A New Connection!
The vice president's office was cramped.
Bang!
Kang Ho-yeon kicked the door open as she stormed inside, and the instant she saw his face a curse surged all the way to the back of her throat.
Even if she blew up here, he wouldn't hear a word of it. She slammed the wad of papers in her hand down onto the desk.
"What is this supposed to be?"
Kang Ho-yeon kept her voice level, each word bitten off with care.
"What on earth were you thinking when you put this lineup together?"
Her hand looked ready to fly across his face at any second. He seemed to sense it too, and let out a short, dismissive laugh.
"What's got you so worked up? I simply followed proper legal procedure. And if you hit me, I'll make sure you never set foot in this industry again. You know how small this business is, don't you?"
Mockery dripped from every syllable. Kang Ho-yeon's insides were already wrecked from the heat of her anger.
Ha! You think a threat like that is going to work on me? Everything I've built until now isn't some two-bit achievement. I didn't drop in here on a golden parachute like you!
She wanted to scream it out loud.
But he was right — the entertainment industry was small. Painfully small. No matter how close you were to someone, no matter how well you knew their face, it all meant nothing in front of power and money.
Kang Ho-yeon could only clench her fists and swallow her rage.
I didn't slave away all this time just to work under a vice president this blind!
She was furious.
Given the nature of the scouting team, overtime was constant, and some of her teammates treated the company like home. Did they at least make good money? Not even close. Minimum wage. Nothing more, nothing less.
Overtime pay? She'd forgotten what that even was a long time ago. And if something went wrong, weekend shifts were the norm.
Paid leave? As if a mid-sized company — no, a shit-sized company — would have anything like that.
In the end, Kang Ho-yeon had reached her limit. The resignation letter every office worker keeps tucked away somewhere close.
So this day finally came.
I don't even know anymore.
Kang Ho-yeon pulled the letter from inside her jacket and set it lightly in front of the vice president.
Slam!
"Here! I quit, effective today!"
"...Are you joking right now?"
"Joking? Did you just call this a joke?!"
Kang Ho-yeon unfolded the documents she'd been holding and recited the names of the accepted applicants.
"Jina? Fine — her dancing is on a level even active idols can't touch. I'll give you that. But... Ara, Seo-ah, Iseo... and Hayoon?"
"I fail to see the problem."
"What we need right now is talent that can contribute immediately. And yet not a single one of them has even the basics down. On top of that... they're all...!"
Kang Ho-yeon stopped herself.
Her long years in the entertainment industry had honed an instinct that told her saying any more would be disastrous.
Disgusting...
She frowned, looking down at the vice president the way one looks at a criminal.
Every single person who'd passed was either an adult or a kid who had just come of age. The vice president's filthy lust was practically written on the page.
"That's right. I'm quitting. Of course... I won't breathe a word about company business to anyone outside. And how about you actually pay me the overtime and severance I've been owed all this time."
"...Very well. I can guess what you'll do once you walk out of here... but I wish you well."
Kang Ho-yeon left the vice president's office.
"Wish me well? Give me a fucking break. Filthy bastard. I knew it from the first time I saw him... piece of trash."
When she returned to her desk, encouragement and support poured over her at once. Her teammates. They must have heard everything from here — they all looked thoroughly satisfied. Well done, and so on. Voices friendly toward Kang Ho-yeon filled the air.
"So, Team Lead. What are you going to do now?"
"I'm not Team Lead anymore. I already turned in my resignation. I'd like to rest, but I don't have that kind of time."
The girl who lingered so deeply in Kang Ho-yeon's mind.
Lee Jiwoo.
She had to lock her down, no matter what. Only she...
She's my lifeline.
Bzzz.
While I was encouraging Lee Boram in the break room, my phone buzzed.
"Excuse me for a moment."
"...Huh?"
A single message had arrived.
What? This isn't when anyone should be contacting me. A phishing scam?
I was about to delete it without even checking when the subject line caught my eye.
Idol audition results...?
The results I'd expected to take a week had arrived today.
With a slightly trembling heart, I tapped the message.
I skipped the boilerplate they had padded in to keep their image intact and went straight to what actually mattered.
"Ah... I didn't make it."
The judges' expressions had looked bright, so I'd been a little hopeful — but I'd failed.
It didn't hurt. In the past I'd already been rejected from dozens of interviews. Hundreds, even, if not quite that many.
Times like these, the fastest way to feel better was to wipe it from your mind and start preparing for the next one.
"...Is something... wrong?"
"Ah. No. I just... got a text saying I failed an interview."
"You...?"
Lee Boram's eyes went wide with shock. What's with that reaction? People pass and fail — that's just how it is. Nobody gets accepted every time. If they do, they're definitely a parachute hire.
"Where did you interview? If it's a place I know, I might be able to give you a few tips... I-I know I don't look like it, but... I've worked a lot of part-time jobs... Of course, I got fired pretty quick, but... i-it might help."
"I'll just take the thought. Thank you."
"I knew it... you don't need my help... Well, of course a pretty girl like you... wouldn't need help from someone like me..."
A deep shadow fell over Lee Boram's face, and her head drooped. I grabbed her by the shoulders and barked.
"Snap out of it!"
"H-hwaah?! Wh-what..."
"If you hang your head here, you won't be able to do anything! And... noona... ahem. Unnie... right? You said you worked at a beer hall earlier."
"U-uh... sorry. I'm just old and I wasn't any help..."
"That's not what I meant... look at this."
I showed Lee Boram the message that had just come in.
"An idol... audition? You're trying to become an idol?"
