Chapter 5: Community Great Flame War – 4

Among the settlement of 250 million won,

I want to reinvest 100 million won into the company.

Aki’s shocking declaration.

Both the senior staff and the CEO fell silent.

They thought they had weathered every storm as a startup, but they never imagined facing something like this.

The situation itself was strange.

CEO Baek Socheol closed his eyes tightly.

Ultimately,

it was the company’s incompetence.

“….”

“….”

“….”

Aki swallowed hard.

Her fingertips trembled.

But she bit her lip and held on.

“….”

For the first time in her life, she was negotiating with hundreds of millions of won.

The other party was the agency that had scouted her.

It was like a convenience store part-timer offering to chip in for the store’s operating costs.

She wondered if she was being too presumptuous.

‘…Was this too reckless?’

No.

No matter what, she would make this project succeed.

That was the mindset she had when she requested the meeting.

Even if it was a path that had failed once before…

‘If I want to start over properly with everyone as an idol, this is absolutely necessary. Big Man’s 1 billion won… let’s think of it as being given for this purpose.’

Big Man, right?

Is this okay?

Should I do it?

I’m really going to do it, okay?

“….”

Her mind was already made up.

She had hesitated countless times but finally decided.

The first to react was General Manager Park Young-soo. He brushed back his thinning hair and spoke.

“If Aki has decided, there must be a way.”

“What kind of way is there?”

“First, it’s important to know how Aki plans to invest.”

“Which method is better?”

“It depends on the purpose. A return-based investment involves more complex contracts, but it’s beneficial if Aki wants a return… On the other hand, an interest-free loan is simpler in terms of contract but only returns the principal without interest.”

“…?”

Investment,

Or an interest-free loan.

The choices differed in terms of risk and return.

Aki tilted her head slightly at the difficult terminology.

“I don’t really know about returns or interest. I wasn’t thinking about the company or interest…”

“Then?”

“Just… I want it to be used for our lessons and 3D preparations. If we don’t act quickly, it’ll be a big problem.”

“…”

It was all about the remaining funds.

The ABCD members’ lessons had been neglected for three months.

The 3D modeling was completed but left untouched for three months.

The training instructors were starting to mention contract termination.

General Manager Park Youngsoo had nothing more to say.

“…That’s right.”

Listening to the conversation, Baek Socheol cracked his neck.

His passion as an art-obsessed startup CEO flared up.

‘If this doesn’t work, it’ll be a disgrace… but we’re all ready to jump into the fire together. If I stop, we all fall.’

He slapped the table boldly with his palm.

Thud!

“A talent is willing to put her own assets into the project fund. No, without Aki, this company would have been dead anyway. 100 million won? If the principal isn’t returned, I’ll personally make sure it’s paid back, so don’t worry.”

Aki nodded.

“Yes! Thank you.”

As they prepared the contract form,

they exchanged a few words of advice.

General Manager Park Young-soo said,

“Let’s keep this contract confidential. A talent using her personal assets to keep the company afloat… It might look desperate in the short term, but it won’t be good for the company’s image in the long run.”

“!”

Aki nodded.

They also set an interest-free loan condition.

“The company will borrow 100 million won interest-free, but if the company generates over 100 million won in sales within six months, the principal will be returned. And this money will only be used for the ABCD project’s operating costs. With these conditions, there should be no legal issues.”

“Yes!”

Aki drafted the contract.

With 100 million won as collateral,

She demanded the ‘possibility of achieving her dream.’

Whether she would fully recover that…

It was still unknown.

“…”

Even as she wrote the contract, her hands trembled.

A cold voice of reason whispered in the back of her mind.

‘I’m doing something really stupid right now.’

But…

Her heart shouted louder.

‘But I’m going to become an idol.’

*

On the way back to the ABCD members’ dorm.

Team Leader and Manager Go Minyoung drove Aki back.

Just before Aki got out, she sighed and said,

“Sigh… Aki, I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“As your manager, I couldn’t help much because of company work. And for putting you in a position where you had to give up everything for the kids.”

“…”

“I told the kids not to bring up the money issue for now. If they start talking about it…”

Aki smiled faintly.

