Late at night.
After Kang Min-hyuk left, Jin Soo-yeon stayed late at the office, gathering the producers for an emergency meeting.
"We'll scrap the Haroya character and debut one of the trainees from the next generation early instead."
And the outcome of the meeting had already been more or less decided.
"Can we replace Kim Mi-jeong's—no, Haroya's—part in the 3D music video?"
"Technically, it's not impossible. They say we can just barely make the deadline before debut if we crunch."
"So, endless overtime. Make sure to take care of that team later."
Haroya, out.
With Kim Mi-jeong, the person behind Haroya, having her contract terminated, the character of Haroya was to be completely scrapped.
Everything from the illustrations to the character model, and even the rigging data.
"Team Leader. It's a waste of a good character. Can't we reuse it later?"
"The illustrator won't approve of reusing it like that."
"Even so, does the company really have to walk on eggshells around the illustrator just to reuse its own resources?"
"We commissioned the illustration from someone of that caliber. Unless we plan on completely cutting ties with them in the future, we should refrain."
"Ugh."
From the company's perspective, having spent tens of millions of won just on creating the VTuber character, it was only natural to look for a way to salvage it for resource management.
But it was impossible.
Even if the debut was canceled right before it happened, the character was effectively dead.
"So Haroya was stillborn before she even had a chance to be born, all because of Kim Mi-jeong..."
"Hey. Watch your mouth."
"Um, could we at least release the illustration? Without revealing it was Haroya."
"It's a sunk cost. It's a shame, but we have to write it off."
At Producer Jin Soo-yeon's firm words, the other producers smacked their lips in disappointment and looked away from the illustration of Haroya displayed on their tablets.
"For the 2D group illustration, just remove her from the layer and add the new person. For the 3D music video part, let's slot in a separate recording so it doesn't sound awkward."
"What if someone notices the difference in audio quality?"
"They'll probably just think it was recorded separately, not that someone was brought in as a last-minute replacement because another member's debut was canceled. It'd be hard to guess, unless Kim Mi-jeong herself or someone from this company starts spreading rumors. Producer Choi Si-woo?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Producer Jin Soo-yeon turned her gaze to the youngest-looking producer, a young man who seemed particularly knowledgeable about internet culture.
"There aren't any rumors about our company floating around the forums right now, are there?"
"Not yet. If Kim Mi-jeong or anyone else starts spreading anonymous rumors, I'll dig through the logs and find them immediately."
"Good. That's what we'll have to do."
"But, ma'am."
Producer Choi Si-woo, who had been constantly refreshing his smartphone to check if a post titled 'Company OOO K.M.J. debut canceled' had appeared on any online communities, put his phone down.
"Who was that man? The external consultant."
"..."
"I heard from one of the second-gen talents I'm in charge of. They said his individual consulting for the third-gen members was on the level of a professional trainer."
"Hey. That's..."
"If you brought in someone like that without any procedure or consultation, you should at least tell us who he is. That way..."
"S-Si-woo PD. If you're going to be so serious about it...!"
"That way we can also benefit from it and reap the rewards."
"?"
"Isn't he the one who found what all of us here missed in such a short time? It's something easy to spot once you know, but because none of us knew how to get there, we let Kim Mi-jeong come to work for over six months. Someone with that kind of ability must be an industry insider, right? I'd like the second generation to get a consultation as well."
"Is there someone in the second generation who seems like they might cause trouble?"
"There's one who's been meeting up with a male friend. It's a bit of a gray area."
Producer Choi Si-woo raised and wiggled only his pinky finger.
"It's not good for all the other members to get dragged down and criticized because of one person."
"I get it. I'll try to talk to him about it when I get the chance."
"Ma'am. Does that mean..."
"It's not that I'm ignoring you, but he's not someone I can just summon whenever I want. He only came up this time because he had business in Seoul."
"Are you saying he's such a big shot that even you can't control him?"
"He is a big shot. As for who he is..."
Jin Soo-yeon closed her eyes against the gazes converging on her.
"Not telling."
"Ah, come on, ma'am."
"I told you, he's not a company employee; he's an outsider. I used a personal connection to make this happen, so don't you dare try to poach my contact. He's a high-level asset."
"Tsk..."
"And, Seo Ye-jeong?"
"H-Heek."
Jin Soo-yeon turned her eyes toward a woman in a suit and glasses.
On the suited woman's laptop, called Seo Ye-jeong, was a sticker that read, 'Go, 3rd Gen!'
"I-I'm sorry! Ma'am! I should have found out sooner...!"
