Can I Take That Back?
“This is why working from home is the best.”
Having finished his morning shift at home, he immediately prepared something to eat and sat down in front of his computer.
He searched YouTube for the music video Boss Kang had announced would drop at lunch today.
Mirai
Premiere in 5:31
“This is it……!”
A music video timed perfectly for the noon lunch break of every office worker. Even the high-quality illustration used as the thumbnail alone was enough to show how much care Boss Kang had poured into this one.
There was a reason he had openly boasted on stream that he had thrown real money at it. Anyone who knew the industry could roughly estimate the budget just from the list of participating staff.
“This is why I’m a Star Live fan!”
Click──!
Afternoon work could wait. He cracked open a can of beer and fired up his capture program. Normally, whenever a Star Live music video or clip went up, he was the fixed-nick gallery regular whose job was to snip the best stills and post them to the Star Live Gallery. Of course, since the gallery banned friendship cliques and name recognition, he could never flaunt it openly.
Every time he saw posts that were openly waiting for his captures, something warm bloomed in his chest. So once again he stretched big, heart pounding, and waited for the video to begin with the mindset of snagging the perfect shots.
[3…… 2…… 1…… 0]
The countdown ended. The music video started.
The future we all dreamed of…… is right here!
“Ah……”
A single tear rolled down his cheek. Any original-generation Star Live fan would have been hard-pressed not to cry at this video. The entire journey and every hardship Star Live had walked through until now, and the future that was about to unfold—all of it was packed inside. He wiped his tears and immediately dove into the capture work.
“First I’ll grab every frame, then……”
He was going through the group shots frame by frame, selecting the best stills, when──
“……Huh?”
Something strange caught his eye. Beyond the second-generation members, on the street that stretched out behind them, a single frame held a royal-gold-and-navy-blue princess character whose face was hidden—but anyone could tell she was a third-generation design.
“An Easter egg?”
He hurriedly isolated that frame and checked the second-verse part as well. ……It was there. Again the face was hidden, but a crimson-red-and-wine-purple vampire character……
“D-Don’t tell me the ending too?”
Dreaming of a free hit post, he skipped straight to the final highlight and analyzed the group shot of Gen 0 and Boss Kang frame by frame. It was there. Between the CEO and the Gen 0 members, Yeonha’s character stuck out her tongue in a teasing “bleh!” pose right at the viewers.
“Yeonha’s third gen too?!”
This was unstoppable. Just posting it would guarantee a recommended post. With that thought he immediately selected only the three photos and wrote a thread on the Star Live Gallery.
Naturally, his post rocketed to recommended status before even half the first page had scrolled past.
“With this, our Yeonha’s debut is locked in!”
The Mirai Easter eggs spread beyond the Star Live Gallery and through the entire fandom in an instant.
The firepower was so intense that people were talking about the Easter-egg members more than the original cast who were the actual protagonists of Mirai.
“Whoa…… our Yeonha’s popular, huh?”
“I’m jealous…… aren’t you actually more popular than us?”
Because of that, the two people sitting on either side of me grinned like idiots and poked my cheeks. Poke poke! Their fingers even dug into the corners of my mouth. ……It actually kinda hurt.
“D-Don’t tease meee! Both of you!”
It was frustrating, but I had no way to fight back, so I just took it quietly. Sensing my situation, Eo and Rina giggled and immediately piled on more teasing.
“Since it’s come to this, how about actually debuting as an official 3rd gen member?”
“If you decide to debut right now, us seniors will make you the absolute number one of 3rd gen, Yeonha.”
“N-Nooo!”
I thrashed around and escaped from between them. Who cares about being 3rd gen number one anyway! Avoiding debut is what matters!
“Yeonwoo, why do you hate the idea of debuting so much?”
“Th-That’s……”
At Eo’s question I quietly averted my gaze. It was embarrassing to answer, but……
“If you look at our members you’d already know. Star Live member schedules are insanely hard and exhausting……”
“Uh……”
“Mm……”
“That’s why I really respect all of you…… you’re doing things I could never do myself……”
“……”
“……”
The two of them went quiet, clearly not expecting that answer from me.
“And I already told the CEO before……”
To deliver the finishing blow I threw out a fact the members couldn’t deny.
“Until just a little while ago I was a guy, and I’m not even good at streaming……”
“……Huh?”
“I can’t sing well either…… and I can’t even produce good content……”
“……Eh?”
“Right now people only like me because I barely ever stream and it’s novel. If I started streaming every day like Eo or Rina, they’d definitely…… eegyaah?!”
My cheeks were grabbed. ……From both sides.
“What the hell are you saying, you crazy bitch.”
“Are you reverse-tsundere-ing right now? You little shit?”
Pain shot up from both cheeks and I hurriedly shouted.
