chapter_0104

104 – A Big One Has Come

104 – A Big One Has Come

Here is the English translation of the provided Japanese novel excerpt:

One day earlier.

Serena received a summons from her father, who had learned about her graduation.

Since they lived in the same house, the two met in the living room.

With snacks and warm tea prepared by her mother between them.

The father and daughter began their conversation in quite a tense atmosphere.

“Let’s go to college even now. Complete a master’s in business at a Seoul university, and I’ll make a position for you at the company so you can come learn the work. At 23, it’s not too late.”

Her father’s proposal was always the same.

That there were still many good paths for her, and she shouldn’t bother with something difficult like being an idol.

“Though it was a short experience, having worked in the industry will be very helpful. I think it’s a big gain that you’ve come to understand the mindset of artists. After all, in our work, the company and artists have to grow together.”

Serena chuckled.

If she had wanted to live an ordinary life, she would have grabbed the lifeline her father offered back when she was an idol trainee.

“I’m not going to quit being a VTuber. I appreciate that you always look out for me, Dad, but I still want to challenge myself on my own for now.”

“…You’re going to continue being a VTuber? Then why did you graduate? These days, even idol trainees have a hard time at your age.”

“Sheesh. Someone hearing that would think I’m totally over the hill.”

“That’s just the reality, the reality. These days there are many 13-year-old trainees.”

“Ugh.”

Slurp.

After taking a sip of warm coffee, Na Hyun-gon wiped the steam from his glasses.

“So. You’re going to be a VTuber again? Where are you planning to debut this time? The trending Parallel?”

Peeling an orange vigorously, Serena said:

“Yes. But not right away. I want to gain more experience on my own, and apply next year. I just won an award at an event too, so I have a title to boast about there.”

Na Hyun-gon clicked his tongue.

“For a while as an individual… Well, if you’re going to release songs, I can at least get you a decent label.”

“Ah, no thanks. I don’t need your help, Dad. I’ll handle everything on my own, so don’t worry about it.”

“Do you know how many people would love to receive even a teaspoon of the kindness I’m offering you?”

But Serena was stubborn too.

Even when she kept getting pushed back in the debut lineup due to rivals’ sabotage, she stayed quiet because she didn’t want to succeed riding on her father’s coattails.

“I know that! But I don’t want to be criticized as a parachute hire like that group operations team leader. He was a perfect example of what not to do, I tell you.”

“You certainly take after someone in your strong sense of independence.”

“Ahem.”

Though she grumbled, Serena still split the peeled orange in half and gave it to her father first.

“So. Why are you set on applying to Parallel? If you’re not going to work under me, why not try Batchu Batchu this time? It’s not like you can’t sing. Or that you lack broadcasting sense.”

“When you say it like that, it makes Parallel sound like a bad company.”

“I’m not saying the company is bad. Looking at how they’re rising lately, their growth is certainly noticeable. But from my position, they’ve only just taken their first steps. The company is still small.”

“They’ll grow quickly.”

“So, what makes you so confident about that? I’ve seen quite a few related reports too, but you probably know the practical side better since you’ve actually been a VTuber.”

Na Hyun-gon had some guesses.

Considering the CEO of Parallel had no business experience and came from a VTuber background, their growth rate and direction weren’t bad, but…

The steep increase in that slope seemed to be greatly influenced by one person recently.

“Is it because of that person? Majiya or something?”

“How did you know?”

“My daughter seems to forget what her father does for a living sometimes.”

“No, I know you’re well-known in the music industry, but it’s strange that you’d know about a manager at a small VTuber company…”

“It means our company is also interested in the VTuber pie.”

There have always been people aiming to be faceless artists, regardless of the era.

People who are afraid to stand in front of others as public figures, but love music too much to let it go.

In the past, to make these people into stars and put them on stage, they had to overcome stage fright through mental training.

But with the development of the internet and video media, ways to showcase musicality have increased.

Utaite, who captivate people by uploading videos with excellent singing skills on YouTube and elsewhere, are a prime example.

Recently, many of these utaite have been transitioning to become VTubers.

It was because they could maintain anonymity like before while also communicating with fans.

Who knew anonymity would be such an attractive factor?

Even people who were planning to debut as singers have changed course to become utaite and VTubers. With various experts flocking in, the VTuber industry has seen considerable rapid growth recently.

SB Entertainment, which had been neck and neck with CAT Entertainment in market share, has been ahead for the past 2 years?

