Chapter 5

 
There were many types of streamers in Wonderland.

Most notably, there were combat-focused streamers who cleared dungeons and raids with their exceptional physical skills.

Then, there were life-skill streamers, whose content revolved around activities like fishing, gathering, and building houses.

And finally, there were “Just Chatting” streamers, whose main focus was simply talking with their viewers.

If one had to categorize Pengkun, it would be most accurate to call him an eccentric streamer who engaged in bizarre antics.

For example, he only played unconventional classes or went fishing in lava just to see what lived beneath a volcano.

The community often referred to him as:

– Pengkun, why do you waste your good mechanics on attention-seeking stunts?

– Honestly, if he focused on one character properly, he could’ve been a top-ranked player by now.

It was pure coincidence that Pengkun stumbled upon Yuhyeon in Hemona Village.

He had created an alt character to try out the unconventional Magical Archer class and happened to witness an event taking place in the village.

“Time to raise a Magical Archer, let’s go!”

His original plan was to take a quick look, and if nothing seemed interesting, he’d go back to leveling his character.

But the moment he saw Yuhyeon, Pengkun scrapped his plan entirely.

‘If I follow that guy, something’s bound to happen.’

And so, he decided to tail Yuhyeon.

Pengkun had built his 400,000-subscriber base through all sorts of eccentric antics, and his ‘hit content sensor’ was going off like crazy.

“Guys, got any good ideas? Think it through and help me out.”

– LOL, why are you asking us?

– Hmm… but you didn’t even friend him. How are you gonna find him? You don’t even know when he logs in.

Pengkun narrowed his eyes as he stared at the chat.

‘Hmm.’

They were right. He hadn’t added Yuhyeon as a friend, nor had they agreed on a meeting place before logging off.

In fact, when Yuhyeon had logged out, he had said:

“If I get the chance later, I’ll definitely participate.”

From that response, it was impossible to tell whether he would even log back in.

Logically speaking, the chances of running into him again were slim.

‘He’s too good to let slip through my fingers, though…’

As Pengkun fell into deep thought, the chat buzzed with activity.

– I just joined. Why is this guy just standing there?

– Our streamer saw a crazy good musician at the event just now and wants to meet him, but he doesn’t even have a way to contact the guy.

– Dude, are you writing a novel in chat?!

– Mods, ban this long-winded guy.

Just as the energy in the stream started to dip, a loud notification sound rang out, followed by a video donation.

[ ‘WingChickenWingChiki’ has donated 5,000 won. ]

– A legendary performance from the beginner village (video attached)

‘Nice timing.’

Wonderland’s streaming platform had a video donation feature that allowed viewers to send clips along with donations.

The video contained footage of Yuhyeon’s incredible performance from earlier.

A viewer had clipped the moment and sent it over within minutes.

“Wow… even watching it again, this is insane.”

Pengkun unconsciously gaped at the screen as he watched Yuhyeon play.

Ding.

Thunk!

Flawless execution. Impeccable expression. Dynamic energy.

No matter how he looked at it, this level of performance didn’t make sense—especially not in a beginner village.

The viewers were just as baffled.

– Holy crap, I just saw this. What even is this?

– It was crazy live, but rewatching it now? Still insane.

For a beginner with no class buffs to pull this off? It was impossible.

“You guys remember I once leveled a Bard to 50, right?”

Pengkun had played all sorts of classes before, including Bard.

– Oh, the flute murderer (physical)

– Yeah, I remember when you refused to put points into combat skills and just smacked slimes to death with basic attacks, lol.

“Bard skills eat up an insane amount of skill points. To get a performance this polished, you’d need at least Level 3 in Music.”

In Wonderland, players generally followed an established skill point distribution until they reached Level 10:

Two attack skills, one support skill, and one passive.

Even with this standard build, all 10 skill points would be used up.

Similarly, to raise Music to Level 3, a player would need to invest all 10 of their available skill points.

Meaning… this player had completely sacrificed combat ability in favor of music.

[ ‘Hamdin’ has donated 10,000 won. ]

– Wait… something’s off. Wouldn’t that mean a tie is the best they could achieve?

And that’s where the problem arose.

A Level 3 Music user should have, at best, tied with another player.

But Yuhyeon had won.

That was impossible. A tie would have made sense, but a victory? No way.

– Maybe that guy leveled up Music to Level 4 or higher?