“I-It’s trueee! Even Rina-ssi alone had to beat out hundreds of people in the open audition to get in. How is a nobody like me supposed to compete on stream?!”
“Well, I’m happy you’re hyping me up, but……”
Rina crossed her arms, thought for a second, then stared at me with a look of pure incomprehension.
“Weren’t you supposed to start streaming the second your vacation ends anyway? Why are you even worrying about this?”
“……Huh?!”
“And the stream content is something the CEO is deciding, right? Doesn’t that basically mean debut is already locked in?”
“Yeah, probably?”
“……”
Now that I thought about it, Yeonha already had the next stream scheduled. On top of that, because I lost the bet, the content was completely up to the CEO’s sole discretion. Even if they decided to run a live Produce Yeonha, there was no way to stop it.
“……”
“……”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Eo and Rina glanced at each other and then, as if their minds were linked, started clapping in unison.
“Congratulations. Congratulations.”
“Congratulations on Yeonha’s 3rd gen debut.”
“N-Nooooo!”
I desperately tried to clamp my hands over their mouths as they rewrote the birthday song into a debut celebration song. Of course, with Yeonha’s pathetic physical strength there was no chance of stopping the two of them.
“Hehe…… since it’s already come to this, go tell the CEO first.”
Eo smoothly dodged my hands, hugged me from behind, and whispered into my ear.
“What do you meaan?”
“Compromise with a staff debut instead of official gen.”
“Sh-Should I……?”
A staff debut was definitely a lot better than an official generation debut. Official member schedules were pure hell. You had to sing, prepare for concerts, and attend every single Star Live official event without fail. And on top of that you still had to keep streaming regularly. With a staff debut at least the schedule would be a little more flexible. Even if it wasn’t, it would still be better than being a full official member.
“Yeonha’s character was redesigned assuming a staff debut anyway, so if you phrase it well maybe you can negotiate?”
“Mmm……! That’s true……!”
“And the CEO is weak to Yeonwoo. Grab his legs, cry and beg, and tell him you hate official debut so please settle for staff debut.”
“Th-That’s a little embarrass……”
“A moment of shame can change the future! Don’t you know that saying?”
“I-I’ve never heard it?!”
I genuinely had never heard that line before. Wait, was there actually a saying like──
“Of course you haven’t, Eo just made it up!”
“Hey you—?!”
“Hehe……”
Somehow…… it wasn’t in my memory at all…… I thought my Yeonha ttyuttya brain had just forgotten it again. Lately this guy’s been trolling me nonstop.
“By the way……”
Swoosh──!
The moment Rina was about to say something, the iron door to the 3rd Floor opened. The CEO appeared. He must have left work early.
“What are you all doing in the living room?”
He asked while closing the door. Eo waved casually in greeting.
“Oh, Boss, you’re here?”
Rina, standing next to her, pouted and grumbled.
“Why do you only leave early when we’re around? Do that on Karen or Nene’s turns instead……”
“……Do I have to check your schedules just to decide when I go home?”
Looking completely done with their nonsense, the CEO set his bag down and walked toward me like he had business.
“You there, Yeonha.”
“……It’s Yeonwoo.”
I was still stubbornly denying the name change that was quietly advancing.
“I have something work-related to discuss, so come to my room. Let’s talk for a bit.”
“Ugh……!”
In this situation there was only one work-related reason the CEO would call me. It had to be about Yeonha’s official gen debut based on fan opinion.
Tadadash──! Grab!
“?”
Just like Eo taught me, I frantically ran over and latched onto the CEO’s leg. Then I looked up at him with the most pitiful face I could manage.
“I-I hate official gen debut! Even if you force me, please just make it a staff debut! Please!”
“Uh……”
“Th-The fans are only saying that because you put those Easter eggs in, Boss! So please……”
“……”
“I’ll do a staff debut without a single complaint, so──”
“……What are you talking about?”
“?”
I lifted my head to find the CEO looking down at me with pure confusion. Under my gaze he scratched his cheek for a moment, then smirked and continued.
“A famous game company asked if Yeonha would voice one of their characters. That’s what I wanted to talk about?”
“……Eh?”
“Hmm……”
Speechless, I let go of the CEO’s leg. A sinister smile spread across his lips as he spoke to me in the tone of a cheap villain.
“……So staff debut is fine then? Yeonha?”
“Uh……”
I whipped my head around, eyes begging for help.
“Pffft……!”
“Kgh……!”
Eo and Rina. Both of them had their hands clamped over their mouths, barely holding back laughter. ……They clearly had zero intention of helping me.
“……Can I take back what I just said?”
I carefully tried to retract it, but──
“Yeah. Fuck off.”
The CEO firmly declared that the deal was sealed. There was only one thing left for me to say.
“Yeah. Yeonha’s done for.”