It’s because they easily swallowed up the Korean VTuber market by joining hands with the battleship Batchu Batchu.

They were attracting related artists like a magnet with their first-mover advantage and the Batchu Batchu name.

That’s also why CAT Entertainment belatedly chose a partner to properly nurture…

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With Rapitz, who was being discussed as a candidate until recently, starting to get criticized for poor artist management, the opportunity had naturally almost passed to Parallel.

Meanwhile, as this person called Majiya kept standing out, Na Hyun-gon was trying to dig up information, but nothing much came up about their background or age, so he was curious too.

“Anyway, Dad is a bit curious about this Majiya person too. You do take after me in your eye for people.”

“Isn’t that too self-flattering?”

“It means Dad trusts you that much.”

Serena asked with a sulky expression:

“Hmm… Then I’ll try to set up a meeting. Do you want to talk to Jia directly?”

“Is that possible?”

“I’m actually best friends with Jia. Um, I found out her schedule thanks to a friend, but she won’t think it’s strange if I suddenly show up. Because we’re close.”

In truth, someone of Na Hyun-gon’s level could just lift a finger from where he sat if he wanted to confirm someone’s abilities.

But if his daughter was setting up the meeting, there was no reason not to go.

Even with data, there are things you can only know by seeing in person.

…Above all, isn’t it one of the few chances to go out with his daughter?

“Alright. Will you set up a meeting then?”

“Before that. I’ll show you a photo first. It would be troublesome if Dad was surprised by her appearance.”

“You know your father isn’t easily surprised, right?”

“That may be true, but look.”

Na Hyun-gon frowned as he looked at the photo of Serena and Majiya together at a cafe.

He seemed quite taken aback, as if wondering why there was an elementary school-aged girl standing there.

“I thought she’d be at least director level. This is… very different from what I expected.”

“Face value isn’t important, right?”

“That’s true. I was being narrow-minded.”

As Na Hyun-gon stroked his chin while looking at Majiya’s photo, Serena added another shock:

“By the way, she’s older than me. 24 years old.”

Back to the present, inside the meeting room at UTU Records.

[Na Hyun-gon]
[CAT Ent. / Chief A&R Producer]

Majiya was fiddling with the business card handed to her by the man said to be Serena’s father, unable to speak up rashly.

There are two suns in the domestic entertainment industry, named CAT and SB respectively.

And “Chief” uses the same letter C as CEO, COO, etc.

It means he’s the top in one field within the company.

She had expected that someday she might meet with record company representatives, but how could she have known such a final boss-level person would suddenly appear like this?

But if the other party has introduced themselves, you should introduce yourself too.

Fortunately, she had remembered to carry business cards after attending the year-end party recently, so Majiya immediately took out her own card and handed it over with a bow.

[Majiya]
[PARALLEL / Streaming Part Leader]

“Hello, I’m Majiya. Was my recording schedule moved up earlier because of Producer Na Hyun-gon’s request…?”

“That’s right. My daughter told me you had recording today, so I asked UTU for a favor. I know the CEO here, so I used a bit of a shortcut. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no no, not at all. If anything, I’m embarrassed that you came all the way here in person. If you had just sent an email, I would have visited your company.”

Not getting stiff and saying what she needs to say, +1 point.
Taking a humble attitude to make a good impression, but not groveling, +1 point.

Without even exchanging much conversation, Majiya quickly racked up likability points with Na Hyun-gon.

Lifting the corners of his mouth slightly, Na Hyun-gon said:

“There’s something I’d like to try with Parallel. As I mentioned earlier, I used this shortcut to build some evidence to persuade the CFO in advance. Thank you for understanding.”

“I’m grateful just for you reaching out, but what kind of proposal are you referring to?”

“Music production, of course. We’d like to directly work on songs for Parallel’s VTubers.”

“Ah.”

As soon as talk of the members’ activities came up, Majiya’s blue eyes sparkled.

“Do you mean all the songs from now on…?”

“Not that far.”

“Ah. Yes. Of course. I’m sorry. I got ahead of myself. But even one song would be great. What should I do?”

In Na Hyun-gon’s view, Majiya’s practical sense was already proven.

The growth indicators that started soaring after she came to the forefront of Parallel speak for themselves.

Basically, there were few mistakes at the broadcast operation stage, and the response speed and method in case of incidents were also clean.

However, she still seemed to lack a macroscopic perspective at the project, business, and company level.

It felt like she needed to learn more about business to take on a higher position.