"I didn't seriously think I would, but I figured I'd give it a shot. If I got in I'd work hard, and even if I didn't, it'd still be experience."
"Experience... I..."
"And the same goes for you, unnie. You're still young, right? You can stand back up and try again. One failure doesn't mean your life is over!"
Of course, people who'd gone all-in on a business or leveraged themselves to the hilt were the exception — but Lee Boram didn't look like that kind of person at all.
I trusted the eye I'd developed from meeting people for so many years. She could do it. She just didn't have anyone beside her to give her courage.
"So try again. I'll help you."
"U-uh... thanks. I'll give it another shot."
I held her shoulders and helped her to her feet. Her shoulders were still hunched and her back still curved, but this was enough of a start.
"Alright, straighten those shoulders and lift that back."
"Hwaaah..."
I forcibly corrected her posture and kneaded her shoulders. A pleasant sound slipped from her lips.
This massage, too, was one of the skills I'd been forced to pick up over years of sales work.
"I really think... Jiwoo, you'd get hugely popular even as an idol. Are you going to try again?"
"Hmm... I'm still thinking about it. I'm more interested in being a VTuber than an idol, honestly."
"A VTuber...? What's that?"
Seeing that Lee Boram genuinely had no idea, I even pulled up a search and injected her with the basic knowledge of what a VTuber was.
"So you use this avatar, then? Why?"
"...Why? Because rather than showing my face..."
"The way I see it, showing your face would get you way more popular... but that's just my opinion... sorry."
"No. You were just sharing your thoughts. The decision is mine either way. Still, thank you."
We kept chatting lightly after that, until the break room door opened.
"Knock knock. How long are you two planning to sit around talking? Time to get back to work."
I checked the time — already thirty minutes had passed. Even if today was training rather than a proper first day, there wasn't a boss alive who'd let you rest for a full half hour.
"Yes, I'll be right there. And boss... here."
I handed the manager nametag I'd borrowed earlier back to the owner.
"...."
"Boss?"
But the owner just stared at the nametag, making no move to take it.
"Just keep wearing that. Starting today, Jiwoo, you're the manager."
"...Excuse me? I came in today for training..."
"I know. First day. But among all the kids who've come in for their first shift, there's never been anyone as good as you. Plus you're pretty, you talk well, and if something goes wrong you can handle it. I almost want to take you on as my apprentice."
The praise was excessive and syrupy.
Sweet enough to rot your teeth.
"I'm just a weekend part-timer... is it really okay for me to be the manager?"
"Well... normally no. But could you at least take the manager role on weekends? I can cover weekdays myself, but there are weekends I can't make it to the shop. I'm asking you."
It didn't feel like an order.
It felt like a genuine request — and if I refused, she looked ready to back off without a fuss.
Had I ever had a boss like this? No. Never. I set my hesitation aside, looked her straight in the eye, and said,
"Alright. If it's just weekends, I'll do it."
"Really? Thank you! I was worried I'd have to hire another manager. I'll bump up your hourly wage."
"About that..."
I glanced behind me. Hourly wage talk wasn't something you did in front of other people.
The owner realized it a beat late and started to explain to Lee Boram, but—
"..I-it's fine. Jiwoo working more and getting paid more is... o-obviously only natural..."
She still stammered and her voice was small, but she was different from the Lee Boram of thirty minutes ago, who'd bottled everything up inside and couldn't get a word out.
The owner seemed to notice too. The corners of her mouth twitched.
The more confident and sharp a part-timer was, the better it was for the shop.
We left the break room and moved in time for the evening peak. I was a beginner, but I handled customers with movements that didn't look like a beginner's at all. My stamina dropped several times in the middle and I nearly collapsed to the floor.
Each time, I caught my breath in secret and stole a moment of rest.
And just like that, my first day of part-time work came to an end.
"Thank you for your hard work."
After we finished cleaning, we gathered for a greeting and then left one by one.
Lee Boram and I came out last, having stayed to hear the owner's final words.
After changing out of our uniforms and stepping outside, the cold February wind brushed my cheek.
Snow showed between the roads, and people hurried past. I let out a light breath and a puff of white mist appeared.
"It's cold... let's get home."
On the way back I reviewed the mistakes I'd made during today's shift.
Mistakes, if you could even call them that — all of them stamina issues.
"I really should build up my stamina, huh?"
Just then.
"J-Jiwoo...!"
A trembling voice from behind made me turn around.
Lee Boram.
She had called me.
"Noo— unnie, what's the matter?"
The word noona had almost slipped out again.
I still wasn't used to being a woman.
Well, I'd lived as a man for decades and then become a woman. It'd be weirder if I adapted overnight.
"I... I had something I wanted to say... so I called you."
"What is it?"
"That... VTuber... thing... to make an avatar... you need designs... or technical skills, right..."
"Yeah... that's right? Is something going on?"
"Ah, it's nothing. Th-thank you. I'll be going now. Thanks for today. And... next time, I'll be the one who helps."
Lee Boram bowed her head with those meaningful words and hurried off in short, quick steps.
What on earth had she been trying to say? I couldn't figure it out.
"Time to go home."
I wanted to get back as fast as possible and burrow into my blankets.
"Excuse me."
Another voice.
This time I had a feeling it was going to be a hassle, so I was about to ignore it and keep walking.
"Excuse me, Jiwoo!"
Hearing my name, I had no choice but to stop.
"Who... are you?"
"Ah. I'm... this person. We've met before."
"Who... ah! The judge from Zero Entertainment! What are you doing here?"
I had the distinct feeling a new connection had just found me.