Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 266

“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday dear Lee Ha-eun~ Happy birthday to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) you~.”

After expressing her gratitude to every fan who came to her birthday café with autographs, photos, and other fan service, the YouTube filming ended with Ha-eun blowing out the candles on her birthday cake as her fans sang her the birthday song.

It was only after that, while waving to her fans, that she returned to Ju Jung-yoon’s van.

As usual, Ju Jung-yoon was in the driver’s seat. She soon asked Ha-eun how she felt about the birthday café visit.

“How was it?”

“It was... filled with my pictures. I seriously thought I’d walked into the Lee Ha-eun Museum.”

Photos of Ha-eun were plastered all over the café.

From her latest work, God and the Goblin, to her debut drama The Man Next Door, there were even pictures of Ha-eun as a child actor.

What surprised her the most were the café’s takeaway containers, all plastered with her photos.

Whether you ordered coffee, a smoothie, or a cookie, they came in containers featuring her face.

“There was no need for merch.”

“Oh, really? What kind of photos were they?”

“They were different for each item. The Americano cup had a concert photo, and the cookie bag had one from a fan meeting.”

“I should’ve gone with you. I wanna see what kind of photos they used.”

While describing the café setup to Ju Jung-yoon, someone knocked on the van window, and the door opened again.

It was PD Lee Da-hye, wearing a sheepish smile. She’d forgotten to record Ha-eun’s thoughts about the birthday café and asked for a short moment.

“You can just say it comfortably in the car. Just about thirty seconds.”

“Ah, okay.”

Lee Da-hye PD took the seat beside Ha-eun.

Facing the action cam in her hand, Ha-eun shared her thoughts on the birthday café visit.

She thanked the fans for preparing it.

She was surprised at how many people had shown up, even though it was still early in the afternoon.

She was happy she got to sign autographs and take pictures with each person—things like that.

“Well then, I hope everyone has a great day.”

With that, Ha-eun’s honest thoughts about the people who came to her birthday café were captured on the action cam.

Satisfied with the footage, Lee Da-hye PD nodded in approval.

“Same as during the channel intro shoot—you really speak well, Ha-eun. Did you go to a speech academy or something?”

“No, nothing like that. I just said whatever came to mind.”

“Ohh...”

Spontaneous, unscripted interviews.

Even so, Ha-eun’s words flowed smoothly and naturally, impressing Lee Da-hye PD with her eloquence.

Not long after, Lee Da-hye PD brought up how Ha-eun had a knack for YouTube, praising her with genuine admiration like she was a seasoned veteran.

“Since you speak so well, editing is easy. Alright, see you next time~.”

“Yes, see you.”

With a light wave toward Ha-eun, Lee Da-hye PD stepped out of the van to rejoin the other staff.

Only after the engine started again did Ha-eun finally let out a quiet breath.

“Haah...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Every time someone calls me a veteran YouTuber, my heart drops. I can’t exactly tell them the truth...”

“Why not? Are you... embarrassed about Diah?”

“...Who’s that? I don’t know anyone by that name.”

Denying any connection to Diah, Ha-eun then went as far as to put on a sleep mask.

Her own way of saying she wouldn’t be commenting further.

‘I’m completely separate from Diah.’

Actress Lee Ha-eun and VTuber Diah were the same person—and yet not the same person.

That unspoken rule was sacred in the VTuber industry.

...Some VTubers didn’t separate the personas so strictly, but still.

Until she stepped into the pristine soundproof booth and began setting up the stream, she was Ha-eun.

Once the stream began, she became Diah.

Two entirely different beings.

Even Ju Jung-yoon wasn’t allowed to break character when it came to Diah’s roleplay.

‘Not that she’d understand even if I explained...’

And so, she remained silent behind her black sleep mask.

Maybe that’s why Ju Jung-yoon didn’t press further.

Still, maybe it was just that Jung-yoon was in an unusually playful mood today.

