chapter_0101

101 – Why a Humble Person is in a Precious Place (2)

101 – Why a Humble Person is in a Precious Place (2)

“Z. This is Serena.”

As soon as Majiya’s confident words were spoken, Cheon Do-hee asked with a puzzled expression.

“Serena? Why did she apply here…?”

“That’s what I was wondering.”

“No, how could you not know? You were hanging out together until last week.”

“That’s true.”

“….”

There were no conditions stating that other corporate affiliations couldn’t participate.

It was indeed possible to make excuses like having come out because she was close to Maru or that she applied on a whim because the famous singer Lee Yura was participating.

The Ppajijik side, having the list, would have kept quiet to avoid any issues if we noticed something.

However, the recent broadcasts had shown a subtle tension between Serena and Majiya.

It felt like Do-hee’s boundary sensors were on high alert, wanting to keep Majiya close.

No matter how much of a penalty it was, this was too much.

The phrase ‘Moe Moe Kyun♡ for the Master’s heart’ directed at Jia was a bit much.

Majiya, on the other hand, received it with a giggle, finding it amusing.

“By the way, how close have you gotten? With Serena.”

“After the company dinner, we had coffee together and talked about office gossip…”

“?”

The Boss looked at me with a piercing gaze.

“Couldn’t you have told me such important things ahead of time?”

“I decided to pretend I didn’t hear it. If you ask me like that, how could I go around telling everyone?”

“That’s true….”

Since Majiya wouldn’t gossip about the company, Serena must have been the main speaker in that gossip.

If she had accidentally let something slip while agreeing with that gossip, the other party might have misunderstood it as ‘Are they asking me to come to Parallel?’

I trust Jia, but this was the first time she would be exposed to such external schedules, especially with a competitor’s VIRTUAL YOUTUBER.

Do-hee, feeling worried, asked cautiously.

“You didn’t tell Serena to come to Parallel or anything like that, did you?”

“Not at all.”

Majiya’s response was sharp as a knife, her expression blank.

In other words, Majiya hadn’t made a mistake.

But to gossip about the company with a competitor’s employee and then show up at the Parallel participation event without prior notice…

With three years of experience running a VIRTUAL YOUTUBER company, Cheon Do-hee realized that this was a signal of a transfer.

‘Is she considering a transfer….’

If Serena herself wants to move companies, there’s nothing Parallel can do about it.

Thanks to the growth during Wicker Town, they are still doing well.

To abandon that means she has made a significant decision, which would inevitably lead to the narrative of ‘a beautiful farewell’ from the company, but it would also betray the trust of the fans.

Ultimately, it’s something the VIRTUAL YOUTUBER herself has to endure.

And if Serena has any thoughts, she wouldn’t make a rash move to transfer directly from Rapitz to Parallel.

Following the example of several senior VIRTUAL YOUTUBERS who changed their nests, she would likely stay as an individual VIRTUAL YOUTUBER for a few months before preparing for a transfer.

… If she has faith, she will just do what she wants.

The reason for the transfer?

It could be multifaceted, but the main part would be dissatisfaction with the company.

However, just when that dissatisfaction and the desire for the fans were perfectly balanced, a variable must have appeared suddenly.

‘Was Jia the decisive factor….’

Most fandoms, including idols and VIRTUAL YOUTUBERS, are like that.

Honestly, most people don’t care what happens as long as it’s not their Favorite.

They tend to look out for those in the same generation and group, but once the company changes, it becomes a matter of others.

But Majiya is different.

She treats everyone she likes well.

Competitors? She doesn’t care. She just helps if they need it.

‘Was it really the sun and the north wind…?’

When the wind blows hard, the traveler tightens their clothes, but when the sun shines brightly, they take them off.

The fable Majiya mentioned not long ago seems to fit the current situation perfectly.

Majiya was simply looking out for the VIRTUAL YOUTUBERS she liked from her position, yet Rapitz was shaking on its own.

‘Well… no VIRTUAL YOUTUBER would dislike being cared for by Jia.’

The first-generation Parallel members kept their distance due to her sharp and straightforward manner, but now?

Everyone is just waiting for the day they can collaborate with Majiya every month.

That’s how high Majiya’s standing is among the VIRTUAL YOUTUBERS of Parallel.

From content and collaboration buzz to practically every aspect related to broadcasting, Majiya is recognized as a cheat key.

It was to the extent that more than half of the candidates for the second generation, who were preparing for interviews after the first evaluation, mentioned Majiya at least once as their motivation for applying to Parallel.

Saying they are fans of Boss Momo or first-generation members, the phrase ‘Thanks to Majiya, I want to get in’ ranked high in application statistics.

It could be said that Majiya has started to take on the role of the face of Parallel, and positively at that.

