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The time was when the delicious food began to be set on the table at the restaurant.

“Let me take you back home, so contact Jung-yoon unnie in advance.”

“…Okay.”

Ha-eun nodded immediately at Da-yeon’s words, saying she would give her a ride home, without any real refusal.

Her mental stamina was drained due to the continuous replay of Dia’s broadcast clips.

So, even as all the food Da-yeon and Ha-eun ordered was placed on the table.

And when Kim Jin-soo lit the candles on the new birthday cake he had bought again and celebrated Da-yeon’s 18th birthday.

“Happy birthday… Da-yeon, love…”

‘…Did I catch a throat cold?’

Other than Ha-eun’s voice cracking dreadfully while singing the birthday song for Da-yeon, everything else was fine.

However, after all the meals were done.

Right after Da-yeon and Ha-eun had gotten into Kim Jin-soo’s van, who had come out to greet them in advance.

“Here.”

Da-yeon handed one side of her wired earphones to Ha-eun without hesitation.

To be more precise, the voice of Dia coming once again from the pure white wired earphones.

‘You know it’s me, right?’

Put Ha-eun into a panic.

Da-yeon’s detailed consideration of slightly tilting her phone screen toward Ha-eun, worried it wouldn’t be visible, was a bonus.

Could it be that today marked the end of Da-yeon’s lonely days?

Or perhaps it was thanks to Da-yeon pouring her heart out to Ha-eun.

“My favorite food is cotton candy─! It looks just like clouds☆”

“Isn’t she just so cute?”

“Uh, yeah… cute….”

There were no brakes on all of Da-yeon’s words and actions.

She just wanted to show Ha-eun the fun video, so she cheekily pressed her shoulder against Ha-eun’s.

Of course, from Ha-eun’s perspective, it was overwhelmingly burdensome.

It felt like she was about to jump out of Kim Jin-soo’s van to execute an emergency escape.

However, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t really jump out.

“Uh, um, Da-yeon, I… think I’m getting motion sickness.”

Lying that she felt a bit dizzy, she took out the earphone stuck in Ha-eun’s left ear.

Thus, Da-yeon reluctantly began watching Dia’s videos alone.

Until they arrived at Ha-eun’s house, the video of Dia on Da-yeon’s phone never cut off.

Da-yeon’s little giggles could be heard in between.

‘…Is it really that fun?’

Her feelings were complicated.

Complicated in a way that couldn’t be neatly explained by any one word.

She was, of course, grateful that Da-yeon enjoyed watching Dia’s broadcasts.

She hadn’t intended to interfere with Da-yeon’s personal tastes, either.

However, if Da-yeon ever found out that the person on her phone screen was the same as the one sitting right next to her.

Ha-eun felt like something beyond imagination would happen.

She firmly vowed to do everything in her power to keep Da-yeon from finding out about Dia’s little secret.

The van finally arriving at Ha-eun’s house was an event that came afterward.

However, she had to say goodbye to Da-yeon soon.

Da-yeon, who had told Ha-eun to wait for a bit, headed towards a convenience store alone.

So, while waiting and waiting for Da-yeon to return.

-Swish.

“Here.”

She awkwardly accepted the black bag Da-yeon handed over.

“What’s all this…?”

“Prescription herbal tea and throat medicine. The yuja beverage is warm, so drink it before it cools down.”

She added that a throat cold can be troublesome if it lingers.

Thus, Ha-eun couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.

No matter what, what mattered most to Ha-eun was her health.

She had never caught a cold, nor was it even in her plans to catch one.

Therefore, everything Da-yeon had handed her felt unnecessary.

She didn’t even understand why Da-yeon thought Ha-eun had caught a cold.

But before she could even ask why she brought the throat-healthy meds and drinks.

“Well then, see you tomorrow.”

As Da-yeon gave a brief farewell and immediately returned to Jin-soo’s van.

In the end, instead of giving a gift to the birthday girl, she ended up receiving one.

‘…Even now, she’s pretty self-willed…’

Thus, the sound of glass bottles clinking in the convenience store bag headed home with her.

However, Ha-eun too, felt the necessity of ‘voice management.’

“Hmm… When did my daughter’s taste in beverages change to that of an elder’s?”

Ignoring Seong-yun’s puzzled voice, she drank every health drink Da-yeon had gifted her.

Afterward, when Seong-yun teased her that her drink preferences had become elderly like food preferences.

Ha-eun retaliated right after.

“Well, Dad, you often drink things like pine needle tea, right?”

“Ha-eun, are you saying pine needle tea is a drink for old men like me? I guess I have to report that.”

“I’ll be reporting that Dad hid beer behind the kimchi jar when Mom wasn’t looking.”