Or maybe she was just feeling mischievous.

“We’ve got about an hour till we reach the office. Mind if I play the radio, Ha-eun?”

“.............”

A vague sense of foreboding came with those words.

And the moment the radio played, Ha-eun immediately recognized it. frёewebnoѵēl.com

It felt like she was being tested—like they were waiting to see how long she’d stay quiet.

『Alright, next story! Our 100-day anniversary is coming up, but my girlfriend seems down lately—should I be worried... Girlfriend?』

『Hah... Hey, “Steel Bar Cell from the Police Department,” Noeul. Who told you to cheat? Can’t you see your girlfriend staring you dead in the eye right now?!』

The youthful voice rang out from the surround speakers installed throughout the van.

And from the driver’s seat came the sound of soft giggling.

“Whoever she is, she’s super jealous~.”

“...Whoever she is, I think the one cheating on his girlfriend is the real problem.”

And so, a brief but petty exchange broke out between Ju Jung-yoon and Ha-eun.

It wasn’t until Ha-eun grumbled something about how could they do this on her birthday that the radio was finally turned off.

What puzzled her more, though, was how Ju Jung-yoon even knew about this mash-up radio clip made from Diah’s stream.

After removing her sleep mask, Ha-eun glanced at the rearview mirror and met Jung-yoon’s eyes.

“Uh... unni.”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“Do you... listen to this kind of radio often?”

The answer that came back was a clear yes.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Without thinking, Ha-eun rubbed her forehead and muttered something about how this voice was familiar enough already—why even listen to the radio?

“Hmmm... do you not like that I listen to your radio?”

“...I don’t do radio.”

“If you don’t like it, just say so. I won’t listen.”

“No, it’s not that I dislike it... It’s just... up until a few days ago, you acted like you had no clue, but now it turns out you were even listening to the radio...”

“I just found it fun, that’s all.”

“Hm...”

How was she supposed to describe this weird ambiguity?

It felt like she was being secretly filmed.

The fact that what she thought was a well-hidden secret was actually an open secret—honestly, it was kind of unnerving.

‘Don’t tell me... even Mom and Dad know and are just pretending not to...’

She was sure there was a movie like this.

The Truman Show? Or was it Trouble Show?

It felt like everyone but her was following a script.

‘...Nah, just my imagination. Movies are movies.’

Shaking her head side to side, Ha-eun tried to shake off the thought.

They’d arrived at their destination—Luna Entertainment headquarters.

After getting out of the van with Ju Jung-yoon, they headed inside for the day’s second schedule: a birthday Instagram Live.

Soon after, they arrived at Ha-eun’s private room.

Just like last year, it was overflowing with gifts from fans.

“Looks like we can’t carry all of this in one go again...”

“Yeah, no kidding...”

Compared to last year, Ha-eun’s fame had definitely grown.

Even though there had been more gifts than she expected back then, this year, the number had increased even more.

What stood out the most were the gifts from overseas fans.

“These are from Hong Kong fans. This one’s from Japan. And this... is the Philippines.”

Last year, there had been a few gifts from international fans, but nothing on this scale.

This year, there were so many they had to be sorted by country.

It was probably thanks to God and the Goblin gaining traction overseas.

“You really are a global star now. A true global star.”

“...Mmm...”

Ha-eun stared at the mountain of gift boxes that filled her private room.

After the setup was finally complete, she put on her birthday party hat and sat at a white table with a beautiful birthday cake.

And then, her birthday Instagram Live began.

The moment her face appeared on the vertical broadcast screen, the already-fast chat window exploded with activity.

‘...Does Instagram not have slow mode?’

Before she could even read one message, another wave of comments would crash in like a tsunami.

Luckily, just like last year, Ju Jung-yoon and the other staff members helped point out which chats she should respond to.

[ Current Viewers: 90,000! ]

[ First, tell us how it feels to be twenty! ]

“Ah, yes. Hello, everyone. I’ve officially turned twenty now. Time really flies, doesn’t it?”