In fact, that high evaluation has even begun to sway the hearts of competitor VIRTUAL YOUTUBERS beyond the internal Parallel fandom.

However, even so.

Today is the grand festival of Parallel.

The moment news spreads that someone from Rapitz has shown their face, both sides will become exhausted.

Cheon Do-hee reached the conclusion of a transfer intention through reasonable deduction, but in a community that knows nothing of the internal affairs, speculation and rumors are bound to run rampant.

‘The viewers have already caught on to some extent….’

In other words, even if there are speculations from the viewers about who it might be, it’s best not to mention it officially.

Do-hee said.

“Later, we agreed to give out one award each.”

“The Parallel Award?”

“Yeah. Try not to pick Serena if possible.”

But Majiya asked as if it were no problem.

“Why? Are you worried about what Rapitz will say?”

Majiya lightly tapped her phone.

With just one piece of information in there, the conversation would end, so what was there to worry about?

Even if there are claims of tampering from Rapitz.

Even if Majiya is trying to secretly take Serena away.

In the end, what Parallel holds is physical evidence, while all Rapitz has is mere suspicion.

Even if Yeon Seong-muk and the CEO are in cahoots, declaring war against Parallel would be impossible.

And regardless of these reasons, Majiya simply wanted to give Serena an award.

“First of all, aside from everything else, you’re listening to her sing right now.”

Cheon Do-hee, who had been focused on the conversation, finally heard the climax of the song Serena was singing.

With an explosively charming voice, the viewers couldn’t even think of waving their glow sticks.

[Like the last breath for tomorrow,

I’ll quietly close my eyes and let you go——!]

— Wow

— Whoa, insane

— She nailed it

— Kyahhh, wow

— Who is this?

— Is this a viewer…?

— I want to marry this Moon-soon

— It’s purifying…

Clearly, Serena’s voice carried waves of healing.

However, she had copied a significant part of Maru’s deeply resonant singing style.

As a result, it blended perfectly with Maru’s voice in the background.

She was truly a participant optimized for an illegal duet.

“I’ve practiced impersonating briefly, and to do this well, you really have to listen a lot and practice a lot.”

Majiya, having been a fan for a long time and having done impersonations, understood this.

This was a song that was even more beautiful in respect to Maru.

It wouldn’t be strange to give her the Aurora Award, which is based on skill, rather than the Parallel Award chosen by Do-hee and Majiya.

“If a better song doesn’t come out than this, I’m definitely going to give the award to Serena. This is a matter of affection.”

However, Majiya’s thoughts were also Do-hee’s thoughts.

Do-hee had put in so much effort into producing Maru’s first single album.

There was no way she would dislike Serena singing so beautifully.

“Even if you don’t give it, people will choose her anyway, so I’m saying not to pick her. Let me pick.”

There could be annoying issues arising between companies.

But that’s ultimately something the Boss has to handle and resolve.

Majiya had already done her part as an employee and even handed over evidence to Do-hee.

“Do you know why I tell you to share everything when something like this happens? It’s because I don’t want to pass the responsibility onto you as an employee.”

Jia smiled with a slightly surprised expression.

“It would be nice if you were this reliable in Battle Call too.”

“Hey.”

* * *

About 30 minutes later, in the Rapitz CEO’s office.

Yeon Seong-muk was delivering a lengthy speech in front of the CEO.

“This is definitely tampering.”

He started with a post on the Rapitz gallery titled ‘Serena participating in illegal duets in the EU’ and raised his voice, claiming that the ongoing close relationship with Majiya was undeniable evidence of tampering.

“What’s the evidence?”

“It’s just suspicion, but I’m certain. If you look into Serena’s background, you’ll quickly find videos of her contacting Majiya….”

The CEO sighed and asked.

“Team Leader Yeon, do you think it makes sense to bring community anonymous posts as evidence?”

“But based on experience, this is definitely….”

“Is it correct that a team leader claims something is true based on experience without any evidence?”

As Yeon Seong-muk clamped his mouth shut, the CEO began to press him.

“What did you talk about when you met Majiya on the day of the Ppajijik year-end party?”

“Since we’re in the same operations team, we talked a bit about industry trends….”

“Really?”

The CEO’s gaze was very sharp.

As if he already knew the whole truth.

“I’ve heard something. Speak honestly.”

“I didn’t lie. We talked about industry trends—.”

“I heard it all from the operations team staff. You proposed a debut to Majiya, didn’t you?”

“…….”

“I heard you said something like, ‘I’ll soon be recognized for my achievements and promoted to the executive line, so screw off.’”

Yeon Seong-muk clenched his fists tightly.

But he couldn’t blame anyone.

The inner thoughts of envisioning a bright future after successfully recruiting Majiya had spilled out under the influence of alcohol, and that was ultimately his fault.

