Chapter 98
News of my comeback spread rapidly through various media outlets.
Two years—a long time if you call it long, and a short time if you call it short.
People still hadn't forgotten me at all.
Since I hadn't been gone for ten years or anything, the reaction to my comeback was immediate, to put it mildly.
It took only a week not merely to occupy every entertainment-news headline, but also to conquer trending posts across all kinds of online communities and even social-media algorithms.
With the pandemic drawing to a close and society gradually regaining its vitality, news of the comeback of a girl loved by the entire nation must have felt like a spring breeze.
As always, the entertainment industry was, at its core, an industry built to make money.
Blue Sky Entertainment moved quickly alongside my comeback.
The company had now grown into a respectable mid-sized outfit, and instead of handling things sluggishly as it had in the past, it had become capable of swift planning and execution.
Most notably, it had spent two whole years managing Noiris and Blooming, artists of a caliber that would have been difficult for a mid-sized agency to handle.
That was why they'd been cursed out by the fans countless times and had made several major blunders…
But at this point, that experience had merely become nourishment for the employees' growth.
“The fan club preparations are already complete, and all that's left for the light stick and various merchandise is to choose the final designs.”
“…You're fast.”
“We're also planning to release emojis on Yajasu Talk, and we've narrowed down the brands with decent advertising or sponsorship inquiries.”
“Wow.”
There was a lot packed into it, but there wasn't actually much I had to do myself.
I just had to look over the shortlisted light-stick designs and choose one, then shoot any ads that caught my interest.
Other than that, the company didn't really ask anything of me.
“You can work however you like. The headquarters isn't trying to squeeze out the maximum possible profit, anyway…”
Well, that made sense.
From their perspective, the entertainment business was probably no different from buying a single figurine.
That said, I had no intention of holing up in my room and doing nothing but making songs like before.
“It's about time I shot some ads.”
This was the period when my market value was nearing its peak.
The fastest way to rake in money at this point was, of course, shooting commercials.
“Financially speaking, becoming a children's-clothing ambassador would help the most, though.”
“…I don't want that. I'll do regular commercials.”
Lee Ha-jun smacked his lips at my answer.
When I checked later, the pay really was quite hefty.
That was probably because the companies approaching me were all fairly large corporations.
But my pride and personal branding mattered more than the pay.
To that end, I needed to shoot ads appropriate for the image I carried.
If I had to condense the public's view of me into a single phrase, it would be something like ‘a smart but taciturn little kid.’
My fans seemed to think of me a little differently, but at least that was how people who remembered me from Singer Star saw me.
“I've narrowed the list down to about ten, so you can choose from these.”
Based on that, I had to choose an ad that suited me at this point.
But the moment I saw the list, I couldn't hide my bewilderment.
‘They're all fine?’
They were all high-paying ads for famous, highly visible brands that suited my image as well.
More importantly, they paid a lot.
That was because a third of the house I was living in had been financed with debt.
I hadn't had all that much cash on hand because I'd donated plenty to Neulneul Orphanage and spent a fair amount on equipment and electronics (though even so, I still had far from a small amount of money).
So I'd used a bank loan to move, but the amount going out in interest was more than I'd expected.
That was why I'd been wondering whether I needed to hurry and hold a concert next year, but if I shot every ad on this list, things would change somewhat.
At this point, advertising fees for top celebrities were unimaginably high.
“I can do all of these, right?”
“…The company certainly wouldn't complain.”
“That ambassador thing? I'll at least hear them out about that one, too.”
“You're changing your mind quickly.”
Hearing that, I muttered inwardly.
‘Then they'd better give me a hefty performance bonus as a producer.’
Well, I supposed they'd probably pay me a lot after I held a concert and went on a world tour.
At the moment, the money I received as a producer amounted to little more than basic music copyright royalties.
“Are you really going to do all of them?”
“Yes. You have to make money while you can.”
Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could make money while doing only what I wanted?
But if I did that, there was a good chance I'd miss the opportunity to make money while I could.
In fact, if I'd shot some ads right before suspending my activities, there was a good chance I could have made more money than I'd imagined.
That was my only real regret during my break.
“This one looks pretty good. Let's go with this.”
“I'll contact them.”
* * *
There are all kinds of premium brands in the world, and children's clothing is no exception.
It was a business that capitalized on mothers' desire to dress their children in nothing but the best.
That's why choosing a model was especially important for children's clothing.
The reason they didn't often use celebrity models was simply that almost no one had both a youthful and upscale image.
They recruited pretty children from among the general public to serve as models, but most children's clothing companies preferred to use celebrity models if possible.
Especially premium brands.
To them, the returning Seo Si-yeon was a model they absolutely had to secure.
She was still within the age and height range for wearing children's clothes, and above all, she was famous and cute.
Her one drawback was that her fee was quite expensive, but premium children's clothing companies weren't the sort to tremble over an advertising fee.
Kato, the director of Vianto's Asian branch, a French children's clothing brand, felt much the same way.
Vianto, which had a branch in Japan, primarily targeted Japan, Korea, and China.
Well, setting China aside, it was obvious that Seo Si-yeon had the strongest brand power in both Korea and Japan.
In Korea, merely hanging photos of her as their model on department-store walls and airing them on TV would generate tremendous advertising impact.
In Japan, Seo Si-yeon wasn't quite as famous, but the fact that the commercial had been filmed by Noiris's producer alone would generate considerable publicity; even without that, Seo Si-yeon's sheer visual appeal would have a substantial effect.
There was an indescribable charm in Seo Si-yeon's face that made passersby turn around at least once.
So the moment Blue Sky Entertainment replied to their proposal, Kato flew straight to Korea.
There, Kato was able to meet Seo Si-yeon in person, rather than merely through the media.
“Ah, hello?”
“O-oh…”
Kato couldn't keep from marveling at the girl's appearance.
After decades of working her way up through the design department, Kato had never met a girl more girlish than this one.
If someone asked Kato what girliness meant, she wouldn't have been able to explain it in words.
But if asked what the most perfect appearance for an East Asian girl was, Kato could proudly call out Seo Si-yeon's name.
Seo Si-yeon frowned at Kato as though she were looking at a madwoman.
Had Kato been a man, Seo Si-yeon might have called the police on the spot.
After a moment, Kato came to her senses upon seeing Seo Si-yeon's expression, and serious contract negotiations began. Seo Si-yeon accepted all of Vianto's terms, but attached one condition.
“Everything's fine, but I'll upload the making-of video to my channel.”
“…Our YouTube channel is basically abandoned, so we don't mind.”
“Great. I'll use this chance to get the YouTube channel active again.”
This was something both Seo Si-yeon and Lee Ha-jun agreed on.
The YouTube channel had more than 800,000 subscribers, but it was practically abandoned.
The last long-form video had been uploaded two years ago, and the last Short more than six months ago.
The channel had continued growing thanks to traffic from Noiris and Blooming, but now that I was making my comeback, it was time to reactivate it.
That said, I was too lazy to make our own content or anything particularly special.
Even if we had the will, there was no staff left to carry it out. That was because most of them had been assigned to Noiris.
So we decided to cash in on whatever videos we could make quickly.
“Could I get a general idea of the clothes I'll be wearing?”
“Ah, I brought them. Would you like to try them on if you're interested?”
Surprisingly, most of the clothes Kato brought out were simply ordinary, pretty clothes.
Having steeled herself to wear something like a bizarre-looking dress, Seo Si-yeon found these everyday clothes practically a blessing.
So, without any particular thought, she said this.
“The clothes are pretty.”
“R-Really? You mean it?”
After that, Seo Si-yeon had to listen to Kato explain the clothes for more than an hour.