From there, the stream followed a familiar rhythm, much like last year’s birthday broadcast.

Ha-eun showed off the custom-made cake from her fans, lit the candles, clapped lightly along to the birthday song sung through the chat, and then blew them out.

– Clap clap clap clap clap

– HBD Haeun 💗💗💗💗💗

– 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

– Happy 20th, Lee Ha-eun 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

– H.E Birthday 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

“Mmm, thank you. Please continue supporting me this year too.”

Though it wasn’t all that different from last year’s stream, it was still a great time.

Once the cake-cutting and brief fan interaction came to an end, the live broadcast wrapped up.

“Thank you for celebrating my 20th birthday with me. See you next time~.”

After leaving her closing remarks, Ha-eun turned to the staff around her and thanked them for their hard work. Then she and Ju Jung-yoon began loading the gift boxes into the van.

About an hour later, they arrived at their final schedule of the day: the LUX building.

—Knock knock.

—Creeeak—

“Hye-min unni, I’m here.”

“Oh, Ha-eun. Happy birthday~.”

Today was both Ha-eun’s birthday and the scheduled day for her online meeting with Lucid.

So she headed to LUX and prepared for the meeting with Ji Hye-min and other staff from Illusionary Realm.

The proper birthday celebration was pushed until after the meeting.

Once the connection to Japan’s Prism Live was established, a round of greetings went back and forth between the staff of Illusionary Realm and Prism Live.

[ Miss Lucid, this is Diah from Illusionary Realm. Please greet each other. ]

“Ah, hello...! I’m Diah!”

At last, Ha-eun and Lucid exchanged their first words.

❮Ah, hajimemashi....❯

—Ahem.

[ Nice...to meet you. I...am fan. Ha-eun-san. ]

“...Sorry?”

Across the sea from Japan came halting Korean.

Then, a flustered voice from a Prism Live staff member followed.

❮W-Wait, Miss Lucid! Right now, you’re meeting Diah...!❯

❮Ah, right, sorry. I just slipped.❯

Caught off guard by the unexpected words from Lucid, Ha-eun was left momentarily stunned.

Just a few months ago, she’d only seen Lucid on Japanese convenience store packaging—

And now that same person was calling herself a fan of Ha-eun’s.

In Korean. Directly.

For Ha-eun, who had considered Japan’s Prism Live a kind of long-term goal, this voice carried immense meaning.

That was probably why she ended up muttering to herself without realizing it.

“...Is this a hidden camera prank?”

[ Eh, no... Not hidden camera. I... really am fan. Ha-eun-san. ]

“Wow...”

***

—Ding-dong♪

“...I’m home.”

“Ah, Ha-eun. The seaweed soup’s ready. Sit down, come on~.”

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“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday dear Ha-eun~ Happy birthday to you~.”

—Whoo─!

“Our daughter’s twenty already, huh.”

“Time... really flies. When did you grow up so fast?”

“Seriously. When did that happen?”

—Slide.

“Alright, since our Ha-eun is twenty now... time to learn how to drink, right?”

“Huh...? Ah, Dad, Mom’s watching—”

—Piercing glare.

“B-But it’s her birthday! Traditionally, it’s the parents who teach their kids how to drink, honey. She should know her limits so she doesn’t make mistakes later.”

“...Just for today.”

.

.

.

“I’m, like, super famous... Hehe.... Lucid said she’s a fan, you knooow... That Lucid. Waaah... Aren’t I just, like, incredible...?”

“...Starting today, this household is under prohibition. How did she end up exactly like her dad?”

“Of course I’m like him...! I’m your daughter, duh...! Mommy’s so silly... doesn’t even know that... I’m Daddy’s daughter... and right now I’m your daughter... right noooow...”

“This won’t do. Help me get her into bed, honey.”

“Huh? But we still have wine left.”

“I said get her to bed.”

“O-Okay...”

Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)