Make a Contract With Me and Become My Editing Slave!

I blurt it out: "Make a contract with me and become my editing slave!" The screen is a feast of flesh tones laid out before me. Frowning at the sight, I mutter under my breath.

"Hentai...?"

Hajun's gay...? What the hell is this... No matter how you slice it, drawing hentai of your sister's former coworker...? If you're gonna cave to your lust and abandon the last shred of human decency, what are we supposed to do...?

Well, thanks to this, our internal rapport has shot up at least. With a setup like this, convincing him from here on out should be a breeze.

Meanwhile, Do Hajun hurriedly blocks the screen with his body and starts making excuses to me.

"Ah, ahh, no...!! Th-this isn't hentai or anything..."

Click! But did he hit something wrong in the process? Soon enough, a pink-haired twintailed big-titted beauty pops up on the monitor, and a familiar voice starts chattering away.

A replay of my stream uploaded to NewTube. Spotting the already-hit subscribe and like buttons below the video, I think to myself.

What the...? Is he already losing his mind wanting to be my slave?

If he keeps wagging his tail like this, begging to be a voluntary slave... I might just kidnap him and stuff him full of gunmandu dumplings...

"H-heeek...!! Pl-please, anything but a lawsuit..."

"......"

Meanwhile, oblivious Do Hajun lets out a terrified scream. Looks like he thinks the lawsuit demon Eunha Seong has invaded his studio.

"...Sigh."

I let out a sigh. A real, genuine sigh.

After the commotion dies down.

Do Hajun brings out tea in paper cups, and we continue our conversation.

"S-sorry... This is all I have in the studio."

"No no, I'm grateful even for this."

Standard green tea you'd find in some small company's office. But I down the green tea he offered in one go and get down to business.

"Anyway, what an honor. Who would've thought 'Pudding' was my fan..."

"Ahaha..."

The moment I mention 'Pudding,' Do Hajun laughs awkwardly and averts his eyes. A perfectly natural reaction.

Back in my idol days, if he hadn't hidden his identity from me, we wouldn't have crossed paths like this. Well, for me, it's like I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠accidentally snagged his weakness.

He stammers, asking me.

"B-but how did you get in here? It was definitely locked..."

"It was open?"

"...Huh?"

"More importantly, why aren't you picking up your phone? I must've called at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠least ten times before coming here."

"D-did I...?"

At my words, Do Hajun fumbles for his phone in a panic. Glancing at the notification screen over his shoulder, I see about ten missed calls.

Well, I never expected him to actually answer anyway. Even if he did, would this guy meet up just because I asked?

That's why I just barged in.

I'd gotten his address before, so on a whim, I stormed the place like the FBI. Thanks to that, I caught Do Hajun red-handed in his studio, drawing my hentai.

He lifts the steaming paper cup and continues.

"Anyway... Wh-what brings you to a dump like this...?"

"Oh, nothing big. I'm looking for a NewTube editor these days."

Pffft!!

At the word 'editor,' the green tea he'd been sipping sprays out. He stares at me with wide eyes and stammers back.

"Ed-ed-editor...?"

"Yeah. So, what I was saying..."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about... I-I'm no good at editing... Ahaha..."

Shiver shiver.

Do Hajun brings the trembling paper cup to his lips. Most of the contents are spilling out, but he doesn't notice, too tense.

I press on.

"Cut the act, Animator Pudding."

Pffft!!

Do Hajun unleashes another Hydro Pump into the air. Thinks he's some Zerg Hydralisk from a space war game or something.

I continue.

"Compared to making animations, trimming archives and adding subtitles should be a piece of cake, right? I know you did kirinuki clips in the early days of your channel..."

Animator Pudding. He's a big name in the otaku scene.

Started with a VTuber kirinuki channel, then moved into animations, rode the algorithm wave to explode in popularity. Produced countless MVs and animation shorts, racking up over 800,000 subscribers in just a year—a legendary figure.

But the man himself shakes his head furiously in denial.

