Chapter 29: Heavenly Voice (3)

I slightly opened my mouth.

I’d barely said two words, and yet—

[Heueung heueung heueung heueung]

[Wait, she was actually a girl????]

[Why does her voice sound so f*cking good?]

[My ears have been blessed~]

[SILVERHAIR I LOVE YOU!!!]

It was hard to believe this was the same chat that had been on fire moments ago.

The atmosphere had flipped 180 degrees like magic.

‘Wasn’t this a male-dominated stream?’

Raidel’s stream was infamous for being a male-heavy space.

To be exact, 94% male, and the remaining 6% were assumed to be kids using their mom’s account.

How did I know this?

There was a meme of Raidel crying after seeing her audience stats—

She’d been hoping for female viewers, only to be crushed by the harsh reality.

[It’s been ages since we’ve had a girl here.]

[Silver, please insult me. I beg you!]

[I can’t take it anymore aaaaah!]

In short, the chat was filled with thirsty fiends starved for female presence.

Of course, the miraculous mood swing wasn’t just because I was a girl.

[‘Delamence’ donated 5,000 won!]

– So they’re not dating after all LOL

[So it was all overreaction LOL]

[As if Delbung would date a guy anyway…]

[My horn feels at peace now…]

[SILVER PUNCH! SILVER PUNCH! SILVER PUNCH! SILVER PUNCH! SILVER PUNCH!]

The root cause of the fire—‘a guy’—was now gone.

With all the misunderstandings cleared up, there was nothing left for the trolls to latch onto.

“It was all a misunderstanding. I am dating Raidel though.”

“Si-Silver?”

[LOL she just went with it]

[For real LOL]

[Even Antarctica’s melting now…]

[This is too sweet…]

[It’s so hot it’s 🔥🔥🔥]

[Mess with my Raidel and you’ll be polar bear meat.]

[LOLOLOLOL]

[We fully support this…]

[So this was the real cause of global warming LOL]

It was a joke I tossed out without thinking,

But seeing Raidel fluster and the chat explode—

The response wasn’t half bad.

In any case,

The chat that had been ready to burn Raidel over having a boyfriend was now squeaky clean.

Like a wildfire that had been extinguished by a torrential downpour.

“A-hem! Anyway, tonight’s content is the always-trustworthy Raidel karaoke stream—joined by Silver!”

Raidel wrangled the atmosphere back together.

“So, Silver, have you ever taken singing lessons?”

“No, I’ve never been formally taught.”

It’s not like I ever wanted to be a singer.

My only singing experience was a kindergarten talent show and a few karaoke nights with friends.

Obviously, I’d never trained seriously.

“Oh, that’s a shame. But lucky for you, I—Raidel—am pretty confident in my singing. How about learning a few tricks from me tonight?”

Raidel offered to coach me.

Not a bad idea. Doing something together felt better than just singing alone.

[???????]

[Where’s your conscience?]

[Raidel/scandal]

[Delbung sang and the upstairs neighbor came down.]

[Was it really that bad?]

But judging from chat,

Raidel’s singing didn’t have the best reputation.

[‘BabyPunch’ donated 2,000 won!]

– Fun fact: she did actually pay a vocal trainer LOL

[She basically threw money in the trash…]

[She’s the donation king of the year.]

[Why would she do that to herself…]

[Some things can’t be fixed with effort LOL]

“Hey, stop with the slander! I’m telling you, I’m really good. Even my vocal coach said I had talent!”

[Maybe they meant you’re good… at getting punched.]

[“I’ve got talent, right?” (grabs trainer by the collar)]

[“Um.”]

[That coach deserves hazard pay.]

“A-hem! Silver, please ignore them. They’re just trolling.”

Raidel chugged some water and started playing the karaoke backing track.

“I’ll go first. Watch closely—special move incoming!”

It was a pop song that had been trendy a few years ago.

An idol hit—popular and upbeat, perfect for hyping up a stream.

“Without this pain, nothing means anything~”

Raidel gave it her all, teeth clenched in determination.

Four minutes passed.

“Phew. So? Did you feel the emotion?”

[‘AaackAaack’ donated 1,000 won!]

– My cancer cells died listening to this. Thank you.

[Clap~]

[The one and only cure: Raidel.]

[She’s a miracle drug.]

[Though I might lose my hearing in the process.]

[‘HungryRabbit’ donated 1,000 won!]

– You tried your best. Cheers.

[For real, she gave it her all.]

[That vocal technique… never seen anything like it. (literally never)]

“Ah, this is slander squared! Silver, how was that? Doesn’t it qualify me to teach you?”

