---

A sight you can’t even buy with money.

The sentence summarizes what those who already know Diya’s true identity felt while watching her debut broadcast.

“Come on, I’m trying to guess my favorite ‘food’ here! Why does Hawaiian pizza keep coming up?”

– What the?

– Diya, are you saying Hawaiian pizza isn’t food?

– It’s not food, huh?

– Diya, are you maybe Italian?

– Even a one-year-old spirit would pass on Hawaiian pizza.

Smooth broadcast progress.

Tension that never drops.

And decisively, that bright voice that properly demonstrated what being cheerful means.

“…Is this really someone broadcasting for the first time today?”

“She’s an actress. She might have prepared a script beforehand.”

The officials of the Fantasy realm felt as if they had been hit on the back of the head.

Knowing that ‘Newbie VTuber Diya’ and ‘Actress Lee Ha-eun’ are the same person, it didn’t feel like they were the same at all.

To be precise, it is indeed rare for a well-known actress like Ha-eun to be doing a VTuber broadcast.

However, conducting a broadcast that perfectly fits the three-letter term ‘VTuber’ is an entirely different story.

Even back when I was interviewing for the Fantasy realm.

No, even after I passed and contracted with MCN as ‘Diya’, she only showed this peculiar aura of importance.

I had no inkling that she hid such a cheerful side inside.

To put it bluntly, it wouldn’t be strange to call it split personality.

And yet, it was something that couldn’t be commented on.

“Can you play LoL? Are you talking about a roll cake?”

– Roll Demon, you crazy guys.

– Who taught our Diya such bad stuff?

– Protect Diya, absolutely protect her.

– That’s a gigi!

– Roll cakes are delicious, yeah.

It wasn’t even worth commenting on in the first place.

Natural communication with the viewers.

Casual tone with no distance whatsoever.

There wasn’t a single thing to criticize.

I just hoped that the other two members debuting on Wednesday would follow suit.

However, unlike the Fantasy realm officials, who mainly evaluated Diya’s broadcast from a business perspective, the other members of the Fantasy realm who knew her identity.

[Park Mi-so (Mile)] – That’s Ha-eun, right?

[Lee Ye-na (Yuna)] – Seeing that she hates Hawaiian pizza, it must be Ha-eun.

[Park Mi-so (Mile)] – Is it true that she was stuttering every time I asked her something?

[Jeong Maria (Cream)] – Not stuttering. She’s just shy.

[Kim Eun-hye (Ria)] – What will I do for tomorrow’s broadcast?

[Lee Ye-na (Yuna)] – Ah, right. How will we do tomorrow’s broadcast…

It was pure admiration.

And there was a slight chill down their spine.

Before Diya’s debut broadcast started, for the Fantasy realm members, Ha-eun was surprisingly a ‘young’ actress with subculture tastes.

Though I’d long known the fame of actress Lee Ha-eun, after actually meeting her, I only thought of her as a younger sister who was fun to tease.

However, now, recording an unexpected number like six thousand, I couldn’t help but ponder what to do with this ambitious one who’s even standing out in VTuber broadcasts.

[Park Mi-so (Mile)] – I need to call her on Discord right after the broadcast ends.

[Lee Ye-na (Yuna)] – 2222

[Kim Eun-hye (Ria)] – 33333 Let’s make her pay for deceiving us.

[Jeong Maria (Cream)] – I bet she won’t answer.

[Park Mi-so (Mile)] – Why would the youngest ignore the oldest?

[Jeong Maria (Cream)] – By viewer count, Ha-eun’s the oldest~

[Park Mi-so (Mile)] – (Frustrated Lion emoji)

[Lee Ye-na (Yuna)] – (Shivering Duck emoji)

Thus, while the members, feeling a mix of betrayal and playful thoughts about Ha-eun, waited for Diya’s broadcast to end,

[Park Mi-so (Mile)] – ? Why is it offline?

As a result, none of the members could get in touch with Ha-eun.

It was because Ha-eun ended the broadcast with the completion of the other members’ PV, shutting down the computer power altogether.

“…Hah.”

A breath barely released.

With a heart still racing.

The cost of burning everything, including Ha-eun’s rationality, wasn’t light at all.

No matter how much time passed, the lingering aftereffects made it hard even to get up from the broadcasting chair.

Only after twenty minutes did she sluggishly walk out of the white soundproof booth and collapse onto the bed right in front of her.

She was completely exhausted.

So much so that she didn’t even notice the calls from Ji Hye-min that had come in a few minutes before.

However, she was incredibly happy.

With a bright smile clearer than ever, she closed her eyes.

