Chapter 7
[Viewers: 62,390]
Out of the corner of my vision, I saw the viewer count rising rapidly.
But right now—
The stage was what mattered.
I lowered my gaze slightly.
People.
My breath caught.
The reactions that would come later.
The reactions right now.
What the audience was thinking.
The whispers afterward.
Cold stares.
Careless comments.
Irresponsible words.
Regret that would come too late.
As those thoughts flooded in, my mind went blank.
I needed to keep the rhythm—
I was still singing out of habit, but at this rate, the performance would fall apart.
Not just the performance—
Everything that followed it, too.
“Look at how bad he sings lol.”
“So confident, but he sucks.”
Those words echoed in my head.
I shut my eyes tightly.
Darkness.
Stop thinking.
There was no room for distractions.
On stage—
I had to be nothing but an artist focused on the performance.
Right now—
Just sing.
I repeated that to myself.
“Step lightly over the threshold before your eyes.”
Maybe it was because of the VR—
But it felt like I was really on stage.
The heat.
The cheers.
The excitement.
The thrill of showing what I had prepared.
Everything felt vivid.
Even more than when I recorded the song—
I was immersed.
No—
Not immersed.
I realized this was real.
“Fragile dandelion, sing.”
My voice moved smoothly.
High notes came easily.
The perfect control of tone and breath—
It was exhilarating.
Even though I was just singing alone in my room—
It felt electrifying.
“Scatter your seeds.”
Something inside me—
Something that had been numb—
Awakened.
That feeling I had only remembered in my head—
The one I missed—
“Scatter your dreams.”
I realized I was smiling.
This was fun.
I was enjoying the stage.
“Let’s go!”
Ah—
This is fun.
When did I start being afraid of this?
“Beyond that blue sky—!”
This overwhelming high—
How could I ever forget it?
“I’m going to the world!”
No matter what happens later—
Isn’t this enough?
That I’m enjoying this moment?
I focused only on the song.
And then—
I realized something.
I was singing better than I ever had as an idol.
Even without training.
Even without practice.
Maybe—
Back then—
I cared too much about others’ reactions.
Of course, it’s normal to care—
But as an idol, every reaction had controlled me.
It had been exhausting.
“Sing louder.”
“Beyond the sky, beyond the universe.”
“Let your voice reach the end.”
As I finished the last line—
I knew.
It was perfect.
I brushed back my messy bangs.
“…Thank you.”
The applause—
Didn’t sound mechanical.
It sounded real.
And somehow—
That felt good.
[Viewers: 238,912]
“…Wait, when did it…”
It had been under 50,000 just moments ago.
The host walked toward me.
“Wow. SN1054, what was that performance? That was incredible! The song title is—”
“Supernova Remnant.”
“The lyrics match the title perfectly. It really touched something deep. That was amazing!”
“Thank you.”
“Everyone enjoyed that, right? Sadly, that concludes today’s concert.”
The audience jumped around, expressing disappointment.
Now that it was over—
My hands started trembling again.
“Please give us a closing message!”
A closing message…
I thought for a moment.
“Thank you to everyone who listened at this late hour. And thank you to the organizers for giving me this opportunity. I hope this song gives you positive energy… and that you have a good night.”
“Wow, that was great. We didn’t even ask for a closing message! Thank you. Lastly, what are your plans after this?”
“…I think I’ll eat. I skipped dinner.”
“Haha! A true Korean answer! Then we’ll let you go eat.”
The host wrapped things up smoothly.
I bowed and walked off the stage.
I couldn’t even process what was happening.
And just like that—
The concert ended.
But the world remained open.
People stayed behind, chatting.
I had no reason to stay.
I turned off the computer.
“…That was fun.”
* * *
[Update: Music Cloud concert everyone thought would flop.]
—Peak viewers: 230,000
“Massive success lol.”
Clips spread everywhere.
“This song is amazing… I’ve watched it so many times.”
(Video of a default avatar singing)
—“This reminds me of you.”
—“You have to listen to this.”
“Who is SN1054?”
—“No info lol.”
—“Anyone know?”
“What about the ‘Stranger’ singer?”
—“Search Leo on Music Cloud.”
[Who is SN1054?]
—“Probably Nebula”
—“That’s a stretch.”
—“Nebula isn’t even that big.”
—“Nebula is performing too; SN1054 is likely him.”
[Why SN1054 = Nebula]
“The singing style is the same.
The composition style too—it’s like a fingerprint.
“Nebula” means “nebula.”
SN1054 is a supernova that created the Crab Nebula.
The song title is Supernova Remnant.
It’s obvious lol.”
—“Nice imagination”
—“You’re not a musician lol.”
—“Stop making things up.”
Meanwhile—
The uploaded songs spread rapidly.
- Supernova Remnant — 2.85 million views
- Stranger — 1.07 million views
No song surpassed Supernova Remnant.
Naturally—
All attention focused on SN1054.
Even celebrities mentioned it.
“I’ve been listening to Supernova Remnant lately—it’s really good!”
While all of this was happening—
I was eating meat.
“…This is good.”
After the performance, my condition had improved.
I could eat properly again.
“Want some fruit?”
“No, I’m full.”
“Keep it up.”
“…Okay.”
I sat at my computer.
For some reason—
I felt light.
Like I could make better music.
I even talked more with my mother.
Maybe—
I was getting better.
I opened Music Cloud.
The concert songs filled the trending page.
“…That ‘Stranger’ song was good.”
Sure enough—
It was ranked #1.
My song wasn’t there.
Because I hadn’t uploaded it.
“…Should I make a new account?”
Or just upload it under Nebula?
I watched my performance clip on YouTube.
“…That’s kind of embarrassing.”
In the end—
I made a new account.
SN1054 – 0 subscribers
[No uploads]
A blank channel.
I uploaded Supernova Remnant.
No cover.
Just the audio.
Then—
I started composing again.
Not a new song—
Just recreating an old one.
But still—
I felt good.
Maybe I’d win at least a popularity award.
I kind of wanted those virtual instruments.
About 10 days left.
Enough time for two songs.
I refined one—
And uploaded it to Nebula.
[Falling Star]
—“A star is falling. Your star is falling toward me.”
After uploading—
I turned off email notifications.
I wanted to sleep peacefully.
Except—
For one person.
JUN.
I was curious—
What they would say about this song.