– Nah, impossible. The cap at Level 10 is 3.

– Wait… then what the hell is going on?!

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

“I have a friend who’s a high-level Bard working as a Royal Musician. That guy’s performance just now? It was on par with theirs.”

One of Pengkun’s acquaintances was a veteran Bard employed at the royal court.

And their skill level? Music Level 7.

“In other words, that guy is at least Level 7 in Music… but this is a beginner village. You can’t hide your level here.”

Which mean…

There’s only one possible explanation.

[ ‘Hamdin’ has donated 10,000 won. ]

– Could it be that he played it himself instead of using a skill?

If what the viewers were saying was true, all he had to do was play it himself—without using any skills.

“Yes, probably.”

– He really played that himself?

– Wow, insane Σ(°ロ°)

– But does that even make sense? I heard that from level 6, he’s already at a professional level in real life.

“Technically, level 6 is professional level. From level 7 onward, you’re considered a master, even in real life,” Pengkun spoke with an incredulous expression.

“If he really played that himself… that means he’s at the level of a renowned pianist in real life.”

– ?!

– Holy—

– ??

– LOL, this is insane.

The chat exploded with shock.

This was exactly why Pengkun couldn’t let go of his curiosity about Yuhyeon.

If he had the skills of a master-level pianist, who was he really? What kind of secret was he hiding?

“Now do you all understand why I’m trying to find that player?”

– This guy is a broadcasting genius, LOL.

– Damn, gotta like this first.

But the question remained—how was he going to meet him?

[ ‘C2C’ has donated 5,000 KRW. ]

– Okay, we get it~~ So how are you gonna find him~~?

– Yeah, seriously. You didn’t even friend him. How are you gonna meet?

– Do you even have a realistic plan?

Pengkun glanced at the chat and smirked.

“Come on, don’t underestimate me.”

If something seemed impossible, make it possible. If something seemed possible, ensure it happens.

That was the motto that had kept him afloat in this brutal industry for years.

He had already found a way.

“You think I wouldn’t have a plan with my years of streaming experience?”

Pengkun flashed a confident grin.

“I already have a way to find him.”

*  *  *

“Whew.”

Yuhyeon pulled off his VR goggles and sat up.

He had been so immersed that his entire body was drenched in sweat.

Whether it was a side effect of playing VR for the first time or just the intensity of the experience, he felt slightly dizzy.

[ ※ First logout may cause mild dizziness. Please rest sufficiently before exiting the capsule. ]

His hands trembled as he reached up to touch his ears.

He could still feel the keys beneath his fingertips. He could still hear the sound.

‘I heard it… and I played an instrument.’

Yuhyeon’s hands clenched into fists, his expression overcome with emotion. His palms were slick with sweat, as if trying to prove that everything had been real.

“Dizzy? I felt the same way my first time. Heh.”

Sangcheol had approached him at some point, resting his hand on Yuhyeon’s shoulder.

Yuhyeon looked up at him.

“Hyung, do you have any idea what just happened?”

“What, was it more fun than you expected?”

“It was more than just fun.”

“Heh, then what? Was it mind-blowing?”

Yuhyeon shook his head.

“No, I played the piano. And I heard the sound.”

“…You what? You heard the sound?”

Sangcheol froze on the spot. His expression looked like his brain had completely short-circuited.

“This is insane… It actually worked?!”

He suddenly burst out in excitement.

The impossible had actually happened.

“So that article was true! This is a miracle!”

Good thing he had read that article last night. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to even fathom such a possibility.

Yuhyeon tilted his head at Sangcheol’s baffled reaction.

“What are you talking about? Do you know something?”

Sangcheol, still in shock, barely managed to respond.

“I read an article a couple of days ago! There was this paralyzed guy in China—he couldn’t walk at all in real life, but in Wonderland, he was moving around freely. That’s why I brought you here today… just in case you’d be able to hear something.”

“That was a thing? But why didn’t you tell me?”

“If I told you and got your hopes up for nothing… what if I failed? The bigger the expectation, the greater the disappointment,” Sangcheol spoke in a cautious tone.

“Oh…”

Caught off guard by the unexpected response, Yuhyeon’s mouth fell open.

It made perfect sense. If he had heard about it and then failed, the despair would have been even worse.

‘So that’s why he was so insistent on dragging me there…’

Thinking about it now, he could finally understand Sangcheol’s attitude from a few hours ago.

