’m watching with the sound off lol]

[If it’s Raidel’s voice, I’m about to lose my hearing. Insta-like.]

“Delbag… Ugh, there’s too many chat messages—I can’t even find who said that! Why do you all keep trying to give our fandom such weird names when we already have a proper one?!”

Raidel’s official fandom name.

She had tried naming them several times—Delusion, Deliver, RaiHearts, etc.

After a vote, they democratically settled on ‘Delings.’

It was cute, it had a nice ring to it—Raidel liked it.

The problem? Her chat was full of hyper-masculine jokesters.

They hated how soft and fluffy ‘Delings’ sounded.

[‘CheonmaGoesToSchool’ donated 5,000 won!]

– I’m new. What’s Delbag?

[It’s the official fandom name ㅇㅇ]

[Raidel gave us that name.]

[So embarrassing…]

“No, I didn’t! We voted for Delings and agreed on it together!”

[Stop spreading lies nnnnnn]

[That’s only because we didn’t get to pick the candidates…]

[Delboong wrote all the options himself]

[What kind of democracy is that?]

Of course, if she’d let the fans choose, she’d be buried in meme-tier suggestions.

So Raidel had pre-selected all the fandom name options.

Still, that didn’t stop her fans from running their own poll on a community board and declaring a new name.

[‘RaidelDel17’ donated 5,000 won!]

– We voted between RaiRaiChaCha and Delbag, and Delbag won.

[Now that’s real democracy.]

[Fr lol]

“Hah… is it time for a mass ban again?”

[Gasp]

[Gasp]

[Please have mercy]

Raidel only chuckled.

She wasn’t actually going to start banning people left and right.

This was just the usual WWE act.

But then—

[‘ㅇㅇ’ donated 1,000 won!]

– I heard you’re singing a love song with your boyfriend tonight lol

And just like that, WWE turned into UFC.