Chapter 70: Contract

2025.

Not much time had passed since the number changed.

But in that time, many things had happened in the Japanese entertainment industry.

The leader of a famous girl group was kicked out.

The members of that group engaged in an exposé battle.

Furthermore, a globally severe pandemic had even struck Japan.

With numerous contracts intertwined.

For the entertainment industry, which had to work by meeting people face-to-face, it was nothing short of a disaster.

Among them, the ones hit most directly by the aftermath were none other than the girl group scheduled to debut this year.

The members of Love Komachi.

“Haaa···.”

With a series of incidents erupting.

Love Komachi’s leader, Yukari, let out a sigh.

Due to this exposé situation and the pandemic, their scheduled debut was postponed.

Most of the members had fallen into despair.

“The company should manage things properly too···.”

At first, it was a simple lament.

She thought they could finally stand in front of people like their seniors.

As much as that expectation had crumbled, the disappointment was also great.

“But, how did things end up like this?”

“···I know, right?”

This wouldn’t have happened when Ren-senpai was here.

Even though they were different groups, Ren and Cornelia were figures who held a prominent position among the agency’s idols.

“Isn’t this exactly what I heard from the manager?”

“Huh?”

What rumor?

Saori, a member of Love Komachi, glanced around before cautiously speaking.

“You know, that.”

About Hikari-san this time.

“Ah, Cornelia’s new leader?”

“Yeah, we saw her in the practice room last time, right?”

“Actually, there’s a rumor that she aimed for the group leader position and deliberately kicked Ren-nim out···”

Just as Saori was about to share the rumor she had vaguely heard with the other members.

Kwaang—!

“Kyaaak?!”

With the sound of a desk being slammed, everyone’s gaze turned to one spot.

A disheveled tablecloth, and someone’s fist resting on it.

The sports drink someone had been drinking just moments ago was dripping onto the floor.

“Sakura!”

What are you suddenly···.

“···Saori-chan.”

That rumor, is it certain?

“Uh···?”

At Sakura’s instantly cold demeanor.

Tachibana, who was about to confront her, was instead flustered.

‘No, did she eat something bad?’

‘Why is she suddenly like this?!’

“Answer me, Saori.”

Undeterred by the surrounding gazes, Sakura was looking at only one person.

“No, it’s just that such a rumor is going around···?”

“Hey, Sakura.”

Why are you suddenly being so scary···?

Sakura, who had stood up from her seat, slowly walked towards Saori.

“Ah, no··· It, it’s not like that···.”

“···Then, let’s just be quiet.”

It’s not good to make a fuss over strange rumors, is it?

Ah, the drink spilled.

I’ll go buy another one.

After glancing over the cowering members, Sakura quietly exited the break room.

She couldn’t contain her anger without realizing it.

‘Hikari-san isn’t that kind of person.’

She is someone who kindly shares gifts even with someone like me, who is just a mere trainee.

At least, she was a much better person than Ren, who only pointed out flaws every day and said discouraging things under the pretext of needing to know reality.

Just as she was about to turn the corner.

“Hmm?”

Sakura.

“Ah, Hikari-san!”

Hikari appeared from beyond the corner.

Sakura, her face instantly brightening, greeted her happily.

“It’s been a while!”

“Well, I guess so···.”

“·····Are, are you okay?”

At Hikari’s lower-than-usual energy, Sakura asked cautiously.

She could guess the reason.

People who were her members suddenly backstabbed her, so how great must the shock have been!

And yet, she came to find her like this.

She seemed like a truly remarkable person in many ways.

“P-please cheer up···.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

I feel a bit stronger thanks to you.

‘If my members did that, I don’t think I could ever endure it.’

Sakura, who momentarily had such a thought, offered Hikari her sincere condolences.

“Still, ···just in case.”

The rumors aren’t true, right?

“···Sakura, are you doubting me?”

Simultaneously, Hikari’s eyes narrowed.

At that, Sakura’s face turned pale.

“Ah, no!!”

It’s not like that···!!

“Well, whatever.”

It was just a joke.

After giving a vague answer to the rambling Sakura, Hikari once again sank into thought.