"I-I don't know anyone like that...!! I'm just a nobody composer..."

"Weird... Then what was that hentai—no, fanart—I just saw?"

"I-it's not hentai...!!"

Do Hajun's face turns beet red. Seeing him so embarrassed makes teasing him all the more worthwhile. A far cry from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that nagging million-sub trickster.

Calming his excitement, he continues.

"Anyway, no can do. How could someone like me handle editing...? I quit animation production ages ago..."

"Just start again?"

"I-I'm done with that line of work... Find someone else."

"Tch..."

A firmer refusal than expected. Not surprising, but not welcome either.

Won't be easy after all...

His words probably aren't lies. His 'Pudding' channel hasn't uploaded in years.

Whatever the trigger, he's quit animation and is scraping by as an unknown composer now.

But at the same time, that's the angle I need to work.

"Too bad... I prepared a generous offer..."

Right now, as a composer, he's got zero notable achievements. Considering his sister Hamin Do was a gambling addict and druggie but still had a few hits, his talent there is pretty dismal.

Having quit animation, he's probably strapped for cash. No way that junkie left money for family.

I continue.

"Oh, and by the way, it's not a salary—it's a NewTube revenue split. 50-50."

"......"

A shadow crosses Do Hajun's face. I figured he'd jump at conditions like that, but unexpected.

After his lips twitch for a while, he asks.

"...Why go this far?"

"Huh?"

"I-it's... an insanely good deal... Why offer something like this to a guy like me...?"

His gaze drops. For someone who soloed 800k subs, he looks pathetically small.

I spot the graphic tablet on the desk and say.

"You're a fan, aren't you?"

Do Hajun looks up. I press on.

"It's a fan's chance to make Oshi the top VTuber. A rare opportunity?"

"......"

"Well, drawing hentai doesn't make you my oshi or anything..."

Truth is, I'm the desperate one. No one can grow my NewTube faster than Do Hajun right now.

I tell him.

"I'm hitting 2 million subs."

2 million subs.

"And for that, I need you."

"......"

Do Hajun looks entranced. But soon he snaps back to his usual expression and starts pondering.

"...Hold on."

A dead-serious face, totally different from before. After agonizing for a long time, he finally speaks.

"I have conditions."

I nod ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for him to go on. He continues.

"First, let's adjust the split. 70-30 sounds good."

"Wait, that's..."

"Yume gets 70, me 30."

"......"

A way lower split than my initial offer. Beyond my common sense.

The opposite of entertainment industry's greed-driven types, maybe?

He keeps proposing.

"And all revenue outside ads goes to you. Shorts included, obviously."

"...Got it."

"In exchange."

That's the setup; now the real meat. Instinct kicking in, I focus on his next words.

"Let me manage everything NewTube-related."

Full delegation of the NewTube channel. That's his condition.

And then.

"One year."

He holds up one finger, pointing at me.

"In one year, I'll make you a 2 million VTuber."

At those words.

I smile and extend my hand. Contract sealed.

After the storm named Seong Eunha—no, Yume sweeps through.

Left alone in the studio, Do Hajun sits there in a daze for a while.

"You're a fan, aren't you?"

"...Ha."

Her crisp voice echoes in his head like an afterimage. He repeats it to himself over and over, picking up the stylus he'd dropped who-knows-when.

"Damn... I swore I'd never do it again."

A job he'd abandoned long ago. But ending up like this means he still had lingering regrets.

Click.

The drawing he'd been working on pops up on screen. Normally, he'd finish it half-assed for fun.

But after hearing those words from her in person, he couldn't just slap it together anymore.

"After getting fan service like that."

Shouldn't he at least put in equal effort? Self-esteem low, but pro when it comes to work—that's him.

Hitting 800k subs in a year was pure skill.

He sits there finishing the drawing, then fires up the editing software dormant for years.

And starts replaying Yume's debut stream from the beginning, for the umpteenth time.

Things were about to get busy. To grow the dusty NewTube from scratch.

And exactly one week later.

NewTube subscribers break 300k.