“…”

She didn’t need to hear the rest.

It was a situation where the bond the members had built over the past year could be shaken.

Emotions were like that, separate from reason.

‘Why did Big Man give me 1 billion won… I still can’t fully grasp it.’

As Go Minyoung said, it would be better to wait before talking about it.

So Aki waved her hand and said,

“Manager, see you tomorrow.”

“…Yeah. Sleep well.”

Vroom—

The car’s brake lights left a red trail as it disappeared.

Beyond the alley where the officetel was located.

Aki stood still, watching it go.

She checked her phone.

‘The balance is almost half now.’

Just this morning, it was 250 million won,

And even that felt like a dream…

[Balance: 150 million won]

100 million won.

Had left Aki’s hands for everyone’s dream.

She still couldn’t believe it.

Growing up as an orphan in Japan,

until she was adopted and naturalized in Korea.

The idea of having 100 million won to spend was like a fantasy.

‘…I spent 100 million won in just one day.’

What should I do?

What should I do…

This is a big deal.

‘I wanted to brag to my mom all day about making money as an idol.’

Am I even an idol in the first place?

“…”

Not yet.

‘How can someone who hasn’t even stood on stage be an idol?’

Aki thought she was being foolish. Even though she finally had money, she was all-in on her dream.

‘For my own dream…’

So she picked up her phone again. On the screen, a reservation button for a certain site sparkled like glass slippers.

“…”

During her K-pop idol trainee days,

She had given up on a lesson site because the fees were too expensive.

Vocal training,

Idol-level performance courses,

And even broadcasting-specific education…

The best educational curriculum in the industry.

‘They said broadcast times can be adjusted even after the 3D debut. If I adjust the schedule, I can definitely do it.’

[Total cost for short-term comprehensive lessons: 60 million won.]

“Wow…”

If she added pronunciation correction, which she was weak in, and content creator lessons… she had no idea how much it would balloon.

“…Sigh.”

‘The rest of the money, for my dream…’

Now, to become the best virtual idol.

Aki pressed it.

Click—

Ah…

[Balance: 90 million won]

The balance had decreased again.

But she didn’t regret it.

“…”

Still, a single tear streamed down her face.

*

Friday evening.

I was building a sandcastle at Haeundae Beach. As the sun slowly set, the feeling of a grown man building a sandcastle alone wasn’t bad.

‘It feels relaxing.’

A sandcastle modeled after some medieval castle.

As I was putting the finishing touches on the masterpiece,

some girls approached and said,

“Excuse me… Can we take a picture of this for SNS? It’s so well-made, we want to keep it as a photo.”

“Sure.”

“Hey! Guys! He said it’s okay!”

“Wow, amazing! It’s really well-made.”

I brushed off my hands.

“Want me to take a group photo for you?”

“Huh? Oh! Thank you!”

I took the smartphone from one of the girls.

It was a latest model, so the picture quality was quite good. I recalled some memories from my time shadowing a photographer.

‘If I set up the group photo like this, it’ll turn out nicely, right?’

Relying on vague memories, I said,

“I’ll count to three, then take the photo!”

“Okay!”

“Three, two…”

At that moment.

Some lunatic suddenly ran up from the side.

“Yahooo—!”

“?”

“?”

The guy threw his whole body at the sandcastle, collapsing it.

Then, with a cackling voice, he shouted.

He was holding a smartphone that was live-streaming.

“Did you see that? I did it! I knocked down the sandcastle, so pay up—!”

“…”

“…”

Before anyone could say anything,

The guy quickly ran off into the distance.

The girls looked like they had just seen the most pathetic guy in the world and started complaining.

I took a decent group photo of them against the sunset.

“Wow, you take great photos.”

“Send this to me too.”

“I’m posting this right away!”

“Thank you!”

I waved them off as they left.

“…”

Hmm.

A lunatic who, blinded by petty cash, pulled a stupid stunt.

A group who, despite not asking for it, happily received sunset photos.

Not a bad feeling.

“The beach really does bring unexpected encounters. Those internet streamers are all like—”

Ah, right.

