Chapter 40

"Hello, Rachel. Would you prefer coffee or tea?" Edward inquired.

"Coffee is fine," she responded with a warm smile.

Edward signaled a passing waiter, subtly requesting two cups of coffee. The waiter promptly nodded and delivered the steaming cups to their table, handling them with care.

"Shall we delve straight into the business?" Rachel's smile stayed as she spoke, reaching into her bag to retrieve a well-organized brown envelope.

"Here's the agreement letter that Musika Inc. has carefully drafted. Please take your time to review the terms and conditions before signing," she explained, passing the envelope to Edward.

Edward nodded appreciatively, his attention now on the envelope's contents. He carefully read through every page, making sure to comprehend and not miss any details of the agreement.

A while ago, he reached out to Musika Inc. to get an extra musical instrument for his content creation.

At first, he thought the deal would go as usual—just a verbal agreement.

But he was surprised when they switched things up and sent a representative to meet him in person.

Though the Agreement Letter was only a bit more formal and structured than a verbal agreement, its essence held significant weight.

Basically, Musika Inc. was showing they were serious about working together, valuing Edward's input and putting in extra effort for a successful partnership.

Edward finished reading through the agreement halfway and then looked back up at Rachel.

"The agreement looks fine, but I do have a few questions," he said.

"Feel free to ask," Rachel replied.

"In the sponsorship scope, it's stated ₱8,000 for videos with a Musika Inc. guitar, but only ₱4,000 for bass guitar... is that intentional?"

A while ago, the sponsorship fee for acoustic guitar was raised from 5,000 to 8,000 due to an increase of his subscriber base, which is reasonable; however, the fact that they are only providing him 4,000 for bass guitar confused him for a while.

"No, there isn't a mistake. The ₱4,000 is specifically for the bass guitar."

"Can you elaborate on it?" Edward asked.

Rachel took a sip of her coffee, let out a relaxed sigh, and then explained further.

"The reason for the difference is that the Acoustic Bass guitar is among our slower-selling products. When you initially contacted us for an additional instrument sponsorship, we proposed options like keyboards, drums, ukulele, etc., which have a larger market and are more popular. If any of those instruments were accepted, the sponsorship level would be the same as the Acoustic Guitar."

".."

Edward took a moment to absorb Rachel's explanation, finding it reasonable. Understanding how market demand affected sponsorship values, he shifted to discussing another aspect of the agreement, hoping for further clarification.

"Is that also why you're only asking for just a 5-second close-up display of the Acoustic Bass guitar?"

"That's correct."

"I see... Moving on to the agreement term, why is it specified only for two months?" Edward inquired, wanting to grasp the rationale behind the relatively short duration in the agreement.

"The two-month duration is to anticipate potential market shifts. Ms. Katherine believes in your potential and expects a possible increase in sponsorship value during this time. While a longer term could benefit us, building an honest and cooperative relationship is our priority," Rachel explained, smiling.

"..."

Edward fell into a thoughtful silence.

He found her response reasonable but had a lingering doubt.

Maybe he did not fully understand how sponsorship works?

After all, he only knew so much because of his foresight...

For Edward, the sponsorship offer was genuinely attractive.

After all, he saw himself more as a content creator than an artist.

However, a question arose: would there be other local content creators in the future securing a similar sponsorship fee?

It seemed possible, but they would likely be a minority.

After all, the internet at that time was already full of talent, giving sponsors and advertisers an abundance of choices.

In conclusion, the offer stood out as excellent compared to what future content creators might expect, given the competitive and saturated nature of the online talent pool.

Anyway, he didn't feel like he had anything to lose, so he decided not to dwell on it too much.

However, he still had some doubts and wasn't entirely convinced by their explanations.

"Thank you very much for Musika Inc.'s trust," Edward expressed his gratitude with a smile before addressing the next point. "Next, there's a statement here that I don't quite understand."

Over the next hour, Edward meticulously asked for elaboration on every detail, and Rachel responded with clarity and thoroughness, addressing each question comprehensively.

In the end, after a very detailed explanation and discussion, they signed the agreement.

"Happy Cooperation!"

"I'll inform the headquarters immediately, so that we can prepare the product and start the sponsorship soon," Rachel added.

"Thank you for all your help," Edward conveyed his gratitude in a courteous tone, appreciating Rachel's assistance. He watched as she got into her car and drove away from the parking lot.

Once she disappeared from his sight, Edward released a sigh, letting the tension dissipate. He then made his way back to his apartment, reflecting on the discussions.

...

Arriving back at his apartment, Edward quickly had a meal using some leftovers from the fridge. He then proceeded to finish the recording, which took him up to 7 in the evening.

Once the recording was done, he only had the editing left. But looking at the time, he saved his progress and decided to head to the same restaurant to order dinner.

"Hey, sup?"

Edward exchanged warm greetings with Honey as she walked by. As expected, she turned toward him, her face lighting up with a friendly smile.

"Same as before; why didn't you show up here for the past few days?"

"..." 

Edward glanced at her, taken aback by her sudden inquiry.

Obviously, he had no specific reason. There were plenty of restaurants nearby, and he had chosen this place because of her. But he wasn't going to mention that. Since he had already been 'Acquaintance Zoned', why make a fuss about it?

"Well, I've been kind of busy lately and spending most of my time indoors," he briefly mentioned and began chatting with her as usual. However, the more he talked, the more he felt a strange tension.

Looking at her, Edward felt doubtful.

She had obviously seemed turned off last time; why was she taking the initiative now?

This was a new experience for Edward, stirring up unexpected self-reflection and uncertainty.

Or maybe he was handsome?

Is he handsome?

Edward felt a bit doubtfu, but considering the compliments from his fans...

These affirmations started to make him think that maybe there was more to his appeal than he realized.

"Perhaps it's the way I present myself now," he contemplated, pondering whether his improved fashion sense was making a difference.