Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 205

One Hour Before Job People Filming

Ha-eun was on her way to the Job People opening location, riding in Ju Jung-yoon’s van as usual.

They exchanged lighthearted conversation along the way.

People at the café were definitely going to recognize her.

Most of them would probably know her as Lee Yeseo from Veterans, her latest project.

There might even be some customers who found her downright terrifying.

"If someone faints, that’d be a total broadcast disaster. What do we do then?"

"Come on... No one’s actually going to faint. I’m not a ghost or anything."

"You were scarier than a ghost, though."

Their words had been more jokes than anything else.

But now, in real time—

A customer had recognized Ha-eun and nearly jumped out of their skin.

And Na Jae-hyuk, always quick to seize a “broadcast-worthy” moment, was now interviewing that same customer.

"You didn’t know we were filming today?"

"Oh, no, I knew there was a shoot happening... I just didn’t expect Ha-eun to be here."

"So, have you seen Veterans?"

"Yeah, I have. Ha-eun was intense in that one."

For the first time in a long while, Ha-eun found herself worrying about her public image.

Because when that customer had locked eyes with her just moments ago, they had flinched so hard—

Like they had seen an actual ghost.

Even though she was just standing there in a café uniform.

It made her think about the future.

What would happen when God and the Goblin aired and people saw Baeksulhwa working in a café?

‘This can’t turn into a horror scene...’

The purpose of Baeksulhwa’s part-time job scenes was to highlight how difficult her life was.

The intended emotions were sympathy and compassion.

Not fear.

It was only natural for people to associate her with Lee Yeseo—

But still.

If her Veterans image stuck too strongly, it could cause all sorts of problems when God and the Goblin aired.

‘There has to be a way.’

Ha-eun thought hard.

How could she soften her image before the drama’s December release?

Sure, she was currently appearing on Start Again.

But her pickpocket takedown scene in Episode 1 had been so intense that instead of fixing her reputation, it had only fueled more bizarre rumors.

Like—

Ha-eun was actually the Terminator.

Or that Veterans was actually a documentary based on her real life.

‘They’ll say anything about an actress, huh...’

Not that she felt entirely comfortable referring to herself as a “girl” in the first place.

But still.

She was a nineteen-year-old girl.

She didn’t want to be branded as some kind of human weapon.

Because of that, when the customer who had flinched earlier cautiously asked for a photo with her—

When another café worker taught her how to use the coffee machine—

When she personally made a café’s signature drink and served it to a table—

She kept asking herself:

"Excuse me, can I ask you something?"

"Oh, uh—yes! What is it?"

"The uniform I’m wearing... does it suit me? I mean, does it look natural? Not weird or anything?"

"Oh, no—you look amazing! I’ve never seen anyone make an apron look this good!"

"Ah.... ...Thank you."

She was paying way too much attention to how others saw her.

She had been hoping for a different kind of answer—

Something like “You really look like a barista” or “You have that café employee vibe”.

But she never got those kinds of responses.

After Ha-eun and Na Jae-hyuk wrapped up their café part-time job segment,

When Na Jae-hyuk asked, “So, how was your first job experience?”

She gave her final thoughts, officially marking the end of the Job People filming.

A little later, she got into Ju Jung-yoon’s black van.

"So? How was it? Fun?"

Jung-yoon asked about her experience.

And Ha-eun answered—

"Yeah, it was fun."

After all, she had gotten a taste of what working at a café was like.

But...

She still hadn’t figured out how to soften her image.

So, she asked Jung-yoon to let her know if she came up with anything.

Almost immediately, Jung-yoon fired back with another question.

"You’ve got a ton of offers right now. Out of all the ones I mentioned, is there anything you’re interested in?"

"Hmm...."

It was true that she had been getting all kinds of casting calls since last year.

But the moment Veterans wrapped up, she had taken off for Europe.

And lately, most of the variety shows trying to recruit her were... well, action-packed.

"Isn’t there something a little more... calm? Something emotional, you know?"

She wanted to choose projects that aligned with Baeksulhwa’s image.

Start Again was definitely an emotional show—

But that one intense moment in Episode 1 would follow her until the finale.