‘Ha, Netblix, you say···.’

Both in reality and here.

The name value of Netblix was enormous.

‘The head of such a place had an interest in Ren…’

‘This way, it feels like I’m losing somehow.’

It might be a natural result since her new song, in which she participated, hadn’t been released yet.

Still, this way, it just felt like she was losing.

Could she really receive that kind of love call?

Mere contact from a production company wasn’t enough.

“Hoo….”

Hikari, after a brief sigh, quickly changed her thoughts.

If Netblix valued her abilities that highly.

Then she just had to surpass that.

Hadn’t she retired from the industry anyway?

She, who had already left the stage.

And herself, who would run further ahead.

Looking at it objectively, there was no need to even consider which side had a higher possibility.

Yes, this was actually for the better.

Now that the original Cornelia members were all gone, there was no law saying she had to follow the original story, was there?

She might even be able to create a completely new route that wasn’t in the original work.

With thoughts like something out of a romance fantasy novel, Hikari looked at Sakura.

“Sakura.”

“Ah, yes!”

Hikari-san!

Instead of Love Komachi, wouldn’t you like to play in bigger waters?

---

A few days after receiving the recommendation letter from Baekro.

I left the house to sign the contract.

We had already talked once via Discord, but they said it would be better to meet face-to-face and talk.

The streets of Seoul, unusually devoid of people.

The few people who were around were mostly wearing masks.

Indeed, the pandemic is definitely starting to spread.

“So, is it this way?”

Oof, it’s my first time on Seoul’s roads, so it’s very confusing.

What kind of land is this, so maze-like?

I already missed Incheon.

Only after wandering around for a long time did I finally succeed in reaching the address I had entered on the map.

A building that was neither too big nor too small, in its own way.

Let’s see, did they say it’s the 8th floor of this building?

Even if there are few affiliated broadcasters, most of them are quite skilled.

And more importantly, since the CEO is a former celebrity and has nearly 900,000 channel subscribers, it seems they make good money.

“H-hey, wait a minute!”

The moment I quietly boarded the elevator.

I saw someone running from afar.

“Th-thank you.”

“Not at all, it wasn’t anything difficult.”

As I held the door, a woman, panting heavily, entered the elevator.

She quickly pressed the button for her destination.

“Oh, are you going to the 8th floor?”

“Ah, yes…”

The 8th floor should be entirely the MCN.

It seems she was an employee from there.

Well, anyway, that’s that.

“····Why are you looking at me like that?”

I asked the employee who was staring at me for some reason.

‘What, is something wrong with my face?’

‘Even though I’m wearing a mask, I even put on makeup.’

“Uh, um··· May I ask you something···?”

“Yes?”

Well, feel free.

If she’s an MCN employee, isn’t she in the same industry?

I decided to answer any questions she might have.

“Um, are you really Cheongha?”

“···Yes?”

And, the employee’s words that followed were truly surprising.

“···Yes, that’s me, but—.”

“Wow!”

I’m a fan!!

“Yes?”

No, I have a fan here?

Could it be that the CEO—to be—mentioned beforehand that I had a meeting.

If so, that would explain it sufficiently.

Right, they did say I was the only one coming for an interview today····

“Oh, don’t you remember?”

I was with you during that Golden Watch too···.

“Ah···?”

When I nodded with that expression, a vaguely disappointed look returned.

At those words, I desperately searched my memory and managed to find related information.

“Um, by any chance, the viewer participation Carnage fan···?”

“Ah yes!”

That was me!

No wonder her voice sounded familiar.

Back when I was in Japan.

So, in novel terms, she was a Golden Watch viewer participant I met almost 30 chapters ago.

…What, that person was a Dot Entertainment employee?

How can fate work out like this?

No, more than that.

If she’s been watching since then, it means this person is truly my fan.

A real die-hard fan at that.

My goodness, what should I do?

I feel so sorry.

“Um···.”

“Ah, no.”

We only heard your voice briefly once back then.

It’s okay if you don’t remember.

Even though she said that, I still felt somewhat apologetic.

I decided to give her an autograph later and, for now, got off the elevator and headed to the CEO’s office.

