Chapter 69 : Reach the Ends of the Sky (6)

“Hmmm… How about adding a bit more emotion before the chorus kicks in?”

The rooftop of the goshiwon, which had now become somewhat familiar.

On an old plastic desk in one corner of the rooftop,Yun Hayeon carefully made the suggestion while holding a pen over the music sheet.

But Yoo Seoyeno shook her head.

“No, I like it just the way it is.”

Her voice was firm, as if to stop the conversation.

“I can feel the flow perfectly right now… Adding or changing anything here might disrupt the emotional tone.”

She didn’t want to ruin the intense feeling she had when she first encountered the song.

It felt like adding something more to a picture that was already complete.

At this point, putting in more effort would likely be a negative rather than a positive.

Yun Hayeon fell into a brief moment of thought.

‘She may not seem to have professional knowledge…’

Yoo Seoyeno surprisingly had almost no musical knowledge.

But she was feeling the music, in a way.

Beyond theory and technique, there was an incredible intuition, as if she could see straight through the essence of the song.

She had an instinctive sense about it.

‘Well… even though I made this song, it really fits Seoyeon’s voice perfectly.’

Yun Hayeon nodded quietly.

“Okay, I understand. Then, as Seoyeno says, we won’t rearrange anything and stick with it as is.”

Instead of the small regret as a composer, it felt right to respect the opinion of the person who would express the song most perfectly.

Instead, she decided to focus on another part.

“By the way, Seoyeno, the mood and emotional expression… are really beyond what I imagined. It’s almost awe-inspiring.”

At least in music, Yun Hayeon was not one to hide her feelings.

She sincerely offered her praise.

“However… if your vocal power were just a little bit stronger, I think it would have even more impact when you sing other songs.”

It was a cautious suggestion.

Although Yoo Seoyeno’s voice was clear and pure,There were times when it felt like her voice lacked the power to express an explosive climax.

“The natural tone of your voice is so good that it’s not a big issue…”

In fact, the mood was the most important element in this song.

Volume and vocal strength weren’t that critical.

It was more important to sing delicately and with control, rather than forcefully.

However, she wouldn’t be singing only gentle songs her whole life.

To broaden her musical spectrum, a bit of training was necessary.

‘Such a talented person… it would be a shame to just leave it as is.’

Apart from this concert, Yun Hayeon wanted to refine the raw gem that was Yoo Seoyeno.

Of course, there were many vocalists far more talented than her, but Yun Hayeon believed she could at least teach her the basics.

Yun Hayeon smiled faintly and spoke.

“Have you ever tried diaphragmatic breathing? It’s basic, but if you get it right, your voice will become much more stable and powerful.”

At her suggestion, Yoo Seoyeno blinked in surprise.

‘I know about danjeon breathing.’

She had read about it in martial arts novels.

When you gather your energy and circulate it through your body, not only do you grow stronger, but your ailments also heal, and even your hair grows back.

“I’ve only heard the name before…”

Thanks to martial arts novels, she had heard of diaphragmatic breathing.

However, she wasn’t quite sure how it was done.

Wasn’t it just breathing deeply into your lower abdomen?

She didn’t quite understand what it had to do with singing.

“Alright, focus on your lower abdomen… take a deep breath in… and slowly exhale…”

Under Yun Hayeon’s simple demonstration and guidance, Yoo Seoyeno began her diaphragmatic breathing training.

But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

“Heh… Heh… This… is harder than I thought.”

Yoo Seoyeno, out of breath, said while panting.

It was clear that she wasn’t used to exercising at all.

There was nothing she could do. 

In the past, she had exercised just to survive.

Now, her body had become so healthy that she didn’t need to exercise at all.

She didn’t gain weight, and everything she ate was digested easily.

She didn’t suffer from minor ailments either.

Her body was perfectly optimized for a hikikomori lifestyle.

Because of that, she didn’t really feel the need to exercise.

Of course, just because she was healthy didn’t mean her stamina was strong.

Whenever she tried to do something physically demanding, she would quickly get out of breath… like now.

“Hehe. So there’s something you can’t do, Seoyeno.”

She always seemed so comfortable when singing, but she looked somewhat cute as she struggled with basic vocal exercises.

Yun Hayeon smiled slightly and slowly instructed her again.

“Everyone starts like this. If you keep at it, you’ll get used to it in no time.”

As Yun Hayeon took a brief pause to catch her breath, she suddenly asked, curious.

“By the way, Seoyeno, are you really only going to sing this one song at the concert?”

Typically, for a concert stage, it was common to prepare at least two or three songs.