"Something quiet and sentimental, huh... I’ll look into it."

"Ah, thanks, unnie."

After letting Ju Jung-yoon know what kind of program she was hoping for,

Ha-eun finally took a sip of the mango smoothie she had made and taken to-go.

And then—

"Oh, right."

"Hm?"

"Ha-eun, would you be interested in working on a God and the Goblin OST?"

"...Me?"

She blinked in surprise.

She hadn’t seen that coming.

In her past life, the God and the Goblin OSTs had been praised as masterpieces.

She even remembered that their music videos had hit hundreds of millions of views.

Technically, the offer on the table was just Snowflower, one song—

But Snowflower had been the representative OST of God and the Goblin.

She clearly remembered that it had the highest view count among all the drama’s OSTs.

It was arguably the most famous OST in Korean drama history.

And most importantly—

The singer behind that legendary track had been Leni.

‘...Am I really allowed to sing this?’

Ha-eun couldn’t accept the offer right away.

The Snowflower of her past life had achieved too much.

Accepting without even thinking it through felt... reckless.

A few days later, she found herself visiting Leni’s studio.

If anyone’s opinion mattered, it was the original singer’s.

But as it turned out—

Leni wasn’t in a position to sing Snowflower anyway.

"I already signed on for another song, actually."

"Huh? Which one?"

"The God and the Goblin OST. There’s a song called Miss You—guess you didn’t know."

Another God and the Goblin classic.

While Miss You wasn’t as iconic as Snowflower, it was still an undeniable masterpiece.

And critically—

In her past life, the original Miss You singer had gotten tangled up in multiple scandals.

"Hmm... I just thought Snowflower would suit you better, so I wanted to bring it up first...."

"Oh, really? But I actually think you suit it better."

And so, Ha-eun ultimately agreed to take on Snowflower.

To be honest, she /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ was also excited to hear Leni’s version of Miss You.

‘Still, I should probably ask for advice.’

Once their OST discussion wrapped up, Ha-eun asked Leni—

The original singer of Snowflower—to help with the song’s production.

If she wanted to fully capture its poignant, emotional essence, she needed Leni’s guidance.

Fortunately, Leni agreed without hesitation.

When Leni then asked Ha-eun to provide input on Miss You, she hesitated for a moment—

But ultimately agreed.

"The drama’s lead should have a say in the music, don’t you think?"

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"Well... I guess that makes sense."

It was right after that conversation that a certain God and the Goblin rumor reached Ha-eun.

"Hey, Ha-eun. There’s a rumor going around that Kang Sun-woo is in the drama... is it true?"

"Huh? Who said that?"

"Well, when I was at OTV for a meeting the other day, I ran into someone and—"

The rest of the story was the usual broadcast industry gossip.

Of course, Kang Sun-woo’s return was still a closely guarded secret.

"No comment."

"Oh, come on. Just tell me a little!"

"No. Comment."

No matter how much Leni pressed, Ha-eun didn’t budge.

Everyone would find out in December anyway.

‘...Although it kind of feels like I already gave it away. But I can’t make it official.’

After finalizing their work schedules for Snowflower and Miss You, Ha-eun parted ways with Leni.

She still had to work on Bright Days, Diah’s first solo track—

But all three songs were too important to neglect.

Which was why, for the time being, she took extra care of her vocal cords.

And yet, just when she had been so careful with her voice—

"...Camping?"

"Yeah. It’s a show where two best friends go camping together, hang out in a scenic spot, barbecue, and have a campfire."

She encountered a camping program that would soon make all her efforts meaningless.

Of course, at the time, she had no idea that she’d end up screaming.

But as time passed, and she found herself sitting by a campfire under the summer night’s Milky Way—

More precisely, when she sat face to face with Da-yeon, the only guest she had personally invited—

And they shared an unfiltered, no-mic conversation—

"W-wait... since when...?"

"...Around this time last year."

The moment she heard the most shocking truth of all—

A scream of pure, unfiltered emotion rose from deep within her.

There was no protecting her voice now.

No amount of vocal care could have stopped that reaction.