Repayment
Even after dozing off once my call with Yu Nari ended, there was still no word from her.
Something going on?
We had only exchanged gifts. How had things ended up like this?
Still…
Stretched out like a starfish, I turned her words over in my mind.
Without me, she would have been destined for shut-in NEET life…
Yu Nari had said she was alive because of me.
That was why she wanted to give me a present.
I was the one who ought to copy-paste those exact words onto everyone around me.
Because Yu Nari had sung my song.
Because the people at the company had backed me up.
And above all, because of the countless people who had listened to my music.
Seventy-three million won. Was that even a real number?
I had truly received the whole world.
I never could have done it alone.
Just like Yu Nari, I wanted to do something for other people too.
But how?
Having never really lived a social life, even the methods of expressing myself felt foreign.
The only person I could casually ask about something like this was Yu Nari.
“Uuugh.”
And she had vanished.
Maybe I should just do what she had done for me—call people, thank them, and say I wanted to give them gifts.
It was not as if I would be saying anything bad.
First, I contacted Han So-yeong.
“Yes, what is it?”
“……Manager, thank you.”
Silence stretched.
“……Did you cause some kind of accident? That doesn’t sound like you……”
Speaking as bluntly as Yu Nari felt awkward on me.
“Ah, no, that’s not it. Um. I wanted to convey my thanks to the people who helped me.”
“Pardon? Ah, no, that’s just my job, and, uh, um… thank you. This is a first, so it feels rather novel.”
You must be exhausted looking after all this clumsiness of mine.
A few flustered coughs drifted over the line.
“We’re the ones receiving a great deal of help from you, Producer. Your earnings are quite substantial, after all.”
“Please keep taking care of me from now on……”
“Of course.”
The smile that had entered her reply let me breathe easier.
“May I ask one more favor?”
With people like Park Gi-dong or Representative Kim Hye-min, I had never exchanged private messages—only composition feedback—so reaching out directly felt difficult.
I was earning money because the representative had given me a good contract, and Junior Composer Park Gi-dong had suffered plenty because of me.
“Could you pass along my thanks to Representative Kim Hye-min and Mr. Park Gi-dong as well? Along with gifts. Including yourself, of course, Manager.”
“Gifts?”
“I received a large settlement, so I wanted to give presents at least…… Would you be able to recommend something?”
“Hmm. How generous.”
“Pardon?”
“No, I mean you’re very kind.”
Han So-yeong paused a moment, then asked again.
“……What sort of price range are you thinking?”
How much would be appropriate? Yu Nari had said she was gifting me the latest phone, so about that much? Around a million won, maybe?
“A million won?”
“Mmm, someone like Park Gi-dong—well, Mr. Gi-dong—would love it, but a million is a bit much. Let’s cut it to five hundred thousand.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Since Mr. Gi-dong is a composer in his own right, something like decent earphones would be good. As for the representative, she already receives so many luxury gifts. A formal gift set—something expensive that keeps well—would be best.”
“What kind?”
“I’ll look into the expensive ones at a department store.”
“Yes, please. And for you, Manager…?”
“For me… ahem, this is a little embarrassing. It feels like begging for presents from parents pretending to be Santa when I was little.”
“S-sorry.”
A clear burst of laughter came through the phone.
“Not at all. There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m grateful. Mm, the truth is I was planning to buy a Galaxy Watch for work.”
“Would that be all right?”
“Yes. I’ll use it gratefully.”
“Understood.”
Earphones, a top-tier gift set, a Galaxy Watch.
I scribbled them into my notes.
“And one more thing.”
There was still something I had not figured out.
“Yes?”
“How should I express my gratitude to the people who loved my song?”
“The fans?”
“That seventy-three million won figure all came from them. And I haven’t done anything for them.”
“Hmm……?”
Even Han So-yeong did not have an easy answer.
“Composers usually don’t handle that sort of thing…… Nari or Yui would take care of it…… I didn’t realize, but I’m starting to worry you might be a little too altruistic.”
No, I’m incredibly selfish—that’s why I was holed up in my room like this.
It wasn’t that. I had simply received so much.
“The desire to repay them isn’t a bad thing in itself.”
“Right?”
“It’s not as if Yeong-il is going to interact with people directly…… In the end, isn’t the only option songs? Repaying them with good songs.”
“I write songs anyway……”
“Ah, come to think of it, we’re in the middle of setting up the company SNS. You could leave a thank-you message there?”
“Since you sing well, you could record a song as a thank-you and upload it too……”
“Ah, but your voice already went out as A-il, so that won’t work. If you record and upload it, people will know right away it’s A-il.”
Han So-yeong tossed out ideas one after another, but nothing quite settled into a proper answer.
“For now, let’s lock in posting a thank-you on the company SNS. Think about the rest slowly.”
“Yes. I’ll send the gifts to the company address, so could I ask you to pass them along?”
“The person giving the gifts is saying all sorts of things.”