“…Silver?”

[LOLOLOLOL]

[She dipped LOL]

[We’re sorry!]

[COME BACK SILVER COME BACK SILVER COME BACK SILVER COME BACK]

“Oh, sorry! I got disconnected for a sec. I didn’t hear the song.”

“No way, the connection was fine…”

I was just kidding. The voice link was perfectly stable.

I was listening via the stream anyway—it wouldn’t have mattered if the line dropped.

‘She’s really putting in the effort.’

Raidel’s singing.

Honestly, I wouldn’t call it good.

It was more like an average person doing their best.

…To be precise, someone bad at singing doing their best.

‘But her voice isn’t bad.’

I could see why the chat reacted the way it did.

“A-hem. Then how about a duet this time? Join me, Silver?”

Raidel tossed it out like a challenge.

A duet.

Maybe she suggested it for my sake—since it was my first singing stream.

With two people singing, one could cover for the other’s mistakes.

“Name a song you know. I’ll follow your lead.”

“Hmm, a song I know…”

The world had changed, but luckily most music stayed the same. I could manage.

Still, I didn’t know that many songs.

All I’d ever done was scream-sing in karaoke with friends.

The only songs I remembered were some niche anime tracks and a few domestic hits.

Nothing that left a strong impression.

“How about this one?”

This song was one of those few that I remembered.

A friend who was into European bands had recommended it.

I memorized it under the guise of studying English.

The memory had faded over time, but when the collab came up, I brushed up on it just in case.

“Raidel, do you know this one?”

If not, I’d planned to sing solo.

Thankfully, Raidel nodded.

“Oh, I know it. I like that band too.”

[What even is that, you weeb.]

[You don’t know this band? What a casual.]

[It’s a good song, though.]

[Silver knows her music LOL]

“Alright, let’s go.”

A few clicks, and the instrumental began to play.

“Phew.”

The viewer count.

It had soared past Raidel’s usual 5,000 average and crossed 10,000.

Ten thousand.

A staggering number.

Just knowing that made me nervous.

‘But no one’s expecting greatness anyway.’

Relax.

It’s not like I was debuting as a singer.

Even if I bombed, no big deal.

I just needed to sing naturally—go with the flow.

“~♬”

As I thought that, Raidel started the first verse.

I followed, layering my voice over hers.

---

“Yaaaawn.”

In a studio in Bangbae-dong, Seoul—

Music producer Shin Chang-seok stared at his laptop with a bored look.

“Ugh, not a single voice I like.”

“Hyung, again with that? There are tons of good singers out there right now.”

Next to him, Kim Seok-hoon handed him a packet of instant coffee.

Chang-seok sipped it, then frowned.

“Seok-hoon. Didn’t I say two packets? It’s too weak with just one.”

He got up and added another packet, bringing it to his preferred sweetness.

“There are lots of technically skilled singers out there. K-pop’s huge, so plenty of kids get vocal training from a young age. But…”

Satisfied with the sugar level, he continued.

‘What kind of nonsense is that…’

Seok-hoon grimaced.

As someone who analyzed music strictly by data, Shin Chang-seok’s vague musings annoyed him.

Either someone could sing or they couldn’t.

If not for Chang-seok’s long list of hit songs, he’d have dismissed him outright.

He didn’t understand the criteria, but he couldn’t ignore the results.

“So what are you watching now?”

“Oh, this? I’ve been checking out online streams lately.”

On his laptop was a Forest TV stream.

“Raidel, I think? Must be popular. Singing stream with over 10,000 viewers.”

Thanks to all the attention, Raidel’s stream had jumped to the top ranks.

As a music producer, he naturally clicked on singing streams—and this one caught his eye.

“Hmm. Only one person on screen, but it sounds like a duet?”

“She’s cute.”

“Yeah. Pretty. But I only care about the voice.”

Chang-seok replied dryly to the comment about visuals.

To him, the voice was all that mattered.

‘I doubt it’ll be impressive.’

He didn’t expect much from amateurs.

He was just watching to kill time.

And then—

After Raidel’s voice faded,

Seo-yeon’s singing began.

---

TL Note:

• “Heueung” is an onomatopoeic whimper often used in chat to express cute or overwhelmed reactions, especially in a joking or affectionate way. It’s often repeated for effect.
• “Delbung” is a play on Raidel’s name, commonly used by her fans as a nickname in chat.
• “펀치” (punch) spammed in chat is a playful way of cheering someone on or expressing overwhelming affection (like “Silver Punch!”).