Please Contract with Me and Debut as YouTubers!
The Spirit Idol Group Nature was on the brink of dissolution.
"....?"
The start was heavy.
But it began with something completely unforeseen.
"You all know this, but Nature's gigs are extremely limited. One a week is barely enough."
"Why, isn't that just because you're brand-new recruits who just debuted?"
"You think Yuseong Group is too incompetent to support a brand-new rookie idol?"
"That's...."
A completely natural question.
Along with the completely natural reply.
"We're barely scraping by on the few gigs we have left, using our own money to keep them afloat. In the end, it's literally eating into my own flesh. The reality is that I've been bleeding red ink nonstop and haven't managed to turn the tide at all."
".........."
The atmosphere gradually grew darker.
Everyone had understood without being told.
A brand-new idol group.
A group that had Yuseong Group as its rock-solid backing.
Was only getting one gig a week at best.
And that one was sometimes gone entirely.
It was obvious when you looked at it from any angle that something was off.
But the reason I hadn't noticed until now...
"Coach....?"
"I didn't know either."
The coach and trainer couldn't have known because he was so busy juggling work that he hadn't had a moment to breathe.
Like a freeloading NEET who feels a strange rush of satisfaction every time he drags himself back to the gym after a sleepless night, only to fool himself into thinking he'd made real progress.
It's growth, all right. But the timing, the context, and what you should actually be focusing on were completely different.
"Uh... uh, uh, what do we do...? Am I just going to fall back into being unemployed like this....??"
"Sujin-ah. You're smiling right now."
"Hie! I would never think working is losing, okay!"
"There's nothing to say."
One out of the three felt a bit better, but overall I understood the whole situation with Nature wasn't good at all.
No good solution was going to appear, so...
In the end, I had no choice but to step forward first.
"Who the hell is it?"
"Even if you know, it won't help."
"Yeah, who the hell is it, then?"
"Someone you can't handle with your current level, Yeonhwa."
"You'd have to hear it to believe it."
"Yoo Hanseong."
"............"
"The eldest son of Yuseong Group."
"....Ooh."
Yeonhwa instinctively took a step back.
Of course you need to hear it to believe it, but once I did...
"...Is this guy insane. Why the hell is it the same family....?"
A little muttering was unavoidable, but...
Hyewon continued with a tiny smile, clearly pleased that Yeonhwa was still looking out for her.
"Even if we keep going like this, Nature might actually dissolve. No matter how much I say it, running an idol group as a side hobby is still too much for an individual, isn't it?"
"....Really?"
Harin nodded slowly.
A mix of acceptance.
Then Sujin raised her hand.
"Um... um..."
"Yes, Sujin? Go ahead."
"Um... um, maybe... retirement pay...?"
"..........."
Sujin-ah?
"............"
"Hie, hie?! Aww, but someone had to say it!"
All three of their eyes were on Sujin.
No words to say, but damn if she wasn't bold.
Sujin was trembling as she took a defensive stance with both hands, looking like nothing more than a keyboard warrior or a hikikomori.
'...Keyboard warrior?'
Just checking.
"Sujin-ah. You on any social media?"
"Wha? Why are you asking suddenly..."
"Idols have to be, right?"
"....Hah! This is it, right? If you posted some weird shit on SNS, it's contract violation, rule violation, and before you go filing for retirement pay or whatever, you have to quietly leave! I know! I know it!"
"???"
What the hell kind of thing is that.
"Haha, but too bad! I don't have even one SNS account on my facebook, Instagram, Twitter, nothing! Not a single follower! Nothing!"
I do have accounts, but they're only for gaming or event giveaways!
The only app that's active is the one where noona recommended friends!
"Speak up! What are you going to blackmail me with!"
".....Umm."
What should I say.
I glanced behind me.
"...The kid lacks social awareness."
"Sorry. Sujin is a bit... that's why..."
"No. Yeah. I knew."
"....Eep"
Is this something to be glad about?
A normal person who had been living with their boss right up to the brink of bankruptcy would be called a "traitor for life" if they screamed "Give me my retirement pay, you bastard!"
But a hikikomori NEET who tells the boss "If you don't pay my retirement pay, I'm reporting to the labor board!" gets this strangely believable reaction.
This is called the "mutual deterrence" strategy.
Like throwing gasoline on a fire and then putting it out with more gasoline.
"Sujin-ah."
"!...C-Coach, that wasn't what I meant...."
"Want to chat on KakaoTalk?"
"........"
She fished out her phone.
Was she secretly hoping for a friend recommendation?
"Well, even though things went a bit off track, I have a request for all of you."