“What?”

Leaving the now speechless Seong-yun behind, Ha-eun made her way to her room.

She collapsed onto the soft mattress where a large teddy bear had been lying in her place.

‘Voice management… I never really thought about it.’

She began contemplating the necessity of managing her voice.

After all, for a singer, what mattered most was voice management.

Especially when she was preparing for an important stage.

That meant, as the ‘singer’ Pinocchio.

With the ‘important stage’ of the live broadcast finals for <SIT ON THE MONEY> ahead.

‘A day of fully resting… would probably be better.’

Meaning it was essential to pay extra attention to voice management at this time.

Therefore, she decided to take a break on Thursday, the day before the <SIT ON THE MONEY> live broadcast finals.

The problem was that she’d have to take another break on the day of the <SIT ON THE MONEY> finals.

‘There’s no helping it, but… it still feels regrettable.’

The finals ended at 10 PM, plus she knew she’d likely end up leaving just before midnight after all sorts of gatherings.

There simply wasn’t time to broadcast.

Somehow, it became a situation where she had to take breaks for two consecutive days.

During the last <2 Nights 3 Days> shoot, she had to take breaks, and if she had to do it again, she feared it might lead to unhappiness among the fans.

What she needed was a special measure to soothe the fans’ displeasure.

So, she got up from the soft mattress again.

She rummaged through the old notebooks in Ha-eun’s desk drawer filled with many broadcast content ideas.

<Shirooni>

– Horror game ★★

– Not that scary for a horror game ★★★

– Viewers can give advice ★

– Famous ★★★

‘This is it.’

She found a content idea that could satisfy the fans.

Dia’s usual broadcasts were primarily communication streams represented by “Just Chatting.”

Of course, she occasionally did gaming streams, but she had never once done a high-stakes horror game.

In other words, the <Shirooni> stream would be a special trick.

It was a surprise plan considering Dia’s ‘first’ horror game, combined with the pure spirit’s ‘distinct reactions’ from someone who had never experienced fear.

Then, as time passed.

Finally, it became Wednesday, the last broadcast day before her two-day break.

[I’m here☆]

She started the broadcast under a title not much different from her usual.

– Dia

– What do you mean two days off on the schedule, Dia?

– Are you going to abandon the fans again and go on a trip? Are you going to abandon the fans again? Are you going to abandon the fans again? Are you going to abandon the fans again? Are you going to abandon the fans again?

– Sigh, I was the only one being serious.

Sure enough, the chat window became a bit noisy again at the notice of yet another break.

To this, she tried to calm the chat window while apologizing in an awkward voice, but there was no sign it would calm down.

Thus, she eventually opened the broadcast settings window on the screen.

Then she began typing loudly enough to be picked up by the broadcast mic.

[The house is cleaner than expected, right? (Horror game stream)]

She changed the title of the broadcast to something that could be immediately recognized as the game Dia would play.

Almost simultaneously, the chat window and donation window began trending once more.

– ? Streaming? Dia, are you confident?

– Isn’t this your first time with a horror game?

– (Bold Statement) Is Shirooni really a horror game?

– Let’s go~ let’s go~ let’s go~ let’s go~ let’s go~ let’s go~

– Can we see a crying baby that just turned one?

– Can we really cry doing Shirooni?

[User Gocookie has donated 10,000 won!]

: If she doesn’t die once, it’s 50,000 won.

[User HappyDreams has donated 10,000 won!]

: And add another 100,000 won.

“Okay─☆”

Officially, Dia’s horror game play count was 0.

No matter how much the entire story of <Shirooni> was already known, the difficulty couldn’t be underestimated.

It was also a result of underestimating Dia’s gaming skills for there to be big missions before starting the game.

However.

‘She might notice if it’s too easy. I should pretend to struggle a little.’

Knowing exactly how to proceed in <Shirooni>.

She intended to show the fans that underestimating Dia’s gaming skills would lead to big trouble.

Of course, she planned to react with surprise.

One of the reasons people watch horror game streams like <Shirooni> is to see the broadcaster’s delightful reactions.

Thus, after setting Dia as the player name for <Shirooni>.

“Um, the house is cleaner than expected~☆”

She began her first horror game stream, reciting Dia’s current broadcast title and the phrase associated with <Shirooni>.

And barely five minutes later.

– It’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming.

– ? Why is she so still?

– No, Dia, the door just creaked a second ago.

“Uh? What creaked─”

[Bang!]

[Guwaaaah!]

Her reasoning stopped functioning as a white creature sprang from an entirely different location from her memories.

Almost simultaneously, a high-pitched scream burst forth, causing the broadcast mic to short out for a moment.