(Haruna POV)
***
"This.....This doesn't feel real," Haruna muttered.
Even someone like her, who was extremely skeptical about the chances of this 'hobby' working out, could see now that the potential for this was not small.
Even if she might never become a proper singer in the entertainment industry, at least in her view, she could tell that making a decent amount of money wouldn't be hard if this momentum could remain even half as powerful.
She had researched how much Scrollz users make out of curiosity, and though there were varying opinions, a mid-tier creator could still make up to 5x the average national salary every month, if brand deals and the sort were included.
She wasn't hoping for anywhere close to that, but there was definitely a chance to make enough to repay the debt.
'No...I can't get ahead of myself.'
It could just be that people found the unique vibe interesting, combined with the fact that she was a new creator.
Just as she was lost in these thoughts, a curious voice spoke up next to her.
"What's going through your mind?" Reiji asked.
"I...I'm just wondering if we can keep up this momentum."
"Hm? Why worry about that? Just stay in the moment and enjoy the success of the first video. We can't start the next recording with a pessimistic mindset."
"The brat is right. Haruna, don't think about all the useless things and just go with the flow," Granny added, already regaining her calm faster than Haruna did.
She actually seemed to be more surprised at the start than Haruna, but maybe it was her old age and abundant experience that allowed her to focus on what was important very quickly.
"We need to record two songs today, and two songs tomorrow. I'll upload one video a day until we run out, and then you can come over for the subsequent recordings. Is that okay?" Reiji asked.
"I'm fine with it, but won't that be too much work for you? All the editing and post-production takes a lot longer..."
Haruna felt slightly exasperated because she realized yesterday that all the necessary steps after the recording were much more taxing than she had been expecting.
And now he had to double that amount over the next two days?
"Why don't we just record one each day? It'll be too much for you otherwise," Granny added, agreeing with Haruna.
"Hmph, I'm not a 90-year-old like you, this much is nothing!"
Reiji flexed his muscles jokingly to show that he'd be alright.
".....Haruna, let's record three songs and make him work overtime!!" Granny hissed.
***
Haruna got changed into her black outfit again, putting on her cap and warming up with some vocal exercises while Reiji prepared everything.
Granny was sitting in a chair that Reiji had pulled in from the dining table, munching on some peanuts as she waited.
She was really looking forward to being an 'audience member', wanting to see her granddaughter perform.
"Okay, you've practiced the two songs, right? Let's record 'Silence' first; it's less taxing on your voice. Like yesterday, we'll do a run-through without recording," Reiji stated, leaning back in his chair.
"Phooo.....Okay, I'm ready!" Haruna nodded, her firm determination evident in her eyes.
Reiji pressed play on the computer, and the accompaniment for the song started playing through the speakers.
This one was a bit more haunting than the cover they had posted yesterday.
It was a song used in a thriller/horror movie, one that was touted for its ethereal vocals that set the mood even better than the instrumentals did.
This would be a tough test for Haruna, because there would be no hiding behind catchy background music, not that she did before.
Haruna closed her eyes even before the music started, waiting for her cue calmly.
And once it was her time to shine, her eyes slowly opened up, staring right into the camera with a somewhat detached and cold expression.
Her lips parted, and a beautiful voice started singing into the microphone.
The only part of the song where there were lyrics was during the chorus, and the rest was a melodious singing with that same haunting vibe.
For someone like Haruna, who was bubbly and cheerful for the most part, Reiji had initially thought she'd have trouble getting such eerie emotions when singing, but he had clearly underestimated her talent.
Reiji had always thought that Haruna's voice had a unique quality, and that sentiment was supported with irrefutable evidence through her current performance.
Even Granny stopped eating her peanuts, instinctively straightening up in her seat as she listened to Haruna sing.
Though Haruna had practiced at home before, she had always done it in the bedroom, refusing Granny's request to sit near her out of shyness.
So it was also her first time listening to it so clearly.
She glanced at Reiji, wanting to see his reaction.
But she froze when she saw that he only had a little smirk on his face as he watched Haruna sing.
And once the lyrics part of the song began, Granny discarded her straying thoughts and simply enjoyed the show that was happening in front of her, making no effort to hide her proud face.