How he had stubbornly insisted on buying him a meal, determined to get him to go.

And yet, completely unaware of his intentions, Yuhyeon had just been running his mouth…

“Hyung…”

“There you go again. Is that what matters right now? You said you could hear sounds!”

Just as Yuhyeon was about to get sentimental again, Sangcheol suddenly pulled him into a tight hug.

“Holyshit, congrats, man! You actually did it!”

“Hyung!”

The two shared a tear-jerking, emotional embrace.

After watching them for a while, a staff member cautiously approached and spoke hesitantly, “Um, excuse me, but there are other customers, so if you could keep it down a little…”

“Ah, sorry about that. Let’s take this outside.”

Leaving the capsule room, Sangcheol and Yuhyeon grabbed a few cans of beer and sat under the convenience store parasol.

Psshhk—

“So, what happened? Spill it already.”

“Well, I logged into the game…”

Yuhyeon told Sangcheol everything, down to the last detail.

From the moment he first heard sound, to skipping the scarecrow battle and heading straight to the plaza, to participating in the event and even getting an offer to perform from an NPC.

At first, Sangcheol listened with intrigue, but as the story went on, his expression slowly turned into one of sheer disbelief.

“Are you serious?! You won that event?”

As a fellow Wonderland player, Sangcheol was well aware of the Hemona Village event.

“I thought that was just for show? Who the hell would actually put three points into performance at the start of the game? People were saying that’d be crazy.”

“Everyone keeps saying that. Is investing in a performance skill that early really that unthinkable?”

“Of course! It’s basically giving up on combat completely. If you can’t hunt, you can’t level up, and that makes it hard to keep up with content. No one in their right mind would do that.”

“Then why not just play without putting points into the skill?”

Yuhyeon tilted his head, confused.

“You can do it because you already know how to play the piano. But for the average person, that’s not an option. Everyone watching was probably thinking the same thing.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“But damn, what a waste. You just walked away from 50 gold? Do you know how long I had to grind to make that much…?”

Sangcheol was genuinely frustrated that Yuhyeon had logged out before claiming his event reward.

It wasn’t just about the money—events like that could lead to unpredictable, game-changing opportunities.

Like hidden quests or special rewards. He had just thrown away a golden chance.

But Yuhyeon’s response was impossibly nonchalant.

“Who said I gave up? Of course I’m going back to get it. Do you have any idea how much 500,000 won is?”

There was no way he was letting that money slip away, not when every cent mattered.

But more than that, there was something even more important.

“If I go back, I can hear again. I can play music. Nothing matters more than that,” Yuhyeon smiled brightly as he spoke.

“Hyung, when are you free again? Let’s go to the capsule room together. My payment comes in next month, so it’s my treat then.”

“Pfft, is that so? Then I’ll cover you one more time this week. How about the day after tomorrow?”

Seeing Yuhyeon so genuinely happy put Sangcheol in a good mood as well.

And if his family-like little brother was happy, treating him to a few extra sessions at the capsule room was nothing.

“R-really? Then, let’s do it!”

“Yeah, man. Once you get that 50 gold, you can cover the next one.”

“Hyung…! Thanks a lot; I mean it!”

*  *  *

“Alright, here we go.”

Back home, Yuhyeon immediately sat in front of his computer.

Since he had left it on, the screen still displayed the project file he had been working on.

[ Sumare Fashion Show Runway Music (Rev)(Rev)(Rev)(Rev)(Rev).cpr ]

The repeated “(Rev)” in the filename stood out—it meant he had revised this piece more than six times already.

Normally, he would’ve felt overwhelmed just looking at it.

But now, something was different.

He felt lighter.

‘This feels good. I think I can actually finish this.’

Like something had suddenly clicked, unlocking a flood of inspiration.

There were plenty of possible reasons.

Hearing sound again in the game, playing the piano, listening to his own performance.

The deadline was only a few hours away.

He needed to focus and finish as quickly as possible.

With that in mind, Yuhyeon lightly pressed a key on his keyboard.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Ding—

At that very moment, Yuhyeon’s eyes widened in shock.

‘Wait…?’

Is it because I’ve just played the piano?

Or because I’ve regained my hearing in the game?

‘The sound is in my head…!’

Inside his mind, the notes from the keys replayed vividly, as if he were hearing them for real.
 

To be continued

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