Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 325

The broadcast that was supposed to be introducing Diah’s 2nd-anniversary merch—though it felt more like forced sales—went on for quite a while. Well, of course it did, considering how many new types of merch were being released this time.

-Ssshhk...

-Shake shake.

-Shake shake.

“How is it...? Don’t you wanna buy it...? You’re dying to get this close-up face cushion, right...?!”

Each piece of the new merch was made with love, so Ha-eun was showcasing them with genuine passion. That’s why she brought the Diah close-up face cushion right up to the streaming cam and began fiddling with it.

She showed with her own hands just how good the cushion's quality was. At the same time, she pressed it to show how soft and squishy it was. She didn’t forget the aggressively threatening ad copy either.

“If you don’t buy it, I’ll show up in your dreams... It’s in your best interest to get it... Hehehe...”

? Isn’t it better not to buy it?

Wow this is intense 😂

Looks real soft up close

😳 Just sold my kidney

Raise the cam raise the cam raise the cam raise the cam raise the cam raise the cam raise the cam raise the cam

I wanna pull those cheeks

Damn, I’ll be living on tap water for a while

-Ding!

[ ㅇㅇ donated ₩1,000! ]

: I sold my house to buy the Diah close-up face cushion... Guess I’ll be sleeping at the jjimjilbang for a while now...

[ Anonymous donated ₩1,000! ]

: Diah, I stole ₩50,000 from my mom’s wallet to buy the close-up cushion. I love you.

“W-What... What do you mean, Noeul? No matter how much you want it, stealing is...!”

Gasp

Get out

What

You told us to buy it

That’s some nuclear-level filial piety

Why’s this thug so soft-hearted 😂

😳;;

Parenting failure

You are something else

Anyway, after somehow wrapping up the Diah close-up cushion ad, Ha-eun moved on to the Diah blanket, spreading it wide on the streaming table to show it off live.

But the blanket was bigger than expected, and no matter how she tried to lay it out, it didn’t fit well in the camera frame. The centerpiece of the Diah blanket—Diah’s illustration—wasn’t showing clearly, which left a bit of a disappointing feeling.

-Sswhk.

-Sswhk.

‘Hmm... If I show one part, the other gets cut off.’

She kept changing the spread direction—left, then right—but it didn’t work, so she decided to take another approach. She adjusted the angle of the streaming cam right after that.

Tilting the cam so that only below her neck was visible, Ha-eun spread the Diah blanket wide and covered her upper body with it. Then, with only her hands peeking out from the sides of the blanket, she lightly shook them up and down.

“How is it? Can you see it clearly?”

Damn

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

Blanket’s cute fr

😳😳

Diah’s chest is wild

Gotta buy the blanket, right..?

Wow

What’s up with this half-cam setup

The blanket’s pretty

This is a must-buy

Maybe because Ha-eun had it draped over herself, the Diah blanket looked even better on screen. And most of the Noeulis were absolutely loving it.

“In the middle of the Diah blanket, there’s a Noeul snuggled in~. Now that I look at it, Noeul’s cheeks came out really chubby.”

Wow the blanket looks so good

Can you raise the cam just a little ㅠㅠ please just a little bit ㅠㅠ

Wish you’d just keep describing the blanket

Hug me

Just one finger heart please, this is the 21st try

So how much is it, this is the 9th time I’m asking

Pointing with both index fingers, Ha-eun explained the key highlights of the Diah blanket—what made each part so pretty. Though some chat comments seemed more interested in what lay behind the blanket than the blanket itself.

After smoothly wrapping up the Diah blanket showcase, she returned the cam to its original angle. Ha-eun, now hidden under the blanket, disappeared from the screen, and the familiar table took her place.

Noooo

Get the table out get the table out get the table out get the table out

RIP me

Give me back my Diah blanket! GIVE IT BACK!

NOOOOOO

Please move the cam back up 😭

Please show the blanket again I’m getting dizzy please please show it again 😭

“Okay, okay. Next is the Diah glass cup~. There’s a Diah version and a Noeul version~.”

Ignoring the flood of protest in the chat, she moved right on to introducing more 2nd-anniversary goods. It was another reminder that cam streams were a double-edged sword.

She had once thought, If you want to see Diah on cam so badly, just go watch the Lee Ha-eun channel. But even she knew—Diah’s cam stream and the Lee Ha-eun channel meant very different things.

