Chapter 86: There is no success without failure

On a spring day so warm it felt hot.

Jina, as promised, was making Summer’s music video.

The work was progressing very smoothly.

Taking a sip of cool iced Americano jjo-op.

Repeatedly listening to Summer’s refreshing song.

Humming hmm hmm and creating a ‘world’ on the monitor; this process was incredibly enjoyable.

In the world Jina created.

A glamorous avatar with red hair moved her lips, moving her body softly and cheerfully.

The dazzling lights filling the stage and the vibrant camera direction harmonized with Summer’s voice, creating a brilliant scene.

“Maybe I should have just said I’d make both songs.”

Jina inspected the result with a satisfied expression.

She slowly played the video at 0.25x speed, meticulously catching every flaw.

As the final frame of the music video froze on the screen, Jina took a light breath and leaned back deeply into her chair.

“Phew… This isn’t bad.”

The completion of the music video was later than expected.

It was because the production of the horror game for Spring and Winter’s penalty content took longer than anticipated.

In the meantime, ‘Because I Hate Seeing You Hurt’, better known by its nickname, the Yoo Da-hee tribute song, had already settled in the top 10.

The music video, constructed based on Summer’s broadcast highlights, also trended, gaining momentum for another rise in the rankings.

On the other hand, the other song, ‘Summertime’, had no promotional activities after its release, so its ranking gradually dropped, and now even entering the chart was precarious.

But if the music video Jina made was uploaded to YouTube, the ranking would naturally rebound.

The video’s quality was that outstanding.

Jina closed her eyes to rest for a moment, then suddenly remembered the smartphone left neglected on one side of the desk.

Since silent mode was the default, it was difficult to pay attention to it while working.

“What, I got a call.”

Checking the smartphone screen, a message from Youngjun caught her eye.

[Jina, please give me a call when you have time.]

‘A concise and calm message, just like Youngjun,’ she thought.

Coincidentally, she needed to inform him that the music video production was complete anyway.

Jina leaned over the desk and leisurely tapped the screen to call Youngjun.

After a short ringing tone, a familiar voice was heard.

[Yes, Jina-nim. I’ve been waiting.]

“I saw the message late. I was working until just a moment ago.”

[Haha. I thought so. Is it okay to talk now then?]

“Yes, I just finished working on Summer-nim’s music video.”

At Jina’s words, oh- a short exclamation of admiration burst out.

[Actually, Summer kept asking about it.]

“I’ve unnecessarily bothered Youngjun. Summer too, really, she could have just asked me directly since she has my number.”

[I told her that too, but she said she didn’t want to disturb Mama. She clearly just wanted to bother me.]

“She must have waited a lot. Then I’ll send it over right away.”

After briefly exchanging pleasantries, just as Jina was about to end the call.

[Ah, Jina. By any chance, have you received any contact from Nise Live?]

Youngjun suddenly brought it up cautiously.

“No? Did something come?”

When the name Nise Live came up, Jina slightly raised an eyebrow.

[Actually… I received a call from Nise Live a few days ago. They said they wanted to schedule a meeting with Jina-nim regarding work.]

If he had his way, he wanted to hide this fact.

But the other party was unusually persistent.

Even if Youngjun interfered in the middle, they would surely find a way to contact Jina somehow.

Also, Jina wasn’t Cosmo Live’s exclusive designer but a freelancer.

Blocking work that should go to Jina would be, rather, a disservice.

“…Thank you for letting me know. I’ll check my email.”

Leaving behind Youngjun’s voice, tinged with caution and regret, Jina ended the call and opened her mailbox.

The mailbox, which she only checked when someone (mostly Youngjun) told her to, showed 999+ today as well.

Searching for the keyword ‘Nise Live’, she could confirm an email from the Korean branch manager.

It stated they hoped Jina would take on a project currently in preparation and wished to schedule a meeting as soon as possible for discussion.

“Wow~ I’ve really grown. Even getting a love call from Nise Live.”

…But why?

The thought that it was a very attractive offer didn’t particularly occur to her.

When she first received an offer from Cosmo Live, a company so small it couldn’t compare to Nise Live, she remembered being very happy…

“Well, back then I was worried about making a living.”

At that time, she couldn’t afford to be picky about work.

Now, she’s in a situation where she can choose her work freely.

And honestly.

Nise Live’s request is ‘not particularly appealing’ work.

“Big corporations usually have incredibly tight work processes.”