Her voice had brightened considerably, which was a relief.
“Understood. Leave it to me.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ve heard that far too many times today. You can stop now.”
Click—
Even if the way to repay the people who had listened to my songs remained completely foggy…
I had somehow managed to show sincerity to the three people at the company.
And who else was there to look after?
Ah.
Yui.
We had sung together recently.
I remembered Yui, who had first greeted me with that long message.
What should I gift Yui?
A present you could give a VTuber…
This was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to ask Yu Nari about, and it was a shame she was incommunicado.
What on earth was she doing?
“Hmm.”
Something Yui would like.
From a fan’s perspective, only broadcast-related things came to mind. But she probably already had all the related gear.
Should I just ask her directly again?
No.
Remembering how flustered Han So-yeong had been at first, asking “What should I get you?” might actually be rude.
If I really had no choice I would ask, but before that I decided to wrack my own brains a little more.
Broadcast. Broadcast.
Giving her something that would help with Yui’s streams seemed like the best option.
“Ah.”
I remembered the suggestion at the end of Yui’s long greeting message.
A live duet of Spotlight together.
Even so, that was…… that was not easy.
……Let’s drop it.
Find something else.
I fidgeted with my smartphone, then my hands went still.
Han So-yeong’s words kept circling.
In the end, isn’t the only option songs? Repaying them with good songs.
Writing songs and singing them.
Writing songs, as I had said, was something I did anyway.
Singing…
That was truly difficult……
But if I sang just one song on Yui’s stream, it would be repayment to Yui and, at the same time,
gratitude toward the thousands of people who had praised my song.
The answer to “How do I repay the fans?” that Han So-yeong had not been able to solve was right here.
Even though the most plausible answer had appeared, my legs were shaking.
“…….”
As Yeong-il, it was absolutely impossible.
But as A-il, maybe it was doable.
It was a disposable mask I had made, and it was not as if I was going to keep performing under it.
If things went south, I could just throw it away.
Then, even if I could not reach everyone who had loved Yeong-il’s song, I could give a small gift to thousands of people.
Was I getting hooked on challenges these days, or was I just crazy?
Where was this ridiculous courage suddenly bubbling up from?
I glanced around my room.
Nothing about the environment was changing.
Just like always, I would be murmuring into the computer and mic inside this narrow soundproof booth.
The only differences were that I would have to sing with Yui,
and that viewers would be listening.
I had spoken briefly with Kurogami Yui while directing the recording,
and I had watched her streams often enough, so okay.
It was only a matter of adapting. I thought I could do it.
What about the live reactions during the stream?
That… I would simply not look at the chat.
If I sang facing the wall like always, it would be fine, right?
“Aah. Ahem.”
Clearing my throat the way I did when recording, I tried a few songs alone.
“Standing behind the curtain. Close enough for our fingertips to touch.”
My throat itched in a pleasant way.
I was not standing on a stage.
Just like the lyrics of Spotlight, I would be singing from behind the curtain.
As Yeong-il, once the company SNS was up I would post something short later.
For now, so that I could convey even a little of my gratitude to them.
“I can do this. I can do this.”
I chanted the order, recalling the heartbeat from the first time I had headed for the convenience store.
I pulled the chair in and straightened my back.
Still holding the tremor, I hit play on the track.
Yui’s voice and mine came through.
Warming up my throat, I stood before the mic.
The monitor right in front of me.
Beyond this familiar monitor.
So that I could reach outside the curtain.
Kurogami Yui received the message, checked it again, and checked it once more.
“For real?”
It had been a live duet request she had sent without any real expectation.
“Hieee?”
Her hands shook so hard that the reply was riddled with typos.
r e a lly?
Delete.
reallyy?!
frreal?!
Why does everything I type look like a swear word!
Concentrating letter by letter, she carefully finished it.
The timing was perfect too.
She had been so busy with outside work that she had not been able to do anything, yet without a single bit of promotion Spotlight had climbed the charts.
Of course, the official MV on YouTube had already passed seven hundred thousand views and was providing automatic advertising, but that was a different flavor from the song’s owner promoting it directly to the fans.
So she had been planning a proper live stream in front of the viewers where they could all spin the song together.
And if A-il showed up on top of that, the aggro pull would be rock-solid and a huge help.
Some might say the appearance of a completely unknown singer with no foundation could not possibly help.
But even a little searching of A-il’s name made it clear his impact was quite solid.
Among Link viewers, the question lingered: just who was Muse Family’s artist A-il? A new VTuber?
For those who had stumbled across the song by chance, curiosity about the singer.
Because there was not so much as a speck of data to be found, the curiosity simply drifted through the depths of the internet.
Yui hurriedly opened her broadcast scheduler.
Special Broadcast — Spotlight LIVE (feat. A-il)
The date was this coming Saturday.
She saved the title and sent a message to Yeong-il.
Imagining the viewer count made Yui’s mouth water on its own.