“Excuse me, may I come in?”

“Ah, yes.”

This way···.

When I opened the door to the CEO’s office, a handsome young man, appearing to be in his late 20s to early 30s, greeted me.

Gu Jisu.

The CEO of this Dot Entertainment, a former actor turned streamer.

His first impression was, how should I put it…

Hmm, he wasn’t exceptionally pretty or handsome.

Just a common celebrity look, perhaps?

Still, he definitely wasn’t ugly.

Since he was a celebrity, he did give off the impression of being more handsome than an ordinary person.

What is this, have my standards become naturally high because I’m surrounded by too many handsome and beautiful people?

“Um, Sakamiya-ssi?”

Or should I call you Cheongha-nim···?

“Just call me whatever is comfortable for you, CEO.”

Gu Jisu spoke with a slightly dazed feeling.

It might be obvious, but this person already knew my identity.

Since we might be working together in the future, there was no need to create unnecessary secrets, right?

‘I never thought I’d get to see such a famous Japanese idol like this.’

‘Ah, am I that famous?’

‘That’s right, even before, people in the industry knew you just by your name, and now even ordinary people all know you.’

‘? Baekro-nim didn’t recognize me though.’

‘That’s just because she’s weird.’

To summarize, in the past, she was known to entertainment industry insiders as someone who pioneered a new genre of ‘K-pop style Japanese idols.’

Now, she’s famous as the controversial idol who almost had a dome concert canceled.

…Sigh, should I be happy about this?

Or not?

I didn’t want to be number one in recognition this way.

It seemed he was trying to be as formal as possible since it was a contract meeting he was conducting personally as the CEO.

But from my perspective, having also spoken to this person on Discord and looked up his YourTube videos beforehand, it was, how should I say.

A bit, funny.

Wow, with that face, he cussed each other out with his affiliated streamers?

The character who used to endlessly hurl personal attacks at Bubugi suddenly manifested with a real person’s face, and the discrepancy was enormous.

Though that was also because they were all close, so they did it for entertainment purposes.

Well, anyway.

Returning to the matter of the contract.

“Um, please understand that I can’t take off my mask for now.”

Given the current situation, you know.

We can’t afford to damage our voices.

“Ah, that’s a given.”

In the first place, being a streamer is a job where you make a living by talking.

And since I also came wearing a mask, I could fully understand.

Korea is famous for its well-established initial quarantine measures.

I naturally expected it would be like this.

…Come to think of it, my juniors also have to debut soon.

Perhaps their debut will also be postponed due to the pandemic.

The other kids also did well, but the one named Sakura was particularly impressive.

Her purple hair was pretty, and her personality was good too.

She felt like the protagonist you’d typically see in an entertainment industry novel, someone who would do well no matter what.

I hope they’re not too disheartened.

Once this difficult time passes, a better opportunity will surely come for everyone.

“Here, the contract is here.”

“Ah, yes.”

I received the contract and began to examine it carefully.

Let’s see what’s written here.

‘Hmm….’

After reading it for a long time.

I came to one conclusion.

‘What is this company?’

I don’t know how to express it.

But, why are they treating me so well?

It was to the point where the company itself just seemed good.

As I looked at Gu Jisu with eyes that seemed to ask, ‘Is this how MCN contracts usually are?’

Singgeut-

Was it a frequently asked question?

He continued with a bright face as if he had been waiting.

“Well, aren’t all broadcasters friends?”

Friends don’t rip each other off.

That’s our MCN’s founding motto.

Indeed, they were famous for convenient and clean contracts for their affiliated broadcasters.

This was certainly something to be confident about.

From an entertainment industry insider’s perspective, it’s almost like, isn’t this a pushover?

“····If you give this much away, what’s left for you?”

“Advertising agency fees and merchandise sales.”

Aha.

Come to think of it, when things were going well, they must have raked in a lot, right?

Besides, since there are surprisingly many popular people here, they’d probably make enough for the company to run.

At the very least, they should be able to earn enough to pay the rent here.

“This, can I look it over a bit more?”

“Ah, yes.”

Just give us an answer within a few days.

After receiving the contract file, I headed straight home that day.