Nevertheless, her sincere desire for the success of the affiliated artists was enough to move Na Hyun-gon’s heart.

There are hardly any superiors in the world who dislike subordinates who are both talented and passionate.

And her way of speaking was so pretty on top of that.

“I need evidence to persuade the other C-suite executives.”

“Evidence. It’s a matter of money. Though it’s an area I’m not very familiar with, I have heard from our CEO that you always need budget approval when making business plans.”

“I’m glad we understand each other well. Then you also know that to get approval for a large budget, you need clear, visible data, right?”

Majiya’s face lit up as she clasped her hands together.

“In other words, we need to start with a small contract and gradually show results to climb the stairs to a bigger contract. Simply put, you’re saying we should produce good results with this song first?”

“You understand perfectly. That’s right.”

“Um… But why are you telling me this instead of going to the CEO?”

“I wanted to check how involved Jia-ssi is in Parallel’s music operations. I thought you might have influence over the overall business since you’re close to CEO Cheon Do-hee, but it seems that’s not quite the case.”

“Ah. Yes. As my business card shows, I’m closer to being in charge of broadcasting. For music, it would be more convenient for you to talk directly with the CEO without going through me. I’ll check right away and try to arrange a meeting for you.”

“That’s alright. As I said, this isn’t an official visit.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Then, for now I’ll talk to you as I would to an artist.”

An artist?

As Majiya tilted her head, Na Hyun-gon laid out the tablet he had brought on the floor.

What played next was the 1st generation’s 1st anniversary song “One Other” released a few months ago.

However, it wasn’t the original version, but the very version Majiya had sung in the illegal duet recently.

The reason Majiya came to the recording studio today was also because of this song.

“I found out that participant F was Majiya-ssi because my daughter told me. She said the virtual movements and song progression were identical.”

As someone who wasn’t a VTuber, Majiya often forgot that she was sometimes connected to an avatar.

Oh no, the anonymity wasn’t anonymous after all.

No wonder there were more and more people in the community claiming that F was Majiya.

“Even so. I’m not an artist.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, just listen to what I have to say first.”

“Ah, yes.”

“There’s a group chat for producers from our subsidiary labels. I’m in there too, and someone posted this video and asked how it would be if we officially released one song with five people.”

“I see.”

“For reference, if the decision is made to produce a song, this producer will be in charge. Even I’ve learned a lot thanks to my daughter, but I still don’t know as much as this person when it comes to music.

Anyway, the people in that room have very discerning eyes when it comes to music. What do you think the result was?”

Majiya’s expectation was “not bad” at best.

She had sung trying not to overshadow the members’ colors, avoiding their melodies and singing styles as much as possible.

However, Na Hyun-gon’s account was the opposite.

“Most reactions were that they looked forward to it. They said your voice blended naturally among the four people’s voices, so whether we re-record the same song with adjusted parts or record a completely new song, it would be good.”

Majiya had already been dancing like a madwoman in her heart since earlier.

CAT Entertainment becoming a business partner with Parallel and supporting song production from now on – if this wasn’t a celebration, what was?

But they said they would decide whether to expand the partnership after seeing the results of this first step, and she had to be involved in that first step.

Wouldn’t this conflict with her principle of not wanting to stand on the same line as the members?

‘But refusing this is…’

Refuse this?

That’s just crazy.

It would be like throwing a winning lottery ticket into the fire.

‘I should think… No. Can I even buy time with this?’

Refusal is not an option.

Dragging it out too long is not good either.

But she doesn’t want to arbitrarily insert herself among the members either.

After about 15 seconds of deliberation – short if short, long if long –

Majiya said:

“I’ll discuss it with the CEO. Could you please give us just one day?”

Na Hyun-gon grinned.

Majiya’s answer was worth +10 points.

‘She must want to make a verbal contract right away and tell the company, but she’s holding back well.’

There are quite a few employees who stand out like an awl no matter where you put them.

But what companies want most are employees who don’t overstep their authority even when they do stand out.

Just like Majiya.

No matter how much of a pillar and ace of the company, no matter how trusted an employee, they shouldn’t make such important decisions on their own.

Now is the time to suppress the urge to rush and gather the CEO and working-level staff for a meeting.

…But one day is too short, the sense of urgency is palpable.

Deduct 5 points, compromise at +5 points.

Na Hyun-gon said with a pleased smile:

“I’ll give you a full week. Take your time to consider it with the CEO.”

Author’s Note (Afterword):

Oh my goodness