Having once been a Noeuli herself, she could understand their feelings to some degree. Of course, she had no intention of ever showing Diah’s face on cam. Not now, not ever. What’s not allowed is not allowed.

“See, they say drinking water from the Diah glass cup makes it taste better...!”

Wow really? 😂

Isn’t this false advertising? I’ve reported it~

This shop knows how to hustle

The cup’s bigger than I thought

Forget the cup, bring back the blanket

Nice engraving. Looks cute

Can’t see well, zoom the cam please

-Ding!

[ ㅇㅇ donated ₩1,000! ]

: Maybe it’s because you’re Pinocchio, but people say you lie like you breathe. That’s... totally not what I meant though no no no no no

“...Wanna get hit with the glass cup?”

Gasp

Getting hit with that would kill me

Get out 😂

Big upvote

Gangster mode ON

Uh oh put the cup down

Anyway, after energetically introducing all the Diah 2nd-anniversary goods and successfully encouraging Noeulis to make their purchases, Ha-eun moved on to a Q&A from the Illusionary Realm café, continuing the 2nd-anniversary celebration broadcast.

“Alright, next question. What does Diah like the most right now...? ...Do I really need to say this?”

Yes

Yep

Wow I seriously have no idea

Just got here, why are you suddenly so aggressive lol

Yes

We won’t know unless you tell us~

What is it

“Hmmm, hmm hmm...”

-Sshhk.

“...It’s you guys, you idiots.”

Damn

Oh

?

Daaaamn 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

???

Goddess!!!!

Welcome, true self

Noeulis are blushing Noeulis are blushing Noeulis are blushing Noeulis are blushing

Hnnng

Her voice is legendary fr 😂

Say more say more say more say more say more

I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

***

Time passed and passed, and by the end of April— on a warm day when the weather finally felt like spring had fully arrived— Ha-eun, dressed in celebrity-secret-outing mode, was waiting at the airport for someone.

Before long, a familiar face appeared. Someone she hadn’t seen since the Japan schedule several months ago was walking from the far side of the terminal.

Found you.

The moment she spotted Lucid, she started walking—step by step—lowering her head slightly to stay hidden as she approached.

Even when Ha-eun got right in front of her, Lucid hadn’t noticed. Only when Ha-eun poked her cheek did the almost-expressionless face jolt in surprise and finally recognize her.

“Ah, uh... Ha-eun san—”

“Shh, shhh!”

-Fwmp!

“Mm-mm. Mmmmmm.”

“Ah, um... Yes, I’m happy to see you too.”

Today was Day 1 of Lucid’s trip to Korea. At the tail end of spring, she took time off and traveled to the neighboring country for a vacation.

She planned to stay for about a week, and as her only Korean acquaintance, she wanted to spend time with Ha-eun. That’s why Ha-eun had come to the airport to pick her up.

When Lucid first messaged her asking to hang out, Ha-eun had been a little flustered. But thinking it over, the timing was actually perfect.

“For now, let’s get going. Jung-yoon unnie’s waiting in the parking lot.”

-Nod nod.

That very evening was scheduled to be Hida’s 3D debut stream. And by the end of Lucid’s trip, the 3rd generation of Illusionary Realm VTubers was set to debut.

In other words, this was a chance to get feedback from a top-tier Japanese VTuber about Illusionary Realm. It was also a chance to hang out with Lucid again and show her the agency’s new developments. Including Diah’s stream, of course.

Still, Ha-eun had her own schedule today. So first, they headed to the filming location for The Youngest Son of the Chairman.

“My heart’s pounding, Ha-eun san. It’s my first time visiting a drama set.”

Your Korean’s gotten a lot better.

Originally, Ha-eun had planned to drop Lucid off at her hotel, but Lucid had passionately insisted she wanted to see where Ha-eun worked. Ha-eun had worried she might get bored waiting, but Lucid said absolutely not.

And so it was decided: Lucid would visit the set. As long as she didn’t take photos or videos, permission was granted. Lucid’s slight excitement was probably because of that.

“I’m totally bragging to Aqua-senpai later.”

“Uhh, won’t that cause chaos?”

“Chaos is fine. That teasing brat needs to get whacked upside the head.”

Something’s off with her Korean patch...

