Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 265

A vast award ceremony venue.

Countless stars.

In a space filled with nothing but dazzling people, maybe it was nerves—but the small hand holding mine tightened its grip.

A youthful voice had once said she felt like she didn’t belong there.

That she was just an unwelcome guest.

But then, from beyond, a familiar name was called.

And with the spotlight shining only on one girl among all the actors, she timidly stepped up onto the stage.

「I’ll become someone worthy of the award you’ve given me... Thank you....」

With reddening eyes, her damp voice barely squeezed out through the mic.

Then came the thunderous sound of applause.

I willingly joined in that round of applause meant solely for the girl.

Because she was someone who fully deserved it.

Every single scene the girl acted in, every breath—was full of life.

One single look, steeped in emotion, conveyed more than a thousand lines.

Standing on that stage, the girl was more of an actor than anyone else.

Maybe that’s why—

「Um, Sun-woo ahjussi... One day, again...」

When that young face asked to meet again as actors, I nodded without hesitation.

A casting call from someone with such skill was something to be welcomed as a fellow actor.

It ended up taking quite a few winding roads to get there,

but in the end, after all that time had passed, the girl I met again had become a truly remarkable actress.

「Let’s start again. With me.」

Steady eyes.

A faint smile.

That hand reaching toward me once again.

Though I didn’t take it right away,

I eventually followed her back in front of the camera.

And once again, stood facing her—actor to actor.

And finally—

「I won’t fall for it again... This is just a dream... You don’t... exist in this world....」

We shot the final chapter together.

Honestly, she was a difficult opponent now.

Her expressions could stop time, her voice soaked straight to the heart.

「...I do. I’m here. Right now. In front of you.」

I gave everything I had, acting with my best effort.

Just as I always had.

To keep the promise we’d made so long ago.

「Liar...」

「I’ve never lied to you. Not once.」

I looked into trembling lips and eyes brimming with tears.

Listened to the breath that tried to hold it all in but couldn’t.

「I missed you. Baeksulhwa.」

I answered, calm but not cold.

Quiet, but warm.

Then came the soft drop of a single tear.

And the girl’s fragile body slowly collapsed into my arms, as if drawn in.

「...I missed you....」

Overwhelmed by emotion, the girl whispered that as she wrapped her arms around me.

Her fingers clutched tightly at my brown coat.

She trembled all the way to her fingertips.

Eyes red with tears.

Breath uneven.

But it wasn’t the kind of crying you forced yourself to hold back.

「I missed... and missed you... so much....」

Soaked in tears, she smiled.

As if saying it didn’t matter what had happened before—because now, here they were again.

With a soft exhale, she gave the slightest nod.

Between sorrow, joy, longing, and love... she smiled.

It was the final period on the long tale of Baekjin and Baeksulhwa.

All that remained now was the short epilogue.

“...Cut! That’s a wrap!”

***

“Great work today, as always.”

The climax shoot of God and the Goblin had just wrapped up.

Ha-eun, who had briefly stepped away to grab a warm drink from the coffee truck, returned with a cup in hand for Kang Sun-woo.

She slowly offered the coffee to him.

As always, with a soft word of thanks, Kang Sun-woo accepted it—and then unconsciously looked at Ha-eun for a long moment.

‘Still only twenty.’

By all accounts, Ha-eun was still incredibly young for an actor.

There were certainly younger actors than her, but among those in her age group, none possessed Ha-eun’s level of skill or recognition.

Maybe Min Da-yeon could be a fair comparison.

And even Min Da-yeon was considered the definition of a successful /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ child actress—so Ha-eun was a rare case.

In the aging Korean entertainment scene, would there ever be another like her?

“Um... ahjussi. Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s just... made me think of the old days.”

Thinking back, from the very first time they met, Ha-eun had left him speechless.

The emotions he’d sensed from that ten-year-younger Ha-eun were never childlike.

There was no need to compare her to the Kang Sun-woo of back then.

Even now, she stood tall beside top-tier actors like Baek Tae-hoon from The Sunshine, and Seo Jin-tae from Veterans.

‘They say towering trees start with different roots...’

