Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 327

All the trainees, including Mir, were juniors to Dia—but at the same time, they were all older than Ha-eun. There wasn’t a single trainee younger than Ha-eun, who had just turned twenty.

In the workplace, rank and years of experience often mattered more than age... but still, they were older than her.= In that sense, their synchronized movements—no, their synchronized bows were understandably overwhelming.

“Uh... let’s all sit down ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) first, okay? We can greet each other after sitting...!”

“How could we sit at the same table as such a heavenly senior...”

“Don’t go against the heavenly senior’s wishes...!”

“Gasp.”

“Oh my.”

“Sit down, sit down.”

“Everyone, take your seats!”

Ha-eun had never asked for such formal greetings, nor expected to receive them. There was no need to make the surrounding LUX staff or Lucid misunderstand anything, either.

That’s why she hurriedly forced the trainees—who’d just been giving full 90-degree bows—to take their seats. But right after that, she heard something unexpected from Tana, one of the trainees Ha-eun herself had interviewed in the past.

“It... it was just a prank?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, Dia. Hida said you’d be shocked if we did that.”

“It was a hidden camera prank!”

“You’re so fun to tease, Dia~.”

Only after revealing the prank did the trainees finally start giggling. Ha-eun, too, felt some relief as the mood loosened—but also a bit of irritation.

Even if Da-yeon told them to do it, how could they prank such a high-ranking senior like Ha-eun? And of all people, Mir—who had actual idol trainee experience—had led the whole thing, completely fooling her.

“So... Hida’s scary, but I’m not?”

“Gasp.”

“M-Mir! Quick, head down!”

And just like that, the 3rd-gen trainees were about to go from WWE to UFC.

–Tap.

“Everyone, freeze.”

“Freeze!”

Good-natured as ever, Ha-eun decided to let it go and stopped Mir, who really looked like she was about to bow her head to the floor. None of them seemed to know moderation.

Right then, she turned to Lucid, who had been watching the whole exchange with bewildered eyes. Ha-eun then introduced Lucid to the trainees, prompting a round of brief greetings between them.

The only issue was... Lucid wasn’t WWE—she was UFC. The moment the trainees realized the calm-looking woman was actually Lucid of Prism Live, they absolutely panicked.

“W-Wait... really...?”

“Should we bow or...?”

“Uh, um... why are you in Korea?”

“Just visiting!”

“Oh, just visiting...”

Just a moment ago, they were giggling and teasing Ha-eun—but now they stood frozen in status effect: confusion. The only saving grace was that Ha-eun and Lucid were just dropping by LUX briefly.

“I’ll be heading out now. Just came by to see Da-yeon for a bit.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Dia’s leaving, everyone say goodbye!”

"...Everyone, freeze.”

“Freeze!”

Having frozen all the trainees in place, Ha-eun stood up along with Lucid. Then, turning to Lucid—who looked bewildered by their perfectly synchronized movements—she made a small request.

She thought a word of encouragement from someone as senior as Lucid would mean a lot to the trainees.

“Koto-san, could you give them a quick cheer?”

“Ah, um... Fighting. I’m sure you’ll all do great.”

Even though they’d pulled a prank on her earlier, Ha-eun was generous enough to still root for them. And when Lucid said she’d be watching their debut stream, the trainees suddenly tensed up again.

“They’ll have to overcome this kind of adversity.”

“...Ha-eun really is a wicked noble lady...”

“Back in my day, we debuted face-first in the dirt. You 3rd-gens have it easy.”

“Here comes the old-school queen...”

Anyway, they walked on, pretending not to notice Lucid’s slightly narrowed eyes. And the moment they reached the motion capture studio—they stormed in, straight at Da-yeon.

The reason was simple.

Ha-eun wanted to see Da-yeon in her skintight suit.

And sure enough—

“...Pfft...” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“...You’re so dead.”

Da-yeon didn’t disappoint. Seeing her in a black full-body suit—everything below her neck covered—Ha-eun collapsed on the floor, completely disarmed. She looked cuter and more lovable than ever.

It was such a relief that Da-yeon’s cold had gotten better. She’d nearly missed this glorious sight.

“Y-You look great, Da-yeon! Super kawaii!”

“...Who’s this?”

“Oh, this is our fourth daughter. Say hello—hngh—ahah...”

“If you’re gonna keep laughing, just leave.”

“Sorry, sorry... hngh... okay, I’m good now.”

Finally, Lucid and Da-yeon shook hands. Since they had previously played the roles of “mom” and “fourth daughter” in Dream Server, it wasn’t all that awkward.

Naturally, the next topic was Hida’s 3D debut. Just like Lucid kept calling Da-yeon cute, Ha-eun—barely holding back her laughter—cheered her on earnestly.

“Who knows? Maybe you’ve got hidden idol talent.”

“Idol? Please.”

“Okay, fair... a 600-year-old idol might be a stretch.”

“...Make up your mind. Either cheer me on or insult me.”

“You got this, Witch~. You’ve literally come back from the dead—what can’t you do?”

And then, just a few seconds later—

Squish.

Da-yeon finally couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed both of Ha-eun’s cheeks, tugging hard. Still, it was clear she wasn’t that nervous.

Ha-eun, who hadn’t relaxed until after her own 3D debut, offered Da-yeon a bit of advice.