The fact that Majiya didn’t immediately refuse the debut proposal on the same day had led to a massive snowball of misconceptions that continued to grow until today.

Thinking of contacting Majiya to confirm her intentions?

He didn’t. Delaying would be advantageous for him, and he was confident that the scale of Buddy’s, the parent company of Rapitz, was larger than Parallel’s.

A frog in a well.

It was the result of blindly acting based on trust in Buddy’s and its CEO.

“Why would Majiya trust us enough to come over? Do you know who her Favorite is?”

“…….”

“You’ve been in that position for nearly two years, and you still don’t know the industry situation?

I see. So, you must have tried to bring over a competitor’s employee to keep the kids from getting shaken up. Haha.”

All industry insiders were watching cautiously in the lobby of the hotel where the Ppajijik year-end party was held.

That looks like Majiya. Should we talk to her or not?

If they approached carelessly, rumors would spread quickly about ‘who’s eyeing whom,’ so everyone was waiting for the right moment.

Then Yeon Seong-muk made contact openly, so how could they not know?

As the news spread to MCNs and planning companies, the CEO almost became ‘a representative who violated business ethics’ without realizing it during a meeting with industry representatives.

If it were another company, it wouldn’t matter, but the rivalry between Parallel and Rapitz was already well-known.

“Team Leader Yeon, what do you always do when you go to contract-related meetings?”

“Record audio….”

“Even if Majiya looks young, you know she does similar work to you, right?”

“….”

“Do you really think she wouldn’t have recorded anything?”

“It was an urgent situation. Probably.”

“Did she or didn’t she? Can you say for sure?”

“…….”

“If they present evidence from their side, what do you think I will do?”

The company doesn’t want to take on risks, so in the end, the one with a knife to their neck is Yeon Seong-muk himself.

No matter how much he was sent down from the parent company, if left alone, he would only tarnish the company’s reputation, so how could they let that happen?

“Lately, I’ve heard you’ve been sitting around watching only Parallel’s broadcasts. Isn’t the one thinking of transferring Team Leader Yeon Seong-muk? Or are you having some childish thought of getting back at your father, who demoted you to Rapitz?”

“No, that’s just to keep an eye on their movements…. I absolutely don’t think that….”

“Spending your entire work hours only looking at broadcast metrics and viewer sentiments without any thought is also time allocated for benchmarking? So, what’s the result of your benchmarking? Do you have any plans?”

“… Well, the members aren’t actively following me.”

“Did Team Leader Yeon take an appropriate stance so that they would follow? And why do I have to hear the question of why the Rapitz operations team and VIRTUAL YOUTUBERS fought from outside our company?”

“… Yes?”

“I was informed by the Chief A&R Producer of Cat Entertainment. It seems like the members are not being managed well.”

A&R, short for Artists & Repertoire, is the department responsible for all planning and practical work related to artists, including albums.

A Chief A&R Producer is the head who oversees numerous subsidiary labels or related departments.

In terms of a regular company, they would be equivalent to a CAO (Chief Administrative Officer) or COO (Chief Operating Officer), or a head of development.

Coincidentally, CAT Entertainment is a mega agency that has divided the Korean entertainment industry with SB Entertainment.

So, if an A&R Producer from such a place said something like that, it’s a huge deal.

That person’s only connection to CAT was Serena.

While the VIRTUAL YOUTUBERS under Rapitz always released songs under contracts with their parent company, Buddy’s, Serena always had support from a label under CAT Entertainment.

CAT has always praised Serena’s musicality.

Perhaps Serena has a close relationship with CAT.

Yeon Seong-muk, who had doubts, asked.

“Could it be that Serena… talked to them?”

“What would that matter? Are you going to take revenge?”

“No, no, no, absolutely not!”

“If you don’t want to leave the industry forever, don’t even dream about it.”

The CEO’s fierce gaze carried a warning.

“And by next month, make sure to resolve all the issues in the operations team and report back. If the problems aren’t resolved, I’ll consider sending you back to Buddy’s. Whether you clean the bathrooms or not, that’s not my concern.”

“B-but uncle! Not that…!”

“I told you not to call me uncle at work.”

Now openly showing hostility, the Rapitz CEO said.

“I believed in our blood relation and tolerated it, but it can’t go on like this. Team Leader Yeon, you think so too, right?”

“Please show leniency…”

The CEO delivered a final, clear ultimatum to Yeon Seong-muk, who lowered his head with a frustrated expression.

“Leniency or whatever. If news of member departures comes out within a month, then it’s over. Keep that in mind.”

A word from the author (Author’s note)

I thought the chicken was cold….

Did you think so?

When I opened my eyes, it was already past 9 PM, so I intentionally posted it 30 minutes late (I’m sorry…!!!)

But since it’s Christmas, there will be a bonus! Another episode will be up at 12:30!

Merry Christmas!!!