Sure, her elegant and slightly aloof features had been well-known even as a child.

But what truly stunned him was how limitless her potential as an actress seemed.

He hadn’t truly understood it until he faced it head-on.

The future he once envisioned for that young Ha-eun... turned out far more overwhelming than expected.

Then again, if she were ordinary, she wouldn’t have been able to drag Kang Sun-woo back in front of a camera.

“You’re like an old serpent, you know... A thousand-year-old one.”

“A serpent...?”

“Oh, it’s a compliment.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He followed up with a remark about how deeply layered her acting was for her age.

Joked that it felt like a serpent that had taken human form.

All Ha-eun could do was give a sheepish laugh—since it hit a little too close to home.

‘What does it mean to act my age, anyway...’

Ever since she was little, people had told Ha-eun she didn’t seem like a child.

She hadn’t heard it much lately, but still—she felt the pressure to act her age now.

But that was harder than it seemed.

She’d never actually lived the life of a “normal” twenty-year-old girl.

If she had to pick someone to reference, maybe Da-yeon...

‘But there’s no way I could be like Da-yeon.’

Ha-eun shook her head.

What meaning was there in copying someone else’s life, anyway?

While she was still deep in thought about what her usual self should be like—

she was jolted back to reality by another familiar voice behind her.

“See, see? Leaving me out again, huh?”

“When did we ever leave you out?”

“...Yoon-seong sunbae, would you like some coffee too?”

Ha Yoon-seong.

A fellow actor she’d known since her child actress days, and another lead in God and the Goblin.

He was one of the few who still called her “Ha-eun yang,” and he immediately asked what she and Kang Sun-woo were chatting about.

That was because he’d felt a bit left out.

“You two are always off whispering to each other, you know?”

“Hmm, it wasn’t anything big...”

Maybe because their characters were a couple in the drama.

Or maybe because Park Chasa, Yoon-seong’s role, was constantly at odds with them on screen.

“...Were you two talking about dating or something?”

“Ah, no! Nothing like that.”

“Why would she talk about dating with an old guy like me?”

It was true that she hadn’t chatted much with Yoon-seong on set.

She was definitely a bit closer to Kang Sun-woo.

But with filming nearly finished, there wasn’t much reason to keep that distance anymore.

Just as she was about to ask Yoon-seong what kind of person he thought she was—

– Slide.

“Tada. Birthday gift for Ha-eun yang. You’re an adult now, so you should know how to enjoy this.”

With a hint of mischief, he handed her a box of high-end wine.

Ha-eun accepted it with a mix of surprise and gratitude—only for Yoon-seong to add:

“Sunbae, you didn’t get her anything? Tomorrow’s her birthday, isn’t it?”

Naturally, both Ha-eun and Yoon-seong turned to look at Kang Sun-woo.

He blinked silently in response.

But then—

“Tomorrow’s her birthday...?”

“Wha—you didn’t know? Seriously?”

“.............”

Yoon-seong hadn’t expected that.

He was shocked that Kang Sun-woo didn’t even know when Ha-eun’s birthday was.

Especially since—he heard she’d been at Kang Sun-woo’s place just a few hours ago.

(Though in truth, they were discussing SL Group, not hanging out.)

How could someone that close not know her birthday?

“I-It’s okay! I never told you!”

“Still, it’s easy to find online... I mean—whatever, now you know! That’s all that matters, right Ha-eun yang?”

“Y-Yeah...”

Kang Sun-woo’s expression froze, second by second.

And seeing that, both Ha-eun and Yoon-seong rushed to reassure him.

“...I’ll courier over a gift tomorrow. Sorry.”

“Oh, uh, okay...”

And so, the main cast’s little conversation ended on a slightly awkward note.

With Kang Sun-woo’s visible guilt hanging in the air, it was hard to continue talking.

All that remained was the fancy wine box Yoon-seong had given her.

A gift that clearly cost a lot—one that unintentionally made Kang Sun-woo look even worse.

***

Morning of Ha-eun’s birthday.

“I’m heading out.”

“Okay~! Take lots of pictures~!”

Ha-eun fastened her thick coat and, as always, headed to Joo Jeong-yoon’s black van.