"What are you sorry for? If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I didn't trust my junior, brought in an external consultant without warning to do a background check on a project member... Honestly, if the result hadn't turned out this way, it would have been a serious overreach of my authority."
"B-but..."
"There's no reason for you to feel guilty or burdened. Let's just say she hid it so tenaciously that I had no choice but to bring in an outsider. Okay?"
"Y-yes... So, should we proceed with preparing for the other members' individual debuts as planned?"
"Yes. We should give them a heads-up... haaah."
Jin Soo-yeon and the rest of the production team let out a deep sigh.
"Producer Ye-jeong. The girls, are they the type to make slips of the tongue?"
"I-It's not that they'd make a slip of the tongue, it's just that they're all quite timid..."
"Being timid could make them lash out passive-aggressively, couldn't it? Especially at their age."
"They're in their early twenties. If one of them says something passive-aggressive on a live stream, there's not much we can do. Anyway, everyone be careful. The ousted Kim Mi-jeong might hold a grudge and try to curse the other girls or leak their real identities."
"Even though she signed a confidentiality agreement?"
"Like I said, they're in their early twenties. She hasn't experienced the real world yet, and... I'm not trying to be prejudiced, but Kim Mi-jeong is a high school graduate."
A high school graduate.
No matter how much the world had changed, a universal prejudice associated with that term certainly existed.
"Let's be cautious, since we don't know what kind of trouble she might cause later."
"Understood, ma'am. But really, who is that man?"
"I told you, he's a personal connection."
"Could he be the external expert you were trying to recruit last time? If so, did he come this time to scout out his future workplace...?"
"I wish. Along with the talents from the project he's running."
"Huh?"
"Just forget I said that. It's just my guess."
Jin Soo-yeon scratched her head, looking troubled, and continued.
"For a break, I think he's consulting for some indie VTuber's debut..."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Late at night.
I drove on the highway until after midnight before finally arriving home.
Although I couldn't buy any meat or expensive food, I picked up some light snacks suitable for a late night and returned home.
"I'm ho—what is this?"
And I couldn't help but be shocked at the state of my house the moment I returned.
"What in the world...?"
"I have cast a full cleaning spell."
Rasian, dressed in casual clothes, greeted me while holding a staff.
"You cleaned with magic?"
"Yes."
"...Why?"
"While watching YouTube, I came across something called a 'robot vacuum.' People were saying that when it cleans, it's as if it performs magic."
Rasian lifted her chin and waved her staff as if she had won some grand competition.
"So, to demonstrate just how magnificent and great cleaning magic is, I used magic. Rest assured. Before cleaning, I watched approximately thirteen videos of robot vacuums in action to fully understand what those robot AIs primarily clean."
"So..."
"Like this."
_Shalalang._
As Rasian swung her staff, it was as if I could hear a special sound effect. The already clean floor seemed to become spotless in an instant.
"I have recalibrated the cleaning spell based on the standards of a robot vacuum's cleaning."
"...And the cost?"
"One double burger."
"That seems subtly inefficient."
It wasn't easy to weigh the cost of electricity for a robot vacuum against the price of a double burger.
It was ambiguous whether I should consider the total cost or calculate the cost per hour of cleaning.
"Still, thanks. Here. It's not a double burger, but I bought this on the way."
"What is this?"
"Walnut cakes."
"Oh."
I handed Rasian the bag of walnut cakes I'd bought at a rest stop, and she immediately grabbed one.
"This amount of calories should restore a considerable amount of mana. Excellent."
"Rasian."
"Yes, Producer."
"Have you thought about going out?"
I pointed toward the door.
"We've talked through the ring, but if you ever wanted to go out and eat somewhere..."
"It would be better to go eat in my world."
"Huh?"
"The restrooms might be inconvenient, but while delivery is difficult in my world, the restaurant dining is first-rate."
"So... you're suggesting a trip to your world right now?"
"There's no harm in it. We won't have to worry about being seen by anyone."
Rasian clutched the bag of walnut cakes with both hands and waved her staff again.
"Because we can simply use spatial magic to eat at a restaurant and then return directly to my magic tower. It's that simple."
"..."
"If you can bring food to our doorstep with the art of cash, I can teleport us to a restaurant with the power of magic. So."
Rasian extended an empty hand toward me.
"If you have something you want to talk about, how about we have a leisurely conversation at a restaurant in my world?"
"Hmm..."
"No. Let me rephrase that."
Rasian grinned and spoke.
"Would you like to go recharge mana with me?"
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