Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Sarah Iris (3)
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"Rayshojo started out with a really great slogan, you know."
Freedom for creators.
To become a company not just for itself, but for the fans and the streamers.
Rayshojo, with its feel-good slogan that anyone would love just hearing it, was founded back when the world was reeling from Corolon and immediately began aggressive expansion.
The president added more details.
"During the Corolon crisis, Rayshojo managed to recruit almost all VTubers with over 500,000 followers in the English-speaking world within the first three months. DreamLive is bigger now, but back then, Rayshojo's influence was even more massive."
"There weren't any agencies back then, right? You know your history well, President."
"Companies aren't built overnight, Sara. We'd been preparing and watching the trends."
"I got a recruitment offer from them back then too~ Of course, I turned it down since I was already with another agency."
That was news to me.
Come to think of it, Myth had mentioned being with an agency before joining Label.
The legendary one that caused the 4.5th anniversary swimsuit fiasco—
"Hey now, Seol-ah. Don't think about that."
"...Mind reading?"
"Yours is the type where your thoughts show right on your face. Anyway, let's keep going. So what happened next?"
Sara gazed into space for a moment, organizing her thoughts, then continued.
"Rayshojo's first year was problem-free. We did our streams, they handled merch releases or provided legal support— it was an ideal symbiotic relationship. But the issues started the year after."
"...When Rayshojo began aggressively expanding their business, right?"
"Exactly. Sponsors, concerts, events, pop-up stores... Rayshojo was desperate to grow despite lacking infrastructure and having a shaky revenue model. The CEO hustled everywhere to secure investments, but—"
"A company with weak foundations from the start wouldn't get funding easily."
Sara nodded.
I nodded too.
Hmm, honestly, I didn't really get it at all, but the vibe was that I should at least pretend to understand.
"Heh heh."
Myth shot me a knowing smile.
Why? What? Why are you looking at me like that?
I was just trying to play along. This wasn't the atmosphere to admit I had no clue.
"With overextended businesses, not enough cash— where do you think the company got the money to fill the gaps?"
"...Don't tell me they dipped into the revenue shares?"
The president looked serious, and Sara nodded.
"It started small. 'The company's in a rough spot— could you delay your merch revenue payout by three months?' Something like that."
"That's not small at all."
"Haha, back then my streaming revenue dwarfed merch sales anyway. Americans weren't big on merch at the time. So I said okay. Figured since I was doing fine, I could invest a bit in the company."
Three months turned into six, even a year sometimes, but I put up with it.
I wasn't hurting for money.
The company was visibly growing.
And I kept thinking of it as my investment.
That's how Sara put it.
"Of course it didn't feel great, but I didn't want to worry the fans unnecessarily. So I endured, kept enduring. Then the real problem blew up recently."
"...What was it?"
I blurted it out without thinking.
Sara gave me a wry, bitter smile, then bowed her head deeply.
"Earlier this year— actually starting from last Christmas— Rayshojo ran a group fundraising campaign. It was donations for kids suffering from Corolon Plus, a variant of Corolon."
Corolon Plus?
First I'd heard of it. Corolon was basically a nasty flu with insane contagion rates that made it a societal issue, right?
"It wasn't a big deal in East Asia, but in the West, especially the US, Corolon mutated and caused extra problems. Seol-ah."
"Was it that dangerous?"
"30% fatality rate. Even survivors got permanent aftereffects."
At least the mutated Corolon Plus had much lower contagion, which was a blessing.
If a 30% kill-rate virus spread at original Corolon speeds, the US might've collapsed by now.
"Adults were mostly immune. It mainly hit kids with weak immune systems, and super rarely."
"About one in 100,000 kids. Now there's treatment progressing— not a full cure, but they don't die."
Of course, they still had to endure the aftereffects.
Then, a cough.
Sara coughed.
"Cough! Cough!"
Violently. No, extremely violently.
It made me flinch just hearing it.
Like something vital was being torn out.
"Wh-what?"
"Oh dear, it's starting again."
Myth jumped up, pulled a handkerchief from her handbag, and handed it to Sara.
Sara waved it off like it was nothing, dug into her own pocket with bloody hands, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped her mouth.
I flinched.
Where the handkerchief passed, vivid red stains lingered, not fully wiped away.
"B-blood?!"
"Huh, I thought it was too quiet today."
Sara casually stuffed the bloody handkerchief back in her pocket, pulled out some wet wipes, and cleaned her mouth more thoroughly.
"This is a Corolon Plus aftereffect. And it's one of the milder ones."
"...So you had Corolon Plus too, Sara."
"No need to look at me like that. I'm one of the 'blessed survivors.'"
