Signing on the Dotted Line

"I'm in!"

The audition was a massive success!

The President, Hari, had clearly taken a massive liking to me. When the second verse of my fan service song started, he even shed a tear and gave me a big thumbs-up. Han Jeong-o, who was set to become Starlight's head manager and had witnessed the whole thing, told me he’d never seen the President react so passionately before.

"Hehe. Of course I passed. I'm Choi Minseo, after all!"

Kicking my feet as I lay on my bed, recalling the President's teary-eyed face made me feel absolutely on top of the world! Knowing that out of fifty-two applicants, I was the only one to receive such special treatment made me feel like I was flying.

To be honest, I had been incredibly nervous. I was terrified of failing. But the result was a resounding success! I had finally taken my first step onto the path of becoming a VTuber.

'I really should have snapped a picture of the President's face when I pinned the manager in that arm-wrestling match.'

My heart swelled with pride at the fact that someone who had spent years in the VTuber industry had recognized me as a top-tier talent. I thrashed around on my bed for a long time, my heart pounding so hard it was almost difficult to breathe, before I finally managed to calm myself down.

"I did it."

I passed. Soon, I’d be a VTuber idol, singing and dancing in front of an audience, right? Of course, there was no telling whether we'd actually be successful. But just the fact that I was becoming a VTuber was enough to get my blood pumping.

'They said there's a training period, too. It'll all work out.'

A three-month training period. During that time, the company would support my living expenses while I prepared to become a VTuber and got to know my fellow groupmates. Over those three months, I’d learn everything from setting up streaming equipment to using broadcasting software. I'd also learn how to operate my avatar.

'Since I'm a complete amateur with zero VTuber experience, I'll probably have to learn everything from scratch. I'm kind of jealous of my groupmates who already have experience.'

There were three members in Starlight's first generation, and I was the only one selected through the open audition. The other two were individuals the President had brought in directly.

'One is a girl he brought over from Lunatics, the previous agency he ran, and the other is an indie VTuber who's on her fourth "reincarnation" after failing repeatedly.'

Those two were the groupmates debuting alongside me in Starlight's Gen 1. Their names ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were Kim Seowoo and Lee Jihye. Just like me, they both had their own unique quirks.

'Kim Seowoo is the same age as me and is a linguistic prodigy fluent in four languages: Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese. Lee Jihye is two years older than me...'

She was a hardcore gamer with a staggering three thousand games in her library, not to mention an absolute otaku with a vast wealth of knowledge spanning subcultures like games, movies, novels, and anime.

'Neither of them is normal. Just like me.'

They said Kim Seowoo poured all her stats into language skills at the cost of being a bit dim-witted in other academic areas, while Lee Jihye was highly intelligent but severely lacking in physical stamina.

'And I'm the one with the overwhelming physical stats.'

I had also received firm confirmation that I was the best singer of the three. All of us had very distinct strengths.

'I can't wait to meet them. My heart is racing. What will they be like? Will they be pretty?'

We were even supposed to stay at the President's place for a few days, so I was looking forward to it in more ways than one.

"I can do this, right?"

My joy was short-lived as anxiety about the future and self-doubt began to take root. I couldn't tell if the fluttering in my chest was anxiety or excitement.

'It's not a matter of whether I can do it. I have to do it well.'

I wasn't exactly a master of social life, but I had age on my side. My original age was thirty, which technically made me the same age as the President. So, I figured I wouldn't be pushed around by a twenty-year-old girl and a twenty-two-year-old young lady.

'Wait, actually... Come to think of it, ever since I woke up in Choi Minseo's body, my personality has felt strangely softer, and my thoughts feel a lot younger.'

Does the mind conform to the body? If so, maybe I really was turning into a fresh, youthful twenty-year-old girl.

"Whatever."

Time to pull up the covers and go to sleep. Tomorrow was the day I'd go to the office to sign the contract. I'd probably get to meet Seowoo and Jihye, my future groupmates. I needed to sleep early, wake up early, and get ready.

Thanks to my diligent morning preparations, I arrived at the office right on time. The office was located on the sixth floor of Boss Tower in Seongsu-dong. The space itself wasn't very large—just big enough to accommodate a skeleton crew. It made sense, given that Starlight wasn't yet a massive enterprise capable of owning an entire building. Perhaps once the company grew, we'd get our own dedicated building and recording studios.

"Oh, you're here. Welcome."

"Hello, President."

As I stepped inside, the President greeted me warmly. Sipping his coffee, the President pointed toward the conference room.

"Those two in there are your Gen 1 groupmates. Go on in and introduce yourself. I'll join you with the contracts in a bit."

"Yes, sir!"

The President was giving us some time to break the ice. Honestly, I was a bit nervous. What if they didn't like me? What if I made a bad first impression? No, in times like this, confidence was key. Shrinking back wouldn't change anything. It was time to act bold.

"Hello!"

"Oh, nice to meet you."

"Hello."