Sujin's retirement pay protest was completely swept away, and Hyewon regained the spotlight.
"I don't want to be powerless like this."
"I don't want our efforts to be thrown away."
"We worked hard. We invested in ourselves. We want to receive the return on that investment."
"───!"
All three nodded.
'Hyewon-ah. Haven't you already received the compensation?'
It was still confusing to me.
They hadn't even debuted and were already getting their salaries.
As Spirit Contractors, their growth had also skyrocketed.
E to F-rank dungeons were no longer a problem for them to solo, right?
So even if I say it like this, the kids had already received plenty.
If I had to nitpick, Hyewon was probably closest to being the only one bearing the full cost...
"Yoo Hanseong, the eldest son of Yuseong Group. I want revenge on that guy!"
"We're not weak! No matter how much you stomp us, we'll still shine!"
"I want to crush the nose of the guy who's blatantly ignoring us!"
".....Hmm."
I couldn't say that with the mood like this.
"Please, everyone."
"!,...No...."
"Don't say that, President!"
"Uh... ah ah ah...?! "
I bowed my head with genuine feeling.
The girls were flustered. But it was clear their hearts had heard Hyewon's words.
"Fight with me. Please."
At Hyewon's words...
"...Well. I was going to do it anyway."
"Of course, President."
"Ret... retirement pay will come out, right...?"
Nature had all made up their minds to move forward.
And by the way, Sujin. Why has there been so much talk about retirement pay since earlier?
Did you touch something weird?
"Th-that... I took an emergency loan...."
"Eh? Emergency loan?"
Nah, loans are fine.
I can't tell someone older than me, an adult, not to take out one.
But the real problem is... what exactly did you borrow it for...
"...Ah. Did you really use it for those 1:1 ratio figurines?"
".........."
The look in their eyes that said "How did you know?"
It wasn't hard to guess.
"Your parents sent photos, didn't they?"
"Th-that... we weren't supposed to know about that....!"
"Daughter's money from working. It shouldn't be touched, right? Still, your parents worry because you've been getting too many packages lately."
"Th-that much...."
"The uncle who collects cardboard every morning goes to the dump and hauls it away in a truck."
"........."
No comment.
But then what?
"Used all the money for figurine collecting and still took out a loan on top?"
"! Uuoh, emergency loans are fine! It's only 3 million! Next month's salary comes in and I can pay it back!"
"Don't you have the concept of living expenses? And that money came out of whose wallet."
You really...
Th-that, ah, no.
"Stop making credit cards. You'll get wiped out one day."
"....I'm so sorry."
At least she had some self-awareness. Sujin lowered her head deeply.
She couldn't possibly ask her parents to pay back, but...
And that was exactly why she'd be willing to work her ass off just to get the retirement pay or whatever.
"Thank you, everyone."
Hyewon stood up straight.
She smiled with a bright grin. Her eyes, however, held a gaze that no one would ever mistake for weakness.
"Then from now on, I'll tell you how to fight back against the bastards who are trying to harass us."
"..........."
Eyes focused.
And then Hyewon shouted.
"Please make me your YouTuber by contracting with me!"
"......?"
"We've already prepared soundproof booths for broadcasting right next to all of you!"
"──!!"
No losers.
Spirit Idol Nature.
YouTube debut in one hour.
***
"I wonder if it'll really work...?"
"You said it yourself, then it should."
"...Even if you look at it, it just looks like gambling to me."
"But if there's no other way, we have to try something, don't we?"
Now the important part was camera settings...
"Yes. Connected perfectly, President!"
"Glad to hear that. By the way, I thought you knew how to operate a camera too?"
Ayoung had taken the camera spot. Instead of the camera man.
I found it a little strange that she handled the broadcast equipment so well.
In my memory, she wasn't connected to anything like this at all...
"...If it's broadcasting, then somehow."
"Broadcasting?.....Ah."
Thinking about it, there was some connection with broadcasting.
The problem was that it was adult broadcasting, but...
'Thinking about that.'
Ayoung should stay out of the camera's range as much as possible.
It was an unexpected bonus.
I nodded and gathered Nature.
"First, I connected the screen in the training center, the TV by the treadmill, and the TVs in the lobby."
Broadcast settings were perfect.
So the only thing left was to start the stream.
I walked toward Nature and said.
"I'll switch to individual broadcasting after this. Think about what you'll do while training."
"What?"
"Coach?"
"Uh... uh uh uh....!"
The girls were flustered.
Don't worry. You learn by hitting the ground, so to speak.
I lowered the call sign as is. Ayoung nodded too.
"Okay. Let's start."
[Spirit Idol─Nature Official Account]
Broadcast begins.