Today’s plan was to film a surprise visit to her birthday café for her YouTube channel.

Unlike last year’s Instagram Live broadcast, this was a rare opportunity for Ha-eun to meet her fans directly at the birthday café they had prepared.

Receiving birthday wishes in person from fans was something Ha-eun had been genuinely looking forward to.

So even while riding in Jeong-yoon’s van, she kept peeking out the window, and once they arrived near the café, she absentmindedly reached up to tidy her hair.

“Hi~! I heard fans prepared a birthday café, so I came to surprise— ...huh?”

“.............”

She ended up blowing the take before she even stepped into the café.

What she found was the glass window of the birthday venue—

and beyond that, a familiar face frozen like a statue.

‘...Did I ever tell her I was coming?’

Ha-eun was well aware that Nael rarely missed any event related to her.

But that was only for publicly announced or ticketed events.

This wasn’t one of them. This was supposed to be a surprise.

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – I’ll be dead if the CEO finds out

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – I’m not allowed to show my face on YouTube

[Ha-eun (Diah)] – (nervously sweating otter emoji)

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – I’ll sneak out the back door

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – Please wait 3 minutes before coming in

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – I’m sorry!!!

This timing was way too perfect to be a coincidence.

It almost felt like Nael was tailing her 24/7.

“U-uh, I’ll just pop into the restroom really quick.”

“Oh, sure. Go ahead.”

“Cut cut~ We’ll resume filming once Ha-eun gets back~.”

Only after giving Nael enough time to escape through the back did they resume the shoot.

Ha-eun still didn’t quite understand what Ji-hye meant by “can’t get caught by the CEO,”

but as a fellow virtual YouTuber, she could understand the rule about keeping her face off YouTube.

‘I’m already screwed on that front though...’

Anyway, right now, she was here as celebrity Lee Ha-eun—

and she was here to meet her fans who came to the birthday café.

– Ding-a-ling♪

“Hello~!”

Ha-eun entered the café with the staff from her YouTube channel.

And the moment she stepped in, the place erupted with high-pitched voices from fans who recognized her.

– Oh, oh...!!

– No way!!

– Aaaah! I’m a huge fan─!

The filming continued in a similar format to last year’s fan meet.

She sat at a table near the corner, greeting fans who crowded around her.

She signed white t-shirts, caps, and other merch they brought with them.

“Ha-Happy birthday!”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

It was a heartwarming moment, filled with gratitude and joy.

Even as time went on, her autograph line showed no signs of shortening.

Still, she stayed seated, wanting to talk to as many fans as possible.

There was plenty of time before her next schedule anyway, so it was fine.

– Step. Step.

[Could I get your autograph too? Just on this photocard is fine.]

“.............”

Then, she was face-to-face with Nael again.

Wearing a hoodie zipped all the way up, completely covering her face.

And instead of her usual voice, she spoke through a TTS translator.

– Whisper whisper.

– Murmur murmur.

– That’s the general manager, right? She’s super shy... omg...

“...General manager?”

[You’ve mistaken me for someone else.]

“Right, um... Your autograph’s done. But, uh... for the photo...?”

[Please take it just like this. I’m really sorry.]

“...One, two, three~.”

If anything, hiding her face like this was more eye-catching.

Could she even breathe properly in there?

These were just some of the thoughts running through Ha-eun’s mind

as she watched Nael insist on taking the photo anyway.

She had no idea this photo would end up as the thumbnail for the birthday café video.

Or that it would blow up due to how ridiculous it looked and draw in every kind of clickbait.

***

::Next up~ ...huh?::

::A fan like no other::

::A mysterious figure!!::

[Could I get your autograph too? Just on this photocard is fine.]

::Even the voice is TTS::

::Lee Ha-eun_Eyequake_Who the hell are you::

“...That’s Ji-hye, huh.”

“Well... her face didn’t show... voice didn’t show either... This should be safe, right?”

“Um, Dong-jin, I might just not get it... but... is it really necessary to go this far to meet up?”

“She wants to meet up this badly, that’s what it is.”

“...Huh.”

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