“Big-name actresses don’t get nervous over this kinda stuff.”

“...Try staying silent for once.”

They parted ways shortly after. Ha-eun and Lucid left the motion capture studio, promising to cheer for her from home.

Once they returned to the front gate of the LUX building, they hopped into Ju Jeong-yoon’s van. That’s when Lucid spoke up.

“You seem really close to Da-yeon.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah. Super close.”

Lucid added that they seemed like real sisters. There was a faint warmth in her gaze.

Ha-eun nodded in agreement. Maybe it was because they’d been together almost their whole lives—there was definitely a sisterly vibe between them.

But hearing that sparked a sudden curiosity in her. Just as they pulled up in front of Ha-eun’s house, she slyly asked Lucid a question.

“Who do you think is the older sister?”

“Between you and Da-yeon?”

“Yeah. We made a bet over who feels more like the older one.”

“Hmm...”

After a moment’s thought, Lucid gave an unexpected answer: both.

She said it wouldn’t be weird for either one to be the older sister.

“If you’re the older sister, you’re like the healing type who adores her sibling. But if you’re the younger one, you totally give off little sister with a sister complex vibes.”

“Ew.”

“You kind of have that aura, you know. You really dote on Da-yeon.”

To be honest, Ha-eun couldn’t deny it. Because of her past-life memories of Da-yeon, she’d been watching over her closely for a long time.

Even in middle school, there had been an incident... Though it ended well, she had done some uncharacteristic things back then.

“I don’t know if that counts as doting, though.”

From the very first time she met Da-yeon long ago, she had always been someone Ha-eun couldn’t ignore. She’d helped Ha-eun plenty of times, too. So she could understand what Lucid meant about caring deeply.

–Poke.

“See? You’re smiling again with that faraway look just talking about Da-yeon.”

“It’s not that faraway-looking...”

Ha-eun looked up at Lucid, who poked the corners of her mouth. In the end, Lucid concluded—being close with a friend like that is always a good thing.

Just then, they entered the passcode and opened the door.

Almost immediately, Baekseol ran to the entrance. It was Lucid’s first time meeting her, but she wagged her tail like they were old friends.

–Lick lick.

–Lick lick.

“Eek! Wait, Ha-eun, Ha-eun!”

“Baekseol, don’t tickle our guest.”

Ha-eun lifted Baekseol and gently patted her on the head, guiding Lucid inside. They had planned to watch Hida’s 3D stream together.

When Na-yeon saw Lucid, she wasn’t surprised. She didn’t know the details, but she knew someone would be visiting.

“I heard she’s your senior at work.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. She is. Hello!”

“Oh, a foreigner!”

The slight difference in accent made Na-yeon pause before turning to Ha-eun. Sensing her confusion, Ha-eun quickly explained in more detail.

“She’s the one who helped me a lot during that last trip to Japan.”

“Ohh... the one who helped my daughter.”

Sounding even more delighted, Na-yeon led the two of them to the dining table. Since neither of them had eaten yet, she wanted to feed them first.

Still, it was the first time someone from Ha-eun’s “other job” had visited in person. As her mom, Na-yeon had lots of questions.

Like what kind of global job required trips to Japan, or what Ha-eun was like at work.

“Is she good at her job?”

“Uh... Ha-eun’s work...?”

Lucid didn’t know how much she could say. She had to tread carefully.

“I heard she’s number one in Korea.”

“Oh my, really?”

“There’s no one better than Ha-eun... right? Is there anyone above her?”

“Not... really. But, um...”

Thus began a strange scene. Lucid had to explain Ha-eun’s job without ever mentioning Dia.

Apparently, it’d be bad if her family found out about Dia. Lucid had seen many Prism Live streamers run into trouble with family—some even forced to graduate early.

So she carefully chose her words.

“Ha-eun’s the best in Korea. Seriously. She becomes super cute at work and everyone loves her.”

“She becomes cute? Ha-eun?”

“Yeah. So cute. Last time she came to Japan, people even asked her for autographs.”

“Sounds like puppet shows are big in Japan too... like Pororo or something?”

“...Puppet shows?”

Lucid glanced at Ha-eun in confusion. But Ha-eun didn’t know how much her mom knew, either.

In the end, dinner ended without anything becoming truly clear. Except for one thing—Lucid’s sleeping arrangements.

“Ha-eun, when will you be done tonight?”

“Um... probably around eleven?”

“Then Koto, why don’t you sleep over tonight?”

Technically, Lucid had already dropped her suitcase off at the hotel—

But Na-yeon convinced her it’d be easier to stay here than go back late by taxi.

And from Lucid’s point of view, there was no reason to say no. Who would turn down a chance to sleep in the same room as a famous actress?

“Do I even have clothes that’ll fit...?”

“Huh?”

“Hold on. I’ll get you the biggest thing I can find.”

“Ah... wow.”

In the end, Lucid got to shower and wear one of Ha-eun’s oversized T-shirts. No tourist attraction could compete with this.

Naturally, she took dozens of selfies in front of Ha-eun’s full-length mirror. And of course, sent one with Ha-eun doing a V-sign straight to Aqua.

“Uh-oh. Ahaha! She’s totally freaking out.”

“Must’ve been a lot of pent-up frustration toward Aqua...”