Anyway, after some banter in her weirdly fluent Korean, they arrived at the Chairman’s Youngest Son filming set and moved to the makeup room like always.

Soon, Ha-eun’s makeup began. Lucid sat right next to Ju Jung-yoon, quietly staring at her.

Maybe because she was worried she’d cause a scene as an outsider, Lucid clearly wanted to chat but held herself back. Ha-eun told her she could ask anything if she was curious—that’s why.

“You don’t have to be that quiet, you know.”

“Oh.”

Only after hearing that did Lucid finally speak up, gushing with her impressions—most of which boiled down to: Ha-eun is so pretty. Which made Ha-eun’s ears a little red.

Lucid kept watching Ha-eun with a mix of admiration and curiosity for quite a while. Even when the filming for Chairman’s Youngest Son began, she couldn’t take her eyes off her. Not that Ha-eun minded.

「You’re braver than I expected... I didn’t think Shin Dohyeon-ssi would come here personally.」 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The scene being shot today was S#47: Strategy Planning Office. Ha-eun’s Yoon Seo-ah cornering Yoo Sung-jae’s Shin Dohyeon, who had been acting aggressively.

A quiet conference room. The two sat across a long table. A cool, nearly blank smile slowly shifted toward Shin Dohyeon.

-Tap.

「This account under a fake name... when traced, it led back to you.」

She pulled out a few sheets of paper and lightly tossed them on the table. The camera captured her hand movements as if flaunting that she had found his weakness.

His response was the usual calm smile. His soft voice followed.

「I’m not good at complicated things, though.」

「Yeah, I know. You... can’t pull something like this off alone yet.」

Agreeing with his words, she tapped lightly on the table with her slender fingers. Then, without losing her composure, she slowly turned her gaze toward him.

「That whole acquisition deal? I tossed it out as bait from the beginning. Just to see who’d bite.」

A brief silence. Then a drowsy smile.

「...Turns out, it was you. Hook, line, and sinker.」

She nodded slightly and let out a quiet laugh. Then she slowly walked past the table, brushing her hand along it, and stopped by his side.

One step.

「You must’ve thought it was a lifeline... Sorry to disappoint—it was a fishing line.」

And another step.

「This game runs deeper than you think. Everyone dives in thinking it’s shallow... then drowns, thrashing around.」

Her slow, deliberate movements revealed Yoon Seo-ah’s psychological dominance. Like a snake coiled in a silent grin, watching from above with cold eyes.

There was an invisible wall—like watching a monkey in a zoo perform tricks behind glass. Fascinated, but devoid of empathy.

「So... are you saying I made a mistake?」

「No, I’m saying thank you. Now I know what you’ve gambled.」

With her chin resting on her hand and her gaze steady, she slowly scanned Shin Dohyeon’s face with just her eyes.

A tension so heavy even breathing lightly was difficult. Eventually, Yoon Seo-ah quietly walked behind Shin Dohyeon and whispered her final line.

「They all say you fear nothing... But to me... you just seem blind.」

Shin Dohyeon’s breath slowed. The camera panned up slowly, tracing Yoon Seo-ah’s fingertips. And—cut.

“Okay, we got it~!”

Director Cha Seon-ho’s OK sign echoed across the set. Almost instantly, the tension on set melted, and the murmurs of the crew filled the space.

Only then did Ha-eun, who had been staring intently at Yoo Sung-jae, step away. She soon returned to Ju Jung-yoon and Lucid, with a faintly satisfied expression.

This was because—somewhere in the back of her mind—she still remembered Yoo Sung-jae once saying he thought she was “worth going up against.” What a joke.

I think I nailed it today.

Whether as a child actress or now, Ha-eun never planned to lose in acting. And in a scene like S#47 where Yoon Seo-ah was meant to dominate, she pushed even harder.

In other words, her competitiveness as an actress. She didn’t consciously realize it, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) but she did feel like Yoo Sung-jae was just a bit arrogant.

Then again, Shin Dohyeon’s character was written to be kind of arrogant—so maybe it made sense. Either way, it was oddly satisfying to overpower him in this scene.

Though just a few seconds later—

“She’s a total queen... Ha-eun-san is such a noble lady...!”

Lucid’s wide-eyed excitement caught her off guard. She quickly switched to an awkward smile.

“Ha-eun-san totally slayed. You were regal.”

“Ah, ahaha...”