Thinking about the collaboration with Prierose Lingerie still makes her head throb.

She had definitely attended the first meeting with a prototype already completed, thinking she could make easy money.

“There were too many trivial requirements.”

As expected of a well-known company, they nitpicked over every little thing and were very demanding.

For Jina, it was extremely troublesome and difficult work.

“Cosmo Live is definitely the easiest to work with.”

But separate from that tiredness, collaborating with Nise Live was certainly an opportunity too good to miss.

The origin of VTubers.

The empire of VTubers.

For Jina, a VTuber enthusiast and connoisseur, Nise Live is a company she definitely wants to work with at least once.

“Should I just meet them once…”

Jina muttered while clicking the reply button.

---

‘Nise Live, huh…’

She thought a day like this would come eventually.

With Jina’s skills, not only domestically but also famous large corporations and research institutes overseas would be drooling over her.

Still, since Jina is someone deeply into VTubers, she had a conviction, albeit an unconfirmed one, that she wouldn’t be easily swayed by ordinary love calls…

But as fate would have it, Nise Live, the strongest player in the same industry, began to seriously target Jina.

‘They’ll definitely try to tie Jina down with an exclusive contract.’

He wants to hold on somehow, but there’s no way.

Honestly, what Cosmo Live can do for Jina is limited.

Considering only tangible benefits like financial compensation or contract terms, Cosmo Live could never compete with Nise Live.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could just stand by and let Jina leave.

Youngjun let out a short breath, got up from his seat, and headed to the president’s office.

Reaching the door and knocking lightly, Daon’s characteristic bright voice returned.

“Come in, Jjun.”

As Youngjun entered the office, Daon looked away from the monitor and looked at him over his blue light-blocking glasses.

“What’s wrong? You look serious.”

Youngjun closed the door and slowly sat down in the chair.

“President, it seems Nise Live is trying to contact Jina.”

“Nise Live?”

Daon’s expression hardened slightly.

Daon knew better than anyone the weight and meaning that name carried.

“Well, I thought it was about time they contacted Jina. It even feels quite late.”

“They’re a large corporation. Because they’re big, they couldn’t move rashly.”

“Anyway… so?”

“It seems the branch manager’s side is proposing a meeting. Starting with this, they’ll likely expand their collaboration with Jina-nim.”

Daon took off his glasses, placed them on the desk, and pressed his temples.

A short silence flowed, and she quietly sighed and asked.

“Jjun, so what do you want to do?”

“Naturally, I want Jina-nim to continue working with us as she does now. But…”

“Strictly speaking, Jina is a freelancer. Of course, very gratefully, she’s working as if she’s exclusive.”

“I know it’s difficult to hold on. Realistically, we won’t be able to offer more than the terms Nise Live presents. But…”

“But?”

Youngjun paused for a moment, choosing his words, then spoke again.

“…We have to try somehow.”

“So you’re going to appeal to emotion in the end?”

There was no sarcastic tone in Daon’s voice.

In a crisis, she shed her playfulness and recognized the problem more realistically than anyone else; her characteristic composure was felt.

“I don’t think it’s entirely impossible. For Jina, when choosing work, money isn’t the top priority.”

“Of course, we can guarantee Jina freedom. But wouldn’t Nise Live offer Jina-ssi more ‘interesting work’?”

“…”

Daon’s gaze briefly drifted to a distant place.

At the end of his sight, tall buildings were visible beyond the glass window.

“Remember? Our 1st generation kids.”

“…How could I forget. I graduated them with my own hands.”

The splendid debut of the 3rd generation.

The solid popularity of the 2nd generation.

Before that, there was the unfortunate struggle of the 1st generation ‘Nova’.

“Both were really talented kids…”

As Daon said, the potential was certain.

One debuted as a late-blooming actor and won the rookie award that year.

The other… was reincarnated as the ace of Nise Live’s 3rd generation.

“I was very lacking. Cosmo Live was also very insufficient to care for them. In the end, I had no choice but to let them go…”

At that time, both Daon and Cosmo Live were busy surviving day by day.

There was no capacity to look towards tomorrow.

However.

“If it’s us now, we can offer Jina ‘more interesting work’.”

Now, they could look towards tomorrow, next year, and even the more distant future.

They could now talk about ‘dreams’ in front of Jina.

“Even if we get snatched, we have to try holding on and clinging on. Don’t you think, Jjun?”