Chapter 129: Taming of the Shrew (2)
Chapter 129: Taming of the Shrew (2)
VTuber.
Rabin, a member of the idol group Summer Girl, had never heard such a term in her life.
What kind of broadcast could someone even do with a 3D avatar like that?
At first, she thought it was some kind of joke, but something like this actually existed?
"I knew about them," So-eun, another member of Summer Girl, chimed in.
"Seriously???"
Rabin was deeply flustered by So-eun’s words.
Am I really that behind the times?
Regardless, she was in no position to complain. The person quietly watching from the side was far too terrifying.
Wasn't this supposed to be her own agency?
Did the bodyguards and security just decide to go on strike today?
"Unnie."
"What?"
"Do you think the bodyguard could fold a 500-won coin in half?"
"…Probably not."
"Then shouldn't we have just let her through?"
"Isn't our country supposed to be governed by the rule of law?"
Despite her sense of injustice, there was nothing she could do. She had no choice but to sit quietly and take the lesson.
If she had known it would come to this, she would have just behaved and taken her vocal training normally.
This is all Cha Na-hee’s fault.
So what if she was pretty, sang well, and could dance?
Now she could even act.
She really had it all. Rabin ground her teeth.
The reason Summer Girl had essentially phoned it in for this OST was largely because of Rabin.
It was a situation that would only strengthen the image of Summer Girl being carried by Cha Na-hee.
To others, it might sound like she was being ungrateful, but to Rabin, her pride was more important.
Summer Girl was her! She was Summer Girl!
She had stubbornly held out because she didn't want to add another line to Cha Na-hee’s career achievements, but she had finally reached her limit.
「I’ve checked the song, and the difficulty isn't too high.」
While she was lost in thought, the teacher, Erzsebet, continued speaking.
Rabin wanted to turn her head away and cover her ears, but if she did, that 500-won coin in Seo-yeon’s hand might come flying her way.
Wait a second.
She’s actually teaching properly.
Aside from Rabin, the other members of Summer Girl were inwardly impressed.
The emotional lines of the song, the vocal techniques—she was providing incredibly detailed guidance.
Of course, they were singers, so they could sing it well enough on their own.
However, a new song always required practice.
That was the vocal trainer's job, and Teacher Erzsebet was doing an excellent job of it.
What’s more...
「Did you hear that? That’s the kind of feeling we want. So-eun, make your part a bit more cheerful.」
She was a great singer, too.
Like, really good.
Rabin was starting to get confused.
What is this thing, and why is it so good at singing?
Wasn't it just some person playing around behind an avatar?
Honestly, she didn't want to say it.
She didn't want to admit it.
"She’s better than you, Unnie."
"Hey!!"
At So-eun’s perfectly timed jab, Rabin’s eyes snapped open as she glared.
A curse almost slipped out, but she barely managed to swallow it.
No matter what, she didn't want to hear that she was worse than that.
First Cha Na-hee, and now she had to hear that her skills were inferior to a digital character?
"Rabin-ssi."
Of course, the sparks of Rabin’s anger were instantly extinguished by Seo-yeon’s low voice.
"Ye-Yes?"
"You shouldn't do that."
"I-I see..."
As Rabin panicked, Seo-yeon spoke to her with a serious expression.
"There’s a person inside the monitor."
"……."
"Isn't there?"
"There is. Of course there is."
Rabin glanced at Erzsebet, who was staring blankly back at her from the screen.
...If it were up to me...
She wanted to smash the monitor and end this whole farce, but she was terrified of Seo-yeon standing next to her.
Why was she being so polite today?
It was even scarier.
As she grumbled to herself, she felt Seo-yeon staring intently at her.
Those eyes had a strange reddish tint to them.
Suddenly, her gaze fell on the 500-won coin in Seo-yeon’s hand.
It was still intact for now, but she had a vague, terrifying thought that if that coin got folded, she would be folded right along with it.
Rabin’s body trembled.
Why is she like this?
Seo-yeon, of course, noticed Rabin’s behavior.
The girl flinched if Seo-yeon so much as moved, and looked like she was going to have a heart attack if Seo-yeon even yawned.
At this point, even the socially dense Seo-yeon couldn't miss it.
What did I even do?
It felt like she was being treated like some kind of violent thug.
Naturally, Seo-yeon’s expression soured.
Seo-yeon was being very kind today.
After all, even if it wasn't for Ramiel, this was a legitimate missionary activity for VTubers.
I mean, I did get angry back then, but...
That was because of how Summer Girl had treated Na-hee.
Fundamentally, Seo-yeon had a stoic personality and didn't get angry easily over trivial matters.
"But I don't think watching something like that is going to help much—"
"……Something like that?"
Seo-yeon’s eyes narrowed.
Rabin instinctively realized she had stepped on a landmine!
"A-Ah, no! I'll work hard now!"
"Yes. She’s a very busy person, and it was difficult to bring her here. It would be problematic if you didn't take this seriously."
"I-Is that so? She must be someone amazing."
For the first time today, Rabin felt skeptical about being an idol.
As she vigorously clapped for the person inside the monitor, Rabin felt her mind drifting further and further away from reality.
I shouldn't have kicked out the vocal trainer.
Rabin deeply regretted throwing a tantrum at the CEO a few days ago.
Was this all a nightmare?
No matter how she thought about it, none of this made sense.
How could a high school girl fold a 500-won coin in the first place?
However, Rabin didn't have the courage to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.
And so, the vocal training began in earnest.
She thought about rebelling, but with Seo-yeon standing there folding and unfolding the coin, she spent two hours obediently training.
「Good, good. Let’s call it a day.」
A day?
Those were truly terrifying words.
You mean this isn't over in one day?