Blessed?
What did that mean? Before I could ask, Sara continued.
"Rayshojo put me front and center— the only one who'd beaten Corolon Plus on their own despite some lingering effects— and launched a donation campaign. Marathon streams, concert percentages, merch event cuts... We raised a million dollars."
A million dollars.
The insane sum made me swallow hard.
In Korean won, that's over 1.4 billion.
"And now it's embezzled into thin air."
"...What?"
The words slipped out.
"The donations were due to be delivered in two weeks, but last week or so, the company confessed they'd used all the funds for business expenses."
"And then?"
"I was about to go public, but first I asked around the other Rayshojo folks. That's when I learned the truth: Rayshojo was never a proper company to begin with."
America's super individualistic.
Plus, Rayshojo was just a loose collective of individuals, not a tight team, so no one pried into each other's finances.
That's why it took so long to realize.
Everyone's revenue shares hadn't been paid on time.
Shortest was two years, longest nearly four.
Everyone had been getting bled dry by the company, and they only found out late.
"Wh... so what now?"
"Heh heh, no need to worry. All the Rayshojo VTubers have agreed to leave together, and the capable big sisters are handling the legal evidence."
"The CEO's downfall is set in stone. He'll do at least 20 years. Really, don't worry about it."
Probably next week, the announcement drops and he's arrested on the spot.
Sara said it with an innocent smile that chilled me.
"Is that... okay for your VTuber careers?"
"The slogan and contract terms were solid, at least. They scouted independents like us, so retiring changes nothing. We'll keep streaming as usual."
Ah.
Not a mega-corp like DreamLive— just independents pooled together, with all avatars, songs, and copyrights owned by Rayshojo, so no issue.
...Which left one pure question.
If the CEO gets punished and you all keep streaming fine, why come to me?
Myth, sensing something, asked.
"Sara."
"Yes, unnie?"
"...So what about the donations?"
"Heh heh, can't fool your eyes, unnie. Yeah, that's the issue."
Ah, now I got it.
Next week: CEO arrested. Week after: donations due.
No donations.
"The million dollars was all embezzled by the CEO, trail gone cold. Police might recover it eventually, but not in a week."
"Won't paying it out cause big trouble?"
"Nah. CEO's fault, so donors will sue him, not much backlash on us. But..."
Sara lowered her head for the first time.
Like a radiant flower closing its petals, a faintly melancholic air settled.
"The kids will be sad. Their guardians too."
People hoping for those donations— imagine hearing it was stolen by some scumbag adult. What would they feel?
That weighed on Sara.
"I covered about half with my own money."
"...500,000 dollars?"
"Can't say I bear zero blame. As the face of the campaign, I trusted the company too much without verifying."
Even if she patched the amount, next week the news spreads.
The scum who stole their hope— the kids and guardians would hear somehow.
"It'll hurt them. I know, having been bedridden myself. Every day is hell for them, clinging to the slightest hope to survive."
Even that shock could break the kids.
Knowing long-term illness treatment is a mental battle made Sara's heart ache more.
So Sara pondered.
How to soothe their hearts even a little.
How to send them hope, love, even a bit.
"Then one day, I saw it."
Sara's eyes turned to Legend and Myth.
"Your map, Legend. I was blown away."
First time.
Her heart racing from a map.
"I felt love in the map, in the presentation."
Fake flowers, fake sky, fake stars, fake flower garden, fake path, fake cat.
She learned that day a world of all fakes could be so beautiful.
"So I came to Korea."
To pass that feeling straight to the kids.
No— more vividly, love just for them.
Sara bowed her head.
"Next week, for the people sure to be hurt, to cover their wounds even a little, I'm planning a charity live for more donations."
Legend swallowed.
Still staring at the floor, head bowed, scalp visible, body faintly trembling, Sara poured out her sincerity.
"Could you help use your map to send love to the kids?"
Silence hung in the meeting room.
Sara slowly raised her head.
There sat Legend, QWER-nim, pondering seriously.
"...I can't pay upfront for donations right now, but I'll price your map at top industry rates and pay it off over years if needed."
She'd poured all her assets into filling donation gaps and lawyers for Rayshojo VTubers.
Worse, Rayshojo had embezzled her rightful shares too.
Sara felt her face heat up.
'...This looks like begging.'
Legend stayed silent for a while, eyes closed instead.
Closed eyes toward the ceiling, right hand randomly tapping the table.
Moments later, Legend opened his eyes.
And met Myth's gaze.
Legend and Myth.
Sara watched unreadable emotions exchange between the two industry titans and lovers.
Finally, Legend looked at Sara.
"I'm sorry, Sara."
It was a clear refusal.