When I stepped into the conference room and offered a loud greeting, the two girls, who had been staring at their phones, gave awkward replies. The petite girl with silver-dyed short hair had to be Seowoo. The pink-haired girl sitting next to her was likely Lee Jihye. Both of them had wild hair colors, while mine was just plain black. They even had their nails done and wore makeup. They felt so feminine that it was a bit intimidating to approach them.

'And they're both really pretty, too.'

It was so awkward. What should I say? As I struggled to figure out how to break the ice, the two of them luckily spoke up first, perhaps curious about me. Thank goodness. They didn't seem to have bad personalities.

"I heard you beat Jeong-o in an arm-wrestling match. Is that true?"

"And I heard you're an amazing singer."

"Your voice is really pretty."

"Hehe. Thank you."

As I eagerly answered their questions, I somehow ended up lifting Seowoo off the ground. I had somehow ended up showing off my strength, but was this really okay to do in a conference room...?

"What on earth are you girls doing?"

"Oh. Ah! President!"

"Well, you see..."

I quickly set Seowoo back down on the floor. The President looked back and forth between Seowoo and me, then called out to Jihye, who was filming the two of us with her phone.

"Hey! Lee Jihye! You should have stopped them instead of filming!"

"Huh? I'm the one getting scolded?"

"Yes. You're the oldest."

"Well..."

Having been scolded out of nowhere, Jihye scratched the back of her head and accepted it. After chatting for a bit, I was able to get a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grasp of Seowoo and Jihye's personalities. Seowoo was much more outgoing and bright than I had expected, while Jihye was easygoing, gentle, and felt like a real older sister who could take our jokes in stride. How should I put it? Jihye seemed to have a real talent for "tanking." I didn't mean she literally got beat up, but rather that she was perfect for the "tank" role in streaming banter. A character who reacts well and takes hits gracefully is always precious.

'Seowoo is so lively, making her a great mood maker. If anything, I might end up being the most serious character here.'

Actually, I felt relieved to have found my own niche. More than anything, knowing that the two of them had experience and that we got along well made me feel incredibly reassured.

"Alright, now that you've all introduced yourselves and the time is right, shall we get to the contracts?"

"Yes!"

"Sounds good!"

"Wow. A real contract."

My two groupmates, the President, our manager Jeong-o, and myself—the five of us ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sat together in the conference room and read through the contract.

"First, the main thing you need to know is that this is a one-year contract. We'll negotiate again next year."

"Do we renew it every year?"

"No. It's more of a trial period for both sides for the first year. It's a period for us to see if you're the right fit, and for you to see if we're a company you can trust and follow."

"Ah."

"So we're testing each other out for a year."

"To put it bluntly, yes. The company could go under within a year, or you guys could board a one-way train to ruin."

His words carried a heavy weight. He was likely thinking of Lunatics, the VTuber agency he had previously run into the ground.

"If we can still sit here smiling a year from now, we'll sign a long-term contract then."

"Yes, sir!"

"Sounds good, President."

"I hope everything goes well."

The three of us nodded in agreement. I truly hoped everything would go well. I think I already liked these people.

"Now that the contract duration is out of the way, let's talk about revenue split. First, the company will take a thirty percent cut of any revenue generated from donations and sponsorships."

A thirty percent cut of donations. Not bad. That was the industry standard.

"In exchange, we won't interfere with your YouTube channels at all."

"You won't touch them at all?"

"Exactly. You'll have to find your own editors, post notices, and recruit thumbnail artists yourself. But in return, you keep one hundred percent of the revenue generated from YouTube."

A clause that offered no help but also took no cut. I liked it quite a bit.

"Now that you understand the revenue split, next is conduct. This is also crucial."

Conduct. This referred to the mindset and code of behavior we had to maintain while active as VTuber idols under Starlight.

"First, and this goes without saying, you must not have a boyfriend during the contract period. Absolutely not. As specified here in the contract, if you are caught dating secretly, your contract will be terminated immediately. You'll be graduated. And you know that the moment you graduate, you must return your avatar, right?"

"Yes!"

"Understood perfectly!"

"Also, since you are all part of the same Gen 1, you are forbidden from calling each other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠'Eonni' on stream. Jihye is two years older, but please understand. Viewers prefer it when groupmates act like close, friendly peers. And you all know that yuri sells incredibly well commercially, right?"

"Yes! I know that shipping and creating pairings is a big part of VTuber culture."

"Exactly. Like Seowoo said, viewers hate it when a guy gets involved with a VTuber, but they love it when female VTubers are shipped together. Of course, I'm not telling you to actually become lesbians. Just maintain that perfect distance. You get what I mean?"

"Yes!"

"Understood perfectly."

"Alright, that covers the most important parts of the contract. Read through the documents once more on your own, and then you can sign."

I signed it immediately. I had read through it carefully twice, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was truly just the industry standard. There were no exploitative clauses or unfair penalties.

"I'm all signed."

"Me too!"

"Here you go, President."

We finished signing in no time.

"With this, you are all officially VTuber idols of Starlight. Congratulations."

After a three-month training period, we would make our official debut on January 5th of next year.

With this, I was one step closer to becoming a VTuber. Finally, I was going to be the VTuber I had always dreamed of! Alright, let's do this!