When she looked at Seo-yeon with that thought, the girl nodded as if it were obvious.
"Shouldn't we keep going until you can sing the OST properly? I heard you don't have any other vocal trainers right now..."
At Seo-yeon’s words, everyone’s gaze turned toward Rabin.
The person who was the root cause of this entire situation.
Rabin didn't care about her teammates' glares.
She had to resolve this horrific situation somehow.
I have to find a vocal trainer immediately!!
When had she ever been this desperate?
She hadn't even been this desperate during her trainee days.
Since she was the niece of the CEO of Hoyeon Ent, her debut had already been guaranteed.
I will ban that beastly girl who uses brute force to establish dominance from ever entering this building again.
Did she even need to find a vocal trainer?
She just had to stop Ju Seo-yeon from coming!
Rabin believed in the public security of this country.
Surely they could do something about one ferocious creature.
But then.
"Rabin!!"
Rabin was taken aback by the sight of Shin Taek-jun, the CEO of Hoyeon Ent, running toward her with a bright smile.
Her uncle wasn't a man who smiled easily.
He usually only grinned like that when the company’s revenue saw a significant jump.
Did the sales for Summer Girl’s new song do well?
Thinking that, Rabin’s mood improved as well.
The new song featured a lot of her vocal parts.
If this song was a hit, she could finally take Cha Na-hee down a peg!
"Did the album sell well?"
"No."
He answered so easily that she wondered if she had misheard him.
Well, she knew. She already knew they were off the charts—and not in a good way.
She was just hoping.
Really.
"More importantly."
"What do you mean, 'more importantly'?"
That was the most important thing.
"Rabin, since when did you become friends with Ju Seo-yeon? Manager Im told me! He said Ju Seo-yeon came to help us today!"
"No, well, that is..."
If you asked if she came to help, the answer was technically yes.
And it was true that the vocal trainer inside the monitor was more skilled than expected.
"Make sure you hold onto her."
"……Huh?"
"Ju Seo-yeon. You know how popular she is these days, right? My Rabin finally did something useful!!"
At this point, she couldn't bring herself to say no.
It would hurt her pride in many ways to admit that Seo-yeon only came because she was friends with Cha Na-hee.
Now she understood why Manager Im hadn't stopped Seo-yeon.
"You know the company is a bit shaky lately, right? You have to keep her close, no matter what."
"Y-Yes."
In truth, Hoyeon was quite wealthy.
This was because Summer Girl’s sister group, Winterless, had once been a massive hit.
However, half the members were Chinese, and they had fled back to China.
The Korean members had then stopped putting in effort.
So, Hoyeon had adopted the motto "Replicate the success of Winterless!" and started churning out girl groups like a factory.
The only result left was Summer Girl.
Well, they still had plenty of money.
It was just that there weren't many new sources of income.
But if things are like this...
She couldn't ask him to hire a vocal trainer.
If they hired one, the reason for Seo-yeon to visit would disappear.
Why is this happening to me?
This was all because Cha Na-hee had brought this disaster upon them.
Even so, she couldn't harass Cha Na-hee anymore.
Rabin had no desire to be beaten to death with a 500-won coin.
And so, Summer Girl...
"……Please take care of us."
「Yes, let’s work hard today too!」
...ended up receiving vocal training from a person inside a monitor.
Seo-yeon watched them with a proud expression.
'?'
Cha Na-hee, who had just finished her schedule, watched the scene with a look of utter confusion.
She couldn't even begin to guess how things had turned out this way.
*
In any case, with the Mage’s help, the preparations for Summer Girl’s OST seemed to be progressing without a hitch.
Seo-yeon was particularly pleased because Rabin was being unexpectedly enthusiastic.
Na-hee unnie said thank you, too.
Rabin was so eager to meet the Mage that she even asked exactly when she would be coming back.
The Mage should probably be grateful to her.
Actual idols had become her fans.
Maybe I can invite them for a collaboration later?
She had never heard of idols appearing on a VTuber’s stream, but why not?
Or maybe Summer Girl could become VTubers.
There were quite a few former girl group members, but never a case where an entire group transitioned.
"Top-tier idols make their debut!"
Then the Mage would grow in an instant, and Ramiel would benefit as well, quickly becoming a major agency...
…….
Well, maybe growing too big would be a problem.
She just wanted them to be as big as they were in her past life.
If they got too big, they might not even react when she sent a Super Chat.
Thinking that far, Seo-yeon calmed down a bit.
Surely it wouldn't go that far.
At least I’m less nervous now.
Seo-yeon was currently on her way to the first meeting with the cast of Sky Garden.
Previously, she had only met the director and the producer, but now she would meet all the main cast members.
But isn't the pace a bit too fast?
It meant the preparations were already complete.
They were ready to film as soon as the actors were cast.
Come to think of it, the cast of Sky Garden...
Unless the actors had changed, they were all strangers to her, except for Cha Na-hee.
Furthermore, there were more actors around her age than in Dream Future.
"Seo-yeon, over here."
As she stepped inside, Cha Na-hee, who had arrived first, waved at her.
I’m glad there’s someone I know.
Just as she was walking toward her with that thought...
'?'
Seo-yeon suddenly felt a strange sensation.
She felt an intense gaze fixed on her.
And it was coming from the other actors her age who were already there.
Hmm.
Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes and scanned her surroundings.
She felt the gazes of the young actors intensify.
Mostly, they were hostile.
Now that I think about it, Jo Seo-hee said something like this.
That the power struggles are more intense among younger actors.
That was why Jo Seo-hee always acted flashy and confident.
"If you're just humble, people will look down on you. Keep that in mind."
Because they were young, their immature emotions often took the lead.
Seo-yeon felt like she finally understood what Jo Seo-hee’s words meant.