The community, which had started becoming noisier since the start of Ha-eun’s broadcast, was whatever to her.

She had done her best, just like always, and harbored no regrets or lingering feelings.

She didn’t think of anything.

She didn’t have to think of anything.

She was loved as ‘Diya.’

There was no other reason needed to enter dreamland without any distractions.

*

After Diya’s successful debut broadcast.

Ha-eun’s already tightly packed schedule got even tighter.

Going to school early in the morning and then heading to the filming site of ‘Moonlight Piercing the Clouds’ or Kim Kyu-tae’s action school.

She even occasionally visited Doupli’s studio to practice singing with the voice of ‘Diya’ instead of ‘Pinocchio.’

After this jam-packed schedule ended, there would be a short broadcast lasting two to three hours.

Though she wanted to broadcast all night if she could, she couldn’t prolong the broadcast time since it would definitely harm Ha-eun’s health.

No matter how much she loved broadcasting, she couldn’t let her living patterns fall apart.

If her regular life patterns fell apart, it would eventually affect her broadcasts as well.

Academics.

Actress.

VTuber.

To catch these three hares, keeping Ha-eun’s health was most important.

Thus, today too, she started her day healthily with breakfast just like any other day.

“Our daughter, are you dating?”

“Gah!”

The question that she had never heard before made Ha-eun choke.

Once she calmed her startled heart with lukewarm barley tea.

“W-well, I’m not doing that…”

She answered only with the truth that didn’t mix in a single lie.

Even so, Seong-yun’s staring eyes on Ha-eun continued.

“Hm, lately, looking at our daughter, I feel like something has softened about her.”

“…What do you mean?”

“From head to toe. It’s like she’s head over heels for someone really handsome.”

“??”

Subsequently, the playful voice continuing to pry into Ha-eun’s changed appearance was persistent.

Thankfully, Nay-eon defended Ha-eun saying she was busy filming a drama these days.

Yet, for some reason, Nay-eon’s defense made it seem as if Ha-eun was really hiding a boyfriend.

Ironically, what Ha-eun was hiding was another side of herself, but it felt burdensome to look Seong-yun in the eyes.

Thus, in the end, she couldn’t hold on long and swiftly made her escape.

“…I’m off to school.”

“If you come back holding a boy’s hand tonight, I won’t let it slide~.”

The voice following Ha-eun as she left was a playful yet half-serious remark that she pretended not to hear.

However, for Ha-eun, who was trying to maintain a poker face, unfortunately.

“Ha-eun, did you get a boyfriend?”

The question from a classmate as soon as the morning assembly ended completely shattered Ha-eun’s composure.

Of course, she firmly denied the question, leaving no room for any doubt.

– Swoosh…

‘…What on earth has changed?’

As soon as the break for the first class started, she headed to the restroom and, in an unusual manner, washed her face roughly, then stared at her own reflection for a long time, trying to find what had changed.

Yet the conclusion she could reach was just ‘I have no idea.’

Strictly speaking, there was one person among Ha-eun’s acquaintances who could reasonably clarify this question for her.

“Excuse me, do you know where Da-yeon is?”

“Hmm… Sorry, I don’t really know.”

Even when Ha-eun directly went to Da-yeon’s class, she couldn’t meet her.

It was because no one seemed to know Da-yeon’s whereabouts for some reason.

While she hadn’t forgotten Da-yeon’s request to pretend she didn’t know for a while, there really wasn’t anyone besides Da-yeon who could solve Ha-eun’s question, so she kept searching for Da-yeon afterwards.

Ultimately, the place where she could find Da-yeon was not the school but the filming site of ‘Moonlight Piercing the Clouds.’

More precisely, it was at the end of the waiting room corridor.

But still, she finally did find Da-yeon, even if just for a short moment, hoping to chat and figure out what changes Ha-eun had undergone.

“Thank you for the 5000 won gift─☆ I should definitely get cotton candy for a snack this evening!”

Unbelievably for some reason, Da-yeon was fixated on a video.

Adding to the layer of confusion, the voice coming from the white wired earphones stuck in Da-yeon’s ears.

‘Huh?’

They were things all too familiar to Ha-eun.

“What’s this?”

“Ah, no. It’s just…”

When Da-yeon, belatedly realizing Ha-eun’s presence, opened her mouth in a sharp tone, Ha-eun couldn’t say anything.

The expression that Ha-eun confronted was not that of Da-yeon’s usual sweet expression, but rather the weighty expression of Queen Yoon.

The paused clip of Diya’s broadcast was fully displayed on Da-yeon’s phone.

Da-yeon was still watching Ha-eun with sharp eyes.

It was confusing.

It was impossible to even guess what had happened.