Aki-chan.

She said she was coming back today.

I keep forgetting.

‘She’s a daytime streamer, so she probably already ended. Should I check the archive? Do they keep archives of notice streams? I can’t remember…’

I sat down on the sand.

I placed the eco-bag I had brought with some amusement park souvenirs next to me and lay down.

“Heave-ho.”

I turned on my phone,

using the sky as a roof,

and opened the streaming app.

After all, there was only one channel I had bookmarked.

《●Live: Aki-chan’s Announcement Stream》

-Current viewers: 7,417

“!”

Oh, she’s live.

And she just started a minute ago, so she’s still adjusting the screen.

‘Even though it’s short-term attention-seeking, the 1 billion won incident has increased her live viewers. I wonder what kind of announcement this is…’

I entered her channel.

*

“A of ABCD! Like a star in your heart! Idol hopeful Aki-chan here—!”

Still in 2D, Aki-chan swung her yellow side ponytail as she greeted.

But most of the comments were about the 1 billion won incident.

Wasn’t she a VTuber who couldn’t even decide on a fandom name, floating around like a ghost?

-So, about the 1 billion won?

-If it were me, I’d run away with 1 billion won lol

-It’s so funny that the max donation is capped at 2.5 million won because of Big Man lol

-One rich person changes the world lol

“…”

Aki-chan didn’t show any reaction. But her nervousness was evident as her pronunciation kept slipping.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming today!”

-Lol her pronunciation got better

-On the news, it was almost self-censored lol

-Her pronunciation is so funny lol

“…Actually, I came today to make an important announcement.”

-For real?

-Graduating? Bye

-Did you find Big Man oppa? lol

“We’re going to decide on our fandom name!”

-?

-?

-?

Aki-chan acted as if she had never even heard of the 1 billion won incident and continued calmly.

“It’s already been a year since we met, right? So, we’re going to decide on a fandom name together.”

-Memory manipulation lol

-Wait a sec lol

-She’s so shameless, it’s kind of endearing lol

“I brought a list of options… Just a second…”

-Did you just say “brought” like that?

-Lol her pronunciation is killing me

-Is this Hako’s mental strength…?

Aki-chan pulled up a list of options on the screen.

1. Ace

2. ACE

3. A—ce

“Do any of these appeal to you? We’ll start the vote right away!”

-Aki-chan, what is this concept…?

-Is this Aki-chan’s new concept?

-This is so funny lol

Since it was a concept vote,

people laughed and overwhelmingly voted for option 1.

Aki-chan’s fandom name became ‘Ace.’

Aki-chan smiled brightly.

“From now on, we are…!”

At that moment, the chat exploded.

It surged like a wave, flooding the screen.

-?

-??

-Oh, it’s Big Man

-For real?

-Is this a prank??

But it was really [Big Man].

-OMG…! Big Man has appeared…!

-No way???

-Big Man oppa is here lol

-For real???

-Big Man is here!!!

The nickname [Big Man] really appeared in the live viewer list.

“!”

Aki-chan fell silent for a moment.

“…”

She hesitated.

“…”

But she didn’t mention it.

“…So, Ace everyone!”

-Hey! Your husband is here, aren’t you going to greet him?

-Lol this shameless concept is so funny

-Show us the donation show~!

-The other members are probably crying tears of blood lol

“Please continue to support Aki-chan. I will definitely become an idol who responds to your dreams…”

-Why aren’t you mentioning Big Man??

-Let’s be real, she’s a one-trick pony because of Big Man

-She’s really gritting her teeth and ignoring him lol

-Your company’s value is probably less than Big Man’s gum lol

“I’ve really… prepared a lot. I’m going to show you all of it…”

And then.

Big Man responded with a donation.

【’Big Man’ has donated 2.5 million won!】

[Big Man: Cheering for you! Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of the other members too.]

-OMG lol

-What a legend lol

-This guy really went to all the other members’ streams and donated 2.5 million won each lol

-What a madman lol

-He’s so likable lol

Aki-chan smiled awkwardly but also with a sense of relief.

“…Thank you so much for the donation! Ah, please continue to support me in the future.”