Especially since this song had a calm, soothing vibe. 

While it perfectly matched Yoo Seoyeno’s voice, compared to more intense songs, it inevitably lacked impact.

If she was a streamer-in-training, it might be better to sing a more attention-grabbing song.

Yoo Seoyeno nodded.

“Yes. Since there will be many streamers participating, each person’s time on stage won’t be very long. I’ll probably only be able to sing two or three songs at most…”

It wasn’t even a personal concert, and there wasn’t a setting to sing multiple songs.

And above all,”This one song is enough. Rather than mixing in other songs halfway, I think it’s better to focus all on this one song.”

She didn’t have the energy to prepare another song, but more than that, she had confidence in this song.

It was a good song.

She didn’t need another one.

Hearing Yoo Seoyeno’s words, Yun Hayeon felt her heart tighten with emotion.

This song, which almost never saw the light of day, was now being cherished by this girl, who was genuinely trying to create the best stage.

Yun Hayeon smiled softly and whispered quietly.

“Thank you, Seoyeno.”

***

That evening, after the day of abdominal torture.

Having finished preparing for bed, and diving into her bed, her true sanctuary, her phone vibrated with a cheerful notification sound, and a small popup appeared on the screen.

[Soopjijik]

Yoo Seoyeno’s eyes widened slightly.

It was a message notification from the operator.

She pressed her finger to the screen, and a simple message appeared.

[Seoyeno Yoo’s Broadcast Review Results]

[Final approval has been completed. Congratulations!]

[Unless there are disqualifying reasons, your broadcast can begin at the time below.]

[Broadcast start time is…….]

“……!”

Yoo Seoyeno unconsciously held her breath.

It was almost as if it had been timed perfectly—she would be able to start broadcasting exactly on the day of the finale concert.

“…It’s done.”

She muttered quietly to herself.

She had applied for a review to start broadcasting, but there had been no response.

She wondered if they had forgotten, and had asked several times, but only received automated replies saying that the review was in progress.

Finally, she could start broadcasting.

Without realizing it, her small fist clenched tightly.

‘But, the broadcast starts exactly on the concert day?’

It felt a little too coincidental to be just a simple accident.

‘It’s too artificial.’

Of course, it could truly be a coincidence.

She couldn’t think of any specific reason why the broadcast would be allowed to start exactly on that day.

‘Well, it probably doesn’t matter.’

For now, she needed to share the news that the broadcast approval had come through.

She had to tell the person who needed to know first.

She sent a message to Rydel – Kim Hayun, and not long after, her phone rang again.

“Seoyeno! Congratulations! You passed the review?”

Kim Hayun’s excited voice came through the phone.

“Yes, I just confirmed it.”

Yoo Seoyeno replied calmly.

“Wow, that’s amazing! How did it happen that the approval came just in time for the concert date? I heard the approval process has been taking forever lately because of all the applications piling up!”

Kim Hayun was buzzing with excitement.

Right now, there were a lot of issues related to the Pixel Wars streamer server.

She knew that new streamer applications had been closed.

As a mid-level internet broadcaster, she could easily hear such news even if she didn’t pay close attention.

So, Yoo Seoyeon’s debut was supposed to be after this server issue was settled.

But for some reason, her approval came through during the busiest time.

However, she also didn’t know exactly why that happened.

‘Well, as long as it’s good, it’s all fine.’

It wasn’t bad that it happened early.

“So! You’re going to start broadcasting right on that day, right? The first broadcast should be spectacular, with the concert stage and everything, right?”

Her tone seemed to imply the answer was already obvious.

“Yes. I think… it’s best to start then.”

‘There’s no real reason to delay.’

Yoo Seoyeno added quietly.

“If I had known, I should have at least made a VTuber model in advance.”

“That can be done slowly later!”

Kim Hayun’s voice became even more lively.

“As you prepare for your broadcast, feel free to ask me anything you’re unsure about. Oh, and…”

Kim Hayun seemed to remember something.

“Actually, I was going to call you about this. Have you seen the lineup and schedule for this concert?”

“I know who’s performing, but I’m not sure about the order yet…”

The lineup had already been announced a while ago.

Since several invited singers were already known, they’d made the announcement early for promotional purposes.

But the performance order hadn’t been decided yet.

‘I think I’ll probably be on in the middle.’

There weren’t many places for her to stand among the popular streamers who were known for being professional vocalists or for their singing.

So she thought it would be best to perform in the early or middle part of the show.

However, Kim Hayun said something completely unexpected.

“Seoyeno, your turn is the finale stage of this concert!”