As the song eventually came to an end, Haruna took a few seconds to extricate herself from her immersion and turned to the other two expectantly.
"...Well, that's another banger."
***
Over this weekend, Haruna and Granny came over once again to record songs.
By the end of Sunday, they had managed to compile a backlog of videos, with the rest of the work left to Reiji.
He had already uploaded one yesterday, but this time without asking Arata to boost the traffic for the cover.
Despite this, the video still showed tremendous results for a new account, reaching over 160k views and over 55k likes in about 24 hours.
It was below the first cover's data within the same timeframe, but still quite substantial.
Meanwhile, that first video had now been up for over two days, and the momentum hadn't really slowed down much.
It had accumulated over 500k views and 130k likes, already earning the status of a viral video.
But the biggest achievement was the fact that the account had reached the milestone of 60k followers, with the number still steadily growing.
Reiji watched these numbers with a small smile on his face, knowing that his efforts in persuading Haruna to do this had already been rewarded.
He clicked the account settings and navigated to the monetization tab, reading the 'Pending' remark with a sigh.
Scrollz had a few requirements in place that users had to meet before they could earn money from the videos they post, and they weren't excessively difficult.
1. 10k followers
2. 100k views within the past thirty days
3. Post original, high-quality content.
There were some other smaller rules, but they weren't a concern.
Haruna's account had satisfied these requirements with the very first video they posted, so Reiji had already submitted a request to enable monetization, which would still take a few days for them to review the content they were posting.
But once that was done.....
'Hm, the debt shouldn't take more than a few months to be completely repaid, right? Maybe even faster.....' Reiji wondered internally.
Haruna and Granny had already returned home, and he was currently taking a break from editing the third video that would be posted later today.
He cracked his knuckles, stretched his back, and got back to work, listening through Haruna's audio file while humming to himself.
"Damn, she really does sing well," he muttered.
Soon enough, he finally leaned back in exhaustion as he clicked save on the final version of the video, groaning as he felt his muscles relax from the previously taut position.
Without wanting to waste any time, he opened up @hiddenmelody and uploaded the video, adding the relevant hashtags, credits to the original song, etc.
After he did so, he brushed through the comments from the 'Silence' cover posted yesterday, grinning when he saw new ones requesting today's post, acting as if they were experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
But then he paused when he read another one.
***
gargoylesupremacy: Why are people hyping this up? it sounds like trash
***
"Tch."
He hadn't seen any hate before this, but he also knew that it was because Haruna's account was new.
But once someone gains some popularity, the jealous, bored, or hatred-filled trolls on the internet would sniff them out as if they smelled fresh prey.
It would never matter how good someone is at something, because there will always be that small group that would blindly spew hatred at them for no particular reason.
So he was worried that Haruna might see some of these comments and lose her confidence.
"I'll need to talk to her about this."
*RING RING*
Reiji glanced at his phone, which had lit up due to the sudden phone call.
He frowned when he saw who it was and answered it immediately.
"Hello?"
"Which dumbass is editing her videos???"
".....What?"
"Are you deaf? I'm asking you which dumbass is editing her videos? They're doing a terrible job, completely butchering her voice with their amateurish skills!"
Arata's irritated voice blasted through the phone, making Reiji keep the device a distance away from his ear.
"I did it myself, what's wrong with it? I know it's not on a professional level, but it's not that bad!" he replied.
"It wouldn't be bad for an amateur singer, but it's holding back the true potential of HiddenMelody!" Arata screeched in response.
'....Well, this is unexpected?'
"Don't worry, once the singer starts earning enough money through this, we'll outsource the post-production."
"Do you know how long that might take? You're wasting away this glorious momentum! This is the time when you need to maximize quality to maximize growth! If you fuck over my Goddess's future, I. Will. RUIN you!"
Reiji had not expected Arata, a prideful and egotistical man, to be so invested in an amateur singer.
But he knew he had a point, making him reconsider the plan he had discussed with Haruna.
A consistent outsourcing of the editing would cost even more than the setup, and he wasn't sure if Haruna would be okay with letting him finance that.
"Then, do you have a suggestion?" Reiji sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily.
"Of course I do!"
"Then tell me."
"Let me do the editing!!"
".....What?"