Bankruptcy War (3)

The first stage of Zenith was a street live performance. The group had been slapped together on a whim by the executives. Naturally, their skill level was abysmal, and they didn't even have proper equipment. On top of that, those damn drug-brained bitches had pushed the group's atmosphere to the brink of collapse. Seriously, even thinking about it now, those girls were in a league of their own.

'But.'

Despite all those terrible conditions, Zenith still stepped onto the stage. It was by no means a perfect performance. In fact, it was an absolute mess. Do Hamin showed up late because of a hangover, Ayaka forgot the lyrics, and Shin Seohee fell over during the choreography. I had only recently left my ordinary life behind, so while I wasn't as bad as them, I still made several big and small mistakes. Even so, it was still a good stage.

Zenith's first performance immediately became a hot topic online. There were both favorable and critical views, but it was thanks to that recognition that Zenith was able to grow. Becoming Korea's top idol. Collapsing right before performing at Jamsil Stadium. All of it started from that very first stage.

Of course, Zenith's story ended there. I had ended it with my own hands, and I had no intention of going back. I wasn't the kind of person with enough free time to comfort myself by reminiscing about past glory.

But even so.

That wasn't a reason I couldn't stand on stage.

"......"

I roughly scrolled past the viewers' chat and started settling into a corner of the square. Standing on stage for the first time in a while, my hands trembled faintly. But the moment I grabbed the microphone, that trembling began to subside.

'No need to be nervous.'

This was something I'd done countless times before. It was something I'd keep doing many times in the future.

Once the trembling in my hands had completely stopped, I slowly looked around. A soundproof booth filled with the low hum of computer fans. The only equipment was a microphone and a broadcast audio interface. The audience was the viewers, and the singer was just me.

"What a shabby stage."

It really was a shabby stage. It wasn't perfect. In fact, it was a complete mess. The company was on the verge of total bankruptcy, and the shortfall was a whopping 2 billion won. Yet there was no proper way to get the money, so here I was, forced to sing on the street like a beggar. The worst possible situation. The worst possible stage.

Even so.

No, perhaps precisely because of that.

"...Hah."

I smiled and stepped up onto the stage.

The entertainment industry might look, at first glance, like a world that runs on cold calculation and capital. Just like how this server appears right now. But in reality, no industry is more emotional than the entertainment world. Idols are beings who sell dreams for a living. Even if those dreams are nothing but well-crafted lies. Even if they're just mirages that vanish the moment the lights go out.

The three minutes you stand on stage. During that time, you must show your fans the best dream possible. Because you sell dreams, you must stand on stage. Because you stand on stage, you must pour out your heart. That is the duty of an idol. No, it is their privilege.

"Shall we begin?"

Today once again, I held the microphone tight.

Gaeulnam. 830,000 subscribers. An AOS game streamer. Because he had received his invitation late on the third day, he had been stuck in a mine for several days straight without coming out.

"Did diamonds go extinct on this server or something?"

"This doesn't make sense?? I've been stuck in this mine for hours and this is all the diamonds I got??"

Although he had joined the server sporadically because of his streaming schedule, he never imagined his luck would be this terrible. Of course, it wasn't that diamonds weren't coming out at all. Other minerals had already filled up his inventory and were being stored as blocks... But because the most valuable mineral, diamond, refused to appear, Gaeulnam was on the verge of losing his mind.

Then, a donation message appeared in his stream.

There was a busking performance happening in the square, why don't you go check that out...

"Aigo, thank you for the 50,000 won donation. But it's not that I don't want to go out. I can't go out because I'm not making any money."

"...What do you mean VTuber? You all know I don't even watch idols."

Judging from the chat's reaction, it seemed another troll had caused a VTuber viral moment. But since the amount was too large to simply dismiss as trolling, Gaeulnam quickly calmed the viewers and said,

"Well... my inventory is almost full anyway, so I need to head back. Should we go take a look while we're at it?"

"Alright, alright. I'm going."

Gaeulnam, who had reluctantly answered the viewers, stopped mining, opened the menu, and teleported to the square.

─────♬

The moment he arrived at the square, the sound of singing reached his ears. Before long, Gaeulnam spotted a crowd gathered a short distance from the fountain.

"Is that the place?"

Gaeulnam moved closer to the crowd to listen to the song. At the same time, the background-like singing gradually became clearer.

─Goodbye, your destined person.

"......"

The chat stirred at the clear, refreshing tone of her voice. But Gaeulnam paid the chat no mind, wearing a dazed expression as if possessed by something.

─It hurts, but I won't admit it, Is it because he's tired? Or because of the singing voice he was hearing? With every phrase, Gaeulnam unconsciously took another step forward. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Like a moth drawn to light. Or a butterfly chasing a scent. He plunged into the crowd and moved instinctively, following the song.

How long had he been walking in that trance?

─Very beautiful

As the final verse ended, cheers erupted. Only then did Gaeulnam realize he was standing at the very front of the audience, clapping.

"...Ah."

It was the moment a fanboy accident occurred.

Thunderous applause and cheers rang out. After finishing the song, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and let out a heated breath.

"...Whew."

It seemed the performance had been a success. There were about two hundred participants on the server, but the number of people in front of me alone looked to be around a hundred. At this rate, it was safe to say everyone currently online had gathered here.

But I had no intention of ending the show after just one song, so instead of immediately continuing to the next, I stayed silent and waited.

"W-what? Suddenly?"

"Don't tell me she's only doing two songs...?"

"No way...? Please say it's not true..."

"......"

Despite the growing complaints from the audience and viewers, I remained completely silent. As the square, once filled with song, fell into silence and the murmurs of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the crowd grew louder, a man standing at the very front suddenly opened his mouth.

"E-encore...!"

AutumnMan. A nickname I'd never seen before. Translated literally, it meant Autumn Man. And starting with that single cry of 'encore' from him, the crowd's murmurs gradually turned into roars.

"Encore!! Encore!!"

"Sponsorship RP, give us an encore right now!!"

"We have to do an encore, right?"

"...Hah."

At the familiar sight, I couldn't help but burst into laughter. The square rang with the crowd's cries for an encore for a while. Only after their voices died down did I finally speak.

"I'm really sorry, but... from here on, it's a paid service."

"Idol concerts usually have pretty expensive tickets, you know."

At my words asking for money, the crowd began to murmur. I continued without paying them any mind.

"I'll sing one more song for every 100 million you raise."

It wasn't that I was particularly greedy for money. This was all a desperate struggle to save the company. But openly saying I was going to crush Akgyeon would be a bit much, so I just roughly framed it as ticket prices.

Then, the streamer who had first shouted for an encore asked me,

"I-is there a limit to how many songs you'll sing...?"

A perfectly timed question. I smiled and answered kindly.

"No. There's no limit."

At my words, the crowd began murmuring again. But this time, unlike before, it was in a positive way. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I smiled and added one more thing.

"Please send the money not to me, but to our company, Galaxy Electronics. As investment funds."

After all, this live was essentially a shareholders' meeting to attract investment. So it would be better to receive the money through the company rather than my personal account. Plus, there was one more advantage to doing it this way.

"Finally. If the requested songs exceed twenty..."

I paused for a moment, letting the words hang. Then I continued.

"I'll refund the entire ticket price."

They had the money.